Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1099) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GRINDSTONE
• MOTHER
• CATERPILLAR
• CREAM PIE
• MASSACHUSETTS
• TEA PARTY
• GYROSCOPE
• GLOBE
• POCKET WATCH
• SELTZER BOTTLE
• MILLIAMPERE
• ROULETTE WHEEL
• BANANA PEEL
• MASTER OF ARTS
• RABBIT HOLE
• RUBBER CHICKEN

NYT Connections today (game #1099) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Visual gags
• GREEN: Turning things
• BLUE: Lewis Carroll props
• PURPLE: Linked by two letters

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1099) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: CLASSIC SLAPSTICK PROPS
• GREEN: THINGS THAT SPIN
• BLUE: FEATURED IN "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND"
• PURPLE: WHAT "MA" MIGHT REFER TO

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1099) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1099, are…

• YELLOW: CLASSIC SLAPSTICK PROPS BANANA PEEL, CREAM PIE, RUBBER CHICKEN, SELTZER BOTTLE
• GREEN: THINGS THAT SPIN GLOBE, GRINDSTONE, GYROSCOPE, ROULETTE WHEEL
• BLUE: FEATURED IN "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND" CATERPILLAR, POCKET WATCH, RABBIT HOLE, TEA PARTY
• PURPLE: WHAT "MA" MIGHT REFER TO MASSACHUSETTS, MASTER OF ARTS, MILLIAMPERE, MOTHER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

Seeing TEA PARTY and MASSACHUSETTS beside each other my first thought was Boston; I added GLOBE because the Boston Globe newspaper sounded like a possibility and took a chance on CREAM PIE. I pressed “submit” fully expecting to get a purple first — alas, it was completely wrong.

At this point I thought of the most common appearance of a CREAM PIE — as a practical joke — and managed to compile the four CLASSIC SLAPSTICK PROPS. 

As it often does, getting the first group unlocked the others — although it did take me two attempts to get THINGS THAT SPIN as I had POCKET WATCH instead of GRINDSTONE.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, June 13, game #1098)

• YELLOW: SEEN AT A TEA SERVICE SAUCER, SPOON, TEACUP, TONGS
• GREEN: ENDURING SONG CLASSIC, HIT, OLDIE, STANDARD
• BLUE: USED IN MOVIE PRACTICAL EFFECTS MAKEUP, MINIATURE, PROSTHETIC, PUPPET
• PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "STORY" IN MOVIE TITLES CHRISTMAS, NEVERENDING, TOY, WEST SIDE

• Alien: Isolation 2 will be built using Unreal Engine 5
• Creative Assembly is developing its own custom lighting and audio technology
• Creative director Al Hope says modern game development allows for "real-time feedback"

Creative Assembly has confirmed that Alien: Isolation 2 will be built with Unreal Engine 5, but the team is also developing custom technology for lighting and audio.

That's according to Creative Director Al Hope, who, alongside Animation Director Simon Ridge, discussed the technological advancement of the upcoming sequel in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest (SGF) 2026.

Ridge remarked on how "incredibly proud" he is of how the first Alien: Isolation looked, but "Technology's advanced, and so it allows more opportunities."

"A big part of what we did last time was making sure we were providing an experience to really back up that whole immersion, I guess, on the stress, so the player never really comes out of those moments, and from our discipline, animation, that was around making sure that you were never really seeing points where you could tell it was a game," Ridge said.

"That was a huge goal, you were watching something that was almost like a sentient creature, it was Al [Hope] mentioned many a time, a systemic system.

"So I think now that time's moved on a little bit, it allows us to probably add more variety than what we could before, just due to technical advancement, and just up the quality of the assets themselves."

Hope added that one of the biggest advantages of contemporary game development is the "real-time feedback," with Ridge saying that working on something for a sequel and being able to see it in-engine, in context, straight away, allows the team to get "the quickest kind of representation of how it's going to feel."

The creative director continued, explaining that it "allows us to iterate much faster," unlike during the Alien: Isolation development period. This time, the team is using Unreal Engine 5, but it will also be creating its own custom technology, which Hope calls an "evolution" of what fans are familiar with.

"I think one of the interesting things for us is obviously lighting and audio parts of the experience, and so we're using Unreal [Engine], but for lighting and audio we're developing our own custom technology to really enable us to really fine-tune the experience and create exactly the best Alien experience we possibly can," Hope said.

"It's really interesting with our audio team; it's the same, more or less the same audio team that worked in the original, so it's really an extension of an evolution of both the tech and the kind of creative side that worked on the original.

"I'll blow their trumpet for them. I think they won more or less every audio award going that year for Alien: Isolation. I think that's absolutely fantastic, people recognize that it felt like it was such a big part of the experience, and it's just really exciting to have them working together again on this."

Alien: Isolation 2 is in active development and will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1098) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• PUPPET
• TEACUP
• CLASSIC
• TOY
• MINIATURE
• CHRISTMAS
• STANDARD
• SPOON
• HIT
• NEVERENDING
• PROSTHETIC
• SAUCER
• WEST SIDE
• OLDIE
• TONGS
• MAKEUP

NYT Connections today (game #1098) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: As used in afternoon ceremony
• GREEN: A timeless tune
• BLUE: As seen in sci-fi films
• PURPLE: Films that share a word rhyming with “gory”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1098) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: SEEN AT A TEA SERVICE
• GREEN: ENDURING SONG
• BLUE: USED IN MOVIE PRACTICAL EFFECTS
• PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "STORY" IN MOVIE TITLES

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1098) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1098, are…

• YELLOW: SEEN AT A TEA SERVICE SAUCER, SPOON, TEACUP, TONGS
• GREEN: ENDURING SONG CLASSIC, HIT, OLDIE, STANDARD
• BLUE: USED IN MOVIE PRACTICAL EFFECTS MAKEUP, MINIATURE, PROSTHETIC, PUPPET
• PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "STORY" IN MOVIE TITLES CHRISTMAS, NEVERENDING, TOY, WEST SIDE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

It is always a thrill when you get a purple first, but sometimes that thrill is lessened by how easy the connection was.

