Publisher Paradox Interactive has today taken the blame for the poor sales of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2.

The long in development sequel launched in October and was met with a ‘mixed’ Steam user review response, with fans saying it failed to meet the expectations they had for the sequel to Troika’s 2004 cult classic Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. IGN’s Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 review returned a 7/10. We said: “Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 takes another flawed but unique and remarkable bite at the jugular, with plenty to love and loathe alike, but I certainly enjoyed my time as an elder vampire at the very least.”

Now, after 30 days on sale, Paradox has issued a note to financial markets signalling a write-down valued at 355 million SEK (approx. $37 million) of capitalized development costs for Bloodlines 2. This write-down, Paradox said, was based on an updated sales forecast now it has had a month to look at Bloodlines’ commercial performance.

Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, said the blame for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2’s failure lay at the publisher’s door, not that of The Chinese Room, which had been drafted in to save the project after years of development hell.

“Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is a strong vampire fantasy and we are pleased with the developers’ work on the game,” Wester said.

“We’ve had high expectations for a long time, since we saw that it was a good game with a strong IP in a genre with a broad appeal. A month after release we can sadly see that sales do not match our projections, which necessitates the write-down. The responsibility lies fully with us as the publisher. The game is outside of our core areas, in hindsight it is clear that this has made it difficult for us to gauge sales. Going forward, we focus our capital to our core segments and, at the same time, we’ll evaluate how we best develop World of Darkness’ strong brand catalogue in the future.”

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has two expansions planned as part of the game’s Premium Edition, and Paradox said it remains committed to delivering them. “Our post-release plan remains firm; we will deliver updates and the promised expansions to the game in the coming year,” Wester added.

Swedish game company Paradox’s main focus is on grand strategy games, which have proven enormously successful over the years. Games such as Stellaris, Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, and Cities: Skylines have all enjoyed big sales, and, in total, Paradox games have six million players each month.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, however, falls outside that core grand strategy genre, and always looked like it would struggle upon release. And while its development trouble began years ago, it suffered issues right up to launch. In September, a month before release, Paradox and The Chinese Room announced that the Lasombra and Toreador clans would be available in the base Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 experience following a backlash from players.

Paradox announced Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 all the way back in 2019 with then-developer Hardsuit aiming for a Q1 2020 release window. That, of course, never happened, as Paradox would go on to announce an indefinite delay alongside Hardsuit's departure from the project. The Chinese Room was then announced as its new developer in 2023.

In a recent interview with the Goth Boss podcast, former creative director Dan Pinchbeck said the development team tried to work out how to get Paradox to not call the game Bloodlines 2.

"The tricky question around it was Bloodlines 1," Pinchbeck said. "Are you making a sequel to Bloodlines 1? We used to sit there and have these planning sessions of how do we get them to not call it Bloodlines 2? That feels like the most important thing we do here, to come at this and say this isn't Bloodlines 2. We can't make Bloodlines 2; there's not enough time, there's not enough money.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Sideshow is hosting its biggest sale of the year for Black Friday! In case you're not familiar with Sideshow, it's one of the top brands out there for collectibles, with six scale figures, dioramas, art prints and other impressive items across some of the biggest franchises. Because Sideshow is a high-end action figure manufacturer, the prices of its incredibly detailed statues and figures are also typically steep, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars each. However, with Black Friday and gifting season in mind, Sideshow is offering a special BOGO sale right now for serious collectors to take advantage of.

That's not all, either. Sideshow is also running a 40% off sale on several in-stock items. So if you don't have the budget to throw down hundreds on a new collector's item right now, there's plenty of other officially-licensed and high quality toys, books, and smaller statues to choose from and satisfy your collector's itch. Keep scrolling to find out everything you need to know about the BOGO sale, and to see some of my favorite items found within the wider (up to 40% off) sale.

Editor's Note: This article is brought to you by Sideshow.

Sideshow's Black Friday BOGO-Type Offer

My Favorite Deals on Sideshow Right Now:

Highlighted Deal: Stan Lee 1/6th scale Marvel collectible figure at 40% off

Hot Toys and Sideshow collaborated on this special Stan Lee® collectible figure, based on his memorable cameo appearance in Thor: Ragnarok. The details and artistry here are insane!

See below for additional terms and conditions so you can take advantage of this big Free Figure promotion from Sideshow.

Browse all the Black Friday Deals on Sideshow right now while supplies last.

Terms and Conditions for this sale:

From November 10 through December 28, 2025*, Sideshow is excited to offer a special promotion on qualifying purchases** to help fans build their collection. On eligible in-stock orders of $300 or more, customers can claim a free Sixth Scale Figure from one of two options with their purchase. On eligible in-stock orders of $450 or more, customers can claim a free Sixth Scale Figure from one of four options with their purchase. The free figures on offer are subject to availability, and options will change weekly.

From November 24 through December 7, 2025*, customers can claim a free item from one of three options with their purchase. On eligible in-stock orders of $450 or more, customers can claim a free item from one of five options with their purchase. The free items on offer are subject to availability, and options will change weekly. Only one offer can be claimed per purchase, but you can place multiple qualifying transactions throughout the promotion period.

*While supplies last.

**Some exclusions apply.

Lindsey (she/her) is IGN's Director of Audience Development and Commerce. She's been at IGN since 2021 and has a background in SEO, especially in the gaming, entertainment, and tech media spaces.

The holidays tend to be the busiest time of year for most folks, from shopping and parties to baking and wrapping, there’s a lot to get done. ECOVACS Robotics lets you check off a few items on the seemingly endless to-do list. Right now, a bunch of the brand's top cleaning robots are on sale via Amazon for Black Friday, and are the biggest deals we’ve seen all year. One robot is even discounted by over 60%. However, these killer savings won’t last forever as the sale ends on Cyber Monday, December 1st.

Editor's Note: This article is brought to you buy ECOVACS

Enjoy Big Savings on ECOVACS Robotics for Black Friday

The X11 OMNICYCLONE may be overkill for smaller households or different lifestyles, so finding a mid-tier or budget model could be a better, more economical option. The DEEBOT X9 PRO OMNI offers almost everything the X11 OMNICYCLONE has, albeit in a more toned-down way. But, at nearly 50% off, costing just $699.99, it’s an absolute steal.

For something even more affordable, ECOVACS has DEEBOT N20e Plus for $299. You lose out on mopping, but it still delivers powerful suction and features a self-emptying base. It’s the ideal option for first-time robot vacuum users or those with smaller spaces.

2 - Meet the impressive WINBOT MINI Window Cleaner, on sale for 20% off

Now, those are just a sampling of the many deeply discounted robot vacuums from ECOVACS for Black Friday. But the floors aren’t the only part of your home that may need a little extra attention; your windows might require some TLC, too. The WINBOT MINI attaches to your window and methodically cleans to get all that extra grime off the glass, and you can get it for over 20% off right now. For heavy-duty window cleaning, upgrading to the WINBOT W2 PRO OMNI is the way to go. It cleans large, hard-to-reach glass and features a multifunctional base station. Best of all, it’s an even better deal at nearly 50% off.

Amazon has almost every Ultra Pro Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy playmat on sale during its early Black Friday sale. A small number of popular mats, like fan-favorite Vivi, Stray Black Mage are sold out, but there are many other mats with incredible art to pick from at new discounted prices.

Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy Playmats On Sale

If you're new to TCGs, people use playmats as a way to show off their favorite art or accomplishments, and also for practical reasons: have you tried picking up cards off of a kitchen table? I assure you, it gets annoying fast.

