I keep telling myself I'll resist but these discounts are like a siren song. Four platforms, four dangerous rabbit holes, and more ways to sink my free time than I have hours. Still, I'd rather be broke and happy than miss out on the awesome bundled gems in today's haul.

Contents

• Retro
• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• LEGO

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm asking the Human Torch to light 15 candles on a cake baked for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, the action-RPG brawler I adored playing in 4P co-op. This was a full-blown superhero buffet, letting you smash through enemies with a roster that felt like it had leapt right off the comic shop shelves with a Civil War storyline front and centre.

The fusion system was the big add here (pairing up heroes for devastating combo moves that were both flashy and strategic). Beyond that, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 didn't reinvent the wheel, but it gave fans the superhero team-up game we always wanted. Also, its bonus skin selections remain superior to the meh recolourings we got in 2019's MUA3.

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

- The Sims 2 (PC) 2004. Sequel

- Guitar Hero 5 (PS2/3,Wii,X360) 2009. eBay

- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (X360) 2009. Sequel

- Bubble Bobble Neo! (X360) 2009. Sequel

- Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) 2010.

- NHL 11 (PS3,X360) 2010. Sequel

- PlayStation Move (PS3) 2010. eBay

- PlayStation 4 Slim launch, 2016.

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (-23%) - A$69 A genre-defining open world adventure with sky islands and subterranean mysteries. Nintendo polished every corner of this sequel so hard it gleams.
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (-12%) - A$79 Retro Studios finally continues Samus's saga with modern visuals and atmospheric exploration. If Prime Rem. whetted your appetite, this is the main course.
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (-27%) - A$58 Island life at its most chilled. Build, befriend, and sink hundreds of hours into customising your perfect escape. Timeless, endlessly replayable comfort gaming.
• It Takes Two (-27%) - A$44 One of the best co-op experiences ever made. Switch offers portable chaos for Josef Fares's madcap mini-games and heartfelt story of a couple finding common ground.
• Metroid Prime Rem. (-30%) - A$41.90 Samus’s GameCube classic shines with updated visuals and slick controls. It’s a masterclass in atmosphere and isolation, and a perfect refresher ahead of Prime 4.

Expiring Recent Deals

• Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (-25%) - A$59.90
• Super Mario RPG (-25%) - A$59.90
• Sonic Frontiers (-40%) - A$59.60
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (-34%) - A$46.30
• Civilization VII (-24%) - A$68

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Exciting Bargains for Xbox

• Borderlands 4 (-17%) - A$99 Loot, shoot, and banter with a fresh cast and bigger planets. Gearbox isn’t reinventing the wheel, but fans will want to strap in for the chaos.
• Resident Evil 4 (-46%) - A$32.50 Leon Kennedy’s European holiday from hell polished up into one of Capcom’s best remakes. Over-the-shoulder shooting perfected, tension unrelenting.
• Farming Simulator 25 (-32%) - A$68 Harvest fields, raise livestock, and grow your agribusiness empire. Realistic tractors and mods galore make this more addictive than expected.
• Undisputed (-47%) - A$44.90 Authentic boxing simulation with licensed fighters and tactical stamina-based bouts. Finally, the sweet science gets the video game it deserves.
• Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot controller (-33%) - A$167.70 Premium wireless pad with haptic feedback and modular sticks. A pricey accessory, but built like a tank for competitive edge seekers.

Xbox One

• NieR Replicant ver.1.22 (-60%) - A$35.90 Square Enix revisits Yoko Taro’s cult classic with prettier visuals and tighter combat. It’s melancholy, weird, and worth every cent.
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (-50%) - A$49.90 FromSoftware’s shinobi action masterpiece rewards precision and patience. Brutally tough, but that first boss you topple is unforgettable.
• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Gal. Ed. (-80%) - A$22.90 The entire Star Wars saga rebuilt in charming brick form. Loads of ships, laughs, and content. Galactic indeed.

Expiring Recent Deals

• 1TB Expansion Card (-30%) - A$215.60
• WWE 2K25 (-54%) - A$55
• EA Sports FC 25 (-26%) - A$29
• Dead Island 2 (-70%) - A$20.90
• Cyberpunk 2077 (-65%) - A$31.40
• Dying Light 2 Del. (-42%) - A$69
• Assassin's Creed Mirage (-70%) - A$23.80
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (-60%) - A$27.90

Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

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Pure Scores for PlayStation

• Dead Space (-55%) - A$49 Isaac Clarke’s nightmare returns scarier and sharper than ever. Motive nails the atmosphere and terror, making this remake feel definitive.
• The Last of Us Part I (-50%) - A$62.40 Naughty Dog’s modern retelling of Joel and Ellie’s first trek is visually jaw-dropping. If you missed it on PS3 or PS4, this is the one.
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (-50%) - A$47.40 Shorter than Peter’s adventure, but packed with flair and heart. Swinging through snowy Harlem never gets old.
• Ghost of Tsushima Dir. (-34%) - A$62.70 Sucker Punch’s samurai epic expanded with Iki Island and Legends multiplayer. A stunning love letter to Kurosawa films.
• Battlefield 6 (-19%) - A$89 EA’s modern shooter spectacle. Explosive battles, big maps, and squad tactics. Not groundbreaking, but reliable online chaos.

PS4

• Sea of Stars (-34%) - A$34.90 Retro RPG vibes powered by modern design. Gorgeous pixel art, turn-based combat with timing mechanics, and a soundtrack to swoon over.
• GTA Trilogy (-77%) - A$23 Three open-world crime classics in one package. Visual updates are hit-and-miss, but Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas remain essential.
• Sniper Elite 4 (-90%) - A$9.90 Long-range kills in WW2 Italy never get old. Slow-mo X-ray shots of Nazis exploding are as gruesome and satisfying as ever.

Expiring Recent Deals

• Split Fiction (-37%) - A$44
• Ghost of Yotei (-21%) - A$99
• Star Wars Outlaws (-67%) - A$36
• EA Sports WRC (-68%) - A$24
• Octopath Traveler (-60%) - A$36.30
• Batman: Arkham Col. (-59%) - A$34.90
• Mega Man Battle NL Col. (-34%) - A$25.30
• Katamari Damacy Reroll (-75%) - A$11.20

PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from Sep 2 with this subscription

• Psychonauts 2 (PS4)
• Stardew Valley (PS4)
• Viewfinder (PS5/PS4)

Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Purchase Cheap for PC

• Metaphor: ReFantazio (-50%) - A$57.40 Atlus channels Persona magic into a medieval fantasy RPG with surreal designs and slick combat. Expect deep systems and style galore.
• Doom The Dark Ages (-37%) - A$75.50 Slayer trades Mars labs for medieval castles. Still fast, still brutal, but this time it’s demons in armour catching buckshot.
• Humble "Phunky Physics" 9 Game Bndl (-92%) - A$21.90 Nine indie physics puzzlers in one dirt-cheap pack. Hours of brain-twisting experimentation for the price of a pub lunch.
• Logitech G502 X Plus Mouse (-45%) - A$165 Legendary gaming mouse with customisable buttons, crisp sensor, and wireless chops. A safe upgrade choice for competitive players.
• Streets of Rage 4 (-65%) - A$12.50 Side-scrolling brawler royalty returns with hand-drawn animation and a kicking soundtrack. Co-op friendly and endlessly replayable.

Expiring Recent Deals

• Assassin's Creed Shadows (-65%) - A$34.90
• Pico Park (-100%) - A$0
• Titanfall 2: Ult. (-85%) - A$5.90
• A Plague Tale Bndl (-65%) - A$19.40
• Outward Def. (-88%) - A$7.10

Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

Legit LEGO Deals

• Tow Truck and Sports Car (-37%) - A$19
• Mario Kart - Toad's Garage (-35%) - A$39
• Mobile Construction Crane (-34%) - A$119
• Ahsoka's Jedi Interceptor (-30%) - A$104.90

Expiring Recent Deals

• City Go-Karts and Race Drivers (-47%) - A$8
• Captain America vs. Red Hulk (-37%) - A$57
• Botanicals Lotus Flowers (-35%) - A$15
• Statue of Liberty (-33%) - A$99.90

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OnePlus is best known for making killer mid-range smartphones, but it's also sneakily had some of the best earbuds around. They're moderately priced and jammed with extra features – and last year's Buds Pro 3 fixed some audio issues for clean, booming sound. The new OnePlus Buds 4 try to follow that same trend. They have lots of party tricks – specifically tuned sound profiles, 3D spatial audio, adaptive switching between noise cancelling and transparency mode – for a reasonable price. They're $129.99/£119.99 on paper but you may find them around $100/£100 if you buy them directly from OnePlus. So has OnePlus done it again, or are the Buds 4 a rare misstep?

