Omelet You Cook, a roguelike cooking game on Steam, has been having a great early access it seems. It recently passed 500 player reviews, and every last one of them was positive, making it one of a rare few games on Steam to have 100% positive reviews.

Until today.

As pointed out to us by developer Dan Schumacher of SchuBox Games, the game received its first negative review today. And sure, negative reviews are just part of the deal when releasing a game on Steam. But what really bothered Schumacher is that according to the text of the review, the reviewer didn't actually dislike the game. They played for 0.8 hours total, 0.2 hours when they posted the review, and wrote the following:

"Game is amazing. I just like to be different."

IGN reached out to the reviewer for further comment ahead of this piece but didn't hear back.

The community appears to have sprung to Omelet You Cook's defense, as the game has received almost 40 new positive reviews in the 14 hours since the negative review was posted, and a number of people have commented scolding the negative reviewer for ruining the positive streak just for kicks, though some of those comments are unfortunately far harsher than the negative review itself.

"Seeing this review was very draining for us," said Schumacher to IGN. "We knew 100% wouldn't last forever but it hurt to have the streak ended by someone who in their own words thinks the game is amazing. Emotionally I think I'd feel better if it was someone complaining about bugs, or design choices, or just feeling the game isn't for them."

A single negative review is hardly the end of the world for SchuBox Games, but it does make a difference. There are very, very, very few games on Steam with perfectly positive reviews, or at least in meaningful amounts like this. The more you get, the more likely it is someone will have something bad to say. There's a game called Shooters, Ready! on Steam that's only available in Japanese and similarly has over 500 positive reviews and 0 negative ones. But at least using the built in search by user reviews, there don't seem to be any others.

According to Schumacher, having no negative reviews actually did afford him some benefits, too:

"Having 100% positive reviews was a huge benefit for us because it's extremely abnormal for a game with hundreds of reviews," he told IGN. "People see 100% and become curious enough to read through some of the reviews to understand why it's so beloved or to check out the demo for themselves. We've had multiple people join our Discord or leave their own review and mention that they gave the game a chance because they couldn't believe it was maintaining 100% for so long.

"...The biggest impact this will have on Omelet You Cook is losing that mystique of a perfect 100%. That led to some opportunities for Omelet You Cook to be mentioned because it was atypical. But honestly for players coming across the Steam page, I don't think 99% vs 100% makes any difference at all. Some users like to filter by negative reviews to understand where the pain points are and I have to appreciate that this negative review frames Omelet You Cook in a very positive light."

It's long been known that engagement with games on Steam in the form of Wishlists and reviews can be a massive boon, especially for small developers. There are simply too many games, and getting attention on such a crowded storefront is impossible if you don't already have a built-up audience or a lot of advertising money. Having lots of positive reviews and few negative ones gets games like Omelet You Cook visibility when searching under certain filters or ranking systems, including third-party ones. That's certainly been the case for Omelet You Cook

"We're very fortunate and grateful to have reached 507 positive reviews before our first negative," Schumacher said. "We worked incredibly hard to achieve that with 15 content updates over 5 months. But we also got incredibly lucky and it's nowhere near a flawless game. There's plenty of valid reasons somebody might have a negative experience with the game and we're grateful to all 507 chefs who took the time to write a positive review. Each one helps Omelet You Cook reach a wider audience."

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Amazon has officially kicked off its Black Friday sale of 2025 a full week early and the discounts so far are actually quite good. As part of the IGN Deals Team, I have been covering the early Black Friday sales all November long, and these discounts are the first I've seen that truly give off Black Friday vibes. If you're planning on doing some deals shopping this year, there's really no reason not to start right now.

The Best Amazon Black Friday Deals Today

Some of the most notable deals so far are of course Amazon's own devices. The Fire TV sticks were discounted before the official sale started and I'd expect those deals to last all the way through Cyber Monday. Both the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft have dropped to the lowest prices we've seen all year as well, making it a great time to pick up one of the best reading tablets if you don't already have one. And if reading isn't really something you have time for right now, the classic Audible deal has returned and you can get that service for only $0.99 per month for the first three months. I'd definitely recommend trying that out, even to just listen to the new full-cast Harry Potter Audiobook, which I thought was actually really good.

Some of the surprising deals here are on gaming PCs and gaming laptops. Dell kicked off its Alienware sale earlier this week, but these are the first decent Amazon deals we've seen all month. I'd definitely expect these deals to go quickly, so jump on them now while they are still available.

Will there be more Amazon Black Friday deals later?

While it's true that this is Amazon's official Black Friday sale, not all of the deals are live yet. Amazon and Best Buy are the only two retailers who have launched "official" sales so far, so what we're seeing here is only the first round of big deals before Black Friday proper. The next round will actually start tomorrow when the PlayStation Black Friday sale officially begins. Amazon will most likely price match all of those deals, which include discounts on PS5 consoles, games, and accessories. There was also the Nintendo Black Friday announcement a few weeks back, that stated the official Nintendo sale would be starting on November 23, so there's unlikely to be many Switch games on sale until then. Most of the video game deals available now are thanks to GameStop's early Black Friday sale starting this week, but rest assured that more are on their way.

Outside of video games and consoles, you may have noticed that there is a significant lack of good LEGO deals in this round one of Amazon's Black Friday sale. That's most likely because the LEGO Store Black Friday sale doesn't actually begin until actual Black Friday. Some discounts will be available early, but I'd expect the bulk of the LEGO deals to drop on November 28. There will likely be even more toy deals before that when the Walmart Black Friday sale goes live on November 25.

You Don't Need a Prime Membership to Shop These Sales

Amazon doesn't require you to have a Prime membership to access its Black Friday sale. Unlike Prime-exclusive events like Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days, Black Friday is open to everyone. There are some exceptions to that, and you may run into some deals marked "Prime Deal", but for the most part you shouldn't run into any issues if you don't have a subscription.

There are quite a few benefits available to Prime members that can be helpful during Black Friday shopping, however. Most notably the free shipping comes in handy if you're buying anything for less than $35. There are a couple of different free trial options available to new subscribers you can check out during this sales event, with the base option giving you 30-days free.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and over 7 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different topics -- from TV series to indie games and popular book series.

Amazon is kicking off its Black Friday sale with some of the best Kindle deals we've seen all year. Pretty much every model is now on sale at the lowest price of 2025, so if you've been hoping to pick up a good e-reader at a discount, now is the time to do so. I've had my Kindle Paperwhite for over a year now and it's one of the only devices I use every day. If you do a lot of reading, I highly recommend getting a Kindle for yourself and changing your life for the better. It's literally thousands of books in the palm of your hand.

There are four core models currently discounted in Amazon's Black Friday sale: The Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Colorsoft, Kindle Scriber, and the standard Kindle.

The Best Kindle Deals at Amazon Today

The last time I saw Kindle prices drop this low was during Prime Day in July, and Amazon has matched or gone lower for each model for Black Friday this year. The Kindle Paperwhite is currently IGN's top pick for the best reading tablet, and it is currently matching its lowest price ever at $124.99. Perhaps the overall best discount here, however, is on the Kindle Colorsoft. Amazon's full color e-reader has dropped to a new low price of $169.99, which is a full $80 off its usual price. The standard Amazon Kindle has also dropped to its lowest price ever at just $79.99, which is getting into dangerously affordable territory.

Which Kindle should you buy?

With multiple models discounted, it's worth considering the advantages and disadvantages of each before you buy. If all you need is a regular e-ink reading tablet that can function as a replacement for physical books, then it mostly comes down to a choice between the Kindle Paperwhite and the standard Kindle. I've used both myself and the only real difference is in the size of the screen itself. The Kindle Paperwhite has a 7-inch screen while the regular Kindle is only 6-inches. I personally like the additional reading room, but since you can change the font size easily it isn't necessarily worth the extra $45 in this case. Both options also include the adjustable backlight, so reading at night is super easy either way.

