The Criterion Collection is an initiative to restore and re-release important classic and contemporary films. Barnes & Noble's 50% off sale is a gold mine of these movies, and I've picked out some of my personal recommendations I think would be great additions to any cinephiles collections. First you have Anora, a Sean Baker film from last year that took home several Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison as the title character. Then there's the Irishman, a classic Martin Scorsese period gangster flick that I don't feel gets enough recognition (It's almost four hours long, but I promise it's incredible). Finally, I'd check out the Sound of Metal, a sort-of cautionary tale on ignoring health issues that has a nice self-acceptance theme as well.

Buy 1, get 1 50% books

Of course, it wouldn't be Barnes & Noble without a vast selection of books. They have dozens of Where's Waldo books for kids, romance books, Harry Potter, and more for a nice buy one, get one half-off deal. You can get all seven of the Harry Potter books for a significantly lower price if you're picking them all up for the first time, and you can even get the 20th anniversary edition covers for the same price. Romance novels are as popular as ever it seems, thanks to BookTok. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros is a solid pick up. And for those with little ones, Where's Waldo books (today I learned these are still around) are only $8.99 each and qualify for this promotion.

Does Barnes & Noble Have Free Shipping?

Barnes & Noble does have free shipping, but according to the help page, it is only for orders of $40 or more as long as the item isn't "unusually sized or overweight." You also have to make sure you choose "standard shipping" as the option when checking out. Alternatively, you can choose to order online and pick up in-store if you have a location near you. You can take advantage of the online Barnes & Noble store finder to see your closest option.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

The Apple MacBook Air might be a familiar pick for this category, but that's because it's so well-rounded and satisying that it soars to the top spot as the best choice for most people. The MacBook Air blends portability with performance and a minimalist sense of style to deliver an excellent all-around experience, whether you're getting work done or binging the latest season of Squid Game with your feet up.

Weighing in at only 2.7lbs, it's one of the lightest laptops in its class. But that doesn't mean it makes sacrifices on performance. While professionals will still want to turn to the MacBook Pro, the M4 processor in this notebook is more than up to the task for everything from productivity to creative apps like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. While most of its competitors will have audible fan noise, especially when taking on such tasks, the MacBook Air remains blissfully quiet. It uses a completely fanless setup that leverages its metal body to silently dissipate heat. This design also means that there are no vents to break up its elegantly minimalist aesthetic.

I'm mainly a Windows user, but our own Jackie Thomas reviewed the MacBook Air and praised how Apple has refined its classic design. I did spend some time with the MacBook Air and have been tempted to switch ever since this version's release this year. Its blend of fantastic portability and impressive performance are simply hard to match with a Windows laptop.

Its other major selling point is its multi-day battery life. If you're taking on productivity apps, it can easily last upwards of 12 hours depending on your settings. For mixed use that includes video, it can extend well beyond that. If you're only using it for a few hours a day, a single charge has the potential to get you through almost an entire week of use.

Just... don't expect it to be particularly cheap if you venture above the introductory spec. Apple offers a base model with limited storage (256GB) and slightly pared back graphics (8-core instead of 10-core) for $1,000. If you store most of your files with cloud storage, it probably won't matter, but I'd personally go for the 512GB version (which also upgrades the processor) for $1,199 for peace of mind.

No matter which version you choose, the Apple MacBook Air continues a legacy of excellence in lightweight computing and is an even better fit if you already have an iPhone and live in that Apple ecosystem.

If you're looking for a lightweight laptop but find yourself limited on how much you can spend, look no further than the Acer Aspire 14 AI. This compact computer offers impressive specs for the price and a form factor that's perfect for students and anyone anyone else looking for svelte and savings in one.

Affordable laptops have a reputation for coming with low-spec hardware and underwhelming performance, but with the Aspire 14 AI, it's clear that Acer aimed to impress with how capable it is. While it won't top any performance charts – this is still a budget laptop, after all – it's a great pick for work and school where you'll mainly be focusing on productivity and maybe some light entertainment tasks.