OnePlus Buds 4 – Design and Battery Life

The OnePlus Buds 4 look disappointingly generic with its pebble-shaped. From end to end, it's larger than most cases but it is, at least, thin enough that I could slip it into my pocket without it bulging out from my clothes. The lid shuts with a loud, satisfying snap, but it will creak and wiggle from side to side if you push it. After my few weeks of testing I noticed some minor scuffs and scratches on the surface: it's certainly not flimsy, but it doesn't feel premium.

The earbuds have a lick more personality, with a curved indented touch area on the side and metal-effect circle near the bottom of the stems. More importantly, they’re light yet they have a snug fit so they don’t dislodge, even when I was running. They come with rubberized tips of varying sizes for your ears, but the default ones felt comfortable – I wore them for hours without needing to take a break. IP55 certification shows they're water and dust resistant (although not waterproof). Not every set of mid-range earbuds can say that, and I wore the Buds 4 in the rain and during sweaty workouts without worrying.

The touch controls mostly work well, consistently recognizing my gestures. Furthermore, the customization of single, double, and triple taps is generous, like all of the customization for the Buds 4. (I'll talk about the OnePlus HeyMelody app later in this review in more detail). Sliding your finger up and down for volume control feels intuitive, but it was fiddly at first. It was too easy for my finger to slip off the stem of the bud or to midjudge the angle, which often registered as a tap, pausing my music. It was fine once I got used to it, though.

Battery life is about average and I got between five and a half and six hours of continuous use from a full charge while using active noise cancellation (ANC), which is perfectly acceptable at this price. The case will recharge your buds three times before you need to plug it in, which adds up to somewhere between 22 and 24 hours of play with ANC enabled between plug-ins, or about 45 hours without ANC. While not particularly spectacular, these are good numbers.

It lacks wireless charging, however: I can't ding it too hard for that but some similarly priced buds have it, such as the JBL Live Pro 2 TWS. It does, however, charge quickly, and 10 minutes was enough for several hours of juice. More importantly, the audio quality, and the flood of customization available, is where the Buds 4 starts to shine.

OnePlus Buds 4 – Audio Quality and Noise Cancellation

For the price, the Buds 4 sound excellent. I tested them on a variety of music genres as well as podcasts, films, audio books, and live sports, and they sounded loud, balanced, and natural. They are slightly bass heavy, and in some songs it nearly drowned out other elements, but it never ruined anything for me (and it’s quite easy to adjust the EQ in its software to tune it to your liking). Remember that these are mid-range earbuds, so audiophiles looking for the absolute best sound quality will need to spend more money – but you can still feel the thump on bassy songs, the crisp splash of cymbals or snare drums. Vocals, whether sung or spoken, sound rich and true to life.

They support Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec (LHDC), a technology that can stream high-resolution audio over Bluetooth, which can give you more detailed sound. Most mid-range buds don't have this, so it feels like a bonus. You'll need a compatible Android device – the list is quite small, but includes OnePlus' phones – and a streaming service that supports hi-res audio, such as Tidal (Spotify doesn't), so whether you notice the benefit depends on other factors you may or may not have access to.

Noise cancellation is impressive. You can adjust its strength to block out more or less sound, or let it adjust automatically. I mostly left it on maximum because I only used it when I wanted to hear as little background noise as possible. My ultimate ANC test is a particularly screechy section of the London Underground, and while the Buds 4 couldn't drown out the squeal of the tracks completely, it cut more than most other earbuds I've used. At the gym, it blocked out all the public music so I could hear my own without having to crank the volume up, and when I was listening to an audiobook in a cafe, it drowned out all background conversations.

On the other end of noise control is transparency mode, which uses the built-in mics to boost external noise. This worked just as well as the noise cancelling: I used it for safety when walking on busy roads, or at home, when I was working but still wanted to hear people around me. It only amplified meaningful sounds, and the background fuzziness you sometimes get with transparency modes is absent here.

Between noise cancelling and transparency modes sits one of the Buds 4's flagship features: an adaptive mode which flicks between the two depending on your background noise. I love the idea of just choosing one setting and never having to think about it again, but it's just not good enough to do that. The change between the two can feel abrupt, but my bigger complaint is that it's too stingy with the noise cancelling. In my gym it resisted adapting to the blaring background music where ANC would’ve been the right switch: I could hear every line of every song, interfering with what I was listening to. I admire the ambition, and hopefully OnePlus can improve on it next time.

OnePlus Buds 4 – Software and Customization

All of the Buds 4's many tools and tricks are built into OnePlus phones, but for everyone else they're in the HeyMelody app. It failed to realize my buds were connected a couple of times, but the problem never lasted long and the app worked fine on the whole. It's simple, easy to navigate, and devoid of annoying pop-ups.

It's pleasingly packed with ways to tune the sound of the Buds to your taste. Dimming bass, for example, is simple with BassWave. It's a sliding scale that lets you remove bass or, if you want, crank it up to absurd levels. At maximum it sounds forced and unnatural, but if you're gentle it works well. One of the Buds 4's other signatures is the grandly titled Golden Sound which claims to test your ears and tune sounds specifically to your "ear canal structure." It seems futuristic but most of the testing is moving a slider until you can no longer hear a series of beeps. Based on my results, it told me it would amplify frequencies at the mid-range.

I was skeptical, but I must admit music did sound fuller and more vibrant afterwards. When I turned it off, it sounded flatter. If you don't like the results you can add a custom six-element equalizer, giving you precise control over the sound profile you want.

And then there's OnePlus 3D audio, which I liked less. Turning this on should make you feel like you're surrounded by noise – for music, it sounded different with louder vocals, but I can't say it sounded more immersive. For podcasts, it sounded more like a studio with a little more reverb, which I liked but also had some strange artifacts and wonky noise levels. Ultimately, I left it off.

Whether you enjoy any of these options or not, there's no denying that this is a generous toolset for mid-range buds. Most people will, I think, like the default sound, but if you don't, you're almost guaranteed to find a combination of adjustments that work for you. And there are a few more peripheral extras, too. Dual connection lets you connect to two devices at once, so I could flip between watching YouTube on my laptop and my phone instantly without having to disconnect and/or reconnect. AI translation instantly translates foreign languages for you, but it's specific to OnePlus phones.

I wasn't impressed by Gaming Mode, which reduces latency when you're playing phone games. I tried it in PUBG Mobile, but the sound of gunshots still lagged behind the on-screen action, although some have reported it works better with OnePlus phones. If you want the best gaming earbuds, you're still going to need something specifically designed for it with proper low-latency modes whether it be a robust wireless protocol or a 2.4GHz receiver.

Ahead of the holiday season, Lenovo is offering the lowest price I've seen for one of its RTX 5070 Ti equipped gaming laptops. Right now you can get the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 gaming laptop, equipped with an OLED display and RTX 5070 Ti GPU, for just $1,764.99 after you apply coupon code: "EXTRAFIVE". That's a total of $705 off in combined savings. Lenovo Legion laptops are well-rated thanks to their excellent build quality, powerful components, and robust cooling.

Update: I recommend upgrading to 32GB of RAM for only $45 more.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 10 RTX 5070 Ti Laptop for $1,765

This review is based on a screening which took place at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will be released in select theaters on November 26 and on Netflix on December 12.

After a brief sojourn in a galaxy far, far away, acclaimed director Rian Johnson has spent the past eight years working on the macabre misadventures of Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc. As a Netflix film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will get a limited theatrical release, but it will ultimately be seen by most audiences on the small screen. That’s a shame, since it looks great and would likely go over well as a late autumn crowdpleaser. It’s also the first movie in the series that’s a straightforward murder mystery instead of a subversion of one, which winds up being the film’s best attribute.