With the Final Fantasy crossover set that launched this past June, TCG accessory maker Ultra Pro released tons of playmats featuring some of the most iconic characters and moments from throughout the game series' long history, including Y'shtola from Final Fantasy XIV and Lightning from XIII. Mats for Final Fantasy VII characters Cloud and Tifa feature the new art from their cards, and some mats, like those for Clive or Sephiroth, are double-sided to represent mechanics of the cards they're based on.

Whichever Final Fantasy character speaks to you the most, odds are there's a playmat for you to bring to your game night or local game store for some cardboard slinging. These also make great mousepads if you're in the market to spruce up your home office or gaming setup.

If you've been on the lookout for MTG Final Fantasy cards, Amazon has the Revival Trance Commander deck featuring Terra on sale for 53% off, and Final Fantasy play booster boxes (30 packs) are at their lowest price ever for Black Friday, down to $162.57 (22% off).

More Magic: The Gathering Gifts

Be sure to check out our detailed Magic: The Gathering gift guide for inspiration while shopping for that special Planeswalker in your life. Everything from recommended deck boxes and dice packs, to card binders and even apparel, this guide covers everthing they'll need to protect their collection and give it some flare.

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

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X has been out for over a month now, and while it is an expensive device, you probably won’t see any real discounts for Black Friday. This is thanks in large part to Asus needing to ramp up production to meet demand, because even its high price wasn’t enough to stop people from buying it, apparently.

But while you won’t be able to save a bunch of cash on the system itself, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good time to get the Xbox Ally X or load up on accessories if you already have one

How Much Does It Cost?

A quality chair is arguably one of the most important parts of any gaming setup. They get expensive quickly, but there is relief, thankfully, in the form of Black Friday deals on great chairs like Secretlab's Titan Evo, which has consistently been IGN's top recommendation for most gamers. This is one of the best times of the year to upgrade your setup is here, so don't miss out on a chance to save on a new gaming chair.

Below we've highlighted some of the top gaming chairs we've found on sale right now that we'd actually recommend you buy.

The Best Gaming Chair Deals for Black Friday 2025

Secretlab Titan Evo has numerous features that make it our top recommendation, including a cold-cure foam mix that provides a perfect balance of support and comfort, a Pebble Seat Base designed to provide ergonomic support that slopes inwards, and more. But it's not the only good chair on sale; we found great deals on others from AndaSeat, Razer, and Logitech.

Take the AndaSeat Kaiser 3, which comes with built-in adjustable lumbar support, swappable magnetic armrest pads and a magnetically attached memory foam head pillow. The chair, available in synthetic leather or linen fabric, features a subdued design that's not far from our favorite office chairs and won't stick out if you happen to hop on a virtual meeting.

One of the cheapest gaming chairs on sale is the TC100 Relaxed from Corsair, a solid budget option that's just over $200. It features both neck and lumbar pillows, as well as adjustible-height, rotating armrests. Our top budget gaming chair pick overall, however, is the Razer Iskur V2 X we reviewed earlier this year. At only $249 during Amazon's Black Friday sale, it has the overall best value for the price tag.

Themed Gaming Chairs on Sale at Secretlab

If you're looking for a themed gaming chair instead something neutral, Secretlab has a ton of excellent options on sale as part of its Black Friday sale. You can score discounts on chairs themed after Star Wars, Final Fantasy XIV, Cyberpunk 2077, and more. Check out our favorite picks below.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.

If you’ve been itching to switch your wireless service provider but don’t want to deal with the hassle, T-Mobile makes changing your carrier shockingly simple. You won’t have to jump through hoops, wasting half a day figuring things out online or worse, in a store. Instead, you should have a new line with T-Mobile in 15 minutes or less. And T-Mobile is the carrier to switch to, as it offers great value while delivering the best mobile network in the US, according to Ookla of Speedtest Intelligence® data.

Unlike other carriers, T-Mobile places a heavy focus on the customer experience, and that starts the moment you begin to make the switch. The easy-to-navigate T-Life app delivers personalized recommendations for plans, so you don’t need to spend hours figuring out what you need. After that, it guides you through the entire setup process. It’s so simple that you can do it between meetings at work or while chilling at a coffee shop. If you don’t have the app, it’s just as easy to change providers on the T-Mobile website, or you can always head into one of T-Mobile’s thousands of store locations.

When you use T-Mobile’s “Easy Switch” tools to get connected online in under 15 minutes, you’ll probably be wondering about getting a new phone. Well, for a limited time, you can enjoy an incredible deal on a new smartphone without the hassle of trading in your old device. Same-day delivery may even be available.

Editorial Note: This article is brought to you by T-Mobile.

Get Up to Four Free iPhone 17's When You Switch to T-Mobile

Full spoilers follow for Pluribus Episode 5, “Got Milk,” which is available now on Apple TV.

Man, the whole planet is pissed off at Carol this week, that’s for sure.

That includes her fellow un-infected, Laxmi (Menik Gooneratne), who calls her from across the world to rip Rhea Seehorn’s Carol a new one for making her son cry. I mean, she made the entire human race cry, save 13 people, but Laxmi is mostly upset about her son.

I’ve read the Harry Potter books at least half a dozen times throughout my life, but it’s been a long time since my last run-through. It’s a lot easier to just turn the movies on in the background at any given time instead of actually sitting down to read the actual books. Since I’d been meaning to crack open The Sorcerer’s Stone again one of these days but just never got around to it, I was all too happy to give the new full-cast audiobook a try.

Full spoilers follow for Stranger Things: Season 5, Vol. 1, which consists of four of Season 5's eight episodes. Vol. 1 premieres November 26 on Netflix, with the next three episodes debuting on December 25 and the series finale debuting December 31.

There’s been a lot of grousing from critics and audiences alike that it’s taken Matt and Ross Duffer nine years to bring Stranger Things, their ode to ‘80s nostalgia and sci-fi storytelling, to a close. But the thing about Stranger Things as a series is that as soon as fresh chapters drop, you remember exactly why it’s worth waiting three years and four months for new episodes. Pound for pound, the Duffers, their collaborators and their stellar cast use their time away to deliver impactful character moments, surprising mythology twists, and emotional stakes on a level that few blockbuster movies can even hope to achieve.

This is the final season of the series, which means the expectations are arguably the highest they’ve ever been for the Duffers to pay off what is essentially a battle to determine a sovereign reality: the Rightside Up (ours) or the Upside Down (Vecna’s). Aside from a clunky first episode that’s saddled with disseminating the exposition needed to get the audience up to speed, the first block of episodes does an increasingly thrilling job of laying out the stakes for our heroes and setting up the major threats, both militarily and Vecna-wise. And it culminates in a Chapter 4 climax that rivals anything the show has ever pulled off before in scale and cinematic ambition.

But to start, the Hawkins, Indiana, we return to is much changed from when it was first introduced in 1983 as an idyllic example of middle-class suburbia. In the 584 days since the events of the Season 4 finale, when Max’s (Sadie Sink) brief death tore open Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) gates to the Upside Down and his realm bled into Hawkins, the town has sort of been cosplaying what it once was. It’s now a militarized zone, quarantined from the rest of the state by barbed-wire fences and checkpoints, and filled with soldiers who monitor the breaches and the residents who didn’t flee.