Unlike lots of similar-priced laptops (I found it at $550 as of this writing), the Aspire 14 AI comes with a potent combination of AI-enabled Intel CPU and 16GB of fast LPDDR5X memory. Its processor comes with eight cores equally split between performance and efficiency, so it's ready to take on moderate creativity tasks like photo editing without getting bogged down. The integrated GPU is also capable enough for some light gaming, if you don't mind dialing down the graphics or using Intel's XeSS upscaling.

When it comes to battery life, it outperforms many far more expensive laptops for mixed use (which is how most people will actually be using it). It offers around 15 hours of battery life. Drop the brightness to about halfway and mix in some video, and that pushes closer to 20 hours. That a budget laptop falls in the same neighborhood as the Apple MacBook Air is beyond impressive.

You're not getting an uber-high resolution here, just standard 1920x1200, or a fancy OLED screen, but you wouldn't expect either at this price. For its meager asking price, however, the Acer Aspire 14 AI over-delivers in just about every other way.

The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is the highest end sound bar speaker in Bose's product lineup. The soundbar measures 41" long and contains a 5.1.2ch setup consisting of nine total speakers. Two of these are upward firing dipole speakers for Dolby Atmos content. The Smart Ultra also incorporates Bose's TrueSpace technology, which does a great job of simulating a 3-dimensional soundscape even though internal speakers in soundbars are spaced close together.

Popular amongst homter theater setups nowadays is "A.I. Dialogue Mode". This feature automatically balances voice and surround sound so that you don't need to turn up the volume to deafening levels in order to hear what everyone is saying.

As befits Bose's flagship soundbar, the Smart Ultra boasts great build quality and premium materials, and is the only Bose soundbar fitted with a tempered glass top. It supports several wireless protocols including Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, and has a microphone to accept voice commands. App-based setup is easy as well.

More Deals From the Bose Summer Sale

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

This Alienware x16 laptop is equipped with a 16" 2560x1600 240Hz G-Sync IPS display, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 185H Meteor Lake (2023) processor has a max turbo frequency of 5.1GHz and 16 total cores. It's not quite as powerful as the newer HX series CPUs, but it won't bottleneck the GPU at all in games, and it's more energy efficient and generates less heat.

Although now a generation old, the mobile RTX 4080 is still a very powerful and relevant GPU. Compared to Nvidia's new 5000-series Blackwell GPUs, the RTX 4080 performs similarly to the RTX 5070 Ti. A RTX 5070 Ti gaming laptop usually costs more, and a laptop that matches the build quality and slim footprint of x16 will likely run much higher.

Alienware's new gaming laptops for 2025 include the Alienware Aurora 16 and 16X as well as the Alienware Area-51. Neither of these laptops are as thin as the x16. If you're looking for a capable gaming laptop that looks great and is easy to carry around, there are few choices that can compete with the x16.

More Alienware Black Friday in July Gaming Laptop Deals

Alienware's Black Friday in July Sale has officially commenced. So far it's the best sale I've seen from Dell this year, and that's great news for gamers looking to upgrade their rigs. Score big savings on Alienware's gaming PCs, laptops, monitors, electronics, and accessories, including 2025 releases like the new flagship Area-51 systems. What many people might not realize is that traditionally the Black Friday in July deals are as good as or better than the deals we see on Black Friday proper. Some of these prebuilt configurations will also be better than any PC deal coming out of Amazon Prime Day. I'll keep updating the page with new deals as they come in.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

This bundle (a $279 value) includes all of the mainline Borderlands games, the VR version of Borderlands 2, the Telltale games, and more. The bundle is missing the iOS-exclusive Borderlands Legends real-time strategy game, but here's everything that comes in the collection:

• Borderlands
• Borderlands 2
• Borderlands 3
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
• Tales From the Borderlands
• New Tales From the Borderlands
• Borderlands 2 VR
• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

And for an in-depth breakdown of how to play all of the Borderlands games in chronological order, we've got you covered. Since this deal is specific to PC gamers, It's also worth noting that every game on this list is playable on the Steam Deck except for Borderlands 2 VR. As of right now, we haven't gotten any confirmation that Borderlands 4 will be Steam Deck verified or even playable on the handheld, however.