The film starts off not with Blanc, but with our functional main character: Reverend Jud Duplencity (Josh O’Connor), a down-on-his-luck young priest assigned to aid a small, insular parish led by the domineering Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Wicks is an elder firebrand who keeps his small group of churchgoing regulars in check with rants and deceit, leading Jud to take no small umbrage with the man. But when, after a sermon, Wicks collapses with a blade in his back, there is no obvious way for someone to have killed him, even though all eyes fall on Jud for having the most obvious motive. Enter Craig’s Benoit Blanc, who finds what might just be his most perplexing case yet.

As a general supporter of Johnson’s films who was severely disappointed in the second film in this series, Glass Onion, it’s good to see the director back in strong form with Wake Up Dead Man. It doesn’t beat Knives Out for emotional resonance – O’Connor’s layered but understated turn as Jud doesn’t quite generate the same amount of pathos as Ana de Armas’ Marta did in the first film, but gets close – but it does wind up being the best mystery of the bunch. The answer here is not obvious and the method of how the killing and subsequent machinations were achieved is actually inventive. And while not every plot beat or line of dialogue is perfectly executed, Johnson’s command of his directorial style is as capable as it’s ever been.

This is especially true of the film’s visuals. Johnson’s films, all of which have been photographed by long-time collaborator Steve Yedlin, always look fantastic, and Wake Up Dead Man is no exception. Although the marketing may have oversold the film’s alleged “Gothic” influence, which amounts to no more than two or three standout moments, the earthy, green-brown color palette and use of lighting and framing conjures a genuinely cozy atmosphere in its early segments. This makes the darker turns later on feel like an invasion of a sanctified space, and since the film is about a small church unravelling after the death of their pastor, it’s a potent parallel.

Yet if Wake Up Dead Man is a stronger film than its predecessor in terms of plot, it shares the same weaknesses in terms of character. Craig is as watchable as he’s ever been and both O’Connor and Brolin do their jobs admirably, but like with previous Blanc films, Johnson stuffs his cast with capable performers and then fails to give half of them anything to do. Talented actors like Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott and Cailee Spaeny are technically in this movie, but they don’t leave an impression because the screenplay doesn’t afford them much room. This is doubly frustrating because every member of Wicks’ parish is given at least a hint of a motive, but the movie doesn’t develop many of them beyond a cursory setup, leaving these characters stranded as they search for a purpose the film never bothers to provide.

Also, Johnson hasn’t completely curbed his worst inclinations as a writer, sneaking in several cheeky references to things like Star Wars, his deal with Netflix, and discussing the tropes of classic murder mystery novels like John Dickson Carr’s The Hollow Man. Most of these gags feel like Johnson playing to the audience instead of the characters acting in-character, which hurts the movie’s verisimilitude. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means, but if Johnson intends to keep going with this series, it’s a tendency he’d be wise to drop. Still, the auteur filmmaker following up Knives Out’s novel inversion of the classic whodunnit formula and Glass Onion’s sadly leaden and poorly structured plot with a real-deal murder mystery without any gimmicks was exactly what the series needed.

reMarkable is well regarded for its best-in-class digital notebooks. The flagship tablet - the reMarkable Paper Pro - accurately mimics the sensation of writing on real paper thanks to a combination of a textured display, instantly responsive E-ink technology, and a custom-designed pressure-sensitive pen. However, with a spacious 12" screen size, the Paper Pro can be a bit cumbersome to carry around on a daily basis. Fortunately, reMarkable was aware of this and just released a smaller, more pocketable version, dubbed the reMarkable Paper Pro Move. It features all of the technologies that make the Paper Pro great and acts as the perfect paper replacement, but with a more compact 7" screen size.

New Release: reMarkable Paper Pro Move Digital Notebook

Alienware's new mainstream gaming laptop for 2025 is dubbed the "Alienware Aurora" and comes in two 16" models: the 16 and 16X. The 16X Aurora is far and away the laptop I would recommend for anyone who has a vested interest in gaming. It uses less plastic, boasts a higher quality display, and is equipped with a more powerful CPU and GPU. Naturally, it's usually considerably more expensive. Usually, it's also more expensive. However, right now there's an excellent deal that actually drops the price to below the price of an equivalently configured 16 (non-X) Aurora.

Alienware 16X Aurora RTX 5070 Gaming Laptop for $1,599.99

The Nintendo Switch is going out in a blaze of glory, with some exciting games launching to make way for the console's successor, the Switch 2. Whether they’re exclusively developed for the Switch or ported over from other platforms, these upcoming Switch games will likely wrap up the Switch era while also being compatible with the Switch 2.

In the second half of 2025, we'll hopefully be getting our hands on well-known in-development titles as well as a host of new games announced at the most recent Nintendo Direct. Here are all of the new Switch games we can look forward to this year.

All Upcoming Switch Games With Release Dates

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (September 19, 2025)

The highly-anticipated Trails in the Sky remake officially has a release date. Well, at least the first chapter. The RPG from Nihon Falcon kicked off the Trails sub-series back in 2004, and the remake introduces quality of life improvements using the same engine as Trails of Daybreak.

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree (September 19, 2025)

The evil Magatsu has thrown the kingdom into turmoil. You play as Towa, who must seek Guardian companions and push back Magatsu’s influence in this roguelite we called "twin-stick Hades" in our hands-on preview.

DreamWorks Gabby's Dollhouse: Ready to Party (September 19, 2025)

Gabby’s Dollhouse has been a hit with the kids, having just wrapped up its 11th season from DreamWorks Animation. The game adaptation has you working with Gabby and friends from across magical worlds to prep the best party ever.

Folly Of The Wizards (September 19, 2025)

There’s never enough roguelikes, in my opinion. Join a wacky wizard cult and explore procedurally generated dungeons in this sidescroller with a comedic edge.

Sonic Racing: Crossworlds (September 25, 2025)

Sonic's back, and he's bringing some friends along for the ride. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds seems to be an ultimate crossover game, blending chaotic kart racing mechanics with a pretty insane slate of characters. Look forward to vehicle customization and a variety of environments across each track (and universe).

Today’s roundup is stacked with some of the biggest Nintendo Switch 2 releases of 2025, covering every confirmed first-party game and amiibo on the calendar.

Whether you’re eyeing Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the double-pack of Super Mario Galaxy titles, or Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, every major release is now open for preorder.

On top of that, Kirby fans can look forward to Kirby Air Riders and a fresh wave of themed amiibo arriving in November. It’s rare to see such a complete slate of first-party releases lined up this early, which makes today’s deals list worth bookmarking if you plan on building out a Switch 2 library.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

But that’s not all, today’s roundup also features Pokémon TCG deals that fall below market value. In several cases, Amazon’s pricing has dipped under TCGPlayer’s, which is usually the lowest benchmark for sealed product.

For example, the Unova Poster Collection is $39.98 on Amazon versus $28.77 on TCGPlayer, and the Prismatic Evolutions Mini Tin is $33.28 at Amazon compared to $24.87 on TCGPlayer. Those kinds of gaps show which items are trending under market value right now, and they’re the deals most collectors will want to move on quickly.

Amyet V9-G60 Electric Bike for $477.47

Pokémon TCG Price Watch

If you’re looking to stock up on sealed Pokémon TCG product, TCGPlayer remains the most reliable place for market-low pricing across the board. The vast majority of booster packs, tins, and trainer boxes are sitting cheaper there than on Amazon, often by $5-$15.

Bundles like the White Flare Binder Collection and the Shining Fates Collection Pikachu V Box are up to $40 off, deals that everyone should be snapping up right now. It’s worth keeping an eye on these dips, since Amazon tends to fluctuate prices more often than dedicated TCG retailers.

Pokémon TCG Below Market Value

While TCGPlayer is often the go-to marketplace for low Pokémon TCG prices, a handful of sealed products are currently cheaper on Amazon, making them below market value and worth grabbing. Right now, the Black Bolt Booster Bundle is available for $50.01 on Amazon, while the White Flare Booster Bundle has dipped under $46.

Collectors looking for nostalgic sets can also snag the Team Rocket Tin at $41.24, or the Paradox Pokémon Stacking Tin at $26.32. Even seasonal products like the Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle (2024) are under market at $21.22, and the Unova Mini Tin rounds out the list at just $19.99.