Amongst those stubborn Midwestern remainers are Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and her kids, the Wheelers, the Sinclairs, the Hendersons, Robin (Maya Hawke), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour). Our familiar players have a shared secret purpose, operating under the radar of their fellow citizens and the military while trying to figure out what’s become of Vecna, who has essentially disappeared since Max went into her coma. Under the powerful transmission tower of the WSQK radio station, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Steve (Joe Keery), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Robin work to use the site’s equipment and remote location to plan covert Vecna scouting missions for Hopper into the Upside Down. All the while, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) continue to go to school, but assist as lookouts and field support during operations.

In general, the united allies are as purposeful and organized as they’ve ever been, with the exception of Dustin, who hasn’t been the same since the death of his buddy Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn). In the aftermath, he’s become bitter, angry and defensive of Eddie, who is still vilified by their community for his perceived demonic pursuits through the Hellfire Club. Dustin’s surly ‘tude is a welcome and realistic turn for the typically sunny character, and it forces the rest of his circle — especially Will — to take up the creative and mental slack as they try to anticipate Vecna’s quiet machinations. Matarazzo remains a cast MVP and his performance ensures that Eddie’s death matters, as his character wrestles with the pain he can’t quite process healthily. His is a standout characterization this season, along with Hawke’s energetic and witty Robin and Schnapp’s more assertive take on Will, who bristles against Joyce’s overprotectiveness and moves away from being the victim of the group.

At this point in the series, there’s also an abundance of Hawkins support characters to weave into the narrative because the town was built out to be a fully realized community. Which means the welcome returns of Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono), loud Murray (Brett Gelman) and Lucas’ salty sister Erica (Priah Ferguson). There’s also a new playable version of a more grown Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) and even her bully classmate, Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly), who together bring back the kid vibes that have always made Stranger Things special. In general, few shows have created an ensemble net as successfully as the Duffers have in Hawkins, which means they can draw on even minor players to create unexpected jeopardy, or touchback on the show’s own mythology and history with purpose. And they do.

Aside from the threat of Vecna, Season 5 continues the secret-lab throughlines that originated with Dr. Martin Brenner’s work as revealed in the first season. There’s been a sinister baton-passing to Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay, and while her overall motives are unclear, it can’t be good that she’s figured out how to run a lab in the Upside Down where she hoards an abundance of nasty critters (a la Bishop in Aliens) to dissect. She’s also protecting a secret room which El and Hopper, who spend the majority of these episodes together in the Upside Down, will eventually infiltrate. Hamilton is always a positive in any cast but she’s just simmering so far.

Assessing the four episodes as a mini-season, "Chapter One: The Crawl" (written and directed by the Duffers) is the least graceful of the pack as it stuffs its 71-minute runtime with an overwhelming amount of information. There’s a lot of servicing the plot first at the expense of smaller character moments. For example, the new radio station initially functions as a way for Robin to give the audience an exposition dump, which leaves it feeling like the least organic set piece of the whole series. Let’s just say, it’s no Hawkins Lab or Starcourt Mall. Another sin of the episode is several one-note character scenarios that feel below the caliber of the cast. Steve and Jonathan’s basic bitch rivalry over Nancy’s attentions is kind of dumb, and reducing El to just an obsessed training machine, which again triggers Hopper’s worst protectionist instincts, feels like a regression of their dynamic.

However, the Duffers get their mojo back by “Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler," which returns the series to its horror roots. It opens with a terrifying Demogorgon attack that evokes one of the most memorable scenes in Poltergeist and immediately puts three long-time characters in mortal jeopardy. The episode also signifies a more natural return to the show’s multiple plot structure where the Duffers are able to balance their large ensemble by clustering characters together on their own missions. One of the freshest pairings is having Will and Robin together. As he’s exploring his reactivated connection to Vecna, Robin’s independence and confidence gives him not only someone to look up to but also the only person he can talk to about his burgeoning same-sex feelings.

The legendary Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Mist) directs "Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap,” which lets him rip with period-piece elements, Commando-style action sequences in the Upside Down featuring El and Hopper, and the establishing of Holly as the unexpected focus of Vecna’s attentions. He gets to showcase the quiet menace of Bower’s Henry persona and show his prowess in working with kids. He’s also gifted with framing an excellent reveal at the end of the episode that puts wind into the sails of the whole show heading into the climactic last episode, "Chapter Four: Sorcerer.”

The Vol. 1 finale, written and directed again by the Duffers, is equal parts love letter to Madeleine L'Engle’s teen sci-fi classic A Wrinkle in Time and to ’80s action films. Sink’s Max returns to the story changed yet even more admirable in her role as protector of Holly and relentless fighter against Vecna. And then the episode shifts into action mode, with the climax especially featuring some of the brothers’ finest work on the series, rivaling prior season finales for its sheer scale and consequential reveals. It also exceeds what’s come before in Stranger Things’ depiction of graphic violence, so be warned if you’re watching with younger viewers.

There’s a lot to admire here about how the Duffers blend their converging storylines into a propulsive The Great Escape-meets-Children of Men mashup sequence. Using oners and exceptional pacing in the edit, this is an audacious closing battle that dares to cross-cut between an Upside Down jailbreak of children with a Demogorgon orgy of violence. It leaves things on a breathless note, but sets the viewer up for the last four episodes with a clearer understanding of Vecna’s plans, an unexpected realignment of how Will’s simmering connection might flip the power dynamic, and provides a path for Max’s return to the fold. There’s also a fantastic callback to Season 2 that might rectify one of the show’s more controversial story arcs. Fans will be feeling the high of the cliffhanger, while knowing there’s only a month before the story gifts audiences with a final resolution.

Looking to keep your next PC upgrade under $1,000? This might very well be the most powerful gaming PC without breaking that threshold. For Black Friday, Walmart is offering an iBuypower Slate RTX 5070 gaming PC for just $999 with free delivery. This is a $100 price drop compared to the previous historical low price I saw during October Prime Day and possibly the first time I've seen any RTX 5070 equipped prebuilt priced under $1,000. The RTX 5070 is an excellent choice for gaming at 1080p or 1440p, especially in games that support DLSS 4.

iBuypower Slate RTX 5070 Gaming PC for $999

We have yet to see any Nintendo Switch 2 deals so far during Black Friday sales, but that was pretty much expected. Nintendo announced the entirety of its sale plans earlier this year and consoles weren't mentioned at all. Unfortunately, the same goes for Nintendo Switch 2 accessories. If you're looking for a discount on the new Switch 2 Pro controller, you're mostly out of luck.

I say mostly because it is actually possible to save a little bit if you don't mind buying used or going with an import model. These methods will only help you shave off a few dollars, but with how expensive the controller already is, everything helps.

Nintendo Switch 2 Controller Deals for Black Friday

Buy Used From Amazon

The RedMagic Astra follows on the heels of RedMagic’s earlier Nova gaming tablet, seeming to change little except upgrading to the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. That’s an exciting change, though, as it’s an extremely powerful chip that has made recent Android gaming phones all the more impressive. With a quality display, promising performance, and a $549 price tag, the RedMagic Astra could very well be a worthy alternative to gaming handhelds if you like the Android games available to you and don’t mind dipping your toes into cloud gaming or emulation from time to time.

RedMagic Astra – Design and Features

The RedMagic Astra doesn’t sport the same snazzy looks of RedMagic’s phones, but it’s still a slick and clean design with a hint of style in the form of a clear panel on the back. This shows through to where some of the componentry is ostensibly laid out and gives a peak at the fan in the sealed cooling system, which also has a splash of RGB lighting. The rest of the system is thoroughly blacked out.

