NoneEver wonder what the world of Zootopia would be like if it was a 1950s noir world? Me neither, but it turns out it looks awesome, folks. Wild Tactics is a story-driven strategy game about a team of anti-organized-crime animals fighting to return peace to their city's utopian project: Let all animals live in peace. It sounds bizarre and it kind of is, but the gameplay reveal at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted has a lot of the unique energy you want to see from this kind of game. Focusing on the core of XCOM-like isometric tactics prioritizing cover and positioning, Wild Tactics sends your team of unique animal weirdos against 15 story-driven missions to take down a criminal element that has grown all too powerful. The trailer shows off in-game footage of the cover-based combat, as characters hop between map areas while deploying special powers to outwit enemies. A bruiser ram stops mid-run to bash some heads with a baseball bat. A fennec foxvanishes in a puff of smoke to sneak past foes and flank them. Meanwhile, a wolf cop—maybe soldier—lets loose a howl that lets her allies know the plan. Those story-driven missions are backed up by the social system that underlies your Wild Squad's crew: "All the characters have different relationships with each other, giving them various buffs and debuffs. Hate, love, or friendship, each influences the battles differently. These relationships can be upgraded or downgraded, based on the character’s performance in combat and on the time they spend together," say the developers. Wild Tactics is made by The Wild Gentlemen, a studio that previously made the Chicken Police series of weirdo absurdist visual novels, the most recent of which released just last month. They hope to get Wild Tactics out the door and into your hands in the first quarter of 2025. You can find Wild Tactics on Steam . The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

Nearly five years ago, most office workers in Canada went home to work. Office life as we knew it vanished in a pandemic instant. Remarkably, most of these workers didn’t skip a beat. Most people liked the flexibility and the work got done – comfortably from home. Now many employers want people to come back to the office. Some make it a requirement on set days, others let employees make their own schedules, but most have settled on some kind of hybrid in-person and remote work model. But many employees don’t want to go back, citing long commutes, traffic, crowded or inconvenient public transit, expensive parking and the impact on the environment. Plus, remote workers who moved far away just don’t see the point of coming in at all. However, recent studies, such as one led by Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, report that fully remote work reduces productivity by 10 to 20 per cent , while hybrid work benefits companies and employees . Without an in-person requirement, employers are concerned about losing out on productivity, communication, creativity and a strong company culture. So, what works and how can employers make people feel good about commuting and coming into the office again? Linda Duxbury, the Chancellor’s professor of management at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, says the key is to intentionally design the in-office experience, rather than just requiring people to show up without a clear purpose or plan. “One of the reasons people like coming into the office is to socialize with their colleagues – they enjoy the informality, team activities and discussions,” says Prof. Duxbury. “If employers want happier employees, then they have to manage the in-person days better than many do.” “Right now, it’s a dog’s breakfast. It can’t be just random, with people coming in and then spending all their time on video calls with co-workers who are at home. What works is requiring whole teams to come in on certain days to do activities that can’t be done remotely, maximizing collaboration, team building, coaching, mentoring, training and development.” At Universities Canada, a non-profit organization representing Canadian universities, all 108 full-time employees are required to work in-person for two days a week. Shortly after Gabriel Miller, president and chief executive officer, joined last June, the organization moved into new headquarters in downtown Ottawa, designed after surveying employees about what they wanted in their work environment. “The office has been thoughtfully designed with people in mind,” says Mr. Miller. “When you enter, there’s an open gathering space that connects to a big kitchen, where people can stop by for coffee or to eat lunch with everybody from the most senior employees to university interns.” “The office is full of green plants, which really humanizes the space and helps people feel at home. There’s a variety of work settings so people can choose what best suits their needs and a mix of meeting rooms equipped with seamless technology so it’s easy for people to access information, but also connect to people who aren’t present. What this office says to our people is that in every possible way, we want to support you being together as a team.” To minimize commuting woes, the new office is centrally located and well served by transit and includes lockers for employees who cycle to work. “We need to provide as many sustainable options as we can,” he says. “Being located in a place that our employees can get to with minimal inconvenience, whether by car, bike, bus or on foot is key. So far we’ve only allowed people to work remotely on a temporary basis, but overwhelmingly, we’ve held the line on [a minimum of two in-person days a week]. If you start chipping away at it, one person or project at a time, people would soon begin to doubt our commitment.” When people are together in the office, he stresses it’s important to have opportunities for them to connect and collaborate in ways that wouldn’t be possible to do from home. “I really believe you need to balance remote and in-person work to maintain productivity and relationships,” he says. “If you think back on your career, a lot of what we learned was the result of encounters and relationships that we built organically with the people around us. Especially for young people, in-person interactions are critical for mentorship and career development.” Toronto-based Accenture Canada takes a “one-size-doesn’t-fit-most” approach for its 6,500 employees, according to its chief human resources officer, Suehlan Yu. A 20-year veteran of the firm, she says remote/hybrid work isn’t new to the organization, as Accenture Canada has been doing it globally for decades, collaborating with clients, teams and people working remotely. “Our focus is on levelling the playing field, so that irrespective of where people are, they’re able to participate fully and bring their best to work,” says Ms. Yu. “We really started by listening to our people, and we do that through a robust listening framework that includes surveys, fireside chats and town halls. What the majority of our people say is that flexibility – when, where and how they work – is the top enabler for the successful future of work.” Ms. Yu says there’s no policy that requires everyone to be in the office on set days. Instead, leaders and teams work together to determine the unique mix of virtual and in-person work that’s best for them, guided by client needs, individual roles and responsibilities. “In-person connection is part of everyone’s role, but we don’t believe in being on-site for the sake of being on-site,” says Ms. Yu. “We like to make that purposeful for our people.” Offices at Accenture are designed with a focus on “we spaces” – collaborative areas with technology allowing remote employees to fully participate in meetings and team activities. There’s also a focus on friendly and accommodating workspaces to suit individual and diverse needs, as well as meditation rooms, mothers’ lactation rooms and wellness rooms equipped with yoga balls and table tennis. To encourage in-person socialization, the firm hosts a quarterly event that they call “stacked events” – a full-day at the office packed with engagement activities, panel discussions and learning sessions, ending with a social event. “People get to meet leaders, network with peers and maybe find their next staffing opportunity,” says Ms. Yu. “We also have Gen AI and industry and function learning days, lunch and learns, and employee resource group events constantly happening and encouraging people to come into the office. Everything’s available virtually as well, so people can be involved wherever they are at that time.” One caveat remote workers might consider is that many jobs that can be done at home may also be easily done by AI. That might inspire some to put in more office time. “There’s a recent article in Harvard Business Review that says AI is coming for remote tasks first,” says Prof. Duxbury. “That’s because much of the type of work that can be done at home is the kind of thing that has sequential structure, doesn’t require a lot of creativity, discussion with other people, negotiation or to be front-facing. So perfect for AI too.”David Perry, urban planner with a passion for strengthening Chicago neighborhoods, dies at 82