The Kindle Colorsoft is what I'd recommend for anyone planning on reading digital comics and manga. The standard Kindles can load comics and graphic novels, but only in black and white. The Colorsoft will allow for full color, making it the best overall option for anything with pictures. An iPad is probably a better choice for comics, but it's a lot more expensive and doesn't feature the same soft e-ink display as a Kindle does.

Lastly, there's the Kindle Scribe, which is essentially an e-ink digital notebook. It can function as a normal Kindle, but with the added benefit of allowing you to write and take notes on it as well. It's great for anyone who is looking to quickly jump between reading a book and being productive in an instant, though it is the most expensive option here.

Kindle Unlimited Is Also on Sale

The IGN Deals team has more than 30 years of combined deal-hunting experience. We've been finding discounts long before it was even our job to do so and will continue to do so long after we retire. The art of saving money is something anyone can learn to do, but only a select few have the dedication and drive to truly master it.

Thankfully, our team of experts will be doing most of the deal-hunting for you during Black Friday season this year. We'll be using various tricks of the trade to seek out the best deals each day to help guide you toward discounts on the things you actually want to buy this holiday season.

Meet the IGN Deals Team

Eric Song, Commerce Manager

Eric started his professional deal hunting career at Techbargains back in 2007, later taking on additional managerial roles at LogicBuy and ExtremeTech. In 2016, he assumed his current position as 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. The best deal he's recently found was a LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon 751982 kit for about $200 (normally $800) thanks to a Target price error. When he's not racking up freemogems in Genshin Impact or attempting to lose weight with Beat Saber, Eric's out in the Pacific ocean on his kayak fishing for salmon and halibut.

Robert Anderson, Senior Commerce Editor

Robert has been with IGN for almost seven years, first starting his career writing about broadband and mobile phone contracts in the UK. He's since gone on to be IGN's resident gaming deals expert, and has lent his bargain hunting skills to a handful of IGN's sister sites like Eurogamer, RockPaperShotgun, VG247, PCMag, and Mashable. Alongside his knack for gaming deals, he loves a dive deep to find elusive discounts on TCGs like Pokémon or Magic, 4K UHD Blu-rays, comics, and a plenty more. When he's not writing for IGN, you'll find him playing Darkest Dungeon on his Steam Deck with a piping hot cup of tea. Cheers!

Chris Reed, Commerce Editor

Chris has been writing professionally for 15 years. It all started when he got an iPod Touch and started looking for games and thought, “I could review these things.” In short order, he got a job as a mobile gaming editor before moving on to cover console and PC games at sites like The Cheat Sheet and GameSpot. He’s always had an eye out for a good deal, so joining IGN as a commerce editor was an easy fit. He’s covered Black Friday and Cyber Monday for seven years and counting, digging up all the best deals available at any given moment.

Seth G. Macy, Sr. Social Commerce Producer

Seth has been writing about video games professionally since 2009, starting at 1UP.com and moving to IGN as a news freelancer in 2014. He was hired on full-time in 2018 as Tech & Commerce editor before moving to Executive Editor, IGN Commerce and now Sr. Social Producer, Commerce. Since the start of 2025 he's grown the IGN Deals social commerce accounts by 38,000 followers, an almost 11% increase YoY. A mixture of up to the minute deals, clever graphics, and timely postings have pushed this growth. He also shows up in a lot of IGN's video content, due to his boyish charm.

Jacob Kienlen, Senior SEO Strategist

Jacob has been writing professionally for a little over eight years now, but he's been clipping coupons his entire adult life. He first got his start working at Digital Trends where he naturally fell into commerce coverage around tech deals and discounts. There, he led the team's Black Friday and Cyber Monday coverage for two years before moving into a broader role. Since he's been at IGN, he has continued to work on larger content projects, but still helps assist with sales event coverage throughout the year. Jacob's role on the IGN Deals Team during Black Friday this year will be covering broad sales trends at major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target.

Blythe Dujardin, SEO Coordinator

Blythe is the newest member on the IGN Deals team. After two years at a digital marketing agency, she arrived at IGN in 2024 to support general coverage strategy while pitching in during major sales events. She largely handles streaming coverage because she suffers from extreme FOMO any time she misses a discount. Over Black Friday, she’ll be keeping an eye on Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and Crunchyroll in particular. As a collector herself, Blythe’s also always looking for physical media deals from major retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Her major points of interest are books, DVDs, and TCGs like Magic: The Gathering.

Lindsey Salzer, Director of Audience Dev. and Commerce

Lindsey (she/her) has a background in digital marketing, SEO and audience development, spanning over 10 years. She has worn many hats in her career, but has most recently been overseeing the affiliate business at IGN, ensuring IGN's audience gets the best shopping guidance on all of the cool tech, gadgets, toys and games every day. She will be very hands on during Black Friday, supporting the team any way she can to optimize and promote IGN experts' deals during the craziness that is Black Friday week. On a personal level, Lindsey grew up thrift shopping with her mom, so bargain hunting is in her blood. (She even had a fashion blog at one point.) That said, she's a big fan of resale sites like Depop and eBay.

Get a jump start on your 2026 New Year's resolution to get fit or build muscle with Speediance. Speediance is a revolutionary fitness brand offering AI-powered gym systems designed to keep you on top of your goals, all from the comfort of your own home. From weight training to cardio, these unique, smart workout machines deliver results—and help ease some of the guilt from all the yuletide delights you’ll be enjoying in the coming months.

Now’s the time to buy one of these awesome home gym systems, as Speediance’s Black Friday sale is live. You can score up to $1,200 off its machines, including the all-in-one Gym Monster and Gym Monster 2. That’s up to 33% savings. IGN also scored an exclusive code: MEDIA120, which can be stacked on top of the current deal, knocking off an additional $120. However, supply is limited, so once the product is gone, it’s really gone.

Save Up to $1,200 on Speediance Home Gym Equipment

Chances are good you won’t see sales this great again this year, but there is a 60-day price match guarantee if a Speediance machine happens to become cheaper (excluding flash sales). And to sweeten the deal even further, the Gym Monster and Gym Monster 2 include exclusive free accessories with purchase to elevate your workout, such as hooks, straps, docks, and handles.

Speediance Smart Gym Lineup

The Gym Monster and Gym Monster 2 are Speediance’s flagship gym equipment. These systems keep relatively compact dimensions while delivering up to 220 pounds of resistance, adjustable by one-pound increments. The versatility is unmatched, allowing it to be transformed into a squat rack, pulley machine, dumbbell, rower, and beyond. However, the standout feature is the 32-inch monitor, which is packed with training sessions, curated workouts, real-time feedback, and more. Using AI enhancements via Speediance’s Wellness+, you can even enjoy extremely personalized insights into your fitness.

The all-in-one Gym Monster and its accessories aren’t the only equipment Speediance offers. If you like the sound of the Gym Monster, but are pressed for space, there’s a more compact option, Gym Pal, which delivers up to 200 pounds of resistance and offers ample training opportunities.

Speediance also has the VeloNix, an indoor bike equipped with AI insights, ample adjustability for the perfect fit, and excellent simulation to bring the outdoor riding feel inside. Best of all, the Black Friday discounts also apply to the VeloNix and it comes with a few free accessories.

Anyone who’s been looking to grab new fitness equipment should act now. Deals this good won’t last long. Be sure to check out some other great Black Friday sales that have already dropped and big deals to anticipate.

Danielle is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.

Ahead of Black Friday, Lenovo is offering a really, really good deal on one of its highest end laptops. For a limited time (and maybe not until Black Friday), you can pick up a Lenovo Legion Pro 7 Gen 10 gaming laptop, equipped with a 16" OLED display, AMD Ryzen 9 X3D CPU, and RTX 5080 GPU, for just $2,301.69 with free shipping when you apply two stackable coupon codes "LEGIONRMN6" and "EARLYHOLIDEAL". The Ryzen 9 X3D is the most powerful mobile gaming CPU on the market, easily besting anything that Intel has in its repertoire, and the GeForce RTX 5080 GPU is no slouch either.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7 RTX 5080 Laptop for $2,300

After codes "LEGIONRMN6" and "EARLYHOLIDEAL"

The holiday season is here and AliExpress is kicking off is early Black Friday Sale with some incredible deals on hundreds of its locally shipped products, including best sellers like electric bikes and scooters, gaming handhelds, imported Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 consoles, brand name 3D printers, and more. These deals are roughly 10%-20% cheaper than previous lows thanks to a combination of coupon codes and a Retailmenot cash back offer. All the products listed below ship from a local US warehouse, which means you don't need to worry about tariffs or obnoxiously long shipping times.