Most of the tablet is wrapped in aluminum, providing a clean seam between the back and frame of the tablet. The front sports a 9.06-inch display that has tight and even bezels around it, allowing the device to avoid being much larger than it needs to be. At just 6.9mm thick and 370 grams, the Astra ends up impressively compact and portable. That weight is also great for handheld use. Bigger and heavier tablets become unwieldy to try holding for extended gaming, whereas the Astra is more manageable.

That screen is also a great one. It has a 2400x1504 resolution, which is fantastically sharp at this size, and it’s a smooth 165Hz OLED panel that can deliver 1,600-nit highlights and perfect black pixels side by side, making for vivid visuals. Games and movies alike look great. When viewing the display at extreme off angles (beyond about 45 degrees), black pixels start to look a bit gray, but if you’re looking at the display from more optimal angles, it looks appropriately black.

The tablet packs in a pair of speakers that produce plenty of volume – more than most phones and more than is needed for gaming with the tablet in your hands. They’re over-the-top and a bit grating at full volume, but sound decent when dialed back a bit.

To my surprise, RedMagic has rated the Astra up to IP54 certification for protection against dust and some water. It shouldn’t be dunked underwater, but it won’t be the end of the world if there’s a spill or you get caught out in the rain.

Part of that certification is probably coming from the Astra not using an active air cooling system like the RedMagic 11 Pro. Instead, it keeps all of its cooling elements inside. These include multiple vapor chambers and liquid metal to move heat away from the chipset. The fan inside actually moves air through an internal duct, though how much that actually contributes to the cooling when it can’t directly expel heated air is unclear. On the bright side, what has been a shrill fan on air cooled systems is silent on the Astra.

The Astra has a fingerprint reader built into its power button, though it also supports facial recognition. The former is quick and reliable, but the same can’t be said of the latter. In addition to the power and volume buttons, there’s a red switch I’ve seen on several RedMagic phones now. This launches the phone’s special GameSpace, essentially a custom launcher for games with shortcuts to various settings and tools useful while gaming.

On the bottom of the tablet (or side if held in landscape), there’s a USB-C port positioned off to the right of center. This avoids having the tablet running right into your hand if you’re charging and using it at the same time. The USB-C port also supports DisplayPort output up to 4K/144Hz and has 10Gbps transfer speeds – both exciting to see.

RedMagic Astra – Software

The Astra comes with Android 15 and has RedMagic OS 10.5 running on top of that. It’s not too outlandish an Android skin and doesn’t even seem overly gamer-targeted until you hit the GameSpace switch and encounter RedMagic’s digital assistant Mora – a scantily-clad anime girl that does little, makes a lot of noise, and doesn't even leverage all the AI capabilities of the hardware to hold a virtual conversation. She’ll happily float around on your screen and present notifications though.

The software does have some helpful features, though. The tablet includes controller mapping software that was largely useful, but not quite perfect. It helped me get a controller working in place of in-game touch controls, but some settings simply didn’t behave properly. For instance, it wouldn’t register joystick nuance, so all of my aim adjustments were jerky going from 0 to 100% acceleration instantly.

RedMagic doesn’t plainly state how many software updates or years of Android security patches the Astra tablet will get, but a representative has told me that the tablet will receive five years of OS support and security patches in Europe and three years of each in other markets, including the US. What is still unclear is whether those three years will include three Android version updates.

RedMagic Astra – Gaming and Performance

The Astra offers excellent gaming performance, though not quite to the level I would have expected. Before this, the RedMagic 10 Pro smartphone set the stage for how much performance we could expect out of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and that had me very excited to see what a tablet could do with it. After all, a tablet doesn’t have the tight confines of a phone and ought to have room for more robust cooling systems as well as more surface area for heat transfer.

To my surprise, the Astra simply didn’t squeeze as much out of the Snapdragon 8 Elite as other devices have. It consistently performed in between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Across Geekbench 6 and 3DMark benchmarks, the Astra tended to lag between 10 and 20 percent behind the RedMagic 10 Pro and even the OnePlus 13. This is still strong performance, but not what I would have expected. It seemed to make no difference whether the tablet had different performance modes enabled in the GameSpace either.

With that said, the Astra was at least consistent. It may not be trying to drive itself as hard as it could get away with, but it holds up well under load. Even running the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light stress test – a series of 20 benchmarks in a row – the Astra maintained a 94.5% consistency with scores running from 2095 points to 1979 points.

While the tablet certainly generates heat, it doesn’t put a lot of that where you’ll feel it. After a session playing Delta Force over a half-hour, the tablet was only slightly warm to the touch.

This level of performance is also more than enough to handle everyday use with extremely smooth operation. The Astra never once felt slow.

The tablet runs on a sizable 8200mAh battery, though that doesn’t feel quite as impressive when considering the RedMagic 10 Pro phone has a 7,000mAh battery packed inside its much smaller frame. The battery is still enough to handle hours of gaming, even with fairly demanding usage. And since there’s no cellular modem, the system sips power while idling, so you’re unlikely to find it dead if you leave it alone for a few days.

RedMagic Astra – Cameras

The RedMagic Astra has cameras, but like many other tablets, they’re mostly there because they need to be. In anything less than bright sunlight, the 13MP rear camera takes such blurry, noisy photos that it shouldn’t be relied on for much.

The 9MP selfie camera actually fairs a little bit better but still has a lot of noise and not a terribly sharp image. Even in very bright conditions, they struggle to produce great photos. If you just want to have a video call or pop up in a game stream, it'll do, but neither are quality cameras.

Lenovo's most powerful 16" gaming laptop has just dropped to the lowest price ever for Black Friday. Right now you can pick up a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 RTX 5090 gaming laptop for just $2,855.05 after you stack two coupon codes "BFEMAILDEAL" and "EXTRAFIVE". You must create a (free) Lenovo account and be logged in to see this price. That's over $1,700 in combined savings and beats the previous historical lowest price by over $200. This is the first time I've seen a Legion RTX 5090 gaming laptop priced under $3,000.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7 RTX 5090 Gaming Laptop for $2,855

It’s been two whole weeks since the Steam Machine was revealed to the world, and we still have no idea how much it’ll cost. I still don’t know when Valve is going to announce the price, but in the meantime, you can build a PC that’s pretty close to what the Steam Machine is going to be – albeit you won’t get exactly there. After all, as we’ve written about repeatedly at this point, Valve has said that the Steam Machine will cost roughly the same as a PC with equivalent hardware – so we wanted to see how much that equivalent hardware actually costs.

But it gets complicated, because the Steam Machine is largely going to be using mobile-class hardware, like you’d find in one of the best gaming laptops, rather than the PC components that go into building a gaming PC. So, even though I picked out the Radeon 7600, where the Steam Machine is going to be using the equivalent of a 7600M, the desktop version is going to be measurably more powerful.

The same is true of most of the components here. Just keep in mind that this isn’t going to be an exact one-to-one recreation of the Steam Machine, but it is a good way to estimate how much an “equivalent gaming PC” might cost.

Unfortunately, due to recent jumps in RAM pricing, building out this PC is significantly more expensive than it would have been even a few weeks ago. Let’s just hope that Valve got its hands on memory before the current NAND shortage started.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600

Almost all of the official Black Friday sales are already live. In fact, a lot of them actually went live last weekend. Black Friday as a sales event has continued to extend further and further every year, and it can be difficult to figure out exactly when the right time to shop is. Do you need to jump on the deals available now before they're gone? Or should you wait for a better discount to drop after Thanksgiving?

Unfortunately, there is no cut and dry answer to this question. Some of the deals live right now will probably be gone before actual Black Friday, and some will be better on the actual day. If you don't want to spend an entire week shopping for savings this year, I can help you cut through the noise.