Borderlands 4 has been generating a lot of buzz in 2025, but did you forget that a Borderlands movie actually came out last year? Well, good thing I'm here to remind you that IGN's Matt Donato reviewed the big screen adaptation, giving it a three overall saying "Borderlands is a catastrophic disappointment that plays like hacked-to-pieces studio slop, betraying everything fans adore about Gearbox Software’s franchise in derivative, regrettable fashion."

Here's to hoping the next game brings the franchise back to it's full potential when it releases in September later this year.

Borderlands 4 Is Available for Preorder Now

Once you're caught up on the entire Borderlands saga, you can preorder Borderlands 4 before it drops September 12 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. It promises the same high-octane looting and shooting the core games are known for with some new twists and turns along the way. You can check out IGN's Borderlands 4 preview for all of the little details we know about the game so far.

Humble Bundle is part of IGN Entertainment, the division of Ziff Davis that includes GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, and MapGenie.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

Ditching the modular tiles or fold-out boards of the Undaunted games, Line of Fire gives two players a set of five identical location boards, each with an assigned point values. Once all five get randomly placed out for both players, each side deploys forces to the various spots in an effort to hold eight points' worth of locations, or destroy all of the oppositions land-capturing units, claiming victory.

Turns begin with both players drawing four cards, and secretly selecting one of those to offer up in a bid to gain that round’s initiative. Whoever offers the card with a higher value gets to play first. Both of those cards are then discarded and the first player takes their turn placing out their hands of cards, followed by the second player, and once they are finished, new hands are drawn and the the process starts over.

Set on Jupiter’s moon, Io, in the world of Undaunted 2200, Line of Fire has a science fiction motif. So, instead of troops on the ground, you deploy ROVs – Remote Operated Vehicles – into the warzones. ROVs are composed of four different varieties, divided into A and B forces. Each ROV type has special actions it can take. For example, the MOSS units allow you to capture locations, while the DaCU units can build fortifications that can only be activated by playing an identical unit card on a previously deployed card. Players also have access to a small selection on personnel cards which provide benefits including adding cards to your deck or disabling an opponents ROVs, further adding strategy elements to Line of Fire.

For players who are familiar with Osprey's Undaunted titles, many of Line of Fire’s mechanics will feel identical, from the initiative bidding to removing casualties. When a unit is destroy in Line of Fire, players first try to remove a copy of that card from their hand. If none are in their hand, they then search their discard, then their deck, then the reserve, and lastly remove the unit on the board that is being attacked. I personally love this approach, as I find searching for hold cards and seeing your supply slowly dwindling away to be far more of a tense experience than simply removing the card that was attacked. It's also through this method that if ever all of you or your opponent’s MOSS ROVs (the only unit type that can capture) are gone from the deployed regions, you lose.

Despite the box’s small footprint, Line of Fire provides a riveting strategic experience in a fairly short time frame. The matches I played rarely took even a half hour to complete, with games taking even less time the more experience both players have, as you can quickly play your three cards and be done.

Even with both choices of cards being identical, there is still a good bit of strategy required in Line of Fire. Knowing what cards to add to your deck, where to deploy them, and when to retreat when a battlefield is lost are all key decisions you have to make. Being a deck-building game, there is still some aspect of luck involved, as the cards you have in hand dictate what actions you can take on your turn – but I never found that luck overpowered solid tactics and decision making. That said, I did find that some of Line’s design direction made it harder to get into than I feel it really needed to be, with much of that coming down to the card designs and naming.