That was the case for me today, with the four WORDS BEFORE "STORY" IN MOVIE TITLES — but then I am wondering if it is like this quite often for people more used to getting the hardest category before any of the easier ones.

Far more likely is that today was a relaxing day designed to lull us into a false sense of weekend security before dealing out a quartet of impenetrable groups tomorrow. 

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, June 12, game #1097)

• YELLOW: STARTING WITH INCANTATIONS CHARM BRACELET, CURSE WORD, HEX KEY, SPELL CHECKER
• GREEN: STARTING WITH ANIMAL GROUP NAMES MURDER MYSTERY, PACK RAT, PRIDE ROCK, SCHOOL DAYS
• BLUE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "REPEAT" COPY EDITOR, ECHO PARK, MIRROR SELFIE, QUOTE UNQUOTE
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH PARTS OF A RIVER BANK TELLER, BED HEAD, DELTA AIRLINES, MOUTH GUARD

• Creative Assembly wants Alien: Isolation 2 to be as memorable as the first game
• Creative Director Al Hope says the new exterior setting "feels like a natural evolution of the experience"
• The alien will "adapt and behave" differently to hunt the player

Creative Assembly has said it was "absolutely the intention" for Alien: Isolation to feel "too scary" for players, and the goal is to make the sequel just as memorable.

Alien: Isolation is one of the best horror games of all time, and in the newly announced sequel, players will once again be stranded in space while a sentient creature hunts them down. How lovely!

Unlike the first game, where players are confined to a space station, Alien: Isolation 2 will have a new setting and feature both exterior and interior environments, which Creative Director Al Hope said "feels like a natural evolution of the experience."

"It's the best of both worlds," Hope said in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest (SGF) 2026, "it has those claustrophobic-type interior spaces and those now exposed and very vulnerable feeling exterior spaces. I think for us, that's the most exciting starting point."

In Isolation 2, these new open spaces also mean players will need to be on their guard more than before, because the creature will also be able to "adapt and behave in a different way in order to be able to hunt in the exterior."

"The alien is well known for, in Alien: Isolation, learning and adapting based on his encounters with the player," Hope said. "It will be doing that in the exterior as well. So, as you come up with strategies and tactics, it will start to learn about those and then be able to circumvent them. So, you have to think again, get really creative, get imaginative, you know, imaginative in order to be able to survive, progress, and survive."

He continued: "The experience is evolving to include the exterior, thus one of the big changes for the creature is being able to hunt the player effectively in the exterior. For us, right now, it feels like a really fantastic opportunity, and I think people can already imagine what that's going to be like."

Animation Director Simon Ridge knows that the first game was loved by fans, and that it also terrified them, adding that the team's goal with Isolation 2 is to "deliver something to the audience that hopefully makes them as happy, terrified as before."

"That's a really fantastic opportunity," Ridge said.

Hope continued, "I like to think that anyone who played Alien: Isolation probably remembers playing Alien Isolation. Even if they think, 'Oh man, that was too scary,' and that's absolutely the intention for the sequel to make something that's truly unforgettable, and I think that combination of interior and exterior will create these moments that really live long after the player puts down the controller (or mouse and keyboard).

"That's the intention: to create something that really stays."

Alien: Isolation 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but it's set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

• Resident Evil Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi has explained why the remake isn't called 'Code Veronica'
• The producer says Code Veronica is just as important as the other mainline games
• Veronica's title follows the naming convention of the remake series

If you've been questioning why Resident Evil Veronica isn't called 'Code Veronica' like the original 2000 title, Capcom has explained its reasoning, and yeah, it sounds pretty logical.

During a press Q&A at Summer Game Fest (SGF) 2026, TechRadar Gaming asked Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi why the studio decided to rename the upcoming remake, considering the original game is a spin-off and not a mainline entry.

Hirabayashi explained that Capcom sees the original Code Veronica as just as "important" to the franchise as any other mainline game, like Resident Evil 2 or Resident Evil 4.

"For our development team, and everyone at Capcom, we consider the original Code Veronica to be just as important and relevant as any other mainline entry," Hirabayashi said, "so when we tackled this remake, the question we asked ourselves was, 'How do we communicate that to our audience?'"

The producer pointed to the naming convention for the remake entries, which are typically numbered or feature a word closely associated with the game's corresponding theme, such as the recently released Resident Evil Requiem.

"What we did is we looked at how we were handling naming titles for more recent and mainline numbered entries," Hirabayashi said. "If you look at the naming conventions that we've been using more recently for mainline titles, you'll notice a pattern.

"It's usually one word that is really iconic or connected to the concept of the game [...] We wanted to take a similar approach to the title of this remake as well. So we asked ourselves, what is that one iconic work that best represents the identity of the game? And we settled on Resident Evil Veronica."

Resident Evil Veronica is planned for a 2027 release for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC. Hirabayashi has confirmed that the game is being handled by the same team behind Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes.

"When we approach a remake, it doesn't matter which remake it is, we do have a very similar approach that we take to that process," the producer said.

Veronica follows Claire Redfield three months after the events of Resident Evil 2. After travelling to Paris in search of her brother Chris, Claire is captured by Umbrella and transported to a remote island, where she must escape due to another biological disaster.

• Resident Evil Veronica hits a million wishlists across PS5 and Steam on PC in under a week
• It has reached the milestone faster than Resident Evil Requiem did after its reveal
• Capcom has recently stated Veronica's importance, effectively as a mainline entry to the Resident Evil franchise

Capcom is arguably in its best run of form in decades, particularly when it comes to its beloved survival horror Resident Evil franchise, with several successful entries launching in recent years — and it looks like the upcoming remake could join the party.