The Friday After Thanksgiving Will Still Have the Best Deals

Lets just get this out of the way to start. Despite retailers stating that their full Black Friday sales are live, that isn't really true. Every major online retailer has released their partial Black Friday sale, with more coming later this week. That isn't to say that the current deal prices aren't worth checking out, but that, traditionally, the best deals drop on actual Black Friday because that's when most people will do the bulk of their shopping. Some retailers have already released ads that prove more deals are on their way.

Target released its Black Friday ad recently

Perhaps the most obvious indicator that better deals are scheduled for November 28 is that Target has flat out said so. In its latest Black Friday sales ad, Target has stated that more discounts will be arriving on Friday and hours earlier for Target Circle 360 members. While it hasn't given that many specifics about what will be on sale, we know that LEGO sets will be 40% off and a ton of clothing and outerwear will be 40% off as well. This announcement came alongside Target launching its official Black Friday sale on sale over the weekend.

What Deals Should You Shop Right Now?

It's true that bigger and better discounts will arrive starting tomorrow, but some deals you'll want to snap up now while stock lasts, like Black Friday video game deals. These discounts are mostly regulated by the actual gaming companies and have been going pretty fast. The PlayStation Black Friday deals launched on November 21 and the Nintendo Black Friday deals started on November 23. Because stock is limited on things like physical games and the deals are incredibly popular, we're already seeing stuff sell out at Amazon and other retailers.

Nintendo Switch Deals Are Going Fast

All of the Nintendo discounts are live and we're already seeing stuff sell out at Amazon. Most notably both Super Mario Odyssey and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door are now only available at Walmart and will likely be gone before Black Friday proper. There's also the Nintendo Switch 2 bundles, which aren't on sale at all, but are still incredibly popular ahead of the holidays. If you're planning on picking up the new console, you'll want to do it as soon as possible.

PlayStation Deals Are Also Selling Quickly

The PlayStation deals this year haven't been as popular as Nintendo, but the discounts are currently as good as they're going to get. Most of the items available aren't at that high a risk of selling out, although some discounted PS5 games are no longer available at Amazon. And among DualSense controller deals going on right now, the limited-edition ones that will probably go out of stock before Cyber Monday or earlier. Limited-edition console bundles also tend to sell out faster at these lower prices than a standard PS5.

Xbox Deals Are Limited

This year's round of Xbox Black Friday deals has been fairly disappointing so far. There are some game discounts available, but only a few of the Xbox controllers are on sale. And there are absolutely no Xbox console deals this year to speak of. That's a bummer considering Xbox raised its prices multiple times in 2025, but it is what it is.

Some of the best Xbox controller deals have come and gone (including the recent Xbox Elite Series 2 deal), so if you are looking for a discount there you'll want to act quickly. Most of the Xbox video game discounts have stuck around, however, so you should be find to pick those up any time over the weekend.

Streaming has gotten pricey, and that includes Paramount+, which is home to a lengthy list of Paramount movies as well as cartoons like South Park and SpongeBob. Thankfully, until December 1, you can get two months of any Paramount+ plan, including the ad-free Premium subscription, for $2.99 each month.

Get 2 Months of Paramount+ Without Ads for $6

If you're a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 owner, there is no better series of games to collect than Mario. The plumber has had some of his best adventures ever across the two systems, and this Black Friday, you can save on select Mario games for a limited time. Nintendo rarely puts its games on sale, so now is the time to pick these Mario games up before deals run out.

These Black Friday Nintendo deals have been very popular so far and have mostly sold out at Amazon. We've included the other retailers that still have the games in stock.

Every Mario Switch Game on Sale for Black Friday 2025

First up, it's hard to beat Super Mario Odyssey for only $29.99. Mario's quest to stop Bowser from forcibly marrying Princess Peach sees him traversing various Kingdoms with a new friend named Cappy, a sentient hat creature and this game's central gimmick. Mario can throw Cappy to possess and take control of enemies, inanimate objects, and more. If there's one game from this list I cannot recommend enough, it's Super Mario Odyssey.

Another fantastic Nintendo Switch game on sale is Luigi's Mansion 3, starring Mario's ghost-hunting brother. This time, Luigi enters a giant hotel with Mario, Toad, and Princess Peach for vacation, but as always, things go horribly wrong. One of the great new features involves solving puzzles using a cloned Luigi, named Gooigi, who can walk on spikes and squeeze through bars to get to places Luigi otherwise can't reach.

Paper-Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was one of the best Switch games of 2024, and this Black Friday, you can save 50% on the beloved remake. Originally released for GameCube, The Thousand-Year Door brings a fantastic story, great characters, and a satisfying turn-based RPG combat system. The Nintendo Switch remake added numerous quality-of-life features, like the Partner Ring to switch Partners on the fly, a fast travel system to cut down on backtracking, and more. And that's not to mention the overhauled graphics.

Finally, Princess Peach: Showtime! is on sale for $39.99 for Black Friday. Princess Peach must defend the stage in multiple plays against threats from a new group of enemies in this action-packed adventure. Each play brings a different outfit and ability set for Peach, opening up a completely new gameplay style. This is unlike any other Mario adventure, so if this one went under your radar last year, it's a great time and a worthy addition to your Nintendo Switch library.

More Great Nintendo Switch Black Friday Deals

While there aren't any Nintendo Switch 2 console deals available, you can still get the bundles before Christmas if you buy now. The Mario Kart World bundle includes a copy of the latest Mario Kart game while shaving off some of the cost of buying it separately.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.

Amazon's buy 2, get 1 deal on books doesn't just include single books. You can apply this deal to various boxed set collections if you do a bit of digging through the sale. This special Black Friday promotion makes it the perfect time to bolster your collection on the cheap or pick up a set of books as a gift for the reader in your life. Most of these are already discounted between 41% and 47% off individually, so bundling in another one is essentially netting you savings on top of your savings..

Buy 2 Book Sets, Get 1 Free at Amazon

Popular series like A Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) and The Hunger Games have their individual books on sale as part of this deal, but not the box sets. But the available selection of discounted book sets are some of the best around. You have The Witcher boxed set, which compiles the main five novels of Geralt's saga, all seven Harry Potter books with awesome interconnected spine arts, and the Chronicles of the Avatar 4-book collection, which details Avatars Kyoshi and Yangchen's time as the Avatar. Amazon changes which boxed sets are available literally over night, so now you can pick up the Twilight Saga Deluxe Hardcover Collection and the 5-book boxed set of Percy Jackson and the Olympians as part of this deal.

Most of these boxed sets comes with paperback books, save for Sarah J. Maas' Crescent City trilogy. The hardcover is actually a few cents cheaper than the paperback collection, so if hardcover is more your style and you've been curious about the popular author's standalone trilogy, this is the deal for you. There's also the massive Chronicles of Narnia 7-in-1 Deluxe Edition hardcover book, giving you the entire Narnia saga in one conventient printing, but it's no longer part of the buy 2, get 1 free deal, although it is still discounted to $52.37 (30% off).

More books included in the sale

If you're more interested in finishing existing collections or checking out standalone stories, the buy 2, get 1 free sale has a great selection of single books. These discounts will likely last as long as the Amazon Black Friday sale remains live. There's a similar promotion going on during Target's Black Friday sale you can check out for more options as well.