Invest In Silver Tempest Now

Silver Tempest has proven to be one of the most collector-driven sets of the Sword and Shield era, with prices pulled between nostalgia, competitive play, and limited supply. The clear winner is Lugia V (Alternate Full Art) 186/195, which has surged 68% since July to $427, cementing itself as the set’s chase card.

Trainer Gallery standouts like Rayquaza VMAX TG20/TG30 and Blaziken VMAX TG15/TG30 have also doubled or tripled in value thanks to strong artwork and nostalgia, while even Lugia VSTAR continues climbing on competitive strength. At the same time, cards like Regidrago V (Alternate Art) and Alolan Vulpix VSTAR have cooled as the meta shifted away from them, with values slipping back toward the $12–$14 range.

Snag Classic Mega Evolution Cards Before Market Rise

The market for XY-era Mega Evolution Pokémon cards is heating up fast ahead of Pokémon Legends: Z-A and the upcoming Mega Evolution TCG set. Collectors aren’t waiting for modern reprints, they’re chasing the originals, and prices are showing it. Some cards have exploded in value, while others have steadied after sharp climbs, creating both momentum plays and entry points for buyers. Leading the surge is M Rayquaza EX (Shiny Full Art - Ancient Origins), which has skyrocketed over 426% this year, from $275 in January to $1,450 today.

M Gengar EX (Secret Rare - Phantom Forces) isn’t far behind, up nearly fivefold to $415, cementing its place as one of the most sought-after Megas. Other heavy-hitters include M Rayquaza EX (Full Art - Roaring Skies), now at $656, M Charizard EX (X - Flashfire) climbing past $349, and Primal Groudon EX (Shiny Full Art), which has more than doubled to $349. These climbers show how nostalgia, unique mechanics, and iconic artwork are driving a collector frenzy.

But not every Mega Evolution is running away in price. Some cards have plateaued after strong early-year gains, leaving a rare buying window before the next spike. M Mewtwo EX (Full Art - BREAKthrough) climbed from $37 to $145 but has leveled off in recent weeks, while M Alakazam EX (Full Art - Fates Collide) sits steady just under $100 after jumping from $28 earlier this year.

Even Charizard is showing signs of cooling, M Charizard EX (Generations) and M Charizard EX (Full Art - Evolutions) have tripled since January but are holding in the $190-$200 range for now. These pauses don’t signal weakness; rather, they reflect consolidation before the broader Mega Evolution wave hits with new set releases. For collectors and investors, the message is clear: the grails are climbing fast, but the plateaued cards may be the smarter pickups before Mega hype takes over the market again.

Crown Zenith Prices Are Rising

The Crown Zenith market has been showing two very different stories this month. On one hand, several Galarian Gallery Ultra Rares are slipping as hype fades, with fan-favorites like Leafeon VSTAR and Suicune V dropping more than 20% from their peaks.

On the other hand, the gold Secret Rares are climbing steadily, led by Giratina VSTAR and Arceus VSTAR, as collectors chase the scarce, high-end pieces of the set. This split reflects a maturing market: casual collectors are less interested in mid-tier Eeveelutions and V cards, while serious players and investors are doubling down on the big four golds.

Among the crashers, Leafeon VSTAR has fallen from nearly $50 to the $43 range, and Glaceon VSTAR is down 26% since February, hovering in the mid-$30s. Deoxys VMAX has slipped under $37, while Suicune V and Raikou V both lost more than a quarter of their value since spring. These are still striking artworks, but set fatigue and limited competitive relevance are pushing prices down.

Meanwhile, the climbers are commanding all the attention. Giratina VSTAR (Secret) has surged nearly 20% since July to $180, making it the definitive chase of Crown Zenith. Mewtwo VSTAR is also up more than 30% this summer, with its Charizard battle artwork driving collector demand. Rounding out the gains, Arceus VSTAR, Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR are all trending higher as well, thanks to their powerful abilities and limited supply. Taken together, the set still holds broad collector appeal, but it’s clear the market is consolidating around the golden Secret Rares as the safest long-term holds.

First Party Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders

Nintendo’s 2025 first-party lineup is shaping up to be one of its strongest in years. Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to arrive in October, followed closely by Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 bundled together for Switch 2.

Then in December, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond lands with its own set of new amiibo figures, alongside Kirby’s big return in Kirby Air Riders. Between new entries in cornerstone franchises and fresh collectible amiibo launches, fans will have plenty to keep their Switch 2 libraries stocked through the holidays.

Third Party Switch 2 Preorders

The third-party slate for Switch 2 is just as impressive, with several big franchises making the jump to the new hardware. Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection launches in December with a full set of classic fighters, while Borderlands 4 and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake hit this fall.

Beyond that, titles like Hades II, Octopath Traveler 0, and Cronos round out the lineup for RPG fans. Whether you’re into fighters, shooters, or sprawling JRPGs, the Switch 2’s preorder catalog already feels packed, and today’s deals cover every one of them.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

AliExpress is offering an outstanding deal on a popular entry level electric bike. Right now the Amyet V9-G60 Electric Bike with 1,000W (1,500W peak) motor and 48V 20AH battery is on sale for just $477.47 after you apply $100 off coupon code "USDEAL100" during checkout. You're buying it from Amyet's official store on AliExpress. It ships free locally from the United States and arrives within 1 to 2 weeks. You'd be hard pressed to find a new electric bike for under $500 stateside, especially one that has a 1,000W motor (the least expensive bikes cost more and are usually rated for 750W). The same bike is priced at $500 plus $165 shipping on Amazon, so you'd paying nearly $200 more buying it from there.

Amyet V9-G60 Electric Bike for $477.47

Good news, movie fans: LEGO Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is now available in early access for LEGO Insiders. If you’re not an insider, you can sign up here for free and purchase it early. It’s a big, fun, candy-colored set that re-creates the most iconic scene in the movie. Buy it before Wednesday, September 17, and you’ll also get the LEGO SEGA Genesis Controller set for free. That set is a Gift With Purchase, and is not available to buy separately.

LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

New LEGO Sets for September

September has been a killer month for LEGO releases, with major builds like LEGO Batman Arkham Asylum, a bunch of new 2025 LEGO advent calendars, and a gorgeous new collector’s edition of Hogsmeade Village from Harry Potter. Oh, and the Pirates of the Caribbean set as well. Check out more new sets in the catalog above.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

If you're looking for an Anker power bank that can handle the demands of power hungry electronics like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally X, or even a laptop, the model that I use myself has dropped in price. Amazon is offering the Anker PowerCore 737 24,000mAh Power Bank with 140W of Power Delivery for $87.99 with free delivery. I bought this power bank nearly two years ago and still use it today; it has been on multiple flights and road trips and works like new.

Anker 737 24,000mAh 140W Power Bank for $87.99

The 2007 horror anthology cult classic Trick ‘r Treat has been restored in 4K and will be released in North American theaters nationwide in time for Halloween.

Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Saga Arts have partnered with Fathom Entertainment to release Trick ‘r Treat in theaters for two nights only: October 14 and 16, 2025. Tickets can be purchased at Fathom Entertainment.

Although it screened at festivals and at San Diego Comic-Con, Trick ‘r Treat was never given a proper theatrical release, going straight-to-DVD and Blu-ray instead. The movie has become a beloved Halloween cult classic in the ensuing years.

Trick ‘r Treat’s most iconic character is Sam, a trick-or-treater in orange footie pajamas who wears a burlap sack over his head. Fathom’s official press release describes Sam as “the mischievous spirit who punishes anyone who dares to break the rules.”

The official plot synopsis for the film follows: “Trick ‘r Treat weaves together sinister stories set on Halloween night: a high school principal, Dylan Baker (Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3) moonlights as a serial killer; a young virgin’s, Anna Paquin (X-Men franchise) search for the right man turns horrific; “Emma” Leslie Bibb (“The White Lotus”) and her husband discover the cost of ignoring holiday rituals; and a cantankerous old man, Brian Cox (“Succession”) faces Sam in a terrifying showdown. Darkly funny, gruesome, and endlessly rewatchable, Trick ’r Treat secures Sam’s place as the true spirit of Halloween.