Admittedly, I have not yet played Undaunted 2200: Callisto, so this may be less of an issue for some folks, but the naming of the ROVs threw my friends for a loop and never made sense. Terms like “infantry”, “tank”, and “sniper” I can grasp at a glance, but if you were to ask someone which of “MOSS”, “TIR”, “xED”, or “DaCU” was your heavy artillery unit, they would probably look at you and walk away.

Between the random names and various symbols that make almost as little sense as the names, it just makes the cards harder to decipher than they need to be, even with the handy reference cards that both players have. I get that Line is set in the future and leans into the science fiction element, but sometimes it’s just easier to say “my tank is attacking your plane”.

From a visual and component standpoint, Line of Fire is a striking game, with artwork and designs that evoke classic science fiction book covers with blocky-square robots. Both players also have unique artwork for their units, that are also clearly denoted by heavy use of either redish-pink colors or blues for their respective side. This extends even into the storage solution with each player’s cards, fortifications and location tiles all fitting snuggly into a color-coordinated box, that both then are carried in a magnetically sealed box roughly the size of a VHS tape. I’m a sucker for games with good storage solutions, and Line of Fire’s does it’s job splendidly, making it quick and easy to set up and break down, and small enough to fit in your bag to take with you.

The RTX 5060 Ti is an excellent GPU for 1080p gaming. It outperforms the RTX 4060 Ti by about 20% and the RTX 3060 Ti by about 40%. Like the other Blackwell cards, the RTX 5060 Ti pulls away even further in games that support DLSS 4. However, make sure that you pick a model with 16GB of VRAM. The 8GB models are a bit less expensive, but the smaller amount of VRAM noticeably bottlenecks the GPU's performance in more graphics intensive games and at higher resolutions like 1440p. The least expensive RTX 5070 GPU currently available is $579.99 . Generally if you plan on playing games in 1080p, that extra $150 is not worth the approximately 20%-25% increase in performance. However, if you're aiming for high (144fps or higher) framerates or gaming in 1440p resolution, then the purchase might be more justified.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Designed by Eric Olsen and published by the OP Games, Flip 7 at its core is a push-your-luck game where players race to be the first to reach 200 points by playing cards blindly from a deck of cards that range from 0 to 12. For all the numbered cards (except zero), each card has as many copies as its value – there's a single 1-value card, two 2s, etc. A player's turn immediately ends if they ever pull a duplicate value card, they choose to pass their turn and take the points they have earned in that round, or if they manage to flip seven value cards, which also earns the player bonus points. Rounds continue until one player has reached those 200 points.

Despite being a simple game, Flip 7 is visually striking with an Art Deco aesthetic and cards featuring bright colors and large numbers. Each number has its own color, with the modifier cards a bright honey-yellow that contrasts with the more tan-centric backgrounds of the number cards to avoid confusion. As a pleasant added touch, some of the frills and decorations on the cards connect seamlessly to one another, allowing you to create a lovely, rainbow-like collage of cards with each one you pull.

Flip 7 has such a low barrier of entry, really only requiring at least one of the players to be able to do simple math (even that you can mitigate somewhat thanks to the free tracking app), and with games only taking maybe 15 minutes, it makes it an easy recommendation for basically anyone. It’s a game that I could just as easily recommend for my friends I play heavy board games with, or my mom, who is more comfortable in the land of solitaire, and know that both audiences would have fun with it. The fact that this game scales up incredibly well, too, for parties is just an added cherry on top.

Where Flip 7 may be a bit of a turn off for some folks comes from the fact that this game is, at its core, a game of pure luck, with the only strategy coming from whether or not you'll risk drawing another card to try for more points. Ideally, I would have loved if there was a smidge of a hint of an element that lends itself to strategy in here. Flip 7 fills very much the same spot as, say, an UNO or Skip-Bo, simpler games that appeal to a far broader market – but in those games, players have more choices they can make, as opposed to Flip 7’s only real choices it provides players is to either to draw a card or not play.