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

If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. Just for Black Friday, Dell has kicked off the best deal I've seen on a top-shelf Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 equipped gaming PC. Right now you can get a very well-equipped configuration for $4,249.99 after a massive $1,250 off instant discount. Complementing the uber powerful RTX 5090 GPU is a liquid cooled Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and a generous amount of RAM and SSD storage.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC (New) for $4,250

Dell Outlet has just kicked off its Black Friday Sale with some incredible pricing on Clearance, Like New (Refurbished) and Scratch & Dent Alienware Area-51 gaming PCs, equipped with your choice of GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 graphics cards. You're saving up to $1,600 compared to buying an identical system brand new.

All PCs purchased through Dell Outlet include the same warranty as buying new. Dell's certified refurbished systems are submitted to a rigorous refurbishing process. These previously owned products could have observable minor blemishes that do not affect performance, or could look as good as new.

New for 2025: The Alienware Area-51 Chassis

Dell unveiled the new Alienware Area-51 gaming PC at CES 2025. The chassis is a super-sized upgrade to the 2024 R16 system with aesthetic and cooling redesigns and updated components. The I/O panel is positioned at the top of the case instead of the front, and the tempered glass window now spans the entire side panel instead of just a smaller cutout. As a result, the side panel vents are gone, and instead air intakes are located at the bottom as well as the front of the case. Alienware is now pushing a positive airflow design (more intake than exhaust airflow), which means a less dusty interior. The internal components have been refreshed with a new motherboard, faster RAM, and bigger power supply to accommodate the new generation of CPUs and GPUs.

The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card Ever

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although with this generation Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in hardware-based raster performance. If you want the absolute best performance for your gaming PC, there is literally no other option from any other brand.

Check out more of the best Alienware Black Friday deals.

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.

Calling all Xbox fans: whether you're on the hunt for new games to add to your library or just you're doing a bit of Christmas shopping, this year's Black Friday sale event is stacked with stellar discounts. Across a few different retailers we've gathered up some of the best Xbox game deals available right now, including Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for $30 at Walmart, Silent Hill f dropping to $49.94 at Amazon, and even Elden Ring plummeting to just $15 at Walmart.

These deals are just the tip of the iceberg, though. Have a look at our selection of all of the best Xbox video game deals available right now as part of Black Friday sales below.

Black Friday 2025 Video Game Deals

Some of the games above have even hit their lowest prices yet – such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Space Marine 2, and Star Wars Outlaws – so there's no better time to grab them. And alongside physical video game deals, Xbox's Black Friday sale officially kicked off last week with a great selection of digital game and controller deals. Unfortunately, no console deals have dropped yet.

If you're looking for even more video game deals outside of Xbox, both PlayStation and Nintendo have similarly huge selections of game deals right now. Check out our breakdowns of PS5 games already on sale and every Switch game already on sale.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

No matter how much you may prefer a mouse and keyboard for PC gaming, some games and genres are just built with gamepads in mind – and play much better with one as a result. That's why I've tested dozens of gamepads during my PC-centric career, and why I feel confident in recommending the nine picks below. Whether you're looking for something simple and inexpensive for occasional use, or something more advanced for competitive or accessible play, you should find at least one great option here.

TL;DR – These Are the Best PC Controllers:

1. Xbox Core Controller

Best PC Controller

2. PowerA Advantage Wired Controller

Best Budget PC Controller

3. Hyperkin Competitor

Best Wired PC Controller

4. Sony DualSense Controller

Best PC Controller for PlayStation Games

5. Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller

Best High-End PC Controller

6. Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra

Best Customizable PC Controller

7. Razer Kitsune

Best PC Fight Stick

8. Logitech G Pro Wheel and Pedals

Best PC Racing Wheel

9. Xbox Adaptive Controller

Best Accessible PC Controller

How to Choose the Best PC Controller

Choosing the best PC controller for gaming can seem daunting, especially given the excess of options available. However, it’s easier to nail down the right choice by assessing what kind of gamer you are, what types of games you play, and whether you want to use your controller across other devices.

Sticks and triggers

While almost all classic controllers use potentiometers to sense when a thumbstick has been moved or a trigger has been depressed, many modern options now use more advanced HE (Hall Effect) or TMR (Tunneling Magnetoresistance) magnetic sensors instead. These tend to be more expensive than potentiometers to include in a controller, but they allow for more precision, in the form of smaller deadzones. These technologies also tend to offer better long-term durability, with fewer physically interacting parts, helping prevent stick drift. HE sensors typically require more power than potentiometers, potentially reducing battery life in wireless controllers, while TMR sensors are more power-efficient than either option. However, implementation by manufacturers also matters, so while TMR and HE sticks and triggers are worth looking for, they're not a guarantee of a good-quality experience.

Ergonomics

One of the biggest factors to consider is the ergonomics and comfort of the controller. Since you'll likely be using it for extended gaming sessions, it's crucial to pick a controller that feels comfortable. Look for controllers with well-placed buttons, responsive triggers, and a shape that fits naturally in your hands. Beyond that, grips can be important in games that require extra control.

Controller type

Think about the types of games you'll be playing. Different genres may benefit from specific controller designs. For instance, if you're into racing or flying simulators, a controller with analog sticks and precise triggers might be ideal. On the other hand, if you're primarily playing fighting or platformer games, a controller with a good D-pad and responsive face buttons could be more suitable. Playing a lot of FPS, a gamepad with adjustable triggers and a tighter stick will make for quicker reactions and better control. Of course, if you’ve got the budget, you can also grab specified controllers for certain games, like racing wheels, PC joysticks, and fightsticks.

Compatibility

While the majority of controllers are designed to work seamlessly with Windows PCs, it's always a good idea to double-check compatibility with your specific gaming setup. If a controller offers a wired connection via USB, using it with a PC should be relatively simple. Oftentimes, there will also be software that allows for button remapping and other customizations.

Wireless controllers may be trickier. Most come with Bluetooth support, which makes them great phone controllers. However, a good deal of latency is often introduced. Sometimes wireless controllers offer a 2.4Ghz USB dongle to plug into PCs for a faster and more stable connection; if you're a competitive gamer, this is the way to go. Luckily, most wireless offerings come with the option for a wired connection.

Features and customizations

Don't forget to consider additional features and extras. Many controllers come with programmable buttons, vibration feedback, or even customizable lighting effects. Adaptive triggers are a boon in FPS or sensory-focused games. Some higher-end controllers even come with swappable controls and a degree of modularity to adjust the feel for certain games. While these features may not be essential, they can enhance your gaming experience and provide added value for your money.

Cost

Perhaps the biggest factor in choosing a PC controller is cost. If your controller will only be used occasionally, since you’re more of a mouse and keyboard hero, a budget controller is perfectly suitable. Expect to find some great options in the $30 to $60 range. Upping the budget slightly to somewhere between $60 and $100 will bring a great balance of features, comfort, and quality. Stick to this price if you're more of a casual player. Anything above $100 should bring awesome customizability and durability; competitive players should expect to shell out a bit more for a high-end, reliable controller.

PC Controller FAQ

Is PC gaming better with a controller?

Compared to a keyboard and mouse, some gamers opt to use a controller. However, it comes down to your personal preferences, as each of these input devices has its own advantages and disadvantages.

A keyboard and mouse combo will be much larger and more spread out than a controller, which means you’ll need a great gaming desk or reliable lap desk to use them successfully. But thanks to a larger size, there is a wealth of inputs that a typical controller just can’t offer. Many of the keys and buttons are customizable with secondary functions. When gaming, keyboards and mice usually pull ahead in precision, accuracy, and responsiveness, which is especially beneficial to competitive players.