Announced on X, Capcom's upcoming Resident Evil Veronica has received a million wishlists across PS5 and PC (the only two platforms currently available for wishlist), in just under a week after its Summer Game Fest reveal. It has accomplished the high figure of wishlists faster than Resident Evil Requiem did, which took two weeks.

If the name Resident Evil Veronica sounds familiar to you, that's because this is Capcom's remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, the original which dates all the way back to 2000. It's one of, if not the, most requested remakes from Resident Evil fans, and those wishes have now been answered.

Instead of fan favourite Leon S. Kennedy featuring as the main focus, Capcom is taking us back to 1998 and we'll be following Claire Redfield instead, set three months after the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes.

Comment from r/residentevil

Comment from r/residentevil

Capcom says its removed 'Code' from the remake's name, in attempt to align the title closer to recent titles (e.g, Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil Requiem), and frankly, while Veronica isn't a numbered title, it's still considered to be just as important as one, effectively acting as a mainline entry in the franchise.

There's plenty to be excited on what this remake will have to offer, especially because it won't simply be a graphical upgrade, but instead feature major changes to the gameplay and narrative — and unsurprisingly, the wishlists are a strong indication of fans' intrigue on what those changes will be, as evident on Reddit.

The same development team responsible for the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes will be at the helm for Veronica, and if the success of those entries is anything to go by, we're in for a treat.

• Toys for Bob says Activision Blizzard didn't push back on the studio's decision to go independent again
• Studio head Paul Yan says, "Leadership on both sides was very open to the idea"
• Yan says the process was "complex" to navigate while also planning Spyro: A Realm Beyond

Spyro: A Realm Beyond developer Toys for Bob has said there was no "pushback" from Activision Blizzard when it chose to become independent, but the process was "complex."

In 2024, one year after Microsoft officially acquired Activision Blizzard and almost 20 years after being purchased by the latter, Toys for Bob announced that it would split from its parent company and return to its "roots" as an independent studio.

Now, during a press Q&A at Summer Game Fest 2026 while promoting Spyro: A Realm Beyond, Studio Head Paul Yan shared that the team didn't meet any resistance from Activision Blizzard or Microsoft and that "leadership on both sides was very open to the idea."

"It was just complex," Yan said, "because we were talking about navigating many things in a very compressed amount of time, so just the logistics and legality of how do you separate from a company in that way has never been done before."

"I've never done it before, so I'm asking for something that's going to need a ton of coordination across many teams, across two new organizations that don't even know each other," he added, referring to the company's acquisition by Microsoft, "or they've just got married for the most part.

"Meanwhile, we're also trying to navigate a pitch for this game [Spyro: A Realm Beyond], so we're trying to get all that happening at the same time."

Yan said this was "the biggest challenge" overall, reiterating that no one was against Toys for Bob becoming independent again, although the process was something "we've never seen done before."

Associate creative director Lou Studdard added that it was difficult to navigate the process while also "preserving the continuity of the team experience of the team," and making sure it wasn't "such a big culture shock for the studio."

"It's been a tremendous effort to make sure that around two years ago, and this happened when we really started, it was kind of like another day in the office in a good way, and that we are a continued development team that knows how to work with each other and focus on our projects," Studdard said.

Spyro: A Realm Beyond is Toys for Bob's first game since becoming an independent studio again, and it launches in Spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

• Toys for Bob says Spyro: A Realm Beyond is designed to be "accessible" and "approachable"
• The game won't be as "hardcore" as Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
• The studio says Spyro has always been more about "discovery and exploration"

Toys for Bob wants Spyro: A Realm Beyond to be an "approachable" new entry in the series, for both long-time fans and new players.

In a press Q&A at Summer Game Fest (SGF) that TechRadar Gaming attended, associate creative director Lou Studdard was asked about Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, designing a difficulty level that stayed true to the long-time series, and if the studio was also conscious of doing the same for A Realm Beyond.

In response, Studdard said that Toys for Bob was focused on designing the upcoming Spyro game as a more approachable entry for the broader audience, with less of the "hardcore" mechanics players would typically find in Crash Bandicoot.

"For Spyro: A Realm Beyond, we are very much focused on making it an accessible adventure, and so that means really focusing in on those difficulty levels, as well as just the general notion of how you play the game," Studdard said. "Spyro definitely is less of a hardcore, or precision-based game; Crash is definitely much more in that line of thing.

"For us, for Spyro, we have had a very focused effort on making sure that it is an accessible, approachable entry, and that goes, hand in hand with the audience that we want to serve, we want this to be something where this could be someone's first Spyro game, and fall in love with our favorite little purple dragon, and be along for the ride from there."

Toys for Bob Chief Creative Officer and Studio Head, Paul Yan, echoed the same sentiment, saying Spyro has always been a very approachable experience.

Both Yan and Studdard agreed that Crash Bandicoot is more about "hard checks" and executing perfectly timed jumps, with Studdard explaining that "precision execution based platforming" was what the team used to build, but not for the new Spyro game.

For the Spyro games, Yan added, it's more about "discovery and exploration" and is more "relaxing" to play, so the team wanted to "preserve its tonal core" for A Realm Beyond.

"I will say that taking flight and moving in a three-dimensional space, as opposed to on the ground, is just inherently more complex than running on the ground, right?" Yan said. "So we spend a lot of effort to make that as approachable as possible. It will be a little bit more complex, just navigating through the air, where we're doing everything that we can to make sure that it is an approachable experience, and that it is engaging and you're making interesting decisions while you're up in the sky."