AliExpress Coupon Codes (Tested and Verified)

Most of these deals are made better by using one of these tiered coupons:

• AEUS04 ($4 Off Orders $20+)
• AEUS06 ($6 Off Orders $30+)
• AEUS08 ($8 Off Orders $40+)
• AEUS10 ($10 off Orders $50+)
• AEUS12 ($12 Off Orders $60+)
• AEUS20 ($20 Off Orders $100+)
• AEUS26 ($26 Off Orders $130+)
• AEUS32 ($32 Off Orders $160+)
• USDEAL44 ($44 Off Orders $220+)
• AEUS56 ($56 Off Orders $280+)
• AEUS64 ($64 Off Orders $320+)
• AEUS80 ($80 Off Orders $400+)
• AEUS100 ($100 Off Orders $500+)

Extra 15% Cash Back at Retailmenot

Portable Gaming Handhelds

AliExpress is widely regarded as the best online store to pick up a portable gaming handheld at an outrageously low price. These portable gaming handhelds feature small 3.5" displays, 32-bit or 64-bit processors, and usually run off Android or Linux. Despite the low price, these gaming handhelds are well built and feel like a professionally engineered product.

1,000W Electric Bikes Starting at $276

350W Electric Scooters Starting at $109

Arzopa Portable USB Monitors Starting at $50

A portable USB monitor has many practical uses, such as a secondary display for your laptop or a travel-friendly screen for your Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck handheld gaming PC. Ahead of Black Friday, Arzopa is hosting some big markdowns on its popular lineup of portable USB monitors via its official AliExpress storefront. Combined with some general AliExpress coupon codes, these deals are the lowest prices I've seen all year long. All of the portable monitors listed ship free from the United States, which means you don't have to worry about tariffs or long shipping times.

3D Printers Starting at $163

Power Stations Starting at $88

With the winter season approaching, you should seriously consider picking up a power station in case of emergencies. Fortunately for you, the best time to score a great deal on a power station is during Black Friday. AliExpress has already come out of the gate early with the lowest prices I've seen all year on several power stations from trusted brand names like Allpowers and Bluetti. The deals I've listed below are sold by the manufacturers' official seller accounts, so you're sure to receive a genuine product with full warranty. These power stations also ship free from a local US warehouse, which means you don't need to worry about tariffs or obnoxiously long shipping times.

Imported Nintendo Switch 2 Consoles, Controllers, and Games

If you still haven't yet picked up a Nintendo Switch 2 because it's too expensive, there is an opportunity to get one at a discounted price. AliExpress is offering a Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World console bundle for as low as $4100 (normally $500). It ships free locally from the United States (which means no tariffs and no obnoxiously long wait times).

Note that the console is a Hong Kong import. All international Switch consoles are region unlocked, meaning they can be used in the US without any problems and without any modification. Likewise, all Switch 2 hardware (like controllers) and physical games are also region unlocked.

Sofirn SP36 Pro 8,000-Lumen EDC LED Flashlight

Licensed JoyToy Warhammer 40K Figures

Audible's Black Friday deal has already kicked off, and it's one of the best I've seen in quite a while. Starting now and running through December 1 (Cyber Monday), new and returning Audible subscribers can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus for just $0.99 per month. Even better, you also get a bonus $20 in Audible credit that you can use on any audibook of your choice. Finally, as part of the Premium Plus subscription, you also get a free audiobook of your choice every month, and you get to keep it indefinitely even after your subscription expires.

Since this is an Amazon Prime exclusive deal, you'll need to be logged into your Prime account to see this promotion. As long as you're not a current subscriber, you should be eligible. After the three months is up, your subscription will convert to the standard $14.95/mo, so make sure to cancel beforehand if you don't want to continue with the service. I haven't confirmed this, but you could potentially use your bonus Audible credit to get one more free month of Premium Plus.

3 Free Months of Audible Premium Plus

Epic Games is teasing an explosive return to Fortnite story content with a Chapter 6 Zero Hour Finale Live Event teaser trailer that packs in heavy-hitter cameos ahead of the inevitable launch of Chapter Seven.

The description for the new Fortnite story video teases that some familiar faces will “assemble in the final endgame to save reality,” and the footage proves it. In just 30 seconds, we see Jonesy dodging giant tentacle monster attacks as Godzilla, King Kong, and Star Wars X-Wings battle overhead. Naturally, a giant, half-naked Homer Simpson then shows up before Uma Thurman’s Kill Bill character, The Bride, swoops in, with the trailer then finally telling players to expect the Fortnite Chapter 6 Zero Hour Finale event to take place November 29 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but the reveal most will pick up off the bat is that Kill Bill appearance. Fans have spent weeks speculating about how Quentin Tarantino’s legendary action series may soon find representation in Fortnite, with today’s teaser finally revealing a first look.

It’s an unveiling that will also surely reinforce rumors that Tarantino himself is involved in some of Epic’s upcoming festivities, with some believing the filmmaker directed its new cinematic. There’s been no official word on what exactly the big finale has in store, but with some eagle-eyed fans already spotting a Fortnite-related premiere at Tarantino’s The Vista Theatre in Los Angeles, the evidence is only getting harder to deny.

As everyone from Godzilla to Homer stomps in for what is poised to be one of the biggest Fortnite events ever, fans can’t help but look forward to how Chapter Seven may shake up the long-running live-service experience’s formula. Some believe Epic is dropping hints that The Seven, a star-studded group that has largely been MIA from Fortnite story content for years, could somehow make a comeback for the Seven-themed Chapter, for example.

Should The Seven return to Epic’s grand video game multiverse, it would likely mean the stars who play them, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Brie Larson, would be back, too. We should find out more about the Fortnite Chapter 6 Zero Hour Finale and Chapter Seven in the coming weeks

In the meantime, players have spent November gallivanting around none other than The Simpsons’ Springfield, as the long-running animated series made its debut with themed skins, Easter Eggs, and more. It’s a crossover that’s been particularly successful for Epic, with players also enjoying the new Sidekicks feature and the return of the Omniverse.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

HP just unloaded an excellent deal on one of the most powerful gaming laptops currently available. The OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5080 gaming laptop starts at just $2,309.99 with free shipping after applying 30% off coupon "OMENMAX30". The RTX 5080 is an absolute monster of a mobile GPU that surpasses the previous generation's top performer, the RTX 4090.

OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop for $2,309.99

As a fighting game fan, I’ve grown to enjoy the process. Spending extended amounts of time in training mode learning the timing of memorized button presses in the hopes that, when it really counts, that practice will pay off. This might be why I found Forestrike, a 2D martial arts inspired roguelite that lets you plan out your approach to solving a gauntlet of combat encounters before executing upon them for real, so uniquely appealing. It successfully evokes the feeling of classic kung fu fight choreography by mixing straight up hand-to-hand combat with clever moments of using the environment to your advantage, or turning an enemy’s own weapon against them, or causing friendly fire simply with an effortless step to the side, all on a 2D plane with minimalist spite art. The precision and memorization needed to accomplish these impressive looking feats can be brutal, especially considering how easy it is for one mistake to cascade into many more, eventually cratering a run, but this clever concept still manages to pack a heck of a punch.

Forestrike puts you in control of Yu, a young martial artist who is part of the Order of the Foresight, a faction dutifully devoted to serving their Emperor, and one that becomes dedicated to the mission of saving said emperor from the manipulation of a being known as The Admiral. There’s a surprising amount of dialogue in Forestrike as we learn more about The Order and the various masters that guide Yu along his journey in between each run. In that way, it’s a lot like the intermissions between runs of Hades, but instead of always looking forward to the new things characters had to say, I generally found myself eager to get on with it so I could get back to fighting. A complete lack of voice acting certainly contributed to this, but the writing and characters themselves also just weren’t strong enough to keep my interest for very long.