Now, don’t get me wrong, controllers are equally great. They are much smaller and more ergonomic than a mouse and keyboard, making all the inputs easy to reach. Great controllers will also have customizable or remappable buttons and triggers. The analog sticks bring smoother control over certain movements, and with some controllers offering a dose of haptic feedback, gaming can be more immersive.

Ultimately, it tends to depend on the game. Many titles are designed with one input method or the other in mind, so having the flexibility of a good controller to hand is frequently useful.

Do all controllers work with PCs?

While not every controller is guaranteed to work with PC, almost all current controllers are supported in some way. Xbox controllers are your best bet for native compatibility. Whether it's connected via wired USB, Bluetooth, or Xbox Wireless (with adapter), the devices should be instantly detected by either Windows or Steam. With the Xbox Accessories app, remapping, vibrations, and more should be supported. Be sure to check out our guide on how to pair an Xbox controller to PC for even more info.

The latest PlayStation 5 controllers are another safe bet when it comes to compatibility with PC, especially when you connect using a wired USB or Bluetooth. You can always grab a great Bluetooth adapter for your PC if your PC doesn’t support it. Steam and the majority of modern games recognize PlayStation gamepads, allowing for button remapping and other customizations. However, adaptive triggers and haptics will only work with certain games. Still, for the most part, a PS5 controller pairs seemlessly with PC.

Third-party controller brands, like Turtle Beach, Razer, and PowerA, should also be completely compatible with PC and recognized by Steam if not Windows. These devices connect either using a wired USB connection or wirelessly via Bluetooth or a 2.4Ghz USB dongle. Now, not all the controllers' features may necessarily work with PCs, but you should have no problem with basic controls.

Of course, it’s always good to check that a controller supports PC and what limitations it may have when used with PC before purchasing. All the ones I’ve selected for this guide will make a great addition to your PC battlestation.

Can you play any PC game with a controller?

Not all PC games are designed to work well with a controller. If you’re playing games on Steam, you can visit the store page to see if the game is compatible with a controller before buying the game. However, other platforms, such as Epic Games, do not list if the game is compatible with a controller, but you can often find out which games support a controller with a quick Google search. The PCGamingWiki is another great resource for checking what input methods PC games support, including fan-made fixes where relevant.

Will is deputy tech editor for IGN, specialising in PC hardware, sim racing and display tech. He has been publishing about games and technology since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor at Digital Foundry. He is currently playing Battlefield 6.

Additional contributions by Danielle Abraham, a tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.

Ladies, gentlemen, beloved they/thems, the Zombie-curious, wretched undead, at last, my watch is over (mostly). After two weeks of ups and downs with Call of Duty Black: Ops 7’s Zombies mode, my feelings are mixed. I think this version has all things that make Zombies good – a cleverly designed quest line, a cool map, the joy and despondence of the Mystery Box and Call of Duty’s consistently fun gunplay. But those returning strengths don’t shine this year in the way they usually do, with an Easter Egg hunt that’s too big, too time-consuming, and too unwieldy to wholeheartedly recommend. It’s not bad, per se, but it can be frustrating in a way that might make you bow out early. And that’s lousy.

First, I come with a confession, one that serves as the foundation for the thesis of this review: my squad and I, brave souls who conquered Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode last year, and several others before, have not beaten Black Ops 7's signature Ashes of the Damned map at the time of this writing. Instead, the attempt fractured our group, perhaps permanently. One member threw up his hands and simply walked away after a particularly devastating loss, leaving us down a man and his not-insubstantial institutional knowledge and skill. Another was temporarily banned from our Discord after our last, best run. We were so close, friends. So tantalizingly close. And we came up short.

“Well, Will,” you might reasonably ask, “why issue a review if you haven’t finished it?” A few reasons, dear reader. First, we always try to learn the map and discover the process for ourselves, because that is how the average person will do it; second, because our failure mirrors what I feel many other teams will experience playing Ashes of the Damned, making it a crucial part of both this year’s game and this review; and third, because I have seen damn near everything the mode has to offer except the finale itself, and I already have a good idea of what Ashes of the Damned is: a very good map that can be exceptionally frustrating, especially if you use matchmaking to team up with random players, that often doesn’t work as it should.

Before we get started, allow me a chance to tee off on Black Ops 7’s PC anti-cheat system. This is Call of Duty. We will not be playing this game in a year because there will be a new one, and requiring me to flash a new BIOS to my computer and then go into my BIOS so I can flip the right switches until the Powers That Be decide I can play Call of Duty is ridiculous, even if this anti-cheat requirement remains in next year’s game, as Activision claims it will. You will never create an anti-cheat so good that it can’t be beaten, and whatever is gained from requiring all this is likely not worth it, nor the access it requires you give Activision to your computer. It is ludicrous, frankly, and the battle is unwinnable. If you create a better shield, the other guys will simply craft a better spear. Okay, rant over. Back to Zombies.

There is allegedly a story here – your characters are dropped somewhere into the Dark Aether where they run into a guy called the Warden who looks like the sexy ghoul from the Fallout TV series. After transmogrifying you into the semi-living by having a weird skull in a birdcage sap some of your life essence away like he’s the six-fingered man from The Princess Bride, you’re dropped into Ashes of the Damned and left to figure out what the hell is going on. All of it is very well-produced and so goofy that the only thing I could do was watch the introductory cutscene while emulating the face that I imagine a cow would make if you gave it cocaine, chuckle a little, and get on with it. Yeah, choosing certain characters gives you more story dialogue, but there’s nothing crazy here unless you’re already far too invested in Zombie lore. If that’s your bag, Godspeed. I’m here to shoot stuff.

Many of the pain points from last year remain early on – for instance, you can’t make your loadout until you hit level four, which means if Zombies is all you want to do in Black Ops 7 (and for me, it is), you’re stuck with a pistol and whatever you can earn by buying stuff on the walls after you’ve dispatched enough undead. Remember when games just let you have fun from the outset instead of unlocking it?

Otherwise, the underpinnings of Zombies feel much the same. You’re on a map, you open up new doors and paths with currency you earn, and you’ve got Pack-a-Punch machines to upgrade your guns. There’s additional armor you can apply plastered to the walls, an Arsenal to really crank up specific aspects of your weapons, Gobblegums for a little flavor if your mouth is lonely and you want a mid-battle pick-me-up that can make your run easier, and so on. And of course, while you’re managing all of this, the undead rise and hunger for flesh. Ghouls, man.

The gameplay here is similar to last year’s – I still love sliding at a group of zombies and firing off a shotgun until they’re just paste and all that. No, what’s new are the maps. Vandorn Farm is there for your classic, round-based survival attempts on a smaller map, Dead Ops Arcade for something a bit more ridiculous, and Cursed for the ultra hardcore (there’s no guidance here, loadouts and your HUD are limited, and you can equip Relics for additional difficulty). But the seven-course dinner of it all is Ashes of the Damned, the Easter Egg-heavy, “how does anyone figure any of this out?” gauntlet that you’ll have to clear if you really want to say you’ve beaten this year’s iteration. Ashes of the Damned is utterly massive, a monstrous figure eight with several different sub-sections (including Vandorn Farm) that, in years past, might have stood alone as a single map. Now they’re all connected by roads you’ll travel in a truck called Ol’ Tessie.

I love Ol’ Tessie. You can stand on the roof and lean out her windows, and if she takes too much damage, she’ll explode and you’ll have to repair her. She’s your way to and from places without dying (short of the jump pads you can activate), but early on she also becomes your Pack-A-Punch machine (which juices any gun you use it on, essential for the tougher zombies of later rounds), so something as simple as where you park her becomes a lot more important because you might need that boon or to get going in a hurry. You can also slot her with a turbo booster and three monster heads that shoot lightning. Tessie forever.

