Tag: 2026 Gaming Haul

Destiny 2’s Renegades Silver Bundle, Stocking Up for the Star Wars Crossover Era

DLC Review · Purchased March 10, 2026 · $20.99 CAD via Bungie.net Store

Destiny 2 Silver currency artwork
Photo credit: Bungie.net

The Setup

Yes, this is another entry in my ongoing series of “bought Destiny 2’s premium currency instead of anything with actual content in it.” With Renegades, Bungie’s Star Wars-inspired expansion, in full swing, I wanted a stash of Silver ready to go for whatever seasonal cosmetics or Eververse items showed up alongside it, so I grabbed a smaller 1500 Silver bundle with a 200 bonus Silver top-up rather than committing to one of the bigger round-number tiers.

Living With It

There’s genuinely nothing to review here in the traditional sense: it’s a number that goes up in a menu, and then you spend it on ornaments, emotes, or the occasional armor set that catches your eye. What I will say is that Renegades has been a good excuse to actually spend Silver again after a quiet stretch, since the Star Wars-flavored cosmetic sets that came with the expansion are some of the more tempting Eververse offerings Bungie’s put out in a while, and having Silver already banked meant I wasn’t stuck waiting for a sale or a bigger currency purchase to grab one the moment it showed up.

The math on smaller bundles is never quite as favorable as the big ones, and this one’s no exception, but I’d rather buy a slightly worse per-dollar rate on a bundle sized to what I’m actually planning to spend than have a pile of unused Silver sitting around forever, which is exactly the trap the bigger bundles set for me in past years.

What I Liked

  • Sized closer to what I actually planned to spend, less waste than the bigger bundles
  • Renegades’ Star Wars-themed cosmetics made this an easy purchase to justify

What I Didn’t

  • Worse Silver-per-dollar rate than the bigger bundles
  • It’s still just a currency purchase, so there’s not much substance to actually review

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Fine for what it is, and a smarter-sized purchase than my past Silver bundles, but still just currency.

Where to Buy

LEGO’s Bouquet of Pink Roses, a Second Bouquet That Actually Outshines the First

Lego Review · Purchased February 12, 2026 · $79.99 CAD via The Lego Store

LEGO Bouquet of Pink Roses set 10374
Photo credit: LEGO.com

The Setup

Longtime readers might remember I already own a LEGO rose set, the original red Bouquet of Roses I picked up as a Valentine’s gift years ago. So when LEGO released the Bouquet of Pink Roses (10374) last October as a genuinely new, multi-tonal pink variant rather than a straight recolor, I couldn’t resist grabbing it around Valentine’s Day again this year to see how it compared sitting right next to its older sibling.

Living With It

At 789 pieces, it’s a slightly smaller build than the original 822-piece red version, but the extra design work shows. Instead of a plain round brick for the flower centers, this set uses a white peony piece paired with a light nougat inverted dome, and the petals shift from deeper pink at the core to softer blush tones toward the outer edges. It’s a small change on paper, but it makes each individual bloom look noticeably more like a real flower up close, rather than a uniform-colored LEGO approximation of one.

The build itself reuses a lot of the same clever tricks as the original: wheel-arch pieces and minifig whip elements to fake the coiled, layered look of petals, all built onto a sturdy stem-and-leaf structure that holds its shape well in a vase. Having both bouquets on display together has turned into an accidental little collection, and I’d honestly recommend the pink version first if you’re only planning on getting one; the color gradient work alone makes it feel like the more considered design of the two.

Close-up of the LEGO Bouquet of Pink Roses petals
Detail of the multi-tonal petal work. Photo credit: LEGO.com

What I Liked

  • Multi-tonal petals look far more like a real flower than a flat single color
  • Clever reuse of wheel-arch and whip pieces to fake coiled petal layers
  • Never wilts, unlike the real thing it’s replacing as a gift

What I Didn’t

  • Slightly fewer pieces than the original red version for a similar price
  • If you already own the red bouquet, this is a lot to spend on what’s ultimately a similar centerpiece in a different color

The Verdict

Rating: 4.5/5

A genuinely improved take on the Bouquet of Roses formula, and proof LEGO is still finding new tricks for its botanical line rather than just reskinning old sets.