The re-release will be accompanied by a featurette on the development of the film, which was the feature directing debut of writer-director Michael Dougherty. Dougherty’s 1996 animated short, Season’s Greetings, which introduced Sam, will also be screened before the film. Season’s Greetings has also been restored in 4K.

IGN reviewed Trick ‘r Treat out of San Diego Comic-Con 2009, awarding it an 8 out of 10 and proclaiming it “a scary blast.” We’ve since included the movie on many of our editorial lists, including it among the best werewolf movies of all time, the best holiday movies of all time, and the 25 best movies you didn’t see in theaters.

We can finally confirm that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set to release for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on December 4. This time Samus is dispatched to Planet Viewros, where she discovers some interesting psychic abilities in addition to her standard ones. She also goes up against Sylux, another bounty hunter who isn’t happy with the Galactic Federation, or Samus. The game is now available to preorder in physical and digital editions (see it at Amazon). You can also preorder some awesome looking amiibo to go along with it. Let’s dive in.

Preorder Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Preorder Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Amiibo

Launching alongside the game are a trio of ridiculously awesome looking Metroid Prime 4: Beyond amiibo. There’s Samus solo, aiming her blaster arm. There’s Samus on the extremely cool Vi-O-La motorcycle you get to ride in the game. And there’s the villainous Sylux. Nintendo hasn’t announced what in-game functionality scanning the amiibo will offer, but they’re sure to do something.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Switch 2 Upgrade Pack

• Get it at eShop (digital) - $9.99

Let’s say you buy the game for the original Switch, and then you get a Switch 2 later. In that case, you can purchase the upgrade pack for $9.99 on the Nintendo eShop. This turns a standard Switch version (even a physical copy) into the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game.

The benefits of the upgrade include enhanced resolution, frame rate, and load times, plus the ability to aim by using a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse. Here’s Nintendo’s official description of the specifics of the upgrade:

“Two display modes let you choose how to experience the adventure. Enjoy more detail in Quality Mode, which runs at 60 frames per second in 4k while docked and in 1080p while in handheld, or prioritize super-smooth action with a higher frame rate in Performance Mode, which runs at 120 frames per second in 1080p while docked and 720p in while in handheld. Both choices are HDR compatible.”

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Preorder Bonus?

At the time of this writing, there are no preorder bonuses for buying the game. If that changes, I’ll update this section.

What Is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a long-in-the-works sequel to the 2007 Wii game Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It’s had something of a troubled development cycle; after being announced at E3 2017, Nintendo announced in 2019 that development was being restarted. But here it is, six years later, finally coming out.

This game puts you in the boots of the bounty hunter Samus and sends you to planet Viewros. There, you’re equipped with a very cool-looking motorcycle called Vi-O-La that lets you zip around large areas quickly. You can jump off ramps and fight aliens while riding, skidding into them as a form of attack.

As with previous Metroid Prime games, exploration plays a big role. You can scan the alien flora and fauna to find out more about them. You also gain psychic abilities. If you buy the Switch 2 version, you get improved graphics and load times. You can also use the Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse for aiming, which may offer more precision than the sticks.

You can find out more in our Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hands-on preview.

Other Preorder Guides

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

The Magic: The Gathering Crashers and Climbers are here as we tiptoe closer to prerelease for Spider-Man this week, with one card from the new set already worth over $130.

Elsewhere, there’s big news for Vivi, some Tarkir: Dragonstorm fluctuation, and yet another card that pairs with Toph from the upcoming Avatar set.

Climbing

Those clever clogs at Wargamer have spotted a fun one this week. Equinox, which dates back to 1994 (I was 4, in case you were wondering, and didn’t know my Mana from my Modern Horizons), has seen a price hike.

Bambu Lab is widely considered one of the better consumer 3D printer brands on the market and, starting from earlier this year, they're available at your local Best Buy. Although Bambu does ship to the United States and even has domestic warehouses, you'll get your order faster from Best Buy (as early as next day depending on your location). Customer service, including dealing with returns, is also easier at Best Buy than dealing with an overseas company.

Bambu has a few types of 3D printers to choose from, but one of their most popular and well-reviewed 3D printers, the Bambu X1C Combo 3D Printer, is currently on sale for $999.99 with free delivery after a $250 off instant discount. Free delivery is included with as fast as next day arrival. This is Bambu's flagship CoreXY 3D printer and the combo bundle include the automatic material system (AMS) for multi-filament or multi-color printing.

Bambu X1C Combo 3D Printer for $999.99

Supergiant's Hades 2 is officially set to release on September 25, 2025, for Nintendo Switch 2, and will surely consume my life just as much as the first game did all those years ago.

Look, I know this release schedule is going to confuse somebody, so let me break it down bit by bit for you. Hades 2 will release digitally, as I mentioned, in September 2025, and again later as a physical edition on November 20, 2025.

Now, let's discuss both and what your options are for preordering each edition.

Hades 2 - Physical Edition

Hades 2 is now available to preorder in physical format via Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $49.99. You won't have to pay anything until release, as each retailer charges on dispatch, not order date.

The physical Nintendo Switch 2 edition will include the full game on a card, so it's not a digital game key like many other third-party Switch 2 games.

It also comes in that bright red Switch 2 case, but surprisingly, the game card will also work on an original Switch, Switch OLED, and Switch Lite. This is because both versions of the game are packed on the cartridge, with no cost for upgrading the game from Switch to Switch 2 either.

It's also worth noting for any savvy shoppers out there that the physical Switch 2 edition of the game costs $49.99, and is $20 more than the standard digital copy at $29.99.

And finally, it's also worth noting that it's a timed console exclusive, with currently no word on when we can expect the game beyond Switch platforms, and release on PlayStation and Xbox (but if I'd wager a guess, it'll be late 2026 to early 2027).

Hades 2 - Digital Edition

Like I mentioned, Hades 2 is set to release on September 25, 2025, digitally for Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC on Steam.

If you already bought the game on Steam in its early access form, you won't need to purchase again, as the game will simply need be updated to 1.0. You can buy it in early access now to get your download sorted, and even check out the start of the game, or just wait for the 1.0 patch.

For those on Switch looking to play the game ASAP, and don't fancy hanging around until late November, you can also preorder the game digitally via the Nintendo eShop today for $29.99.

Plus, if you already have an save file from early access on PC, you'll also be able to transfer it to your Nintendo console if that's where you'd prefer to play going forward.

Should You Play Hades 2?

It's a reasonding yes, at least from me, but the game also sits at an Overwhelmingly Positive review rating on Steam. Like many, I've already checked the game out in early access and spent a lot of my time breaking into the Underworld on Steam Deck. Now, with 1.0 set to release in just a couple of weeks, let me tell you that this is yet again the perfect game to play on the go.

It'll suit Switch 2 so well, and as revealed during Nintendo Direct September 2025, Hades 2 runs at 120 frames per second in TV mode on the console. Hot damn! It's well worth picking it up on PC or your friendly Nintendo console for release day, or preordering for the physical coming later this year.

If you need any more convincing, consider reading IGN's early access review for the game, of which I'll leave a little snippet of just below as well.

Other Preorder Guides

Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

Tech experts say Borderlands 4 on PC has significant stutter problems, and have advised against running the game on its ‘Badass’ graphics setting.

Borderlands 4 launched big on Steam but it’s currently sat on a ‘mixed’ user review rating, mostly due to complaints about how the game runs on PC — even on high-end rigs with which PC gamers aren’t getting the graphics performance they’d expect.

Gearbox development chief Randy Pitchford has spent some time on social media addressing those complaints, even directly responding to some disgruntled fans to clap back.

Now, the tech experts at Digital Foundry have taken a look at Borderlands 4 on PC, and their initial analysis shows stutter problems that will be familiar to anyone who’s followed the discourse around Unreal Engine game performance in the last few years.

According to DF’s Alex Battaglia, shader compilation stutter (you’ve probably noticed Borderlands 4 spends time compiling shaders as you wait to load the game) can cause stutter when the engine does something for the first time in a new area, like your character picking up a new type of weapon or having an enemy perform a new death animation.

PC gamers have complained about Unreal Engine game stutter for some time now, but last month Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney (Epic, the developer of Fortnite, makes Unreal Engine) suggested the way developers were making their Unreal Engine 5 games was to blame.