Once you’re in an actual run, Forestrike flexes its muscles. It’s structured like a gauntlet of combat encounters against increasingly difficult foes, but before the actual fighting starts you’re able use your foresight technique to essentially do a practice run. That lets you find the right combination of attacks, dodges, and techniques to defeat all of the enemies in the most efficient way possible. Defensive resources like blocks and dodges are extremely limited, and it’s rare that you’ll go into an encounter with more than one of either. At first it felt rather frustrating as I just continuously found myself being forced to burn my dodge or block against the first tough enemy, which meant I wouldn’t be able to avoid the attacks of the last one. Eventually, though, a visual language started to develop as I learned how enemies would react to my actions and how I could use those predictable tendencies to my advantage.

If one enemy was charging me from the right, I could use my dodge resource to move an enemy on my left to the other side, putting him right in the way of that attack. If I was up against an enemy with spikes on the front of their body, I could look for a type of puppet enemy that drops its head when killed, which could then be picked up and thrown to kill the spiked foe from a distance. Figuring out this visual language organically was super satisfying, and I felt like I was getting further and further in my runs not because my character was becoming more powerful, but because I was simply getting better, which is always a great feeling in a roguelite.

What really makes the gameplay sing are the different martial masters that you take along with you in each run, which dictate what techniques you’re able to use. There’s Talgun, who is the master of the Leaf style, which focuses primarily on redirecting enemy attacks so that your foes take each other out; Nodai of the Cold Eye style, which focuses primarily on blocking, restoring health, and brute force; and my favorite, Monkey, who utilizes a wild fighting style that relies on surprising foes with dropkicks, bananas, and resting on the floor so that enemy attacks go right over and slam into the foe behind you.

Each style requires a completely different approach to solving the puzzles of combat, and I loved jumping between them and seeing the many different techniques that unlock the further you get in a run. Each time you beat the boss of one of the four regions, you unlock more techniques that get added to the pool of randomly selected rewards, which essentially acts as the permanent progression that helps give you the extra edge you’ll need to conquer each of the four regions of the campaign.

The one big issue with this formula is that the amount of precision required in some of the later stages can get pretty out of control, especially considering how quickly things can go off the rails with just one error. I’ve had multiple combat encounters where all of my practice runs went flawlessly, but on the actual attempt I was just a hair off on the timing of a single strike, which would essentially cause my whole plan to break down and force me to improvise the rest of the way, which usually leads to either death or near death. That’s just part of the design, but it doesn’t stop it from being extremely frustrating to lose an otherwise great run to what ultimately amounts to being off by just milliseconds one time.

The sprite based art style is intentionally minimalist – much like Skeleton Crew Studio’s previous game, Olija – and for the most part is very charming. The sprites themselves are surprisingly expressive despite their lack of detail, the 2D art is fantastic, and the actual combat animations are great – but for whatever reason the same attention was not given to the walk and run animations, which are some of the most awkward I’ve seen in 2D pixel art. It’s not a huge deal since Yu only really walks and runs in between runs at the monastery, but it’s still a very strange quirk in a game that otherwise looks great.

Not only is Reiner Knizia certainly the most prolific designer in hobby board games, but The Hobbit: There And Back Again isn’t even his first (or second, or third) game based on Tolkien's book for children. First was a 2010 game where players were the hobbit’s dwarf companions, helping on his adventure and trying to escape with as much gold as possible. Then came two 2013 cooperative games. None were particularly well-received, especially when you consider how many Knizia titles could count among the best games of all time. So now he’s back for a fourth bite at the hobbit’s ample table, with an all-new design.

What’s in the Box

Rules and How It Plays

The Hobbit: There and Back Again is fundamentally a path-drawing roll and write game. However many players are competing, someone rolls the five dice, three of which will come up with path symbols that draw a line, often with turns and branches, across one, two or three squares. The other two roll resources, like bread and swords. There are eight scenarios in the game, each with its own page in the included flip-book, and in most of them the goal is to use path symbols to draw a line from a starting point to an end goal, ideally hitting certain squares and avoiding others along the way.

This being a Reiner Knizia game, however, there is a great deal more to this than first meets the eye. For starters, most games of this kind see all the players sharing the results of the roll, marking them up on their own sheets. But this involves dice-drafting so, on your turn, you pick one and remove it from the pool. Instantly this makes the decision more interesting as you’re not only picking to optimize your own route but potentially deny it to other players. For this reason the game works best as a 2-player board game, as it’s easier to keep a close eye on what others are doing. It’s still fun with more, but loses a bit of that interactive edge.

Every scenario also has its own specific requirements to explore. A couple of them are too similar, but for the most part they’re impressively diverse, given the relatively simple core rules. In the first, for example, you have to link 12 starting squares, containing the dwarfs heading to Bilbo’s unexpected party, to his hobbit-hole at Bag End. The second sees you trekking a single route across a dangerous, troll-filled wilderness on your way to the elves at Rivendell. Following adventures involve picking shapes determined by a die roll to surround specific squares, filling in flight routes for eagles to rescue stranded dwarfs, and using paths to rescue burning houses while shooting arrows at the marauding dragon, Smaug.

Further tricksiness is baked into the scoring that determines the winner. In the first adventure you’ll score points for each dwarf that you successfully link to Bilbo’s home, but get a bonus if you have a bread resource ready to feed them first. Except if you look at the available scores closely, you’ll note that might not always be the best idea. You can also get extra points if you connect and feed Thorin, the dwarf leader, and the wizard Gandalf except, crucially, the scenario ends for all players as soon as one of them collects the other 12 dwarfs. There’s also extra score available for collecting sword icons, even though they’re useless in completing the scenario. So there’s a constant temptation to cede ground in the race, fishing for those tasty bonuses.

As you can probably imagine, this setup turns every scenario into a race, with the catch being that you don’t always want to finish first, if falling behind gets you enough extra points to take the win. There are mini-races, too, with a pot of glory points available for the first player to reach particular sub-objectives, like surrounding each riddle symbol in the Gollum chapter. Between the various chases, the random dice rolls, and the uncertainty of who’s going to pull what in the draft, The Hobbit: There and Back thrums with excitement and uncertainty right down until the points are totted up at the end.

Where the game begins to get into stickier territory is replay value. Once you’re played through a scenario and worked out the best way to approach it, the appeal of going through it again begins to drop. But the game has yet another smart twist to try and maintain your interest: unlike most path-making games you can partially draw over previous paths, using your selected shapes to add new bends and junctions, allowing you to reach new areas of the map.

This enriches the spatial puzzle of each scenario tremendously, because there’s no one best route, and you have enormous scope to change up your path each time. When connecting the dwarfs to Bilbo's hole, for instance, you can draw individual paths but you can also link several dwarfs together and then connect them to the hole as a group. Most maps also have squares that give you bonus resources or points, and other squares that you’re discouraged or outright banned from entering. So even when you’ve figured out the scoring, the way the dice fall creates a novel challenge, and there’s always the thrill of the race to anticipate.

What you definitely don’t get is anything other than path-drawing. You can collect wizard hat symbols to unlock one-off extra paths or resource rewards, and if there’s really nothing to do with a die you can assign it to Bilbo the burglar for a wild extra, but this isn’t deep decision-making. And the game is pretty minimal in its evocation of the Hobbit’s narrative. Each scenario tips its hat to Tolkien in visual and spatial terms, but it’s pretty hard to imagine surrounding a troll icon as watching it turn to stone with the break of dawn, especially when the same mechanic is used later to answer riddles.

Where to Buy

• Asmodee Store

I was driving my daughter home from seeing Wicked: For Good last night (a pretty enjoyable experience in my book - the very last shot of the movie is going to stick with me for quite a while) and loaded up Apple Music, as I often do on long car rides in the dark when my 8-year-old passenger is conked out after two-plus hours of binging M&M and Icees. About halfway through the drive, a song I put into heavy rotation more than a decade ago came on: “O Children,” a 6-minute 50-second ode to life, sorrow, and the slow march of time, by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

I’m not what you would call a huge Nick Cave fan. I haven’t spent a ton of time listening to his catalogue. I find his music enjoyable, but it’s not something I seek out on a regular basis. Except for “O Children.”