A lot of our runs began the same way: get Tessie outfitted, pray to pull the Ray Gun at the randomized Mystery Box (we had a shockingly good track record here; my friend Thomas kept pulling one on on his first or second try, and I am baffled by his power), and then start doing the rest of the Easter Eggs. Part of this becomes something you can brute force – you can use certain extremely rare Gobblegums to make it spawn a Ray Gun or the map’s Wonder Weapon – but it’s kind of essential for your long-term survival. Doing the map right means doing it quickly, before the round count gets too high and the Zombies get too strong, and there’s a fun sense of progression that comes with that. Not in a “yay, we’re getting more/better stuff” sense, although that is true, but in a “look at us mastering this” sense that I appreciate, especially since so many games now are about making your numbers go up and not actually improving as a player.

All the wacky Zombies stuff is still here. At one point, you have to throw an axe at the foot of a zombie hanging from a barn and then use a molotov cocktail to turn the severed foot into bones you can use for something else. At another point, you’re killing zombies inside of an old diner until one of them drops a key to the refrigerator in the back carrying a pretty grotesque surprise. It’s goofy and fun and I don’t know how anybody solves this stuff through anything other than trial and error, much less how the dev team comes up with it every year.

This is what makes Zombies so hard. Not only do you have to figure out all these steps, but you have to do them in order and remember where everything is on the map, and do all of it without your team dying. A full Zombies clear will take you several hours, and if you screw up and your whole team buys the farm late in that process, you’ll need to restart from scratch. You will lose every Gobblegum you spent, every weapon you jacked up with a Pack-A-Punch, every Perk you guzzled from a soda machine. Do everything you just did all over again.

It can be demoralizing, but I don’t actually mind this stuff. I’m a fighting game sicko, an action game degenerate, a beat ‘em up guy. I play in a competitive Madden league. I like learning the ins and outs of a system, mastering it, and watching what felt impossible become routine. That is one of the joys of playing games for me. But one of the crucial things you have to understand is that my Zombies group has never been made up of other game critics. It’s regular guys with nine-to-fives in fields like accounting and medicine and law and IT who play games only for fun. It’s always been something I’ve felt is necessary to review something like this: playing it with regular people. And this year, it was too much for some of them.

Part of that is how big Ashes of the Damned is. It’s a well-designed, varied map with a ton of different environments, but its sheer size means it can take a minute to get from Point A to Point B, even with Ol’ Tessie or a jump pad, and you’ll have to go all over Creation to finish it. The other issue is the number of steps involved to get things done. It’s a lot to remember! A lot to figure out! A lot to execute! And you’re expected to do it all in one run without all of you dying.

Even the rare Gobblegums that feel necessary for a good run are limited with the $250 Vault Edition, which was the version of Black Ops 7 we were provided by Activision for review. Using one of the rare ones that essentially makes the Mystery Box spawn a Ray Gun or loads you up with every perk at once and then failing on a run feels bad because you’ve lost a limited resource with little to show for it aside from whatever progress you’ve made in learning the map and whatever experience you gain for meta progression. Naturally, you can buy Gobblegum packs for real money, because of course, right? But the whole thing feels exploitative, like it’s hard because it wants you to give in and open your wallet and just buy the stuff that will make it easier.

And that’s assuming the map works properly. At one point, you have to use stun grenades to wake up a robot named Klaus. He’ll join up with you afterwards, and you can command him to interact with a computer that will then trigger a retinal scan that someone in your group has to stare at until a meter fills up. The problem is you’re being attacked by zombies the whole time. If everything’s working right, you can just have someone do that while the rest of the crew defends them. But we ran into an issue where Klaus simply wouldn’t activate the control panel no matter how many times we commanded him to. Instead, he’d stand dumbly in front of it like “Well, what do you want me to do?” while we fought off zombies before peacing out, requiring we spend valuable currency to bring him back. That time, he did activate it, but no matter how hard I stared at the retina scanner, the little bar wouldn’t go up. Needless to say, we died.

And that’s the thing, right? You’re going to die. You’re going to die because someone forgot to get an item you needed and you weren’t high enough level to craft it at the bench (this, for the record, is extremely dumb; just let me make a throwing axe! Yes, you can find one on the map if you know where to look; that isn’t the point); because OI’ Tessie took a bunch of damage and exploded, stranding you in the No Man’s Land between proper segments; because somebody got knocked off a truck and you had to go back for them; because you got cornered and made a mistake; because you forgot what to do for step 227 and had to look it up; and on and on and on. You will have to start over again, and remember, a full run takes hours and must be done in a single sitting.

And yeah, I know the tricks to make it easier. Kill all but one zombie that you kite around so the next wave doesn’t spawn, make sure everyone has a self-revive, load up with perks and armor, and so on. All of that adds interesting depth. But if you screw up and you all die, it doesn’t matter how good that run was because, aside from whatever account progression you earned during it, it all gets wiped away when you fail. After a ton of attempts, I understand why some folks just throw up their hands and spend their limited time on this Earth doing something else.

Again, this doesn’t personally bother me; failure is part of the gig, and I fully intend to finish this year’s Zombies mode at some point in the next few weeks. But it did break up a group that has a long history of doing this, and I get why they were demoralized. After our best run, where we got really close to the end before someone screwed up and it all came crashing down, one of our best guys just refused to play anymore. “I already have a job and it's really stressful,” he told me afterwards. “The last thing I need is to come home and have to deal with this nonsense.” I wonder how many people are going to try Ashes of the Damned and come to a similar conclusion.

That sentiment feels like an indictment of this year’s Zombies to me. It is so big and so long and so unforgiving that a lot of people simply won’t be able to complete it naturally even if they do know all the steps because they’ll either have bad teammates or get unlucky or just get discouraged after failing several times and give up. It also feels more than a little pay-to-win with the Gobblegum situation, and with how much simply grinding levels improves your chances because you have better stuff. If all you want to do is play Zombies, both of those things drag the experience down. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be a challenge, but it probably shouldn’t have people comparing it to their job, either. I fear the good folks behind this year’s Zombies mode have gotten so lost in the sauce that attempting to please the hardcore Zombies community may have come at the cost of letting regular people complete the map.

Honestly, the biggest problem we ran into on most runs was other people. We had teammates that didn’t speak English (I don’t hold that against them at all, it just makes communication difficult), teammates that ran off and left the rest of us to die, teammates that barely contributed or didn't collaborate at all, and so on. In fact, basically every good run we had early on was derailed by our matchmade fourth player; we normally roll with a full squad of four, but not everyone was available to play every night. I cannot imagine trying to do this with an entirely matchmade group. Eventually, I just turned off auto-fill and we ran a group of three when our fourth couldn’t make it, which was better than adding another random player to the mix.

The , one of the largest LEGO consumer sets ever created, is on sale for Walmart's Black Friday sale. It normally commands an equally imposing price tag of $849.99, but Walmart has it for $764.99. That still isn't cheap, but this gargantuan set is almost never discounted. This deal is also now available for everyone, not just Walmart+ members.

LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon 75192

Although I would never suggest purchasing LEGOs as an investment, it is true that LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series sets have among the best resale value across all LEGO franchises. Once LEGO discontinues a UCS set, the value skyrockets. The Millennium Falcon isn't discontinued just yet, but it has been in production for quite a while, and if the previous Millennium Falcon is anything to go by, this is going to be one of the most coveted Star Wars sets in existence.

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.