Paris Hilton came up with the idea for a pet grooming collection while drawing out ideas in her notebook. "I constantly think about how to improve on the products that I love to use every day," the lifelong pet lover says. "I thought, why shouldn't my pups have the same luxurious, spa-like experience, too? I knew I wanted a line of products that would be good for sensitive skin and create soft, silky hair . . . perfect for snuggling." The result is a 20-piece line available on Amazon that's priced from $16 to $18 and includes vegan, vet recommended, sulfate- and paraben-free formulas for pampering — from odor sprays and no-rinse shampoos to fragrance-infused serums. Hilton's particularly excited about the pre-blowout treatment and paw cream. "It's like a SLIVING spa day for your pets. And why not? They totally deserve it." Hilton notes that all the scents used are light, for more sensitive noses, but it's no surprise that she branded many of the spritzes with flavors like apple blossom, bergamot, lavender, cucumber melon, and sweet pea and vanilla. "I have a childhood obsession with perfume !" she admits, continuing, "I have over 30 of my own signature scents, and that's why the scents for my pet products are so important to me." The pet line is just one of Hilton's many projects. She also visits her studio to work on music, models in photo shoots, and champions causes for children in Washington D.C. "I prioritize my family, of course. I may be jet-setting on SLIV AIR, but you'll always see me with the kids in matching jammies and enjoying our time together. My days are never the same, and that's what I love," she says. Ahead, Hilton discusses the five products she uses most frequently in her daily life, from hot pink tech gadgets to beauty devices that prove her appreciation for skin care. Paris Hilton's Investment Must Have Hilton describes the Motorola Razr+ in Magenta ($976) as sleek. "I'm always multitasking, working on the business, writing for my music, and grabbing pics of products I love, and, of course, candids of the kids," she says. The Android device comes equipped with 256 GB of memory storage space, and the screen size measures just about seven inches. The phone is touted as having the largest, most advanced external display for a flip phone. Paris Hilton's Affordable Must Have "My pink air fryer is one of my go to busy mom items," Hilton says of the Paris Hilton 6-Quart Air Fryer ($49, originally $80), which comes with a touchscreen display and can accomplish eight different cooking methods. "With the push of a button I can have anything from a pizza to a cheesecake ready. And it's healthy, too." Hilton's device has a nonstick basket and the pieces are even dishwasher-safe. Paris Hilton's Morning Routine Must Have Hilton prioritizes skin care in her morning routine, depending on the Skin Skulpt Plasma Skin Perfector ($499) for its cold plasma technology that rejuvenates the skin, minimizes pores and blemishes, and tightens and firms skin — according to the brand. "I use it daily. It feels rejuvenating and helps product absorb really deep," she says, as one of the celebrities known for touting the device for its quality. Paris Hilton's Travel Must Have Hilton describes the Sketchboard Pro 2 iPad Art Stand ($129) as the "perfect way to let your inner creator run wild." It essentially transforms your iPad into a sheet of paper, creating a smooth drawing surface in either landscape, portrait orientation, or vertically like an easel — whatever is most comfortable for you. The magnetic legs and reinforced steel sockets allow for 20- to 72-degree standing angles, and the cradle locks your device firmly in place. Hilton says, "I'm always sketching ideas in my notebook," which is how she came up with the ideas for her new pet care line. "I think you should put a little sparkle in everything you do . . . so you'll see me using fun, colorful markers in my idea notebook in meetings. Never be boring." Paris Hilton's Sleep Must Have The Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask ($13, originally $19) is a bestseller, with nearly 8,000 reviews on Amazon. It starts out as an opaque mask that has a silicone-like feel, but you keep it on overnight, and in the morning it's transparent and ready to be peeled off. It's known to be extremely hydrating. "I love all things skin care. It's so important to have a routine, and face masks are a perfect little bit of me time," Hilton says. Sarah Wasilak (she/her) is the associate director of Shopping at PS. With plenty of experience in the commerce market, a keen interest in SEO, and 10 years as an editor at the brand, she enjoys writing across the lifestyle and health-and-fitness categories. She has bylines at PS, InStyle, Elle, Refinery29, Who What Wear, Elite Daily, Byrdie, and The Quality Edit and aims to amplify minority voices in all her work.None

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