Spyro: A Realm Beyond launches in Spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

• Alien: Isolation 2 will take place months after the events of the first game
• Creative Director Al Hope says the sequel is still inspired by the first Alien movie
• Hope adds, "Our goal is to stay really true in spirit to that first movie"

Creative Assembly has confirmed that Alien: Isolation 2 will take place months after the first game and is once again inspired by the first Alien movie.

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026 (SGF), Creative Director Al Hope and Animation Director Simon Ridge shared how the studio is expanding the world of Alien in the upcoming sequel, confirming the movies are still the "groundwork."

"We really love the Aliens universe, obviously," Hope said. "I think for us, the first game really was close to the first movie in look and feel, in [the protagonist] Amanda [to Ripley], but in Isolation 2, which takes place months after the events of the first game, we're still in that wonderful space that we absolutely adore.

"We feel the first movie is still a really rich vein for us to tap into and explore and expand. It felt like a really good opportunity to just keep pushing, going deep in that part of the IP."

Ridge added that the first Alien movie was "such an important way of guiding us" when the team made the first game, and was the "ground" for everything it built.

"Keeping that in mind again with the sequel to make sure that we're making something that offers a similar experience, because that's your groundwork, but then also with the new parts are added to it," Ridge said, which he and Hope mentioned included the new exterior environments, which the first movie doesn't feature.

"We're really very serious about creating something that feels very authentic," Hope continued, explaining how the team is still creating "new elements" to "expand" the world.

"Our goal is to stay really true in spirit to that first movie," he said. "Authenticity is the lens we do everything through."

Alien: Isolation 2 is now in development and will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

• Valve's latest SteamOS beta offers improved compatibility with Intel platforms
• It also sees initial firmware added for incoming Intel G3 Extreme-powered handhelds
• Performance on SteamOS with Intel hardware should improve further with future updates

Handheld gaming is set to reach new heights in 2026 and beyond, with Intel's latest Panther Lake mobile processors providing more power for high-level performance — and Valve has just made life better for Intel-based handhelds.

Valve's SteamOS 3.8.8 beta includes improved hardware support for Intel platforms, additional controller support for MSI Claw devices, and initial firmware for upcoming Intel handhelds. That includes handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, OneXPlayer 3, and the Acer Predator Atlas 8, all of which will use the Intel G3 Extreme processor.

Intel-based handhelds running SteamOS (or Bazzite) aren't anything new. However, performance with Intel hardware on the operating system hasn't been great, with devices like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ delivering worse game performance than Windows 11 — but it's the complete opposite for AMD-powered handhelds on SteamOS compared to Windows 11.

The appeal of SteamOS, besides its ease of use and console-like user interface, is its optimization for gaming in terms of memory usage, which Windows 11 lacks (and still falls behind Valve's SteamOS even with the Xbox Mode).

With that in mind, switching from Windows 11 to SteamOS for worse performance doesn't make much sense, and that's what has kept some owners of Intel-powered handhelds away from the Linux-based operating system.

Full Steam ahead for Intel chips

Fortunately, it's now evident that this is being addressed by Valve, as handheld enthusiast ETA Prime highlights with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and its fluid performance results in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon.

Functions like sleep mode work as expected, which is great, but navigation and menu options still need updating, and the TDP (power consumption) can only be controlled via a Decky Loader plugin — plus the Steam menu button config needs to be added on Intel handhelds.

Regardless, this is a step in the right direction for these portables, and with more updates from Valve leading up to the launch of the new Intel-powered handhelds, this is definitely something to get excited about for those who don't have AMD-powered hardware.

• Control Resonant lead level designer Anne-Marie Grönroos and art director Elmeri Raitanen want players to engage in side content alongside the story
• Grönroos says, "We want the player to kind of get lost in the world in a good way"
• The game will also feature linear "dungeons", which Grönroos says are a "really nice contrast" to the overworld

Remedy Entertainment has placed a lot of emphasis on exploration in Control Resonant, and it wants players to discover and engage in side content in the game's open areas alongside the main story as much as possible.

That's according to lead level designer Anne-Marie Grönroos and art director Elmeri Raitanen, who discussed how Remedy went about creating the game's ambitious open world after Control's interior setting, in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at a preview event alongside this year's Summer Game Fest (SGF).

Raitanen explained that the team is "standing on the shoulders of an aesthetic giant," so moving past the award-winning Control's level design and striking concept was a challenge.

"From the design side, well, we did the first Control, [and] I think we were a bit naive back then, we didn't really realize how big of a jump it could be, [you] could go from Quantum Break, which was like a completely linear game, to something [Control] where you're actually supposed to backtrack, and it's more open, and it has a main mission, it has side missions, and so on," Grönroos said.

"So, there definitely was a lot of stuff in there we learned, but it was impressive what we did back then, but there were still a lot left out of out of there that we couldn't really get done in the first game, so this one, we are now outside [in] Manhattan, so the world is much bigger, the areas are more distinct from each other, they have more of this identity that has been thought of."

She added, "It turned out a lot of people actually just played the [Control] main mission and didn't even find the side content at all," but with Control Resonant, the team "really wanted to push more for in this game."

"We want the player to kind of get lost in the world in a good way," Grönroos said. "And force them to have fun," Raitanen added.

In Control, players were limited to the interior of the Oldest House, but in Resonant, the open world of a supernaturally warped Manhattan will be fully explorable.

This means many more visual landmarks to encounter that "can attract somebody's curiosity into some direction," which Raitanen explained "might not have been possible to do" in the first game "when we are going from like an interior space into another interior space."

"In the indoors we couldn't have those landmarks from very far away, and you couldn't have those visible from other sectors at all, but here now... the game is not fully open, it is separated in a disc, similar things to sectors, but the sectors themselves, the city zones, they are a lot more open than the sectors where the Oldest House, and in fact, like that big red building, for example, you can see that from three other zones over, you can see this big global landmarks from a lot of other zones," Grönroos said.