Whoever’s to blame, for Borderlands 4, the stutter issue “makes the experience feel less polished,” Battaglia said.

He also noted that vegetation starts to animate as you get closer, and it does “this very obvious flip when it does it and it looks like an LOD is changing.”

“I have no idea why they did it this way,” Battaglia said. “When you’re walking through the world and there’s a lot of grass on the ground you’ll see a lot of what looks like pop-in occurring. That’s actually just the animation turning on. So if you do see pop-in, it’s probably not pop-in in the traditional sense, but just the vegetation turning on to animate. It’s a little weird looking.”

Meanwhile, real-time cutscenes are limited to 30fps, which is a “bit bizarre” because you can abruptly crash to 30 from a higher framerate in gameplay, “which seems a little out of place in a first-person game.”

DF chief Rich Leadbetter pointed out that Battaglia experienced stutter “on the fastest gaming CPU that money can buy” during the team’s testing, suggesting there's a significant issue here.

Meanwhile, DF commented on the ongoing complaints from PC players about the performance of the game, even on powerful PCs. Battaglia warned against running Borderlands 4 on what’s called the 'Badass' graphics preset, even if your PC should be able to handle it, because what you get from Badass doesn't justify using it over 'Very High.'

“On the higher levels, I definitely don’t think you should be turning this game up to Badass,” Battaglia said. “It is woefully inefficient on the Epic setting. It is not good to use. That’s really placebo level stuff, usually. There’s probably some middle ground there that’ll give you a better visual experience.”

DF’s John Linneman added: “This one does seem to be running worse than usual for an Unreal Engine 5 game. It is below where it seems like it should be given how other games using this engine perform.”

According to DF, the recently released PC update — the one with no patch notes — does not appear to have improved matters. Gearbox has said it will continue to update the game, but PC players will be hoping meaningful patches arrive sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, Gearbox has posted a Borderlands 4 Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam, advising players how to optimize their graphics settings for “better performance and framerates” on PC with the Nvidia app. Gearbox has also issued a piece of advice to PC gamers that to me reads like an effort to prevent players from making knee-jerk reactions to the game's performance as soon as they’ve changed their settings: “Please note that any time you change any of your graphics settings, your shaders will need to recompile. Please keep playing for at least 15 minutes to see how your PC's performance has changed.”

If you are delving into Borderlands 4, don't go without updated hourly SHiFT codes list. We've also got a huge interactive map ready to go and a badass Borderlands 4 planner tool courtesy of our buds at Maxroll. Plus check out our expert players' choices for which character to choose (no one agreed).

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.

Rockstar has some particularly grand hopes for Grand Theft Auto 6, with the developer referring to its upcoming project as "the largest game launch in history."

The company's claim — which few are likely to argue with — was published as part of a job advertisment viewable via Rockstar's website. In it, the developer says it is seeking a lead software engineer to ensure everything goes smoothly when GTA 6 finally arrives next year.

Rockstar's lucky candidate will work with "some of the most talented people in the industry", the company said, to help develop the data platform behind the upcoming behemoth.

"With the continued growth of Grand Theft Auto Online and the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6, the successful candidate will lead both the evolution and operation of the data platform supporting what will be the largest game launch in history," Rockstar wrote, "ensuring it scales to deliver an exceptional experience for millions of players worldwide."

At the time of writing, the most recent version of the job ad (first spotted on social media by TheGTABase) no longer includes this paragraph, though IGN was able to view an older, archived version of the page to verify it was previously present.

It's unclear whether Rockstar is referring to GTA 6 as being the largest game launch in terms of how lucrative it will be, or how many players are likely to be flocking into the game during its first few days. Analyst firm Ampere previously estimated that GTA 6's likely impact on the gaming industry will be worth $2.7 billion.

Currently set to launch in just eight months' time, GTA 6 will mark the first new entry in Rockstar's best-selling series in over a decade. There's plenty of pent up demand for a fresh Grand Theft Auto, then, since GTA 5 originally launched back for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013.

A recent trailer showed off much more of GTA 6, including its dual protagonists Jason and Lucia, and finally set a May 26, 2026 release date. Still, though, there's much about the game that's being kept under wraps.

So far, Rockstar has not shared any details of GTA 6's version of GTA Online, which presumably this job applicant will be working on if they are leading development of its data platform. Whether the new version of GTA Online launches day and date with the main GTA 6 campaign remains to be seen, however — and that's if there are no further delays to the project overall.

Whenever GTA 6 does arrive, it's fair to say that no other game developer will want to launch their project anywhere near Rockstar's release. Indeed, earlier this month, Ghost of Yotei director Nate Fox said his team at Sucker Punch celebrated GTA 6's previous delay out of this year, giving their game a clear run at the holidays. "We're all still hungover, multi-month hangover," Fox said. "That was a great day."

Could GTA 6's launch slip again? Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar parent company Take-Two, previously told IGN that "historically when we set a specific date, generally speaking, we've been very good about reaching it." Here's hoping Rockstar fills that job fast.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Note: This is a spoiler-free review of Gen V Season 2. The first three episodes will premiere on Prime Video on September 17.

With Gen V Season 1, Prime Video proved there’s plenty of room to expand The Boys universe beyond the central conflict between Billy Butcher’s team and The Seven. Vought International has its multinational fingers in a great many pies, and that includes running a college for hedonistic young supes coming to terms with their powers. And with Season 2, we have confirmation that the concept has real staying power. There’s no sophomore slump for these super-powered students, just a series that continues to build effectively and meaningfully on the foundation of The Boys.

Granted, Season 2 does take a bit of time to find its footing. Season 1 promised a drastically different status quo in the aftermath of the violent massacre on the Godolkin University campus. Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann) have conned their way into becoming the heroes of that little incident, while Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Emma (Lizzie Broadway), and Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh) now rot inside a mysterious Vought facility.

Despite the way things were left, though, Season 2 doesn’t quite mark the profound change in formula fans might be expecting. The early episodes contrive a way to mostly return to the sexed-up, raunchy superhero college formula. Despite the dire straits our heroes find themselves in, class must go on. Granted, it’s a formula that still works, but some of the novelty has definitely worn off since Season 1. The series takes some time to rebuild its narrative momentum in the early episodes. Fortunately, the focus on classroom drama and school rankings gradually fades over the course of Season 2, with the stakes steadily building in the back half of this eight-episode season.

Particularly during Season 4, The Boys itself has often been guilty of biting off more than it can realistically chew. Gen V, by comparison, is more purposeful and efficient with its structure. While it would have been nice to see a little more focus on Sam and Cate in the early episodes, each main character does ultimately undergo a satisfying, cohesive arc in Season 2. This is a show about damaged, traumatized youth rebelling against a rotten system and discovering who they’re really meant to be. Each of the leads is allowed to appreciably grow and develop over the course of the season.

It doesn’t hurt that the series continues to bank on strong performances from each of the leads. Lizze Broadway’s Emma is the standout here, as she brings both an infectious, good-natured charm and a deep-seated sense of pathos to a character who can only shrink and grow based on her emotional state. But everyone gets their chance to shine. Jaz Sinclair has plenty to work with as the series explores Marie’s journey to truly understand her blood-based abilities and rise to the occasion. London Thor and Derek Luh are also great in their twin roles as Jordan, a character who feels entirely consistent regardless of which actor is playing them in any given scene.

Then there’s the elephant in the room in the form of Chance Perdomo, who tragically died while travelling to Toronto to film Season 2. Executive producer Eric Kripke already confirmed that the Andre role would not be recast, but that Andre would be written out of the series in a respectful manner. Perdomo’s absence is certainly felt, but the way in which his death is handled is about as elegant and respectful as could be hoped, given the situation. It forces the series to pivot to focusing on Sean Patrick Thomas’ Polarity, now a man grieving for his lost son as well as facing a terminal disease. Thomas makes the most of his material, delivering an emotionally rich portrayal of a man trying to find himself every bit as much as these aspiring superheroes.