Among my collection, I have a very elite selection of games, my Glove Box Collective. These are games I like to keep in my car’s glovebox so that I always have them on hand when I go places. These are games that I can bust out at a moment’s notice, when I have a few minutes to kill, when I’m meeting friends at a local brewery, or am simply visiting family. Flip 7, thanks largely to its quick-to-teach and easy-to-play nature, has earned its spot among this most prestigious collection of mine.

I do wish that there was a bit more player choice involved but the tense “should I or shouldn’t I” nature of the game has led to some great moments of celebration where taking that risk has resulted in me winning a game, and those of frustration where I blew through all of my extra chance safety cards back-to-back only to still lose. But such is life in games of luck.

Where to Buy

• Get it at Amazon
• Get it at Walmart

It’s hard not to fall in love with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. You still get all the great features of the previous SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless with some new technology including active noise cancellation and improved audio all around. Using a hybrid noise-canceling system with four mics, you can drown out harsh noises from outside your room to the ambient hum of loud fans.

Most importantly, the Nova Pro offers some fantastic sound quality out of the box with bold and balanced audio. Its spatial audio onboard is crucial as well, so it's easy to hear enemy footsteps around the corner or gauge the distance of action happening in a competitive shooter. And you can make some next-level customizations to the EQ settings and game-chat mix with Sonar and the SteelSeries GG app – good luck going back to your ordinary headphones for anything but listening to podcasts or the news.

With SteelSeries’ latest top-end headset, we see the biggest design shift since the start of the Arctis lineup. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless sports telescoping arms on its adjustable headband so it can better accommodate larger head sizes. The earcups are also slimmer and sleeker, giving off less of a gaming headset vibe and more of a look akin to wireless headphones without sacrificing the comfort SteelSeries headsets are known for. And one of our favorite features remains intact with a few upgrades: the hot-swappable rechargeable battery system. This means that when the battery runs low during a gaming session, you can quickly change it out without having to plug in, giving you wireless freedom indefinitely.

The Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best headsets you can buy right now. It’s well-rounded with uniquely robust features, great sound quality for gaming, and comfort to keep you going. Take our word for it – in our Arctis Nova Pro headset review, it earned a rare 10 for all the aforementioned reasons and more.

No matter which version of the HyperX Cloud headset you go with, you get a quality product. If you’re running on a budget and want to get the most bang for your buck, I always recommend the wired HyperX Cloud III, which can often be found below its $100 base price. It punches above its weight with impressive sound and mic quality and great comfort. Plus, it’s built like a brick house so it’s not going to fall apart through years of use.

Out of the box, the Cloud III impressed me with its build and durability – its aluminum frame can be flexed and contorted in any which direction without ever feeling like it’s going to break. Stretching the headset out to fit on your head is super easy and you can toss them on your desk without worrying about damaging them. It's built for comfort as well with dense foam earpads wrapped in a leatherette (just be aware it tends to get a bit sweaty), although its clamp force may be a bit much for some.

At the end of the day, it’s all about sound quality and the Cloud III handles various frequencies wonderfully. In my Cloud III headset review, I felt comfortable tracking enemy footsteps while playing a ton of Valorant and enjoyed the balanced audio in Final Fantasy XIV, which this more budget-friendly headset handled gracefully. Assuming you’re on a budget, you probably don’t want to spend extra on a decent microphone – luckily, the mic clarity on the Cloud III was equally as impressive.

You can ask anyone who has used the Audeze Maxwell if it’s worth its price tag, and you’re going to get the same answer: It’s a resounding yes, including from me. It sports a sleek, nondescript design akin to many audiophile-style pairs of headphones and performs just like one as well. Sometimes I need to break away from the misconception that wired is always better for sound quality, especially when the Audeze Maxwell proved me wrong.