Raitanen hinted at what players can expect when they explore Manhattan, and while the world may appear to be filled with supernatural threats, the team didn't want to "sprinkle paranatural things and weirdness a little bit everywhere."

Instead, Remedy has built the environments with the intention of being explored, and you never know what you'll find.

"One key thing has been that we want to make it like the city is not necessarily your enemy, it might actually feel like deceitfully pleasant," the art director said. "[It] occasionally invites you to explore, but then there might be this layer of paranatural threat and chaos that kind of is overlaid on top of the normal city, so that's definitely been one of them key tools to make the zones feel like they have identity, and if you take screenshots of different places of the game, you can immediately tell that, hey, that's from Evacuation Zone, and that's from the molding park, or an abundant part of the oldest house, something like this."

Beyond the main story, Grönroos also hinted at additional sequences and "linear levels" that Remedy called "dungeons", which she explained are a "really nice contrast" to the overworld that players see from the outset.

"These spaces, which are not in the part of the overworld, [are a] more content linear experience, and there's not a ton of other things distracting you there," she said. "It is all about the story [in this area], although when the story is done, then we might be doing something different than there.

"There might be a side quest that opens up that in the place where you are just about to go, and in fact, later on in the game," Grönroos added, but said Remedy wants the first-time experience playing Control Resonant "to be very graded in a very similar [way] to how we did the main quest in the first game."

Control Resonant launches on September 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1097) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SCHOOL DAYS
• BED HEAD
• QUOTE
• UNQUOTE
• CURSE WORD
• COPY EDITOR
• SPELL
• CHECKER
• BANK TELLER
• PACK RAT
• CHARM
• BRACELET
• MURDER MYSTERY
• MIRROR SELFIE 
• MOUTH GUARD
• PRIDE ROCK
• ECHO PARK
• DELTA AIRLINES
• HEX KEY

NYT Connections today (game #1097) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Begin with witchy words
• GREEN: Began with beastly words
• BLUE: Begin with samey words
• PURPLE: Begin with wet words

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1097) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: STARTING WITH INCANTATIONS
• GREEN: STARTING WITH ANIMAL GROUP NAMES
• BLUE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "REPEAT"
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH PARTS OF A RIVER 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1097) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1097, are…

• YELLOW: STARTING WITH INCANTATIONS CHARM BRACELET, CURSE WORD, HEX KEY, SPELL CHECKER
• GREEN: STARTING WITH ANIMAL GROUP NAMES MURDER MYSTERY, PACK RAT, PRIDE ROCK, SCHOOL DAYS
• BLUE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "REPEAT" COPY EDITOR, ECHO PARK, MIRROR SELFIE, QUOTE UNQUOTE
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH PARTS OF A RIVER BANK TELLER, BED HEAD, DELTA AIRLINES, MOUTH GUARD

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

A  “starting with…” special that made the second words in every single tile irrelevant — meaning that the Connections setters just made all of these tiles two words just to play with our brains. Thanks.

Realizing this trick did make this game easier, but I still got caught out trying to put my groups of four together. 

STARTING WITH INCANTATIONS and STARTING WITH ANIMAL GROUP NAMES I got easily enough; MURDER MYSTERY was the giveaway for the latter. However, I fell to pieces after that and was lucky to escape with a victory.

At first, my remaining eight tiles conjured up an alternative phonetic alphabet that grouped DELTA AIRLINES, ECHO PARK, MIRROR SELFIE, and QUOTE UNQUOTE; after getting a lucky one away, I finally grasped STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR “REPEAT”.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, June 11, game #1096)

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A WORKOUT ROUTINE BALANCE, CARDIO, STRETCHING, WEIGHTS
• GREEN: THINGS WITH HORNS BRASS BAND, DEVIL, RHINO, VIKING HELMET
• BLUE: HOMOPHONES OF SUVS BRONCHO, FORERUNNER, TROUPER, UCONN
• PURPLE: PAYMENT APPS MINUS A LETTER ELLE, PAPAL, STRIP, VENO

• Toys for Bob wanted to recapture the feeling from playing previous games when developing Spyro: A Realm Beyond
• It wanted to focus on "the feeling that we fell in love with" rather than worrying about a list of features
• Chief creative officer and Studio Head, Paul Yan, says, "If you stick too much to nostalgia, it feels like you're rehashing"

Toys for Bob focused on recapturing how the team felt from playing previous games when making Spyro: A Realm Beyond, rather than worrying about a list of features to include.

That's according to Studio Head, Paul Yan, who told TechRadar Gaming in an interview at Summer Game Fest (SGF) that the groundwork of the game was built on what the team loves about the series.

When asked if there are any core features from previous games that the team avoided or tried to modernize, Yan said "everything's going to get touched," but when it worked on a new title "one of the things that we try and do is really hunker down and try and isolate how that franchise makes us feel, not specific feature lists, not comparison of parts, but the feeling that we fell in love with."

"We also look into the fan community," he added, "we look to just outside communication, our own communication, and we start isolating and figuring what that means, like what are the fantasies we want, so when we say, you know, a zen-like kind of exploration with a fluidity of movement that is more important to us to identify that as essential to feeling like Spyro than saying, 'Oh, his charge moves x number of units over x number of time', or things that happen."

"So we build that kind of knowledge and ingrain and canonify those feelings, and that's where we build from, and then throughout development we will have those conversations of are we changing them or touching that, is that new, are we keeping, are we not.

"But at the same time, the tip of the spear is the feelings that we want to preserve, and we want to amplify more than any specific feature institute."

Yan also said that there is a challenge to balancing nostalgia when making a new game, "versus how much do you branch out," explaining that both can be bad in some cases.