As with any superhero project, Gen V is only as good as its villain. And that’s where Season 2 really excels. Midnight Mass and Legion’s Hamish Linklater joins the cast as Dean Cipher, who replaces the disgraced and thoroughly dead Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) from Season 1. Cipher is only too happy to preside over a new era at God-U, one where humans are treated as second-class citizens and supe supremacy is on the rise. Here, the series continues to build meaningfully on the events of The Boys and dig deeper into the ever-darkening state of this universe. The series as it is now could only exist post-The Boys Season 4.

Like its parent series, Gen V is a show with plenty to say about our current political climate. As usual, it’s not remotely subtle in its use of allegory. Does it even count as allegory when it’s this obvious who and what is being satirized? Hashtag #MakeAmericaSuperAgain? But these are not exactly subtle times. Season 2 rages against the authoritarian machine in a way you’d hope for and expect from a show about rebellious, superhuman college students. Dean Cipher is just one more terrible face of the many-headed hydra that is Vought.

Plus, Linklater is just so much fun as the demented dean. From his first appearance, the series makes no secret of the fact that Cipher is a sociopathic master manipulator. He may well be Vought’s greatest monster this side of Antony Starr’s Homelander. Linklater knows how to chew scenery well, and he does so frequently and with great gusto. Cipher can be charming and affable in one moment and utterly unhinged and terrifying the next. Each time his careful composure breaks, it becomes more and more clear that this is not a well man. Linklater consistently makes the most of a truly meaty role.

True to his name, Cipher is also nothing if not enigmatic. Who is he, really? What are his powers? What motivates his intense hatred of those he deems as his inferiors? Those questions provide ample narrative thrust throughout the season, culminating in a truly memorable reveal late in the game. In short, Cipher is one of the best and most compelling characters this universe has yet produced. If you’re a The Boys fan who wasn’t won over by the initial premise of Gen V, it’s worth giving the series a second look for his sake.

And again, the series really does play like an organic and natural extension of the core The Boys saga. It makes the most of the foreboding tone and climate established at the end of The Boys Season 4. It also draws in enough of the major players from The Boys that Gen V never feels walled off or trapped in its own little bubble. The guest shots range from goofy little cameos to substantial appearances. All help build connective tissue between the two shows without overwhelming the series or overshadowing the main cast of characters. If anything, Season 2 is even stronger than its predecessor in that regard. The cameos are very well done, particularly those that come in the final three episodes.

And for those that watch these shows for the extreme violence and black humor as much as the characters and storylines, know that Gen V Season 2 doesn’t disappoint on that front. There’s no shortage of goopy, disgusting gore to be had. Limbs, heads, and other body parts explode, and often. Oh yes, there’s more puppet fun to be had for sure. This season also gets a lot of mileage out of the idea that not all metahumans are created equal. Some of the powers on display, such as the God-U student with an inter-dimensional portal in their rectum, truly have to be seen to be believed. There’s rarely a dull moment in this blood-soaked, utterly profane superhero universe.

It remains to be seen what, if any, future this spinoff series has on Prime Video. That may depend entirely on what state this world is in by the end of The Boys’ fifth and final season. But if Season 2 is ultimately the end of the road for Gen V, the finale delivers a satisfying sendoff for Marie and the gang. It’s not a full-blown cliffhanger like Season 1’s finale, but rather the end of one chapter and the act of opening the door to another.

With Batman Day on the horizon, there's no better time than now to watch (or rewatch) some of the Caped Crusader's films and shows. Amazon's even jumping on the bandwagon, offering discounts on a wide variety of Batman 4Ks and Blu-rays for fans to stock up on.

These discounts cover everything from standalone 4Ks, like The Batman, to collections like Batman: The Complete Animated Series on Blu-ray and even The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition on Blu-ray. Below, you can see some of our favorite offers from this sale that we think are worth adding to your collection.

Save on Batman 4Ks and Blu-Rays at Amazon

There are some truly excellent discounts in this sale event. Batman: The Complete Animated Series is a whopping 63% off, so you can score it for under $30, as is the Batman 4K Film Collection (which features Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin). That's available for just $32.99 rather than its $89.99 list price.

You can even score The Batman on 4K for 63% off, which means the most recent Bat flick in UHD resolution has dropped below $15. Now that its sequel is officially underway, there's no better time to scoop that one up in a high-quality format and settle in for a rewatch.

If you're on the hunt for even more movies and shows to add to your physical media library outside of all of these Batman deals, it's worth looking at our breakdown of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays. This covers a wide variety of different shows and films getting a physical release over the next few months, so you can plan ahead for which ones you'd like to pick up. And if you're looking for even more Batman goodies to buy, check out LEGO's new Batman: Arkham Asylum set to piece together while you watch your new 4Ks and Blu-rays.

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

With prices on Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards dropping back down to retail levels, prices on prebuilt gaming desktop computers have also been following suit. If you're still rocking an RTX 30 series GPU or older, now would be a good time to upgrade. For example, Dell is offering an Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC equipped with a powerful GeForce RTX 5080 GPU for just $2,099.99 with free delivery. Such a system would have cost closer to $3,000 earlier this year.

Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $2,099.99

If you’re a huge Final Fantasy 7 fan, then the wait to play the Remake, if you haven’t got a PS5 or PC, must have felt torturous. The formerly PS4 exclusive (yes, really) launched all the way back in 2020, but fans on Xbox and Switch have had to wait. Thankfully, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, with its additional Intergrade content, will come to Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 on January 22, 2026.

Here’s what’s included in each edition.

Physical Standard Edition for Switch 2

• Get it at Amazon
• Get it at Best Buy

Nintendo fans can buy a Physical version of the game, but it will sadly be a game-key card because it’s too massive to fit on a standard cartridge (the game weighs in at 90GB). However, the physical edition includes a ton of cool bonus items, the coolest of which has to be a Play Booster of the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set, which contains 15 cards. Here are the full contents of the physical edition:

Physical Items

• Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy Play Booster Pack
• Reversible cover

Digital Items

• Weapon: Cacstar
• Summan Materias: Carbuncle, Chocobo Chick, Cactuar
• Accessories: Superstar Belt, Seraphic Earrings, Mako Crystal
• Armors: Midgar Bangle, Corneo Armlet, Shinra Bangle

Digital Editions

Digital Standard Edition

• Get it for Switch 2 - $39.99
• Get it for Xbox Series X|S - $39.99

The Digital version includes much the same as its physical counterpart, but there’s an added bonus of receiving a copy of the original Final Fantasy 7 when you preorder before 31 January 2026.

That should help you appreciate the changes made in the newer version, and give you an introduction to some of gaming’s most iconic characters.

Digital Deluxe Edition

• Get it for Switch 2 - $59.99
• Get it for Xbox Series X|S - $59.99

Also available on both consoles and the Xbox Store on PC, the Digital Deluxe version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade includes a digital artbook and mini soundtrack, as well as the aforementioned items from both the Physical Standard and Digital Standard editions.

It’s not available to preorder for Switch 2 yet.

What’s In The Intergrade Content?

Intergrade is the enhanced version of the PS4 original release of Final Fantasy 7. That game included the 1997’s original Midgar section, turning it into a 3D action-RPG, while Intergrade, added as DLC later, adds two new chapters.

These star Yuffie Kisaragi, and make use of her abilities and combat skills to expand the events of the base game.

New to the Switch 2 and Xbox versions are a new Streamlined Progression mode which is intended to help players push through the story with minimal friction. It includes settings like having your HP always full, endless MP or Limit Gauges, and more.

“I feel that the way people enjoy content has become more flexible these days, as we see with video streaming platforms, and that people also want the same thing from games, with options to tailor the experience based on the time they have and their levels of interest,” the game’s director Naoki Hamaguchi explains.

“I have also had personal experiences where I wanted to play something with the limited time I have but gave up because of the time it takes to level up characters or traverse the game.”

“That’s exactly why I think that the Streamlined Progression feature is very effective - to give players smooth access to the story.”

Other Preorder Guides

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

This article contains spoilers for Dying Light and its expansion, The Following.

With Dying Light: The Beast, a continuation of the protagonist’s story from the original game, shambling onto console and PC in the very near future, it’s the perfect time to refresh your memory on Techland’s epic parkour zombie adventure, Dying Light, and its massive expansion, The Following. With ten years having passed since the original Dying Light, you’d be forgiven for being a bit foggy on the details. Lucky for you, IGN took impeccable notes, so here’s everything you need to know about Dying Light’s story before playing the upcoming sequel.