I ended up adding the song to my music library for one reason alone: it was featured prominently in 2010’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (in my book the second-best Harry Potter film, runner-up only to Alfonso Cuaron’s masterpiece Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). I remember seeing the movie in a theater the day it was released exactly 15 years ago today and immediately Googling “What song do Harry and Hermione dance to?” on my Blackberry.

A decade and a half after the movie’s debut, that scene, a 2-minute non-canon sojourn that barrels through grief, joy, and the heavy burden of young adulthood, stands as the single best moment of the entire eight-film Harry Potter cinematic experience.

Fallout fans have a whole lot to be excited about these days. From Season 2 of the hit Amazon Prime Video series dropping next month to Fallout 4 coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and Fallout 76 getting a Burning Springs expansion, we’re spoiled for content. Fallout Day on October 23 brought even more announcements. With everything that’s coming, there are tons of fun new collectibles and memorabilia to buy or pre-order in anticipation.

IGN Store is stocked up on awesome Fallout exclusives; there’s even a functional, true to the TV series Pip-Boy Die-Cast replica and Lucy's Vault 33 Backpack, both of which would be any cosplayer’s dream. Bethesda’s Gear Store already has the 15th Anniversary Fallout: New Vegas bundle up for preorder, along with mementos from the Mojave Wasteland. Or grab my personal favorite, a decorative, rocket-shaped Nuka Mix bottle to create your own Nuka Mix Station at home.

TL;DR: Top Fallout Gear Any Fan Will Love

Take a look at this curated list of top Fallout gear any fan would love, alongside a handy blurb about each. With the holidays quickly approaching, these items also make great gifts for all the Wastelanders in your life.

Fallout Desert Sandtrack Flea Die-Cast Replica

Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle

Fallout Pip-Boy 3000 Replica

Fallout New Vegas Ranger Statue

Fallout Official Vault 33 Hoodie

Fallout Nuka Mix Glass Bottle & Caps

Fallout Desert Ranger Battle Wearable Helmet

Fallout Lucy's Vault 33 Backpack

Fallout Bottlecap Series: Sunset Sarsaparilla with Collectible Tin

Fallout Vault Boy Resin Plaque

The Alienware 16 Area 51 may just be the most unique gaming laptop I’ve reviewed this year. Its sci-fi-inspired styling immediately makes it stand out from the pack, but its great gaming performance and surprisingly heavy weight – nearly 10lbs with the power adapter included – make this more of a desktop replacement than a typical 16-inch gaming laptop. Its size and weight return with better cooling, high in-game fps, and a luxurious user experience.

The Alienware 16 Area 51 embodies so much of what makes a great gaming laptop, it’s hard not to fall in love – with a couple exceptions. But if you can live with a few trade-offs, what you’re left with is a portable gaming rig that looks, feels, and plays every bit of its $3,000 price point.

Design and Features

Alienware’s designs aren’t always winners, but no one could accuse the brand of playing it safe. I’ve come to expect a healthy dose of science fiction from Alienware products after years of Alien-inspired designs. The last few years in the gaming laptop space have seen the brand strike a middle ground between uniqueness and general good looks, and the Area 51 is one of the best examples.

It’s available in a single colorway, a deep teal which makes up most of its lid. It’s not a common color for gaming laptops but looks beautiful in contrast to the black used throughout the rest of the case. It’s not a machine that will pass for a business laptop anytime soon, unless business laptops start shipping with glowing alien heads on the lid and full RGB keyboard decks, but it’s not garish enough to be distracting if you turn off the lighting.

There are two less-common display upgrade options to choose from, and I recommend taking advantage of both. When you customize your own system, you can choose between a 4K and 1080p webcam and, surprisingly, there’s no price difference between them (though, presumably, the 4K camera will have a small impact on battery life, but I wasn’t able to test this to confirm). You can also choose between a standard or fully mechanical gaming keyboard with Cherry Ultra-Low Profile switches for an additional $50.

I was surprised to find that Dell didn’t outfit the system with an OLED display like the Razer Blade 16 and other close competitors around its price. Instead, it uses a 16-inch WQXGA IPS display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Though it can’t deliver anywhere near the same black levels as an OLED, it looks very good and delivers a crisp picture thanks to its 2560x1600 resolution and esports-ready 240Hz refresh rate. It also doesn’t carry the same risk of burn-in or reduced performance over time and still offers great colors and 500 nits of peak brightness for use during the day.

The system is a chunker, though. On its own, it weighs in at 7.49lbs and is 1.1 inches thick at its tallest point. If you actually plan on gaming and want the best performance, you’ll also need to lug around the bulky power brick, which adds another couple of pounds. Frankly, it’s not the kind of system I personally want to carry around every day. You feel every bit of its weight, even without the brick, which makes this system feel much more like a desktop replacement rather than something you’d actually carry with you throughout the day. But you can, so for the intermittent gaming marathon at a friend's house or the campus library, it could still be a compelling option.

It comes with a generous port selection, so connecting peripherals or a docking station won’t be an issue. And I have to commend Alienware for making good use of its added thickness by putting most of that I/O around the back where it won’t get in the way of a mouse. There are three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, two Type-C Thunderbolt ports (version four for the RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 and Thunderbolt 5 for everything higher), and a full-size HDMI 2.1 video-out for connecting a monitor. Thunderbolt 5 is a major upgrade here, offering up to 80Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth to support the highest resolution external monitors. The power brick also connects around the rear and uses a straight plug that doesn’t get in the way of other cables. The only other ports are on the left side. There, you’ll find an SD card reader and an audio combo jack.

The system also makes good use of its size for cooling. There are plenty of vents to bring cool air in and exhaust it out the back, away from your hands. The keyboard gets warm when gaming but doesn’t get hot or uncomfortable to use. The vent right above it does, but it’s away from your fingers. I recorded a peak temperature of 86°C after benchmarking for a good hour, which is well away from the range of thermal throttling. The system also didn’t get excessively loud, though like other high-performance gaming laptops, its fans are loud enough to warrant headphones if white noise bothers you – or you could just crank up the speakers.

The sound quality on the built-in speakers is surprisingly full-bodied compared to what you would usually expect from a gaming laptop. It uses dual two-watt speakers for bass, complete with their own amplifier that’s separate from its pair of two-watt tweeters. This isn’t common in gaming laptops, or even full-size gaming PCs, and allows the system to sound louder and more full as a result. Watching Netflix or listening to music with the included speakers is a no-brainer. For gaming, I would still opt for a gaming headset due to the loud fans.

My sample was sent with the Cherry mechanical keyboard, and it is 100% worth the cost to upgrade. Though it’s a little louder than a membrane keyboard, Cherry’s ultra low profile switches are sublime to type on with great tactility and the classic precision feel iconic to mechanical keyboards. They’re also per-key backlit and fully programmable, so you can change colors and assign macros to your heart’s content.

The trackpad also stands out by not being oversized like most other gaming laptops. It measures 4.5 by 2.5 inches, which I prefer to the massive trackpads on most gaming laptops. It may not offer as much real estate for gaming, but it stays out of the way for typing and, let’s be real, who uses a trackpad for serious gaming anyway? Like the keyboard, it’s also backlit and able to deliver a convincing RGB wave of its own.

The 4K webcam on my sample was also excellent. It handled challenging lighting well and its sharper quality was immediately noticeable. But since most teleconferencing apps still limit you to 1080p, whether it’s a real benefit over the FHD version will depend on how you plan to use it. There’s no privacy shutter, which is a bummer, but it does support Windows Hello and worked reliably for me throughout my testing.

There’s another interesting feature around the bottom of the system. Like the Razer Blade 18, Dell has added a window into the bottom panel giving you a peek into its internals. The pane is made of Gorilla Glass for durability and scratch resistance, and is surrounded by a protective lip, but I could still see this getting microscratches over time.