"If you stick too much to nostalgia, it feels like you're rehashing," Yan said. "'Why did we even bother doing this?' [...] Then you go on the other extreme, and you change everything, and now it's like 'I don't even recognize this character'. So we're very proud of the fact that through the process of this, we've been very thoughtful about it, and trying to talk about the tone and the core, and making sure that we're referencing all the fan feedback, and all the feelings, and the insights that have come from the Reignited Trilogy, so we feel confident that that base has given us a lot of information informed our own gun instincts about what Spyro is, and then our vision for Spyro is that this is just one of many games for the future.

"We would love to see more in this franchise. Hopefully, you know, around Beyond sets him up on a really strong footing."

Spyro: A Realm Beyond launches in Spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

• Valve will soon be putting an end to physical gift cards
• It has effectively been forced to end physical gift cards due to scammers' adaptations
• Once stock runs out across retailers there will be no more physical gift cards

Valve will be putting an end to physical Steam gift cards once stock runs dry across retailers.

As reported by Destructoid, this move is due to scammers using the service to take advantage of consumers.

Steam scams aren't new by any means, with many of them leading to stolen Steam accounts via scammers reaching out to users on Discord acting as Valve employees. It's also reminiscent of reports that suggest Apple's physical gift card scams cost buyers millions of dollars, as 9to5Mac highlighted.

Valve notes on Steam support FAQ page that these physical gift card cases involve scammers posing as official agencies, and contacting consumers over the phone to coerce them to purchase gift cards to cover for taxes, bills, or other debts.

Comment from r/technology

The latter doesn't sound too far off of scams for digital gift cards or Steam account theft, and this has been an ongoing battle for Valve, with the help of law enforcement and retailers, but pulling the plug appears to be the best solution.

"As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted," Valve says. "They continue to have an impact on Steam customers and other unsuspecting individuals.

"So we've made the difficult decision to end the Steam Gift Card program at retail stores. As Steam Gift Cards run out of stock at retail locations, we will not be restocking them."

Unsurprisingly, it has left multiple Steam users frustrated, notably on Reddit, with one in particular stating: "Great job scammers, first you trick people out of their money, then you ruin gift cards for everyone."

Those frustrations are warranted as consumers will now only be able to purchase gift cards digitally, and with scammers easily adapting to changes, it's not impossible for future changes from Valve that would dramatically adjust digital gift cards. We can only hope that Valve won't ever have to go that far.

• The Fable reboot will feature over 150,000 lines of dialogue
• Playground Games says multiple studios have recorded over 1000 hours of VO this year alone
• The studio says, "It takes a lot of work to balance all of the systems, but that's part of the challenge that we've been relishing"

Playground Games has said that more than 150,000 lines of dialogue have been recorded for its highly anticipated fantasy role-playing game (RPG), Fable, an impressive system that it "relished" making.

That's according to Playground founder and general manager Ralph Fulton, who shared some fun statistics about the game with the press during a Q&A at Summer Game Fest (SGF) and revealed that a good chunk of Fable's dialogue was also recorded across multiple studios just this year alone.

"There are over 150,000 lines of dialog about VO in this game, and the lion's share of that is in that system that you should be seeing today [in the demo]," Fulton said. "We've had multiple studios set up running in parallel for over 1000 hours just this year alone, just recording VO, so it's a huge machine, because the vision that the guys have for this part of the game just requires that way of writing."

While impressive, it raises the question of how this will be illustrated in-game without the RPG feeling too bloated. When asked if Playground sees a risk of this being "too systemic for a world that you want to feel immersed in," Associate Game Director Will Kennedy didn't think so, explaining that everything is "handcrafted" with a purpose.

"We've got 1000 handcrafted [non-player characters] NPCs, over 1000 handcrafted NPCs that you can interact with," Kennedy said. "We put a lot of time, dedication into thinking about all of these different systems that we have in the game, and that handcrafted part of something that's actually really beneficial in terms of the way you're talking about, because we have a game design team and other teams that care deeply about what we're building, and they can really grab hold of the work that's being done and apply that craft.

"Our game design team [made] sure that that [every] NPC made sense. It takes a lot of work to balance all of the systems, but that's part of the challenge that we've been relishing, and we think the game over the past half an hour that I've shown you really stands on its own two feet and shows how well everything you've been doing with that."

Fable has been in development for a very long time, but will officially launch on February 23, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• AMD's David McAfee expects DDR5 RAM prices to 'recover slowly in the future'
• However, the exec added that DDR5 won't return to 'normal' pricing levels for some two years
• Meanwhile chatter from the rumor mill claims Lenovo is going to implement another sizeable round of price hikes with its PCs

An AMD exec has told us that DDR5 RAM pricing isn't likely to normalize until 2028, and in other news, fresh from the memory and wider component crisis, Lenovo seemingly has more price hikes in the works for its PCs.

Let's start with the AMD story. VideoCardz flagged up the interview that 4Gamers conducted at Computex 2026, in which the Taiwanese site spoke with David McAfee, who is VP and general manager of Ryzen CPU and Radeon Graphics.

When questioned on the memory shortage (bearing in mind translation issues with the article), McAfee said he expects prices to 'recover slowly in the future' but that DDR5 RAM won't return to normal pricing levels for about another two years.

VideoCardz also highlighted a post on X from leaker Harukaze5719, which in turn points to a report from Sina Finance in China that tells a separate tale of the Lenovo price hikes.

Obviously, this is just whispers from the rumor mill, but the theory is that Lenovo plans to jack up prices in China by the equivalent of $150 in July. This applies to its PCs and laptops, and, in fact, to every product line Lenovo sells, we're told (though common sense would indicate that cheap peripherals, like a basic Lenovo mouse, won't get a $150 price hike).

While this is a (rumored) move over in Asia, it would clearly make sense that mirroring cost increases in the same order (perhaps even a bit more) would be implemented in other regions.

Analysis: more urgency for laptop buyers?