Its 90mm planar magnetic drivers jump out from the spec sheet – and while bigger drivers doesn’t always mean better, this is one case in which the audio experience matches the driver size flex. Overall clarity, balance across frequencies, and a rich natural audio profile make this high-end headset stand out from the rest of the pack. While the aforementioned SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is the one I recommend overall for its robust features, it’s hard to compete with the Audeze Maxwell purely in the audio department.

That said, while the Maxwell is comfortable, it does land on the heavier side of gaming headsets. It’s built like a tank, but if you’re okay with that, then it’s more of a non-issue. It comes with a 2.4GHz USB-C wireless receiver, which makes it a great candidate for the Switch 2 when playing handheld as well. When you get a great mix of sound quality, battery life, and features such as toggleable noise isolation, it’s easy to justify its high price.

Turtle Beach has been a major player in audio for several console generations at this point, and I think the Atlas Air marks a peak in its gaming headsets. I can’t get over how comfortable it is to wear thanks to its soft, cushioned earpads and super-light clamp force. Its headband and overall construction also feel durable despite being a very lightweight headset. When I reviewed the Atlas Air, I just couldn’t get over how these felt to wear all day, which is also a credit to the sports mesh-like upholstery that prevents heat and sweat.

It’s also rare to find open-back gaming headsets, which gives the Atlas Air an upper hand on providing a full and spacious audio experience on top of its great overall sound quality. Of course, a drawback of open-back is the lack of natural sound isolation, so be aware of whether or not the ambient noise of your gaming environment is suited for such a thing.

Turtle Beach packs some neat features into its Swarm software with customizable EQ profiles and presets that work well for getting more out of the headset (just ignore Superhuman Hearing – it’s not worth the fuss). Between music, gaming, and spatial audio, the Atlas Air performs beautifully and it’s currently one of my favorite wireless gaming headsets available.

As I mentioned above, Turtle Beach knows what it's doing when it comes to gaming headsets, and even if I go down the pricing hierarchy, there are still impressive headsets like the Stealth 500 to be found. Although it’s quite bulky in its physical design, I found the Stealth 500 to be easy to wield thanks to its super flexible headband and durability, which also translates to solid comfort that’s easy on the ears.

More importantly, the sound quality you get from the Stealth 500 is nothing to scoff at. While it may struggle in higher frequencies, which tend to sound a bit crunchy, its strong bass and clear mids make games sound full without coming across as artificial. With the Swarm software’s Signature Sound profile, you’ll be set without having to fiddle with too many settings. Its positional audio was great as well, which I sussed out while playing competitive rounds of Counter-Strike 2, so you don’t really need to shell out the big bucks to get that kind of advantage.

Even at this price point, you get Bluetooth capabilities and can swap between devices with the press of a button. While the mic isn’t anything to boast about, it’s serviceable and can be customized in the software as well. It’s no surprise that there are compromises that need to be made in budget-level headsets, but it gets the essentials right, which earned it an 8 in my Stealth 500 review.

Beyerdynamic is one of the many audiophile-focused brands that have entered the gaming headset space in more recent times. Its latest in the MMX 300 Pro and MMX 330 Pro make slight upgrades over its predecessors in overall design, but brings similarly powerful audio performance. It provides the kind of sound quality you’d expect from studio-grade headphones like the DT 770 or DT 990, but packs them into a wired headset that’s easy to wear for hours on end. The two models only have one distinction – the MMX 300 Pro is closed-back and the MMX 330 Pro is open-back. I personally prefer the audio profile of an open-back headset in exchange for natural sound isolation, so it really comes down to preference.

What’s almost as impressive is the microphone clarity, which can rival even some mid-range standalone mics. I tend to see built-in mics on gaming headsets as an afterthought, and so long as my voice comes through intelligibly, that’s all I really need from it – but not with Beyerdynamic. So if you really want that all-in-one gaming headset, especially for streaming or recording content, you’ll find that in these headsets.