Software

The Alienware 16 comes with the Alienware Command Center for system configuration. It’s a very polished suite that’s designed to be easy to use, so newcomers don’t need to worry about being overwhelmed. At the same time, it offers more depth for advanced users that may want to try their hand at overclocking.

Opening it up for the first time, you’re given a brief introduction to its different capabilities and then dropped into the Command Center home page. This page provides you with a quick overview of system diagnostics like CPU and GPU utilization and temperature data. The same panel allows you to change your current performance mode, launch games, and, by clicking on the graphic of the laptop, customize the lighting of the keyboard, trackpad, and logo on the lid.

If you click into the Performance tab, you’ll be treated to a much larger view of the diagnostics from the home page. Along the top are six different modes: ExpressCharge for quicker charging, Quiet, Balanced, Performance, Overdrive, and Custom. Clicking a tooltip to the right shows details for each mode in both a star ranking and in text, so you know exactly how each balances performance, temperatures, and battery life.

The game launcher is a nice addition, but I personally never use systems like this. It essentially doubles up on Steam and other launchers. I could see launching a game from here if you had it open anyway, but otherwise, it just adds another piece of software running in the background.

Performance

The Alienware 16 Area 51 has a lot going for it in the design department, but that doesn’t amount to much if the laptop doesn’t hold its own when it comes to gaming. The system definitely does, and I suspect it has to do with its cooling system, but there’s more to the story than pure numbers.

Before getting into facts and figures, a quick reminder about our testing procedure at IGN. Every system we test is put through a series of synthetic and in-game benchmarks, all with the same settings and matching conditions, so we can provide the best comparisons possible. While the synthetic benchmarks we use are all standardized, in-game benchmarks offer many more options. To keep things consistent, we set all of our games to high or max settings and demonstrate the performance with different levels of upscaling and frame generation. Our settings are disclosed in the charts.

For this review, I’m presenting the Alienware 16 in comparison to the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16, which uses the same processor and graphics card. I’ve also included the Razer Blade 16, which utilizes the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 CPU and the higher performance RTX 5090, but in a thinner and more portable design.

The Alienware 16 Area 51 I reviewed is a high-performance configuration with a steep $3,000 price point to match, but you don’t need to spend that much if you’re willing to scale back on some of the components. Dropping to an Intel Core Ultra 5 255 HX and an RTX 5060 graphics card drops the price all the way to $1,849 when ordered direct from Dell.

To its credit, the company provides plenty of configuration options to help you dial in the system for your needs. In addition to the two processor options, you can choose any Nvidia laptop GPU up to the RTX 5090, and choosing anything from the RTX 5070 Ti up also nets you the higher performance CPU. It can be configured with up to 64GB of memory and 12TB of NVMe storage, both of which are user upgradeable.

Beginning with synthetics, the Alienware 16 comes out swinging, eking out higher scores across the board compared to the Aorus Master 16. Every score is close, as you would expect from a system with the same core components, but the consistently higher performance definitely points to a better implementation from Dell. The Blade 16 bests both in 3DMark’s Speed Way and Steel Nomad benchmarks thanks to its higher-performance RTX 5090. The results of the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark highlight the advantage the Intel Core Ultra 9 275 HX offers over the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370.

The Alienware’s performance advantage remains consistent when we move to in-game benchmarks. Performance remains expectedly close between it and the Aorus Master 16, but it still pulls the same or slightly better performance across everything but Assassin’s Creed Shadows with frame generation disabled. The difference is small enough to not be noticeable and potentially a result of a process spinning up in the background.

At the laptop’s native 1600p resolution, the trend continues. With the exception of Assassin’s Creed, the Alienware 16 pulls a consistent, if small, lead over the Aorus and both of them match or beat the Razer Blade 16 more often than you might expect.

The Alienware 16’s cooling system may be the cause, as the Aorus Master reached a peak of 93ºC in my testing. It could also be how Dell has configured power delivery for the laptop. Either way, it offers impressive performance even in demanding games.

When it comes to use as a daily driver, it’s mostly excellent. The keyboard is the best I’ve ever used on a gaming laptop, even topping the MSI Titan 18 HX AI which also has a Cherry ULP mechanical keyboard. The trackpad has also been one of my favorites. I prefer a smaller trackpad in general, but the accuracy and reliability it offered were fantastic. This is one of the only laptops I’ve tested where I didn’t misclick or activate it by accident even once, despite cranking out thousands of words in the time I’ve had it.

The biggest issue facing it is how heavy it is and just how much it needs its power brick. Gaming performance takes a big hit the minute it’s unplugged and battery life plummets. This goes with the territory for gaming laptops, of course, but most others with this size display aren’t tipping the scales as heavily as the Alienware 16. The Aorus Master 16, for comparison, is almost two pounds lighter while offering similar performance and a nicer OLED screen. Battery life tanks when it’s unplugged too, of course, but at least it’s easier to carry with the power brick.

For pure productivity, it works well and you’ll be able to get a few hours out of it for mixed use. But, in that case, you can also take advantage of its Thunderbolt ports and charge it with a much smaller 100W GaN charger. Just be warned, it’s not enough to overcome the power draw when you’re gaming, or to unlock its full performance, so it’s a solution that only works some of the time.

When it comes to battery life, the Alienware 16 was able to last just over six hours in Procyon’s battery life test with the screen set to half brightness. I personally find this is a bit too dim for my own use, even indoors, but that comes down to preference. At that brightness and with mixed use between Google Docs, Sheets, web browsing, and Microsoft Office, it lasted closer to four hours with Energy Saver mode turned on.

Ahead of Black Friday, the Bose Outlet eBay store is offering some huge discounts on certified refurbished speakers. That includes the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, Bose's biggest and most impressive soundbar speaker with Dolby Atmos and Bose TrueSpace Technology. It normally retails for $1,000 new, but you can get a certified refurbished model for just $550.00 with free delivery. That's 45% off and it even comes with a 2 year AllState warranty.

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar for $550 (was $999)

Certified Refurbished

More recently than I’d like to admit, I was convinced that no soundbar could reproduce the sound quality found with good home theater speakers and an amplifier. It seems that Samsung, Sonos, LG, and the rest of the soundbar world took that assumption personally because today’s roster of soundbar systems has revolutionized what’s possible in terms of getting great sound without the hassle of furnishing an entire home theater setup. From high-powered Dolby Atmos systems to compact, all-in-one solutions, there’s no shortage of great-sounding setups that suit all kinds of needs.

The question now is, with all kinds of soundbar options, where do you go from here? And how do you find the bar that best fits your personal preferences? We have answers. As a tech journalist who has personally tested and reviewed dozens of soundbars over the years, I’ve hand-built a robust list of the best soundbars you can find in 2025.

TL;DR: The Best Soundbars

1. Samsung HW-Q990F

Best Overall

2. Sonos Arc Ultra

Best Dolby Atmos Soundbar

3. LG S95TR

Best Soundbar for Bass

4. Vizio V21-H8

Best Cheap Soundbar

5. Vizio Elevate SE Soundbar

Best Surround Sound Value

6. Klipsch Flexus Core 200

Best Soundbar for Small Rooms

How to Pick a Soundbar

The number of soundbars out there can be a bit dizzying, making it hard to choose which one will work best for you. Here’s a bit of advice to help guide you along.

How Many Audio Channels Do You Need?

Soundbars come with different channel options that will simulate the surround sound of a speaker system. If you’re just looking to watch some TV and listen to some music with a soundbar, 2 channels and maybe a subwoofer should have you covered. A 3.1 channel soundbar will come with a center speaker dedicated to dialogue. So, if you find you’re struggling to hear what’s being said while binging talky shows like Severance or Succession, this will be a good option.

With 5.1 channels or more, your speaker system will be ready to take on all the action in your favorite movies and games. Additional speakers and subwoofers typically come with this many channels; however some soundbars can pack all that noise into a great-sounding all-in-one system.

What Type of Connectivity Do You Need?