Where to Buy

LEGO Architecture’s Paris: City of Love, a Postcard You Build Yourself

Lego Review · Purchased January 28, 2026 · $99.99 CAD via The Lego Store

LEGO Architecture Paris: City of Love set 21064
Photo credit: LEGO.com

The Setup

LEGO Architecture’s original Paris set (21044) has been around since 2018 and I always found the monochrome city-skyline format a little sterile compared to some of the line’s later releases. When 21064, Paris: City of Love, launched right at the start of the year, I was curious enough about the format change to pick it up almost immediately. Rather than a single skyline silhouette, this one is built as a hangable, postcard-style piece: the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and Sacré-Cœur are all worked into one framed composition using forced perspective, in a warm tan-and-brown monochrome palette instead of the older set’s grey.

Living With It

At 958 pieces, this is a genuinely absorbing evening-or-two build, and the forced-perspective trick actually works better than I expected once you step back from the table. Landmarks that are miles apart in real Paris get compressed into a single, coherent composition without feeling like a jumbled mess, which is a neater piece of design than the format’s “we just squished everything together” premise suggests. The included display frame is a nice touch: you can either hang it on a wall like actual art or prop it on a stand, and I ended up going with the stand so it can live on the same shelf as the rest of my Architecture pieces.

Compared to the original 21044, which always read a little flat and abstract to me, this one has an actual sense of place. The tan-on-tan palette does mean fine details can blur together a bit under certain lighting, and if you’re looking for a straightforward skyline silhouette rather than a landmark collage, the older set still does that specific job better. But as a standalone display piece, City of Love has more personality than I expected from an Architecture set.

Close-up detail of the LEGO Paris: City of Love set
Detail of the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame section. Photo credit: LEGO.com

What I Liked

  • Clever forced-perspective composition that actually reads as a coherent scene
  • Includes a display frame, so it can be hung or stood up
  • More visual personality than the older monochrome skyline format

What I Didn’t

  • The tan monochrome palette can make fine details blend together in low light
  • If you specifically want a clean skyline silhouette, the original 21044 still does that better

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

A satisfying, well-designed reinvention of the Architecture Paris concept that earns its spot on the shelf next to the original.

Where to Buy

The Lenovo IdeaTab 11, a Budget Tablet That Does Exactly Enough

Hardware Review · Purchased January 15, 2026 · $269.99 CAD via Amazon.ca

Lenovo Idea Tab 11 inch tablet in Luna Grey
Photo via Amazon.ca

The Setup

My New Year’s resolution, such as it was, involved needing something lighter than a laptop for reading and casual browsing on the couch, without wanting to spend flagship tablet money on what’s ultimately a couch companion device. The Lenovo Idea Tab 11 in Luna Grey, 128GB storage with 4GB of RAM running Android 15 on a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, fit the budget-tablet brief exactly. The price came in a bit over the tablet’s usual sticker because I added a case and screen protector bundle at checkout, which in hindsight probably wasn’t necessary but did mean it arrived ready to actually survive being tossed around the house.

Living With It

For a budget tablet, the 11-inch 2.5K display is a genuinely pleasant surprise, sharp enough for reading text comfortably and with a 90Hz refresh rate that makes scrolling feel smoother than the price point suggests it should. The octa-core Dimensity 6300 handles everyday tasks, browsing, video, e-reader apps, and light social media, without any real stutter, though it’s clearly not built for anything demanding; I wouldn’t try running a serious mobile game on this and expect a good time.

Battery life has been solid across a normal day of intermittent use, and the quad-speaker setup is a nice touch for a tablet in this price bracket, giving video and music a fuller sound than the tinny mono speakers a lot of budget tablets ship with. Where it shows its budget roots is in build materials; the back panel has a slightly plasticky feel compared to more premium tablets, and 4GB of RAM means I’ve noticed occasional app reloads when switching between a lot of open tabs and apps. For what I actually use it for, a bedside and couch companion device, none of that has been a dealbreaker.

What I Liked

  • Sharp 2.5K display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate for the price
  • Quad speakers are a genuine step up from typical budget tablet audio
  • Handles everyday browsing, reading, and video without stutter

What I Didn’t

  • 4GB of RAM means occasional app reloads when multitasking heavily
  • Plasticky build materials give away its budget price point
  • Not a device for anything performance-demanding

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

A genuinely solid budget tablet for casual use, exactly the light, secondary device I was looking for and nothing more than that.

Where to Buy