Personally, I gravitate towards the intentionality and craftsmanship of a wired, analog-driven headset or pair of headphones, and Beyerdynamic's headsets sound beautiful right out of the box. Of course, you can potentially get more out of it if you drive them through a DAC or amp, but they're already tuned with gaming in mind (to emphasize certain sound effects in competitive games) while also delivering the kind of audio experience in other applications you’d expect from headphones at this price range. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the MMX 300 Pro/MMX 330 Pro in my review.

Sennheiser has long been one of my favorite makers of headphones, starting with the HD 598 years ago, and over that time, it has adapted its audiophile-centric approach to gaming headsets. I find myself coming back to Sennheiser again and again due to the rich audio experiences the headsets provide and the sleek designs that also come with great build quality. The Sennheiser HD 620S is a prime example of that. While I’ve preferred Sennheiser’s open-back options, like the aforementioned HD 598, I very much enjoyed what it did with a new closed-back design in the HD 620S, which excelled particularly while gaming.

The HD 620S sets a new standard for high-end audio by using similar design principles as its lineup of high-end headphones – this means its drivers bring full, balanced, and detailed sound. While spatial audio tends to be better with open-back designs since they give bold sound profiles room to breathe – something that traditional closed-back headsets sometimes struggle with – the HD 620S doesn’t really sacrifice all that much as far as I can tell from several rounds of Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant. There’s a lot of natural sound isolation due to a tight seal around the leatherette earcups, which also turn out to be really comfortable (even though this material does get hot).

There’s a lot of potential in the purely audio department with HD 620S if you drive it through a DAC or amp, and the 6.3mm adapter that comes packaged with it gives you the opportunity to get more out of it. If you’re a self-proclaimed audiophile and want something suited for gaming, I can vouch for the HD 620S as one of the best picks so far.

The Kraken V4 is Razer's flagship headset that's geared more towards luxury features (whereas something like the Blackshark V2 is more tuned for the competitive scene). And with that particular focus, you get one of the best implementations of virutual surround sound in any gaming headset. That's largely due to THX Spatial Audio and the fact that the Kraken V4 was designed with the feature in mind. Instead of it sounding like you're in an empty hall, there's a lot more detail in the positioning and distance of sound effects, especially when the game or movie you're experiencing was designed with spatial audio in mind. It's not something I'd recommend for competitive gaming, but having good theater-like sound on a headset is tough to find.

In my review of the Razer Kraken V4 Pro, I praised its sound quality, comfort, and surround sound capabilities, but it carries a heftier price tag with it being the Pro mode. While it comes with a robust base station, things like Sensa haptics just aren't worth seeking out. You can get the standard Razer Kraken V4 for significantly less and still get the fantastic virtual surround sound features along with that great audio quality and comfort.

Logitech has come a long way with its headsets and I thoroughly enjoyed putting the Logitech G Pro X 2 through its paces for my review. It has to be one of the most complete packages I’ve seen from a gaming headset, and it's a superb all-rounder when it comes to sound quality, durability, comfort, and premium features.

For those particularly looking for one in competitive gaming, I like recommending the G Pro X 2 because of how several smaller features add up to make a versatile headset. Seemingly minor things like the included carrying case for portability and the swiveling earcups that let the headset rest easily around my neck are really nice to have. But its sound quality and positional audio are impressive in their own right, which are really the driving forces for making a good competitive headset suited for esports-type environments. The default leatherette earpads are comfortable and offer better sound isolation, but in more casual settings, swapping in the included velour earpads gives the G Pro X 2 a nice level of customization. And with a not-so-gaudy design, using its simultaneous Bluetooth for other devices is a pretty cool cherry on top.

While its overall microphone quality is serviceable, it's the solid sound isolation that works well for communication in high-stress (and potentially loud) competitive settings. Starting at $250, you’re starting to brush up against audiophile-level headsets and headphones, but it's all the features and design decisions around it that make it worth the price tag.