When looking at a soundbar, it is important to make note of its connections. An HDMI ARC (or eARC) is standard in most soundbars and TVs these days. This will simplify your life, as it’s the only cord needed to get your TV sending its audio through the soundbar. A Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection should also be on your shortlist if you're looking to listen to other devices on your soundbar. If you rely on voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, you should look for a soundbar that’s compatible with those, too.

What About Dolby Atmos?

If you want the latest and greatest in sound technology, include a soundbar with support for Dolby Atmos in your search. Dolby Atmos can provide excellent virtual three-dimensional sound, turning any room into a theater. Just be sure your soundbar comes packing some up-firing drivers, subwoofer, and rear sounds. Some other impressive sound formats coming out include DTS:X and Sony’s 360 Reality, so you may want to find a soundbar that supports those as well.

Best Soundbars FAQs

What’s the difference between 2.0, 2.1, and 5.1 soundbars?

• 2.0 Soundbars: These have two channels (left and right) but no subwoofer. They provide stereo sound, which is ideal for general TV viewing and smaller spaces.
• 2.1 Soundbars: These have two channels plus a subwoofer (the “.1”), adding more depth and bass, which enhances movies, music, and gaming.
• 5.1 Soundbars: These include five channels (front left, front center, front right, rear left, rear right) and a subwoofer, providing surround sound. Some 5.1 soundbars use extra speakers or virtual surround technology to create an immersive audio experience.

How do I know if a soundbar is compatible with my TV?

Most modern soundbars connect to TVs via HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) or optical audio cables. Check that your TV has one of these ports, which should cover most soundbars on the market. Some soundbars also support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or AirPlay for additional streaming and connectivity options.

Do I need a subwoofer with my soundbar?

A subwoofer isn’t required, but it can enhance the audio experience by adding deep bass. If you enjoy action movies, music, or gaming, a subwoofer can make a big difference. Many soundbars include a built-in subwoofer or come with a wireless sub, which is ideal if you want rich sound without adding multiple speakers.

What is Dolby Atmos, and do I need it?

Dolby Atmos is an advanced object-based surround sound technology that adds height channels, creating a three-dimensional audio experience, making it seem as if sound comes from all directions, even above. While it’s not essential, Atmos can significantly enhance the cinematic experience.

Can I stream music through my soundbar?

Yes, many soundbars offer Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing you to stream music from your smartphone or favorite streaming service. Look for soundbars with Bluetooth, Chromecast, or AirPlay if music streaming is a priority.

Nick Woodward is a sportswriter-turned-tech journalist, covering A/V tech as a contributor at IGN.

You don't see many 20,000mAh power banks priced under $20, but then again Black Friday is just around the corner. Amazon is currently offering an Iniu 20,000mAh 22.5W Power Bank for just $15.29 after an automatic 49% coupon is applied. Better yet, you don't need to be an Amazon Prime member to get in on this deal. The 22.5W power output makes it an ideal power bank for your Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 console, and the bigger 20,000mAh capacity is perfect for longer airplane flights or when you're away from an outlet for an extended period of time.

Iniu 20,000mAh 22.5W USB Power Bank for $15.29

Haha. Yeah, I know. "Half-Life 3". The long-fabled, often-rumored, still non-existent third numbered entry in the Half-Life series that fans have craved but never heard a credible whisper of. It's been a pervasive joke in the industry and among fans for years, a stand-in for a thing that doesn't exist and never would.

And yet, for some reason, a lot of people seem to think it's being announced soon. Possibly in the next few weeks. Maybe even today.

You might have seen it. The sudden flurry of mentions of Half-Life 3, some humorous, some quite serious. The surge of memes. A handful of people that seem to have lost their dang minds:

Update 1:09pm PT: Originally, I had included several embeds of Reddit posts of people desperately praying and begging for a Half-Life 3 announcement. However, the r/halflife mods appear to be removing them, seemingly due to the subreddit's rule against "low-value submissions", aka memes, and perhaps due to the sheer volume of these posts recently. These have subsequently been replaced by more posts wishing for Half-Life 3 - honestly, just check out the subreddit, I'm sure you'll see some good ones that haven't been deleted yet.

Original story continues below:

So what's going on? Why do people think Half-Life 3 is imminent, seriously or unseriously? We investigated:

Half-Hope

Half-Life 3 rumors have existed pretty much since Half-Life 2 first released, so that's nothing new. But the last couple of years have seen a steady trickle of interesting little threads that have lead many to believe that a third entry was actually in development, quietly, at Valve. There were vague nods, such as the Half-Life: Alyx team saying they wanted to make more Half-Life games and a Final Hours documentary that actually confirmed it was in development at one point between 2013 and 2014. We've also seen dataminers pulling crumbs from various Valve releases over the last few years of what seems to be an in-development game internally at Valve known only as "HLX", using Source 2. Dataminers have worked out that it's a full-fledged, non-VR, Half-Life game of some sort, that's been in the works since at least 2021, probably earlier. That game is possibly the same one as was accidentally leaked by a voice actor in 2024, who referred to it as "Project White Sands".

But this year there's been a marked increase in little breadcrumbs. Right after the new year, G-Man's voice actor issued a cryptic post teasing "unexpected surprises" in 2025 – it was his first tweet since he congratulated Valve on Half-Life: Alyx in December 2020. Fans proceeded to tear apart the post, delving deep into an album cover image and the number 197 for what they believed were even more hints that something was in the works.

But an already simmering pot of rumors turned into a full boil with the announcement last week of new Valve hardware: the Steam Machine, complete with a new Steam controller, and a VR headset known as the Steam Frame. Notably, there were no software announcements alongside these hardware reveals, which is a bit odd given that Valve tends to release new games alongside new hardware - recall Half-Life: Alyx and the Valve Index headset. Around the same time, a number of Valve and industry insiders began mentioning Half-Life 3, saying confidently that it was planned for a 2025 announcement still. One leaker, who has a good track record of getting Valve stuff right, said back in May that Half-Life 3 was officially "playable, end-to-end." There's a massive Miro board floating around that has catalogued every remotely credible recent mention of Half-Life 3, and is worth digging into if you want follow along.

Go, G-Man, Go

There are so many other weird little indicators floating around that are leading to wild speculation. For instance, Valve's "Upcoming Releases" tab on its own Steam page only lists one game (Deadlock) despite the sidebar indicating that there are two upcoming game releases. A tweet/X post from the official The Game Awards account commemorating Half-Life's 27th anniversary today has sent everyone into a frenzy, even though it tweets this anniversary every year. There was a weird amount of extra security at Valve during the recent Steam hardware preview events – something noticed by IGN's own representatives and contrasted with my personal experience there for Half-Life: Alyx years ago, which featured a relatively normal and relaxed amount of security.

And there was an incredibly silly saga where Geoff Keighley posted a screenshot that showed he had one game in his Steam wishlist. When asked what the game was, he responded with an eyes emoji. Of course, the Half-Life nerds pounced. Keighley then posted a screenshot of his wishlist showing only the game "Dadlympics," but notably, this was added on 11/18, the same day he posted the screenshot, suggesting he's hiding something. Is he hiding Half-Life 3? Probably not! It doesn't have a viewable Steam page! That's not how Steam works! But that hasn't stopped Half-Life 3 fans from freaking out. Seriously, the replies are hilarious.

pic.twitter.com/t5L0zHW0Il

— arda (@lornarcoss) November 18, 2025

Whatever you believe is happening here, the reality is that this has resulted in the community going completely bonkers. The Half-Life subreddit is overflowing with Half-Life 3 summoning and hope posts. A quick search for Half-Life on Twitter/X reveals an overflow of discourse, prayers, and memes. It's kind of nuts, and also really, really fun:

Okay, so let's say everyone's right, and we really are getting Half-Life 3 announced soon. When? Well, some think it's as soon as today. November 19, as The Game Awards posted, is the anniversary of Half-Life – what better time to make an announcement? We've already passed the anniversary of Half-Life 2, and the anniversary of Half-Life: Alyx's announcement, but that particular anniversary is the reason you're likely seeing so much noise around this today. The other big possibility floated by some is an announcement at The Game Awards, which is coming up on December 11. That would be a little surprising, given that Valve doesn't need an awards show to command attention with such an announcement. But Valve also has a long history of friendliness with host Geoff Keighley, so maybe it's not so far-fetched after all.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain: either Half-Life 3 is getting announced before December 31, 2025, or an awful lot of folks are going to have egg on their faces come January 1, 2026. I'm personally hoping for the former, but the community has been hoodwinked before with Half-Life rumors, multiple times even. Keep injecting that Hopium, folks. Perhaps the return of G-man is right around the corner.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride update finally has a release date: November 20. It adds a number of new features, including challenges, a first-person driving camera, classic difficulty, and photo mode.