The AMD exec has essentially thrown his lot in with the forecasters who see the RAM crisis ebbing away during 2028. While that still means it has a fair way to go, this is actually a relatively optimistic prediction compared to some more recent thoughts – notably from Nvidia's CEO. Jensen Huang said the memory crisis will last "quite a few years", suggesting that we may have to be patient until 2029 or 2030 to see the worst of this over. Others have guessed that we'll be sailing rough waters with RAM pricing until 2030, too.

The sad truth is that at this point, if I could have a guaranteed end-in-2028 outcome for these RAM woes (somehow), I'd take that prospect – and run. Of course, there's the question of what McAfee means exactly by returning to 'normal levels', complicated by the fact that this is a translated interview. Broadly speaking, I assume this means that prices will drop back down to more palatable levels relative to now – though I don't see them ever returning to pre-crisis levels, frankly.

It's a bleak old outlook, for sure, although there is some hope in Chinese memory chip makers tackling the RAM shortfall to some extent with increased production from these Asian giants. McAfee alludes to this when mentioning Changxin Memory in China increasing its DDR5 production capacity, but others – notably Huang – seem distinctly unswayed by such arguments.

A lot, of course, could rest on what happens with AI going forward. However, with predictions of increased memory demands one way or another in that sphere – and no remote indication of the AI 'bubble' bursting, or clever tech innovations helping out as much as some folks think they might – I'm not optimistic on the whole.

On top of this, the news from Lenovo is a further blow. If you recall, the computer giant already hiked PC prices earlier this year, and so this is another helping of RAM crisis-related cost rises for laptops and desktops (and other hardware besides, apparently).

As I've been discussing recently, after the Nvidia CEO's recent end-of-decade prediction for the extent of the memory crisis, now really does seem to be the right time to buy a laptop. The news that Lenovo may be about to pull the trigger on yet more substantial PC price rises only puts more urgency into that theory, because this surely won't happen in isolation among PC vendors.

• After four years, we finally get a second Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer
• Disney characters were few and far between, but two worlds were teased
• We also didn't get a release date

It’s tough being a Kingdom Hearts fan. The series is an all-time great, but if its platform-hopping origins weren’t frustrating enough — with entries exclusive to different consoles and even different regions for a while — we must now face the fact that Square Enix loves taking its time between entries, and between a new game’s announcement and release.

Kingdom Hearts 3 was first showcased around five and a half years before its release, and it seemed Kingdom Hearts 4 might take just as long between merely its first and second trailers. That is, until we got a brand new look at the game at Nintendo Direct, saving this year’s Summer Game Fest event for me just as I had conceded the Disney meets Final Fantasy crossover would be absent yet again.

The minute and a half of footage blended combat gameplay with cutscenes of black robe-clad figures, protagonist Sora facing off against a Heartless behemoth on the streets of Tokyo, and a few new and familiar faces — including several from Kingdom Hearts’ now-defunct mobile and browser games.

Despite these more obscure inclusions, Square has said KH4 is meant as a jumping-on point for the series, with the game’s director, Tetsuya Nomura, describing the KH3 ending in a interview as a “reset” — one which “should make it even easier for newcomers to join the story starting from KH4.”

Disney who?

I’m not convinced the latest trailer supports Nomura’s claims, though, as a long-time fan who has loved the series’ weird spin-offs, I’m not complaining.

The one other interesting detail of the trailer for me is how short it is on Disney characters. We only get the briefest glimpse of Donald and Goofy surrounded by blue flames.

Though we did get hints at two possible Disney worlds we’ll get to visit in some capacity. The first comes from those blue flames, which strongly hint at the return of Hades, the god of the underworld, from Hercules. Hercules’s world has appeared in almost every entry in the series so far, so its inclusion in 4 makes plenty of sense.

Further, while Sora’s fate at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3 is a little strange, it seems he has died in a way, so a god of death would likely be involved in his friend’s quest to find him. Plus, Hades’ voice actor has since teased his involvement online, saying “I might have a little bit of inside knowledge on this” and sharing the latest trailer.

The other hint comes from Sora’s keyblade — a swirl of fire and water combined into one weapon. While we don’t get the best look at it while it’s swung around in combat, this feels like a clear reference to 2023’s Elemental, especially as the keyblade creates a flower effect when it hits enemies, which looks a little bit like the film’s vivisteria flowers.

Interestingly, Sora has this keyblade while battling in the realistic version of Tokyo, suggesting he’ll be world-hopping while still trapped in this alternate reality — one which didn’t experience the visceral conflict of light and darkness before his arrival, we learn in this new clip.

One missing detail

The only thing missing is a release date or even a release year. After four years since it was first teased, you’d hope Square Enix would be able to give us some kind of timeline for this game’s release.

My guess is sometime in late 2027 at the earliest, maybe early 2028. That’s based on a new Kingdom Hearts collection that is landing this October, and that we have the final part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy dropping in Spring next year (that’ll be sometime in March through May).

This is certainly frustrating. I can’t tell you how desperate I am to jump back into the Kingdom Hearts world, but hopefully the wait will be worth it.

Admittedly, this trailer makes me a little concerned. Perhaps it’s the wide open space of Tokyo’s streets, but the combat felt a little sparse, and something seemed a little off about Sora’s fight against the giant Heartless. Footage, so perhaps things will change come Kingdom Hearts 4’s eventual full release.