Over the years, Alienware's forte has been custom built PCs and has explored gaming peripherals since. It rethought its design philosophy and came out with the Pro headset earlier this year with great success, as I detail in my Alienware Pro headset review. I love its slim and sleek design (somewhat matching the design philosophy of Sony's PS5 products), which also makes it easily double-up as a casual everyday pair of headphones, and that really makes its active noise-canceling features sing.

As a gaming headset, it brings booming bass to support all the other frequencies so PS5 games are going to have a powerful low-end to give a proper cinematic experience, but it's also tuned to be fit for competitive games as well. With its casual look and booming audio, it's a great option for those looking for a good wireless headset to pair with the Switch 2, especially since it comes with a USB-C dongle for no-latency 2.4GHz connectivity. When it comes to comfort, its memory foam earbuds get the job done even though they don't look impressive at first glance. The flexible headband lets the Alienware Pro headset clamp easily on my head to help it stay comfortable for several hours of play.

If you're looking for good ANC above all else, I can easily recommend the Alienware Pro headset since it's very good at drowning out ambient noise and retains solid battery life even though ANC tends to drain battery rapidly. That good ANC extends to the microphone as well, so while the overall microphone quality isn't that impressive, it's fantastic at isolating your voice.

Gaming earbuds are a fairly recent trend with the notable peripheral companies like Razer, Asus, and PlayStation making their own that are suited for games. It's tough because of the limited driver size and battery life, earbuds tend to make sacrifices in one way or another. But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are so impressive because of how uncompromising these little rounded buds are.

On top of having solid foundations of sound quality, battery life, and long-term comfort, SteelSeries has one of the most robust software suites, which is easily controllable through a mobile app. This takes out the inconvenience of having to flip through PS5 menus to customize the earbuds, while also letting you access its 100+ custom-tuned EQ profiles easily.

Although there are a few minor inconveniences with how some of its quality-of-life features work (autoplay when taking it on and off, connecting through Bluetooth reliably), the GameBuds do all the important things extremely well. While you should definitely use these as your primary earbuds to listen to music on your phone, they really shine in games with the kind of bold audio experience you expect from a headset. They'll pair nicely with your PS5 or Switch 2 since you also get a 2.4GHz USB-C wireless receiver for a no-latency connection; this is my preferred audio setup for Switch 2 thanks to the additional USB-C ports, letting me ditch my old wired earbuds for good. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in my review.

At $160, these have cheaper base price than the Razer Hammerheads I previously recommended. While I still think the Hammerheads have a very slight edge in sound quality, it's the battery life, software support, and overall comfort that make the GameBuds the best all around.

The Apple AirPods 4 is an open air earbud design

The Apple AirPods 4 was released on September, 2024 in two variants: one with noise canceling and one without. This is an open air earbud design, which means it doesn't sit inside and seal your ear canal. Normally this style isn't ideal for noise canceling purposes since there is no effective means of providing passive noise isolation. However, somehow Apple did it; the noise canceling feature here is actually quite excellent. The AirPods 4 also features several other updates over the AirPods 3, including an upgraded Apple H2 chip, Bluetooth 5.3 support, IP54 resistance rating which now protects against dust intrusion, USB Type-C charging, and an optical in-ear sensor.

Should you get the AirPods 4 with ANC or the AirPods Pro?

The AirPods 4 with active noise cancelation is quite different from the more expensive AirPods Pro 2 because of the way it is worn: the AirPods 4 is an open-ear earbud with non-adjustable tips that sits just outside your ear canal, whereas the AirPods Pro is an in-ear earbud that sits inside and seals your ear canal with adjustable tips. Which AirPods is a better fit for you depends on your priorities. In-ear earbuds provide passive noise isolation, which direct correlates with better audio quality and noise canceling. Open-ear earbuds are less intrusive, are generally more comfortable, and allow you to be more aware of your surroundings. Of course, price is a factor too. The AirPods 4 is $50 cheaper right now.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.