The major update to Hangar 13’s narrative adventure is a callback to the original Mafia’s Free Ride Extreme and the Free Ride mode in Mafia: Definitive Edition. As explained by Peter Amato, Content Manager at publisher 2K in a post on the PlayStation Blog, Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride update is a collection of challenges separate from the main story that give players chances to revisit the world in a “more self-guided way.” Veteran fans of the series will find that Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride mode will be slightly different from previous titles as a result.

The repeatable challenges include combat, stealth, and different race types. Completing them earns you the Dinari in-game currency to spend on the new outfits, charms, weapons, and vehicles unlocked by progressing through this content (as well as on items unlocked via the campaign).

“We want players to explore the world in a freeform way, and Free Ride turns it into an expansive hub where you’ll find and access various challenges by travelling around, unlocking Hitching Posts, and meeting contacts,” Amato said. “Challenges are instanced and accessed via these contacts, and doing so will place you into a combat location or special world state.

“These combat encounters reuse mission locations, so once you’ve played the corresponding story chapter and unlocked a Challenge in Free Ride, you’ll get to re-experience areas in new ways. Races happen out in the world and we’ve placed them along less-traveled paths, so it should be fun seeing parts of the map you may have previously passed by.

“Of course, there may be new places to explore too, but that’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself…”

There are a lot of mobile gaming controllers on the market today, but few offer the versatility and comfort of the Backbone Pro. And if you've been holding off on taking the plunge because of how expensive it is, you'll be excited to hear that this top-tier phone controller is currently at its lowest price since it first launched earlier this year.

Backbone Pro Early Black Friday Deals

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Shuichi Shigeno's massively popular street racing manga, Initial D. The series centers on the life of Takumi Fujiwara, a high school student who digs high-stakes racing through narrow mountain passes.

When the manga began its run in 1995, Takumi's car of choice, the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno that doubles as his dad's tofu delivery vehicle, became synonymous with street racing and drifting. The manga ran for 18 years in Kōdansha’s Weekly Young Magazine, and it inspired a popular animated series in 1998, several video games across numerous consoles, and a recent arcade game.

The story is about Takumi and his colleagues becoming "hashiriya," or street racers. But Takumi initially doesn't take racing or driving very seriously. If he's behind the wheel of his Sprinter Trueno, it's to make a tofu delivery for his dad to the resort at the peak of Mount Akina. That’s a fictional place, but it expertly portrays the heart-stopping twists and steep curves in the roads that snake up many real Japanese mountainsides.

Takumi often practices drifting to pass the time while he makes his deliveries. His tight handling combined with the off-white color of the Sprinter Trueno makes people in the area wonder if there’s a ghost haunting the mountain pass.

When a rival group of racers called the Agaki RedSuns move in on the mountain peak and insist they're after Akina's speed record, Takumi's senior coworker and eventual friend, Iketani Kōichirō, starts to wonder if he can track down this "ghost" and convince him to join his own team, the Speed Stars. He thinks the ghost might be Takumi's father, a former hashiriya himself.

But while Kōichirō is right about there being a phantom driver, he's wrong about who's behind the wheel: It's just Takumi making his early morning tofu deliveries. After agreeing to race, Takumi soundly beats the leader of the RedSuns, Keisuke Takahashi, by out-maneuvering him with tight hairpin turns and other near-deadly feats of driving trickery. From there, Takumi discovers his calling as a hashiriya and goes ripping down the roads for years afterward.

Initial D is still well-loved for being a bit of an underdog story. Takumi doesn't necessarily want to be a racer; things just worked out that way for him, and he decides to confront his own destiny. His dad's faithful Sprinter Trueno became a mascot for street racing in Japan and beyond. It's an underdog itself, as Takumi often finds himself up against bigger, flashier cars. But Takumi emphasizes maneuverability over power, which is how he's able to keep up with (and eventually outduel) his rivals.

Now, Toyota is paying tribute to Initial D's history and the legacy of the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno with its GR86 RZ sports car. With its sleek, low-riding stature, it's right at home among the speed demons that populate Initial D's fast-paced world. You can even see the GR86 RZ zipping through Initial D The Arcade, a 2021 arcade racing game. In 2022, the GR86 RZ and Initial D also teamed up to make an animated commercial where Takumi engages in a stomach-dropping race up in the mountains. The rivals jostle each other until they reach the end of the line and the driver of the GR86 RZ is revealed: Takumi's own father and former street racing legend, Bunta Fujiwara.

While the AE86 and GR86 will be forever associated with Initial D, Toyota populates racetracks around the world with all kinds of vehicles. Racing fiends with pedal-to-the-metal appetites can watch Toyota Gazoo Racing's motorsports tear up the tracks worldwide, from Formula One to NASCAR and beyond. Maybe no person alive can out-drive the legendary Takumi Fujiwara, but TGR’s drivers can put on one heck of a show.

The Initial D manga’s run has been done for some time, but its spirit is alive and well — you can still see its influence in racing games and movies today as well as through motorsport divisions like TGR. Mangaka Shuichi Shigeno depicted cars in a way that made them characters themselves, proving there are many ways to make an impression on the world.

If you are planning a PC build and have been waiting patiently to get ahold of one of the new Nvidia Blackwell graphics cards that can run games in 4K, your time has finally come. Right now the PNY GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card has dropped to just $699 with free shipping. It's sold and shipped directly from Walmart or Amazon and not a marketplace reseller. Orders are limited to just one per person and even still it's going to go out of stock pretty quickly.

PNY GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU in Stock for $699

As expected, the video game characters are out of the console. The first look from Jumanji 3 is here, and it shows us something we kind of already knew was going to happen, but love nonetheless: the film’s main characters are in the real world now.

“Look who’s on the loose,” Sony Pictures’ official Twitter/X account shared on Wednesday, November 19, alongside a photo of Dwayne Johnson's Dr. Xander 'Smolder' Bravestone, Karen Gillan's Ruby Roundhouse, Kevin Hart's Franklin 'Mouse' Finbar, and Jack Black's Professor Sheldon 'Shelly' Oberon standing in the middle of a residually snowy wintertime Boston street. That means they’ve left the video game world of Jumanji — and there’s a chance they might have an encounter with the real-life board game now that they’re beyond the console.

Look who’s on the loose 👀 #JumanjiMovie is coming exclusively to theatres Christmas 2026.

📷: @hhgarcia41 pic.twitter.com/WRbOxesuk6

— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) November 19, 2025

The first two films in the spinoff franchise — 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level — saw the characters getting pulled into a Jumanji video game, so it’s clear that the last film in the franchise is changing up the tactic.

It feels like there’s a big chance the characters will encounter the actual board game in this installment, and one of the biggest hints in favor of that plot point is the fact that Johnson’s character will be wearing a dice necklace in the film meant to pay homage to the original 1995 classic.

"The significance of the dice in the last picture is a little Easter egg that my character, Dr. Smolder Bravestone, wears on a necklace in our final film," the actor recently shared on Instagram. "It’s the dice from the original 1995 JUMANJI and a way of paying homage, love, and respect to the great Robin Williams."

Johnson also shared that the movie will officially be the final installment in the franchise. "What a massive, fun, heartfelt adventure," Johnson wrote in a post that highlighted the film’s first table read. "Feels emotionally appropriate for our beloved JUMANJI franchise to end on this beautiful grace note of our final film."

Jumanji 3 is set to be released in theaters on December 11, 2026.

Image credit: @hhgarcia41.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.