At least we found out it’ll be yet another multi-platform launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1096) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• DEVIL
• STRIP
• PAPAL
• BRONCHO
• VENO
• BRASS BAND
• UCONN
• RHINO
• CARDIO
• TROUPER
• VIKING HELMET
• BALANCE
• ELLE
• WEIGHTS
• FORERUNNER
• STRETCHING

NYT Connections today (game #1096) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Fitness sesion
• GREEN: All have something that rhymes with “thorns”
• BLUE: Sound like a large vehicle
• PURPLE: Digital wallets

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1096) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A WORKOUT ROUTINE
• GREEN: THINGS WITH HORNS
• BLUE: HOMOPHONES OF SUVS 
• PURPLE: PAYMENT APPS MINUS A LETTER

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1096) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1096, are…

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A WORKOUT ROUTINE BALANCE, CARDIO, STRETCHING, WEIGHTS
• GREEN: THINGS WITH HORNS BRASS BAND, DEVIL, RHINO, VIKING HELMET
• BLUE: HOMOPHONES OF SUVS BRONCHO, FORERUNNER, TROUPER, UCONN
• PURPLE: PAYMENT APPS MINUS A LETTER ELLE, PAPAL, STRIP, VENO

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Fail

I had a hunch that today would be a tough day, but I didn’t suspect how frustrating it would be.

Initially, I had the joy of a purple first — although it did take me two tries, as although I could see the thread I couldn’t think of any other digital wallet system after Paypal, Venmo and Stripe. ELLE, which I now know is for Zelle, was a guess.

PARTS OF A WORKOUT ROUTINE I got easily enough, but where I fell down was THINGS WITH HORNS and failing to think laterally with BRASS BAND. Ah well, roll on Friday.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, June 10, game #1095)

• YELLOW: TECHNIQUE FASHION, MANNER, METHOD, WAY
• GREEN: GROSS THINGS THAT FORM ON WET SURFACES CRUST, FILM, SCUM, SKIN
• BLUE: PARTS OF A THEATER CATWALK, PIT, STAGE, WINGS
• PURPLE: COUNTED IN DOCUMENT WORD COUNTS CHARACTER, LINE, PAGE, WORD

• Capcom announced a major expansion for Dragon's Dogma 2 during the latest Nintendo Direct
• Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is coming for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2
• The expansion is set to launch on October 9, 2026, and there's already a major title update available now

It's been a long wait for Dragon's Dogma 2 fans, with all hope of a potential expansion or major game update seemingly lost — but now Capcom has finally delivered.

During the latest Nintendo Direct, Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen was announced for the Nintendo Switch 2, as well as for current platforms such as PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, set for release on October 9, 2026.

This is a major expansion to the base game experience, featuring a new region, Norgan, and plenty of new armor, weapons, skills, and enemies to discover, alongside dungeons and several new character customization options.

Most importantly, though, Capcom has already kickstarted preparation for the expansion's launch with a new update having arrived.

Title update 3.1 is available now, featuring dozens of quality-of-life (QoL) improvements, bug fixes, and gameplay adjustments — with another similar update arriving in August, addressing several pain points for players.

Notably, this Dragon's Dogma 2 expansion has a familiar name. In fact, Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen is the first game's title, with 'Dark Arisen' added only after the Bitterblack Isle expansion arrived, with very similar QoL and gameplay improvements. So it's safe to say history is repeating itself.

A surprise for some — but not for others

The sudden expansion announcement and title update serve as a huge surprise for Dragon's Dogma fans, as Capcom has effectively been radio silent on the franchise aside from anniversary posts since the game's 2024 release.

However, some may say that this was expected, given Capcom's mysterious activity relating to the game on Steam's backend, and the latest anniversary post hinting at a new character and region known as Norgan. Those fan theories have now been vindicated.

Frankly, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is yet another example of Capcom's relentless development work lately. Monster Hunter Wilds, Resident Evil Requiem, and Pragmata have all launched with huge success and critical acclaim. A story expansion for Requiem is expected to arrive this year, alongside Onimusha: Way of the Sword set for September 25, and then Resident Evil Veronica in 2027.

Gamers have plenty to be excited for in the coming months, and there's no denying that Capcom has a huge part to play in that.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1095) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• STAGE
• PAGE
• FASHION
• FILM
• METHOD
• SKIN
• CHARACTER
• WINGS
• PIT
• CRUST
• WORD
• WAY
• LINE
• CATWALK
• SCUM
• MANNER

NYT Connections today (game #1095) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: How it’s done
• GREEN: Disgusting matter
• BLUE: Bits of a venue 
• PURPLE: Quantifiable eilements of written work

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1095) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: TECHNIQUE 
• GREEN: GROSS THINGS THAT FORM ON WET SURFACES
• BLUE: PARTS OF A THEATER
• PURPLE: COUNTED IN DOCUMENT WORD COUNTS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1095) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1095, are…

• YELLOW: TECHNIQUE FASHION, MANNER, METHOD, WAY
• GREEN: GROSS THINGS THAT FORM ON WET SURFACES CRUST, FILM, SCUM, SKIN
• BLUE: PARTS OF A THEATER CATWALK, PIT, STAGE, WINGS
• PURPLE: COUNTED IN DOCUMENT WORD COUNTS CHARACTER, LINE, PAGE, WORD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 1 mistake

It’s funny how sometimes you can get to the right answer by going in completely the wrong direction.

After getting PARTS OF A THEATER (although I was far from certain about CATWALK) I thought I spied a second theatrical group and put together METHOD, CHARACTER, PAGE, and LINE, thinking that this described four different types of acting — I was imagining that PAGE and LINE actors were ones who strictly followed scripts.

Fortunately, after getting one away I realized it was a breakdown of the written word as in things COUNTED IN DOCUMENT WORD COUNTS. I fully expect to be punished for my luck tomorrow.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, June 2, game #1087)

• YELLOW: SYMBOLS OF INNOCENCE ANGEL, BABE, DOVE, LAMB
• GREEN: THINGS YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO REVEAL PASSWORD, SECRET, SPOILER, SURPRISE
• BLUE: THINGS REPRESENTED IN SUPERSCRIPT ASTERISK, DEGREE, EXPONENT, TRADEMARK
• PURPLE: SLANG FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AXE, BONE, KEYS, SKINS