Oh, and this should go without saying, but spoilers lie ahead.

The original Dying Light quite literally drops you right into its fictional Middle Eastern setting: the city of Harran, which unfortunately has become ground zero to a devastating viral outbreak that transforms people into absolutely terrifying, flesh-eating creatures of darkness – also known as zombies. You play as Kyle Crane, an undercover agent for the Global Relief Effort (GRE), a humanitarian organization. You enter the city under the guise of aiding survivors, but your actual mission is to track down Kadir Suleiman, a political figure who has stolen a file critical to the GRE. If you’re already thinking that maybe the GRE is not exactly squeaky clean, you’ve got great instincts. Follow your gut.

Your mission quickly goes sideways when you’re attacked by goons acting on behalf of a warlord, then bitten by a zombie and infected with the virus, all within your first few moments in the city, ‘cause you’re super good at your job. With your cover immediately blown and already experiencing the seizures that precede full zombification, you join up with a survivor enclave called The Tower, led by the only person qualified to be in charge during the apocalypse: a parkour instructor – in this case a really cool one named Harris Brecken. You follow his lead, learning the ways of parkour, and undergoing treatment with an experimental drug capable of staving off the effects of the zombie virus called Antizin.

You also meet Jade Aldemir, a freerunner and fighter who has a heart of gold and would do anything for Dr. Imran Zere, a scientist working on a cure to the zombie virus, and, of course, her brother, Rahim Aldemir, a reckless guy who you can tell right away isn’t going to make it to the credits.

Rais Against The Machine

With your crew of allies established, it’s not long before you’re properly introduced to Dying Light’s villain and the man who stole that GRE file. Kadir “Rais” Suleiman is a self-styled warlord who resorts to ruthless tactics and has a tendency to screw over those who make deals with him – all qualities that frame him as the perfect baddie you just can’t wait to punch right in the face. His crew has been hoarding Antizin and controlling Harran’s black market through intimidation and violence, so you and your crew begin to sabotage his operations and rally survivors against him. Naturally, he bites back by killing Rahim (who again, was very obviously going to die) and kidnapping Doctor Zere.

You go to rescue the good doctor, but get caught and thrown into a pit where you’re forced to fight loads of infected. After surviving the battle, Rais reveals that not only does he know that you’re working for the GRE, but he’s got dirt on them that he’s ready to publish. The plot twist? The GRE was complicit in the outbreak and has plans to weaponize it against its enemies. Yeah, see? Your bosses really weren’t very nice people.

You manage to escape from Rais’ clutches and chop off the guy’s hand by suddenly showing off some serious martial arts skills, but Rais manages to escape with his life and Dr. Zere is killed before you can rescue him. Luckily, the fading scientist tells you that he’s given his research to Jade and wants it delivered to a new character, Doctor Camden, in the old part of town.

GRE-AT at Doing War Crimes

Now having seen the GRE for what it is, you realign yourself with the people of Harran and the friends you’ve made at The Tower. You learn that the defense ministry, working alongside GRE, plans to firebomb the entire city, then claim there were no survivors to begin with.

You meet up with some new friendlies in old town and concoct a plan to let the world know that you’re in need of help by setting off a series of charges in a skyscraper in the shape of a burning frowny face. But a fighter jet sinks it right away to cover it all up. You then pivot to climbing to the top of a communications tower and sending out a message to let the world know you’re there. This forces the fire bombing plan to be halted, but the GRE contacts you with a new proposal: bring it the cure Dr. Zere was working on, and you’ll be extracted.

Unfortunately, you find out that Rais has kidnapped Jade before that happens – abduction certainly seems to be this guy’s favorite move. You reach her, but find out she’s been bitten and is turning into an infected. Rais gives you a single dose of Antizin and makes you both choose who will survive. Jade insists you take the drug and you’re forced to kill her after she fully transforms into a zombie.

Payback Time

After mourning your loss and getting even with one of Rais’ goons, you bring the cure samples to Dr. Camden, but you still need to get the rest of Zere’s data from Rais. You go after him and learn that Rais, ever the fan of making the worst deals imaginable, has struck up an arrangement with the GRE to be extracted from Harran in exchange for the data. Naturally, you confront the guy on top of a skyscraper, and make him one final offer he can’t refuse by stabbing him in the neck and letting him fall to his death.

The GRE shows up looking for the data, but you heroically turn your back on the opportunity to save yourself, instead giving the data to Camden to save the people of Harran. A cure seems to be in sight, and it’s at this pivotal juncture that the story of Dying Light draws to a close. But Kyle’s story is not over, and things take a turn for the extremely weird in the game’s expansion...

The Following

After staying in Harran to help the city’s people, you hear a rumor from a crazed survivor that there are people out in the countryside who are immune to infection. The cure Dr. Camden is working on hasn’t made any progress yet, and Antizin is running low, so naturally, you head out to investigate. You quickly discover that the entire region beyond Harran has become enthralled to a cult called The Children of the Sun, who worship a mysterious figure known as The Mother. They perform bizarre rituals and seem way too comfortable getting up close and personal with zombies, but also seem to live without fear of the undead.

You start working alongside this cult hoping to learn more, and eventually gain the trust of its super creepy masked officers called The Faceless, agreeing to do their bidding in hopes of bringing their cure back to Harran with you. You eventually learn that good ol’ Rais’ band of thugs are operating in the area, trying to get their hands on the cure themselves. You track them to a dam where The Mother is hiding, but by the time you arrive all of Rais’ men are already dead.

And here’s where things get really weird: you finally meet The Mother, and when she takes off her creepy cult mask, you see that she is fully infected – having been transformed into the most dangerous of infected: a Volatile. But bizarrely, she’s not feral like normal zombies, possessing sentience and the ability to speak despite looking like a horrifying corpse monster. She reveals to you that her cure isn’t so much a proper remedy as it is a compromise: she’s able to keep her zombie urges at bay during the day, but at night goes on killing sprees. In other words, she’s a zombie werewolf, more or less. Yikes.

The Bitter Ends

The Mother proposes how you could end the infection once and for all: summon the Sun God. Spoiler alert – she’s talking about a nuclear bomb, which, to be fair, is definitely, technically a cure of sorts. This is where you’re given a choice: agree to help this absolutely insane lich with her plan to kill everyone, or, y’know, not do that. Pretty tough call.

If you decide to side with The Mother, you’ll use her nuclear codes to launch a missile into Harran to purge it clean of survivors and infected alike (dope), but in doing so bring about a proper end to the outbreak. This is certainly the more metal of the two options, but given that The Beast will feature Kyle as its protagonist, I’m gonna go ahead and say that maybe this option isn’t exactly canon. Who knows, though. Knock yourself out, king.

Alternatively, you can tell the monster to take a hike, but she forces you to drink the elixir, turning you into a sentient zombie. You fight and kill her, collect the vials, and escape the dam. After suffering blackouts, you find yourself outside the confines of Harran and come upon a family playing in a park. It’s at this point you realize you’ve been fully transformed into a volatile and let out a scream, hinting at an impending global apocalypse. Whoops.

And that’s where Kyle’s story ends, at least until Dying Light: The Beast arrives. Now, you might be thinking, “how in the heck could they possibly make a sequel to this?” and it’s a fair question. This sequel picks up years after The Following, and you once again play as Kyle Crane, who was apparently captured after the events of The Following by a sociopath called The Baron who experimented on him for 13 years. Now having escaped, he seeks revenge on his former captor and, as the title suggests, has some non-human DNA in him that seems likely to play a substantial role in the story.

I’m not quite sure what Techland will do to address the branching decision in The Following, or how the heck the studio plans to fill in the 13-year gap, but I can’t wait to see the undoubtedly weird direction it all takes when Dying Light: The Beast arrives on September 19.

The latest September Nintendo Direct had some very exciting announcements, from a release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond to Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 getting a bundle release for Switch. Zelda fans were even treated to a new trailer and release date for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and the good news is it's now available to preorder for Switch 2.

It can be found at various retailers, which we've included below, for $69.99 and is set to be released in a couple of months on November 6 (see it here at Amazon). If you're itching to add it to your library, now is your chance at the links below.

Preorder Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment