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Udo Kier, the German Actor Who Played Yuri in Command and Conquer: Red Alert and Was Set to Star in OD, Dies Aged 81 — Hideo Kojima Says 'There Will Never Be Another Like Him'

✇IGN
Par :Wesley Yin-Poole
↗️

Udo Kier, the German actor who starred in over 200 films, has died aged 81.

Kier, who appeared in 275 roles including in My Own Private Idaho, Blade, Armageddon, and Dogville, as well as Madonna music videos and video games, died on Sunday morning, his partner Delbert McBride confirmed to Variety. Photographer Michael Childers took to social media to say Kier died in hospital in Palm Springs, California. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

The horror film specialist had a breakout role in 1970’s Mark of the Devil, before being cast as Frankenstein in 1973’s Flesh for Frankenstein, then Dracula in 1974’s Blood for Dracula — both produced by artist Andy Warhol. His first American role came in 1991 film My Own Private Idaho, which starred River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. Madonna, a fan of Kier's work, cast him in her music videos for Erotica and Deeper and Deeper. Later notable roles came in the likes of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Johnny Mnemonic, Armageddon, End of Days, and Blade. Kier’s final film was the political thriller The Secret Agent, in which he played a Jewish Holocaust survivor caught in the final years of the Brazilian military dictatorship.

As well as starring in hundreds of films, Kier was no stranger to the world of video games. He famously played Yuri in the live-action cutscenes that formed a part of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2’s story, and reprised the role in 2001’s Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge.

RIP Udo Kier, who passed away today at the age of 81.

His performance as Yuri in Red Alert 2 has always stuck with me, and it’s one I constantly reference. I’m sad we won’t get to see you in Kojima’s OD but thank you for the great memories. pic.twitter.com/d8Y2ZBmV5r

— Bucky | Palworld (@Bucky_cm) November 24, 2025

Later, he had voice roles in 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII, and 2022’s Martha is Dead. He was set to appear in OD, the upcoming horror video game by Hideo Kojima and producer Jordan Peele, and indeed was a part of its teaser trailer, below, showing initial face scan work. It is unclear whether Kier will now be recast in the upcoming Microsoft game.

Kojima took to social media to pay tribute to Kier, expressing his shock at the news.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Kojima said. “It all happened far too suddenly. Because of the strike, we weren’t able to shoot OD for a long time, and we were forced to reschedule to next year. Even during that time, Udo and I exchanged emails frequently. We stayed in close contact. When we met in Milan at the end of September, he told me how much he was looking forward to the shoot starting up again next year. He was full of energy then too, making me laugh with his usual ‘Udo-isms.’

“I still can’t believe this. Udo wasn’t just an actor. He was truly an ‘icon’ of his time. We’ve lost a great ‘icon.’ There will never be another like him. Udo, rest in peace. I will never forget you.”

The tweet video below, shows Kojima and Kier together in Milan in September.

With Udo Kier. pic.twitter.com/6tdXYLY8aW

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 26, 2025

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.

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Sonos Drops Prices on Pre-Matched Home Theater and Audiophile Speaker Bundles for Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Eric Song
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Sonos kicked off its Black Friday Sale earlier last week with discounts of 15%-30% off its entire lineup of sound bars and speakers. However, the best deals are actually on Sonos' all-in-one "sets", which are pre-selected speakers that are matched together to round out a complete home theater or entertainment system. Some bundles have an additional discount that stacks on top of Black Friday prices. If you're looking to build out a complete Sonos system for your home, then this is the best way to get a matched setup at the lowest possible price for Black Friday. Some of these bundles may be available at your local big box retailer, but some are exclusive to Sonos.com.

Note that there are other bundles on Sonos, however only the ones below have an extra discount.

Bundle 1: 2 Room Set with Era 100

This set includes:

  • 2 x Era 100 speakers ($338 for both, normally $438)

There is an extra $19 off set discount that drops the price even further to $319 with free delivery.

Bundle 1: Ultimate Home Theater Completion Set

This set includes:

  • 2 x Era 300 speakers ($758 for both, normally $958)
  • Sub 4 subwoofer ($719, normally $899)

The total Black Friday price would be $1,477 (normally $1,857). There is an extra $120 off set discount that drops the price even further to $1,357 with free delivery.

Bundle 2: Premium Entertainment Set with Arc Ultra

This set includes:

  • Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar ($879, normally $999)
  • Sub 4 subwoofer ($719, normally $899)

The total Black Friday price would be $1,598 (normally $1,998). There is an extra $99 off set discount that drops the price even further to $1,499 with free delivery.

Bundle 3: Premium Immersive Set with Arc Ultra

This set includes:

  • Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar ($879, normally $999)
  • Sub 4 subwoofer ($719, normally $899)
  • 2 x Era 100 speakers ($338 for both, normally $438)

The total Black Friday price would be $1,936 (normally $2,436). There is an extra $99 off set discount that drops the price even further to $1,837 with free delivery.

Bundle 4: Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra

This set includes:

  • Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar ($879, normally $999)
  • Sub 4 subwoofer ($719, normally $899)
  • 2 x Era 300 speakers ($758 for both, normally $958)

The total Black Friday price would be $2,356 (normally $2,956). There is an extra $99 off set discount that drops the price even further to $2,257 with free delivery.

Sonos Arc Ultra

The Arc Ultra is Sonos' best soundbar speaker, replacing last year's Arc model. It is a massive 46" soundbar that houses 14 total speakers, including five tweeters (plus two upward-firing speakers for Dolby Atmos supported height channels), six midwoofers, and a four-motor, dual-membrane Sound Motion woofer. The Arc Ultra uses AI enhancement technology to isolate and boost the clarity of dialogue and voices. It also has a built-in microphone so that it can be controlled using voice commands from the Sonos app or your favorite smart assistant. Check out our own Sonos Arc Ultra review.

Sonos Era 100

The Sonos Era 100 is a compact powered speaker that pumps out great sound for its small footprint. Unlike the Sonos Move, this is not a portable speaker with a built-in battery, so you'll need to leave it plugged in. Sound quality is equivalent to a Sonos Move, which isn't surprising considering they have similar internal components: two tweeters, a mid-woofer, and three class-D digital amps. It has a built-in microphone for smart assistant functionality.

Sonos Era 300

The Era 300 is a much bigger, better sounding version of the Era 100. It's nearly double the size and weight. The Era 300 is also shaped differently, but there's a reason for that. The hourglass figure is designed to optimally arrange the six speakers so that they fire sound in all directions, enhancing Dolby Atmos and spatial audio effects. The Era 300 consist of four tweeters and two woofers paired with Class-D digital amplifiers and custom waveguides to help project sound to all corners of your room. It also has a built-in microphone for smart assistant compatibility.

Sonos Sub 4

If you want to add ground-shaking bass to your Sonos setup, there's still nothing better than a separate standalone subwoofer. The Sub 4 boasts plenty of power in the form of dual inward-facing 5"x8" woofers and a ported design that allows for a louder and deeper low-end. It simply can't be emulated by a standard bookshelf speaker or soundbar alone.

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.

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IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 5 Review

✇IGN
Par :Tom Jorgensen
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Spoilers follow for It: Welcome to Derry Episodes 1-5.

It: Welcome to Derry has been dancing on thin ice with the embellishments it’s making to Stephen King’s novel, and not just because “that’s not how it is in the book.” Adjusting the time period to align with Andy Muschietti’s feature adaptations? No big deal. But It: Welcome to Derry has taken significant liberties with the relatively straightforward historical interlude that forms the basis of this season’s narrative arc, not only magnifying the role of preexisting canon (like Dick Hallorann’s presence in Derry), but also folding in ideas or plot threads from other King fiction as a way to flesh out the world, the latter approach having provided the structural basis for Hulu’s Castle Rock series just a few years back. Welcome to Derry hasn’t been entirely consistent in alchemizing all of this reference material and influence, but when it works, it works.

With no better way to stress-test that alchemy than a trip into the sewers beneath Derry, “29 Neibolt Street” represents another significant collision of Welcome to Derry’s adaptations and inventions, doubling down on its own imagination to effective ends.

After Marge’s heinous encounter with It last week, which ended with her nearly carving out her own eye, reunion becomes a major theme of the kids’ storyline in “29 Neibolt Street.” Marge (Matilda Lawler) covers for the very guilty-looking Lilly (Clara Stack) after the attack and the two reconcile - nice, considering Lilly and Marge’s friendship feels like one of the more genuine relationships on the show - but far more relevant to events this week is the return of Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt)... from the sewers. Recounting his last few weeks essentially being kept in Pennywise’s pantry as a fear snack to come back to later, Matty’s revelation that Phil Malkin’s still alive spurs the kids into undertaking a rescue mission to It’s lair to save him, giving Lilly a nice leader moment as she asks her friends to consider whether they’re “anchors or lifeboats” when the people they love need help.

General Shaw’s plan to “shrink the cage” around Pennywise by recovering the pillars, and the bridges he seems to be willing to burn with Rose (Kimberly Guerrero) to enact it, continue to baffle, but more and more that’s starting to feel like a problem with how the character is written rather than the actual mechanics of the Operation Precept plan itself. The idea that chunks of the comet It crashed to Earth imprisoned within could repel (or contain) Pennywise may be outside of the scope of the It novel, but the logic is straightforward enough and the best laid plans of military men often go awry in King stories anyway. James Remar has done great work keeping Shaw a likeable character, even as he does unlikeable things, but now that rubber is hitting the road and there’s an actual plan to go pillar hunting, he’s hinting at heel turns a little too quickly that feel incongruous to his measured nature. He’s even teeing up a failsafe plan for a town-wide “cleanup” should their mission fail that portends some harrowing conflicts to come. All I’ll say is this: I really noticed that “Arrowhead Hotel” sign in downtown Derry when the kids biked by it this week.

“29 Neibolt Street” gives us more of a window into Rose and her nephew Taniel’s (Joshua Odjick) close relationship as well, with the reveal that Taniel’s in line to become the “Keeper” of the ceremonial blade made from Pennywise’s comet (can we call it KrITonite?) It’s an archetypal role for Taniel which feels like a natural precedent for Mike Hanlon’s eventual decision to stand sentinel over the town after the Losers defeat Pennywise in their childhood. Is it a little silly that the knife glows for Pennywise like Sting glows for orcs in Lord of the Rings? Yeah, absolutely. But as we drive closer and closer to “The Augery” - a term Welcome to Derry introduces this week to codify the mass killing event that ends Pennywise’s feeding cycles - having these wild-card plot elements in play still feels like a gambit worth seeing through, especially after Lilly winds up barely surviving her encounter with Pennywise thanks to the knife’s ability to repel it.

Welcome to Derry throws another curveball into the kids’ trip into the sewers to save Phil: each of the kids takes three “Mommy’s Little Helpers,” the barbiturates Lilly stole from her mom in hopes of suppressing their fear and protecting them from Pennywise. This was a monster of a pharmaceutical Sword of Damocles to hang over the heads of children, and a big swing to take, but in practice the kids drugging themselves feels like a hat on a hat. The sewers are the most dangerous place in Derry to begin with, and Pennywise can already create illusory nightmares - we would have had to really lock into at least one of the kids’ specific and amplified perspectives for this flourish to land. Instead, the kids just get wobbly, slur their speech and see double. Pretty significant missed opportunity, but maybe Mommy’s Little Helpers will come back around again for some redemption later in the season.

The soldiers’ perspective in the sewer sequence benefits from some great atmosphere thanks to some body-mounted red lights and deep-yellow flashlight beams, but them getting picked off one by one doesn’t move the needle much, with the Uncle Sam “I want you” gag feeling just a little too cute. The chaos does force both Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) into reckoning with the true scope of the danger they’re in, though. Leroy may have been brought into Operation Precept for being a “man without fear”, but nearly shooting Will because he was afraid he was a monster and killing his best friend Russo (Rudy Mancuso) in the process is going to force him to confront that he may not be able to get through this mission on grit alone. Hallorann’s struggling too, with the oppressive psychic forces he’s faced with beneath Derry fueling some trauma that’s been coming to the surface over the last few episodes: his childhood living with his sadistic grandfather. Dick’s ability to suppress “ghosts” like his grandfather’s inside of mental lock boxes is a lovely bit of the character’s background established in Doctor Sleep to deploy here. Dick’s felt in control of most supernatural encounters he’s had up to this point, and Welcome to Derry visualizing that slipping control with something that’s rooted in King’s fiction felt like the perfect counterbalance to all the original lore with which the writers have been supplementing the story.

Welcome to Derry’s been holding back on Bill Skarsgård, and that has been to the series’ advantage. As a novel and as a film, It thrives as much on the looming danger and influence of Pennywise as it does on the monster’s actual chompy-chompies and rippy-rippies. But the time felt right, and right it was: with both the kids and the soldiers converging on the sewers, Pennywise floats out of the darkness - or to be more accurate, out of Matty Clements’ reanimated corpse - for dinner. Yes, the boy who wandered back to the Derry standpipe after being abducted by THE EATER OF WORLDS AND OF CHILDREN in the series premiere was Pennywise playing possum all along. The only false note of Skarsgård’s proper introduction here is the last beat of his emergence from Matty’s corpse, which puts a weird shimmering backlight behind him that makes him look like he’s just been revealed as a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (or, more appropriately given the WB of it all, MultiVersus). From a performance standpoint though? As chillingly cloying and confident wielding the clown’s disquieting rhythms as ever, Skarsgård hasn’t lost a step as Pennywise.

It’s a strength of “29 Neibolt Street” that everyone gets into the sewers as quickly as they do, but all that momentum leaves the developments in Hank’s storyline feeling a little tacked-on. Hank’s nearly killed by Phil and Susie Malkin’s dad while being put on the bus to Shawshank State Prison, an act of violence which mostly functions to give Charlotte Hanlon (Taylour Paige) reason to notice yet another Derry citizen - a cop this time - under the deep-seated influence of It. Charlotte’s mostly on the sidelines this week, considering her next moves, after Leroy makes the call to move her and Will onto the air base what with violence starting to flare up in town. After the prison bus is attacked by Pennywise (offscreen) and Hank gets free, we discover the identity of the mystery lover he flees to the home of: Ingrid Kersh (Madeleine Stowe), Lilly’s ally from Juniper Hill.

After watching her husband Stan, Derry’s butcher, get on her case for as minor a “transgression” as cooking his steak past medium-rare, Hank’s fear of he and Ingrid being found out feels justified. The racial undertones to the vitriol swirling around town are incredibly important for the show to keep teeing up, given where Constant Readers know we’re heading. But with no real connection to the more pressing events happening underground, Hank going on the lam is a drag on the pacing this week. The reveal that Hank’s lover and Lilly’s friend is Mrs. Kersh, though… that makes her motives when she doth things like protest too much against Lilly going into the sewers worth some second thought on the audience’s part from here on out.

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Save 40% Off Govee Outdoor Lights Pro RGB LEDs for Black Friday, Just in Time for the Holidays

✇IGN
Par :Eric Song
↗️

Now's the time to get in on some great deals on RGB home lighting in preparation for the holidays. For Black Friday, Amazon is offering up to 40% off Govee's popular lineup of Outdoor Lights Pro string lights. These lights can be installed year round as accent lighting, but they will really stand during the holidays when it's time to deck your house in festive RGB bling. If you have other Govee smart lights, then they can be synced together to create an extravagant light show.

Up to 40% Off Govee Outdoor Lights Pro RGB LEDs

The Govee Outdoor Lights Pro string lights are available in 100ft, 150ft, and 200ft lengths with 60, 90, and 120 total puck lights, respectively. Each puck consists of an array of RGBICWW LEDs, which is the best type of RGB LED because they include dedicated "warm white" diodes for more realistic white and warm white tones (2700K-6500K), as well as integrated circuit chips so that each light can display colors independently. Each puck delivers 50 lumens, and the lens array focuses the light downward in a pleasant triangular cone shape that looks great cast upon the walls of your house.

The lights install easily with included VHB adhesive clips. If you need a more secure mounting solution, Govee does sell screw-in clips as well. The Outdoor Lights Pro can also be spliced and re-attached for a more customized fit depending on the size of your house. The lights are controlled via the Govee smart app on your mobile device, with hundreds of different preset light combinations and patterns you can choose from as well as scheduling options. You can also sync it with other Govee lights you might own, all through a single unified app. There are a ton of RGB light brands out there nowadays, but Govee has so far been my favorite in terms of lighting innovation, variety, and ease of use.

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.

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Save Over 20% On Black Myth Wukong at Amazon For Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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Black Myth Wukong has been a conversation-starter since its earliest gameplay footage was shown, and the mythology-inspired action-RPG has kept a pretty high price since it debuted.

Now, thanks to PlayStation Black Friday sales, it’s dropped to its lowest price at Amazon with a 22% discount from the MSRP, bringing the game down to just over $50. It’s not a huge discount, admittedly, but if you’ve been waiting for a chance to put yourself in Heroic Monkey’s shoes, then now’s the time.

Black Myth Wukong Hits Lowest-Ever Price

Thanks to this discount, Black Myth Wukong on PS5 is now $50.55, down from its $64.99 MSRP.

The game is inspired by ancient Chinese mythology, and sees Heroic Monkey taking the fight to bosses and beasts alike in a pseudo-retelling of the Journey to the West story, only with a lot more combat. Thankfully, the combat is the best part, so you won't see us complaining.

If you have held out, then now really is a great time because developer Game Science dropped a massive patch for the game last month.

It promises improved performance, like faster loading speeds, better texture clarity, and improved CPU and rendering performance, making a great game even better.

That’s particularly important because, in IGN’s review, Mitchell Saltzman noted the game’s bugs.

“Despite some frustrating technical issues, Black Myth: Wukong is a great action game with fantastic combat, exciting bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a beautiful world,” he concluded.

The game is getting a sequel, Black Myth: Zhong Kui, as revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live this year, but rumors continue to swirl about Wukong getting some kind of DLC. The game launched on Xbox platforms earlier this year.

More PS5 games on sale today

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.

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The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Hardcover Book Set Is on Sale for Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Eric Song
↗️

The complete Calvin and Hobbes book set is the ultimate collector's item for any devoted fan of the comic series and it's back on sale just for Black Friday. Starting today, you can pick up the premium hardcover edition for just $86.15 after you clip a $43.07 off coupon. It normally "retails" for $225, although I usually see it for about $130-$150. Even if you don't need this yourself, it would make for an amazing and wholesome holiday gift for kids (or the young at heart).

Complete Calvin and Hobbes Hardcover Book Set

The Calvin and Hobbes hardcover box set consists of three full-color volumes (1,440 total pages) contained in a sturdy slipcase. This collection include includes every Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that ever appeared in syndication, from its initial publication in 1985 to Bill Watterson's retirement in 1995. The cartoons are illustrated in either black and white or color, depending on how they were first published.

If you've always wanted to add this timeless classic to your collection, or you want to introduce this delightful series to someone who's never had the privilege of experiencing it, I'd definitely recommend jumping on this deal. Both the paperback and hardcover editions are well-made, but currently, the paperback set is slightly less expensive and also included in Amazon's buy 2, get 1 free book sale.

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

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Horizon: Forbidden West Is Down To Its Lowest Ever Price At Amazon Ahead Of Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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Horizon has become an enduring franchise for PlayStation since its debut in 2017, and while there are only two mainline games, the series’ presence can be felt in everything from a LEGO spinoff to toys and a PlayStation VR 2 game.

If you’re yet to get acquainted with hero Aloy, then there’s good news for you and your wallet - Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West is down to its new lowest price, and the complete edition is reduced, too.

Horizon: Forbidden West Is Under $20

Over at Amazon, you can pick up Aloy’s second adventure, Forbidden West, for just $19.99. That’s a huge 71% discount on one of the best games on PlayStation 5.

It’s packed with a lush open world to explore, as well as excellent combat that utilizes our heroine’s bow and traps to devastating effect against robot dinosaurs in a ‘post-post-apocalypse’.

That’s the lowest price we’ve seen from Amazon, and there’s another option if you want the Burning Shores expansion, too.

The Horizon: Forbidden West Complete Edition includes the game and the DLC in one package for $29.99. That’s half price from the MSRP.

Reviewer Simon Cardy gave Horizon: Forbidden West a 9 out of 10 in his review, and said: ”A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5.”

As for the expansion, that got an 8 out of 10 rating, too, and it includes a new area and fearsome new robot foes to fight.

The series is getting an MMORPG spinoff called Horizon: Steel Frontiers, but it’s only coming to PC and mobile for now.

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.

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The LEGO Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Set Gets Its First Ever Discount at Target

✇IGN
Par :Myles Obenza
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The super detailed LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is currently discounted by a whopping 30% as part of the official Target Black Friday sale. The 2,205-piece set is down to $153.99, saving you $66 off of its original $219.99 price. This is the first time this set has ever been discounted since it was released back in September and it is by far the best LEGO deal we've seen for Black Friday so far. If you've had your eye on this set, now is the time to pick it up.

LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory At Target

This impressively detailed set faithfully recreates an iconic scene from the 1971 classic film. One of the early moments of the movie sees the Golden Ticket winners seeing the titular chocolate factory for the first time, complete with chocolate waterfall and giant lollipop flowers, all depicted in brick form here. The gondola is another fun added detail, and is another one-to-one version of its onscreen counterpart. This set comes with nine detailed minifigures, including two Oompa Loompas, Charlie and Joe Bucket, Mike TV, and of course Willy Wonka himself. These are screen-accurate versions of the characters, and the bespoke hair and hate pieces created for this set are nice bonuses.

If you're hoping for a closer look, we actually had the chance to build this set ourselves and have a detailed look at what goes into putting it together. You can check out all of the little details and movie references in our slideshow below:

More LEGO Deals At Target

Target has more LEGO deals available during their early Black Friday sale, like the Botanicals brick-built plants, and the Wreath Making Kit that's right in time for the Winter holidays. According to the Target Black Friday ad, more LEGO discounts will be arriving on November 28. LEGO has also confirmed its official Black Friday sale will start around that same time.

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

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The 10 Most Valuable Avatar: The Last Airbender Magic Cards That I'm Already Chasing

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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Cracking packs for Magic: The Gathering’s latest Universes Beyond set, Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Us two, and with the new set finally back in stock online, it looks as though it might be a set you can more readily buy.

So, what are the chase cards? What are the most powerful characters, and which are the rarest? We’ve broken down the top 10 most valuable cards using data from the folks at TCGPlayer.

Before we begin, however, it’s worth remembering that we are talking close to launch prices here, and we’ve taken them as close to the set’s launch date to try and keep things as accurate as possible.

10 - Ozai, the Phoenix King (Borderless) - $20

This Ozai, the Phoenix King (Borderless) variant has striking artwork, the firebending keyword, and a high mana cost - but can be indestructible if you have enough unspent mana.

9 - Appa, Steadfast Guardian (Borderless) - $22

Aang’s faithful companion is not only adorable, but he has airbending potential on the battlefield, too. This borderless version is up to $22 at the time of writing. Yip yip!

8 - Fire Lord Azula (Borderless) - $28

Fire Lord Azula can firebend 2, and can double your spells while attacking, while being a 4/4 in its own right. It’s up to around $30 for this awesome borderless variant.

7 - Avatar Aang (Borderless) - $35

Sitting at $35, Avatar Aang is a transforming card that switches to Aang, Master of Elements if you bend all four elements in a single turn. The colorless artwork looks really great on both sides of this borderless option.

6 - Badgermole Cub - $50

It may seem a strange card to climb in value, but Badgermole Cub now only earthbends 1, but it can also add additional mana when you’re tapping creatures. That means even the standard version is valued at $50 - and it’s climbing.

5 - Wan Shi Tong, Librarian - $54

Wan Shi Tong, Librarian can rack up counters, has Flash, Flying, and Vigilance, and gives you card draw, too. What’s not to love? This standard version is up to $54.

4 - Ozai, the Phoenix King (Borderless) - $55

Another printing of Ozai, this version has an inky-black background but performs the same as the other Borderless version on this list.

3 - Badgermole Cub (Borderless) - $60

Functionally identical to the Badgermole Cub above, this one has a borderless design and is $60 or $94 in foil right now.

2 - Wan Shi Tong, Librarian (Borderless) - $

The same card as number 5 on this list, this borderless variant looks even betterbut will set you back around $90

1 - Neon Ink Foil Cards - $2,000 and up

If you crack open a pack and find a Neon Ink Foil version of Aang, Swift Savior, Fire Lord Zuko, Katara, the Fearless, or Toph, the First Metalbender, they’re going for $2,000 and up right now - good luck!

Where to Find These Rare Cards

Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Collector Booster Box is finally back in stock and available to buy at Amazon, priced at $455.88. This is the best way to hunt down the rarest Avatar x MTG cards, if you got the cash to flash.

This is much cheaper compared to the market price, as seen at TCGplayer, which has it listed at around $528. These collector boosters have been incredibly hard to come by, hence the high pricing.

But, if you play your cards right, there are also a couple of amazing promo offers that could bag you this crazy expensive booster box for under $250. If you fancy saving a small fortune, you'll need to check if you're eligible for an Amazon Visa card (see here).

After signing up, you'll receive an instant $60 gift card credited to your Amazon account. This will bring down the total price to $489.99, which is well below market value.

TCGPlayer's Black Friday Sale Starts November 28

One more thing before you go, Trading card game players rejoice; TCGPlayer is having a nice Black Friday promotion. From November 28 at 9 AM ET to December 1 at 11 PM ET, you can get 10% cash back in store credits on all purchases.

This includes both single cards and sealed products. Plus, if you're a TCGPlayer subscriber, you'll get 13% or more back (12% base plus 1-3% monthly loyalty bonus). That's pretty great, all things considered.

If you're looking to buy any singles, it's worth holding off until then to get the best deal possible.

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.

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Wicked: For Good Brings in $226 Million at the Global Box Office, Fourth Biggest Opening Weekend of 2025

✇IGN
Par :Wesley Yin-Poole
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Wicked: For Good has launched big at the global box office, bringing in $226 million to secure the fourth highest opening weekend of 2025.

The blockbuster musical sequel, which sees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo reprise their roles as Glinda and Elphaba, secured $150 million domestically and $76 million internationally. Globally, Wicked: For Good is the fourth-best Hollywood debut of the year behind only the Lilo & Stitch live-action remake ($341 million), Jurassic World Rebirth ($322.5 million), and A Minecraft Movie ($313 million). It’s just ahead of the $220 million opening weekend James Gunn’s DC Universe film Superman brought in, and the $218 million MCU film The Fantastic Four made during the same period.

It also set a number of box office records. Wicked: For Good secured the biggest global opening for a Broadway musical adaptation, ahead of its predecessor, which brought in $164.2 million globally during opening weekend. Domestically, it’s the biggest debut for a Broadway musical adaptation, again ahead of last year’s Wicked ($112.5 million).

And Wicked: For Good goes straight in at No. 5 in the biggest opening weekends for a musical of all-time, behind 2019’s The Lion King remake ($433 million), Moana 2 ($389 million), Frozen 2 ($358.4 million), and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast remake ($357 million).

Last year’s Wicked, also directed by Jon M. Chu, ended up with $758.7 million globally during its theatrical run. After such a strong launch, Wicked: For Good is well positioned to outperform its predecessor.

IGN’s Wicked: For Good review returned a 6/10. We said: “Wicked: For Good has all of the great parts of the first movie — opulent sets, heart-wrenching songs, the perfect lead cast—and all of its problems, too.”

Meanwhile, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is up to $146.2 million worldwide after two weekends. Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands, after three weekends, is on $159.6 million ($76.3 million domestic and $83.3 million international).

Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, starring Glenn Powell, continues to struggle at the box office. Weekend two brought in another $5.8 million for a current domestic total of $27.048 million. This second adaptation of the 1982 novel by Stephen King now has a global total of $48.348 million.

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.

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Amazon's Buy 2, Get 1 Free Sale on Book Box Sets Is a Hidden Black Friday Gem

✇IGN
Par :Myles Obenza
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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), Percy Jackson, 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.

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.

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.

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Super Mario Odyssey Gets a Big Black Friday Discount With a Free Switch 2 Upgrade

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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It’s hard to believe the Nintendo Switch’s first year gave us The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey just a few months apart, but it really was a fantastic start for the system.

If the latest movie trailers got you wondering what you may have missed out on, then we’ve got good news - one of the best Nintendo games of the last decade (and probably ever) is half price at Amazon for Nintendo's Black Friday sale.

8 Years On, We’d Still Buy Super Mario Odyssey

Thanks to the discounts, the game (which still sells for $59.99 now eight years on) is down to just $29.99. Given its size and scope, that’s a big deal, and it’s still the most recent 3D Mario platformer we’ve got.

This huge 3D adventure pairs Mario with Cappy, a fun new character who allows Mario to transform into characters, enemies, and inanimate objects alike, opening up the sandbox of each of its distinct worlds to fun puzzles.

With the arrival of the Switch 2, the game looks better than ever. There’s improved image quality, particularly when playing on TV, and HDR support added. The update is free, too.

In our review, Ryan McCaffrey awarded a ‘Masterpiece’ score of 10 out of 10, and said “Super Mario Odyssey is a brilliant adventure and love letter to the series that made Nintendo a household name.”

The latest trailer for the Super Mario Galaxy movie hints at Odyssey worlds being included, and, as we mentioned, the game got a free performance upgrade on the Nintendo Switch 2.

The Nintendo development team that worked on Super Mario Odyssey released Donkey Kong Bananza as a Switch 2 exclusive this year, and it's up for Game of the Year.

More Switch games on sale for Black Friday

There are a ton more Nintendo Switch games on sale for Black Friday now and likely more to come as the sale rolls on.

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.

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Elden Ring Is Under $20 Again, and Nightreign Has A Big Discount Too for Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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FromSoftware just doesn’t miss, eh? It’s hard to believe that it’s been over three years since Elden Ring landed on consoles and PC, and it somehow lived up to all of the expectation fans had placed on it.

A game we awarded a 10 out of 10 review score to, the joy of Elden Ring’s age now is that discounts are more plentiful, and the epic action RPG is back to its lowest price of $19.99 in Amazon’s Black Friday deals - and it’s not alone.

Elden Ring And Nightreign Score Big Black Friday Discounts

Whether you’re on PlayStation or Xbox, you can pick up the open-world fantasy epic for $19.99 - a 60% drop from the MSRP.

Given that it’s IGN’s Game of the Year 2022, it’s a must-play, especially for under twenty bucks.

“Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path,” Mitchell Saltzman said in his review, and we stand by it.

It’s worth noting that this version doesn’t include the huge expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, which is large enough to be its own game - and even more challenging. We awarded it a 10 out of 10 score in our review, too, and you can get the Shadow of the Erdtree version of Elden Ring discounted, too.

It’s down to $49.99 on PS5 and down to $39.99 on Xbox Series X, which is the lowest it’s been outside of Amazon’s warehouse deals.

If you’re looking for something to play with friends, then Nightreign is well worth checking out. It condenses Elden Ring’s combat into a three-player hybrid between roguelite and battle royale as you’re pushed ever closer to challenging bosses.

It’s getting a 36% discount, bringing it down to just $34.99 on PS5 and Xbox.

Mitchell gave Nightreign a 7 out of 10 in his review, saying, “When Elden Ring Nightreign is played exactly as it was designed to be played, it’s one of the finest examples of a three-player co-op game around – but that's harder to do than it should be, and playing solo is poorly balanced.”

Subsequent patches have smoothed out those jagged edges, but it’s still best played with a couple of buds.

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.

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The Best Black Friday Deals Today: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Battlefield 6, AirPods 4, and More

✇IGN
Par :Noah Hunter
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Black Friday is officially almost here, but the deals have already started. We've rounded up the best deals for Sunday, November 23, below, so don't miss out on these limited-time offers.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Gets Its First Sale

While it just launched in late September, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is already discounted to $44.99 this Black Friday. This epic crossover racing brings characters like Hatsune Miku into the world of Sonic, with the DLC featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Minecraft, and much more. If you're looking for a new racer beyond Kirby Air Riders and Mario Kart World, CrossWorlds is a great choice.

Save Big on Apple AirPods 4

Apple AirPods 4 are on sale for Black Friday, and if you've been holding out on upgrading, now is the time to buy. Both the ANC and regular AirPods 4 are on sale for $99.99 and $79.99, respectively. While the AirPods Pro 3 do provide better ANC and sound quality, it's hard to beat the AirPods 4 at this price.

Final Fantasy I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition for $39.99

Final Fantasy I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition is on sale as part of Amazon's Black Friday sale for $39.99. This excellent collection packs in the first six Final Fantasy games, remastered with enhanced visuals and sound. If you've never experienced the origins of the series, this is the best place to start. While there might not be fancy graphics or voice acting in these earlier entries, much of the charm and fundamental gameplay systems that shaped the RPG genre as a whole originated here.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach for $49.99

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is still my favorite game of 2025, featuring a vast world to explore, rich characters and narrative, and an astounding score. Ahead of Black Friday, you can score DS2 for $49.99 and embark across Mexico and Australia yourself. If you've been holding out on this game, today is a great time to pick up a copy and experience the latest from Hideo Kojima.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (4K) for $49.49

The Lord of the Rings trilogy might just be the greatest film trilogy of all time. Peter Jackson's larger-than-life trilogy is still as masterful to watch today as it was two decades ago. For a limited time, you can score a 4K copy of all three movies for under $50. This set includes both the theatrical and extended editions.

PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for $399.99

The PS5 Digital Edition is $399 right now at Amazon, which is $100 off its normal price. Consoles are always an excellent gift during the holiday season, and the PS5 is no exception. Regarding exclusives for PS5, 2025 saw the release of Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yotei, Lost Soul Aside, and more.

Save on Battlefield 6

Battlefield 6 is on sale for the first time ever, with slight discounts available for both PS5 and Xbox Series X copies at Amazon. In our 8/10 review, we wrote, "Battlefield 6’s multiplayer action is expertly crafted, wrapped in a wonderful layer of destructibility that both looks great and materially affects the flow of combat. The gunplay is excellent, with weapons that are accurate enough to reward skilled shooting, but have just enough sway to promote a bit of careful thought while you take aim."

Bleach Rebirth of Souls for $19.99

Bleach Rebirth of Souls was the first major Bleach game release in many years, with Bandai Namco and Tamsoft bringing the iconic series to modern platforms as a fighter. All of the most iconic Bleach characters are here, including Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, and even Coyote Stark. Save $40 off the base game this weekend with this deal at Amazon.

Astro Bot for $39.99

Astro Bot is a must-own game for any PlayStation 5 owner for many reasons. The fun platforming adventure is a trip across PlayStation's iconic history of games, with cameos from many of the beloved characters that shaped each console generation. Today, you can score Astro Bot for $39.99 at Amazon,

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake for $34.99

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was one of the most enjoyable RPGs of 2024, featuring a gorgeous remade HD-2D world and voice acting. If you haven't had the chance to check this one out yet, Amazon has copies available for only $34.99. With Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake available now, it's the perfect time to dive into one of the most important games in the genre.

Silent Hill 2 for $29.99

Silent Hill 2 is available for $29.99 at Amazon as part of Black Friday sales. The Bloober Team-developed remake brought new life to the iconic Konami game, depicting the story of James Sunderland as he travels to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife. With revamped combat, a rerecorded soundtrack, and new story additions, Silent Hill 2 is a fantastic horror game that is worth experiencing.

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The Witcher Books Are Nearly Half off and Included in the Amazon Buy 2, Get 1 Free Sale

✇IGN
Par :Myles Obenza
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As part of Amazon's Black Friday deals this week, the retailer is oncee again offering the buy 2 books, get 1 free deal on various books, collections, graphic novels, and more. One such deal is the Witcher paperback boxed set, which compiles the five core stories in Andrzej Sapkowski's saga. It's currently sitting at $49.95, 44% off the original price of $89.99. But if you buy this and another book (or box set), you'll get a third of equal or lesser value for free. This promotion also works with 4K movies and vinyl, so you can mix and match to maximize your discount during Amazon's Black Friday sale.

The Witcher Boxed Set Deal at Amazon

This convenient collection comes with a box to store all five books on your shelf. The spines all sport the same red binding, making them pop on your shelf. The main novels follow Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher, and his decades-long quest to protect Ciri, the child prophesized to have the power to alter the world. Here's what you'll get in this collection:

  • Blood of Elves
  • The Time of Contempt
  • Baptism of Fire
  • The Tower of Swallows
  • The Lady of the Lake

Not included here are the two short story precursors to Blood of Elves, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny. These detail how many of our characters meet and give much deeper history and backstory for a better understanding of this world. The other two prequel novels, Season of Storms and Crossroads of Ravens, are required reading for anyone looking to experience the entirety of the saga. All four books are discounted on Amazon, but not part of the buy 2, get 1 free deal. All but Crossroads of Ravens feature the same style of cover and spine art, so they'll look really nice with on your shelf with the rest of the collection. You can check out the full reading order of The Witcher books to see what you're missing or see our larger list of book box sets on sale today.

Other Witcher books included in the sale

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

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Is Nintendo Switch 2 On Sale For Black Friday?

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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There’s no denying that the Nintendo Switch 2 has been a runaway sales success, but ever since its pricing was revealed, I've personally been wondering if we'll ever actually see a reasonable discount on the console.

But, as the nascent handheld hybrid comes into its first Nintendo Black Friday sale (which is now live, by the way), it’s not looking likely that the console will drop in price. Still, let me explain why not all is lost.

While I don’t expect the console to drop from its $449.99 MSRP during Black Friday (I'd love to be surprised if it did), retailers will still be trying to entice prospective buyers with a bundle or two.

Nintendo currently offers two bundles, for example, with one including Mario Kart World and another offering Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Both of these are, at least in my opinion, rather good bundle deals.

"These are the best possible Switch 2 Black Friday deals we're getting."

The Mario Kart bundle, at $499, includes the console and Mario Kart World, at a $30 discount compared to buying each individually. While the Pokémon bundle is a similar deal, just a $20 saving instead, as the base game isn't as pricey as Mario Kart.

Those are two great games to kickstart your Switch 2 collection, and these are the best possible Switch 2 Black Friday deals we're getting.

If you're waiting on something else, I wouldn't bother risking these going out of stock between now and December, especially as plenty will be picking up Switch 2 consoles for loved ones over the holidays.

We’re also already starting to see some retailers throw even more into things - although not without driving up the cost. Best Buy has a bundle including both Pokémon and Mario Kart, or even bundles that include microSD Express cards, Donkey Kong Bananza, or even The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Many also include cases, screen protectors, or even the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, and we’re still a few days away from the ‘real’ Black Friday window. With that in mind, it might be worth holding out a few days to see if any of these bundles see price drops, or if fresh bundles arrive.

More Switch 2 Black Friday Deals

When it comes to games for when you do have a console, Amazon looks to be the place to shop. The retailer is offering considerable discounts on the likes of Star Wars: Outlaws, NBA 2K26, EA Sports FC 26, Madden NFL 26 and more.

When it comes to games, my top pick is Super Mario Odyssey right now, which ranked fourth on IGN's "Top 100 Nintendo Games of All Time", for just 30 bucks.

Other standout offers in Nintendo's Black Friday sale includes a big discount on the best microSD express card right now. It's for the recently released Samsung P9 512GB MicroSD Express card, now just $74.99 after a 25% off instant discount.

Should You Wait for Black Friday on November 28?

Black Friday deals are more confusing than ever these days. Most retailers spend November teasing limited-time offers, but the reality is that the deepest discounts rarely arrive until about a week before what I like to call “Black Friday proper.”

Having tracked Nintendo sales for years, one thing is clear: once a Switch deal hits, it usually sticks for the rest of the sale. That means the prices you see now on consoles, games, and accessories are very likely the ones that’ll hold through to December. If you’ve been holding out for a solid deal, there’s no need to wait any longer.

These offers are reliable, worthwhile, and unlikely to get any better. Grab the games and hardware you’ve had your eye on, there’s no risk of Black Friday regret, only the satisfaction of finally getting exactly what you wanted at a price that makes sense.

Are you planning to pick up anything in Nintendo's Black Friday sale? Let us know in the comments, and stick around with IGN as we continue to update you daily on the best Black Friday deals for 2025.

For more deals, check out every PS5 game that's discounted at part of PlayStation's brand new 2025 Black Friday offers.

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.

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Is Only $30 This Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Noah Hunter
↗️

With the new screenshots for the Zelda movie released, many new Zelda fans are looking to explore the series for the first time. The best time of the year to score Zelda games on sale is here with Black Friday, and the latest 2D entry, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, is available for 50% off for a limited time. Grab the trusty Tri Rod and begin an exciting adventure across Hyrule today!

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for Only $30

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is one of the most unique games in the franchise for many reasons, but none are more obvious than this being the first game with Zelda as the protagonist. Instead of playing as Link, you play as Princess Zelda, who must save Hyrule on her own. As a result of this design, the game plays vastly differently from any other in the series.

The star of the gameplay is Zelda's Tri Rod, allowing you to create Echoes of almost anything. This can mean copying a bed and placing a dozen to form a staircase, or even spawning enemies to attack for you. You can get very creative with how you solve each puzzle, as most of the time, there is never just one solution. Creativity is key, and it's up to you to determine how to approach new challenges.

If you're a fan of Zelda games and have yet to check out Echoes of Wisdom, Black Friday is the perfect time to do so. This is especially true for Nintendo Switch 2 owners who skipped out on Switch, as there is an update for enhanced performance that supports 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.

For more Black Friday deals, be sure to check out the full Nintendo Black Friday sale to save on even more Nintendo Switch games. If you're looking for deals outside of games, the Amazon Black Friday sale is a great place to start.

More Nintendo Swich Games on sale today

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.

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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Hits Its Lowest Price Ever for Black Friday

✇IGN
Par :Noah Hunter
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It's time to draw the curtains, as Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has hit a new all-time low price for Black Friday 2025! This turn-based Mario adventure is a must-own for any Nintendo Switch player, and there's never been a better time to add this game to your collection.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for $29.99

Paper-Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of the most beloved Mario games of all time. The Nintendo Switch remake introduced several new features and quality-of-life updates, including the Partner Ring, which lets you quickly flip between partners, and new badges to unlock. Additionally, you can explore concept art and listen to the soundtrack in the Art and Sound Galleries, which can be filled out by obtaining Star Pieces. Beyond this, much work was put into the visual department, with updated sprites, enhanced graphics, and new lighting added to create a more premium experience.

Of course, the star of the show is the turn-based combat that Paper Mario is known for. Battles take place on a stage with toads in the audience, who actually can help change the course of battle by refilling the SP gauge. Each turn, you'll have the chance to choose your attack, whether that be a jump, hammer, or special move. The Thousand-Year Door is a game of strategy, which is a huge shake-up to the traditional Mario formula found in the 3D platformers.

For more Black Friday deals, be sure to check out the full Nintendo Black Friday sale to save on even more Nintendo Switch games. You can also see the full Target Black Friday sale for a broader range of deals.

More Nintendo Swich Games on sale today

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.

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Assassin's Creed: Shadows Just Hit A New Low Price In Amazon's Black Friday Deals

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
↗️

It feels like a while ago that Assassin’s Creed: Shadows launched at the start of the year, and Ubisoft’s latest entry into the RPG side of its long-running franchise finally whisked players to the Japan setting they craved.

While sales data remains unclear, there’s no denying the game’s scale and the size of its open world, and if you’ve been on the fence, then we’ve got good news - you can get it for up to half off in Amazon’s Black Friday deals.

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows Is Up To 50% Off

PS5 fans are the winners here, because they can pick up the game for a little less than Xbox Series X players thanks to PlayStation's Black Friday sale on games. If you’re on Sony’s console, it’s just $34.99, whereas it’ll set you back $39.99 on Xbox - saving you 50% or 43% respectively.

Whichever version you buy, you get the advantage of an Amazon Exclusive character pack for Naoe, one of the game’s protagonists (more on that in a moment). It includes legendary gear, weapons, a mount, and a trinket to use in-game.

The big shift this time around is the split between Naoe and Yasuke, with the former offering the stealthy, nimble Assassin’s Creed gameplay you’d expect from the franchise’s earlier entries, while the latter complements that with a hard-hitting, combat-focused approach.

In our review, Jarrett Green awarded the game an 8 out of 10 and said, “By sharpening the edges of its existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade.”

The game’s Claws of Awaji expansion launched in September of this year, and Shadows is slated to launch on Nintendo Switch 2 in December.

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.

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Lenovo Black Friday Sale Hits the UK, Best Deals Now Live

✇IGN
Par :Christian Wait
↗️

Lenovo has kicked off it's BLack Friday sale, just make sure to double check that the promo code "MEGADEAL" in your basket before checking out, although when doing this myself the code automatically applied.

TL;DR: The Best Lenovo Black Friday Deals

IT focuses mostly on laptops for all use cases, from gaming, to the efficient ThinkPads you've probbaly used in an office job before now and 2-in-1 efforts that are great for digital artwork and much more. There's also some monitors on offer, again there's everyday use cases and gaming covered. Let's get straight into it:

Gaming Laptop Deals

This is where the real deals are for me, but if you're not looking for a gaming laptop the rest of this article is for you. Looking for a budget gaming effort? Go for the LOQ Essential 15i, which has a RTX 5050, 16GB DDR5 RAM and a 1TV SSD. The processor isn't anything special, but this laptop is more than capable of running games at decent settings in 1080p. With DLSS4 available on 5000 series cards, you'll be able to generate the frames you're missing and drop the resolution a game is putting out to artificially upscale to really push this £679 gaming laptop beyond it's limits.

If you want something more upmarket with more power under the hood, it's a big jump in price to £1199. Granted the specs for just over a £500 jump are worth it, we're moving into mid-range territory here. The processor is slightly more powerfull, the RAM and SSD is the same, but we're getting an RTX 5070 with this and a better screen that rocks 165Hz refresh rate and is 1200p. Expect high settings with 120 FPS + on most games with this setup. Just to note also, this laptop was £1,549, a lovely Black Friday £300 discount.

2-In-1 Laptop Deals

If you want a bit of tech that does a little bit of everything, any three of these 2-in-1 laptops are great for those who want Windows-based drawing tablets that can double as a traditional laptop. Personally I'd go with the Yoga 7i 14 with the integrated Intel Arc graphics. It's never going to beat a dedicated GPU, but programs like Photoshop, Z Brush and other digital art apps need a solid GPU offering and plenty of storage . There's also 32GB LPDDR5X RAM installed, so boatloads of temporary memory for multitasking. It's also discvounted by £350, so this is a killer deal for a buyer that wants a little bit of anything, even a bit of light indie gaming.

ThinkPad and IdeaPad Deals

Whilst the price tag might tell a different tale, none of these laptops are useful for any heavy gaming purposes outside of pixel art and indie gaming. If that's you but you want a practical laptop that's thin, sleek and stylish, go for it.

ThinkPads and IdeaPads are by nature workhorses made for anything from web surfing to heavy office-themed work. It's always good to have a fast laptop, but some of these laptops might be a bit of overkill for these usecases.

That doesn't mean these laptops are bad by any stretch of the imagination, and will be great for heavy multitasking, but if you're looking to video edit or anything that depends on heavy use of a graphics card, integrated graphics that are built into a CPU or motherboard ain't it chief.

Monitors and Accessory Deals

A 27-inch 2K gaming monitor for £159 is such a great Black Friday deal, it's perfect for gamers on a budget who want to hit 1440p resolutions on a 1080p gaming laptop. Add a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.5 MPRT (Response time) and you have a solid gaming monitor that does what it says on this tin. It also has a lovely 99% sRGP and 90% DCI-P3 color gamuts for those bothered about color accuracy, but sadly no HDR support and it isn't OLED. IF you find another Monitor with those kind of specs on top of what i've mentioned please tell me, because you won't this Black Friday.

The ThinkVision monitors are great for day-to-day use and for most work purposes too, such as the £90 T22i-30 deal. It just depends what you want to get out of your screen experience.

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.

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Target Launches Its Black Friday Sale for 2025 With Killer New Deals

✇IGN
Par :Jacob Kienlen
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Target has officially started its Black Friday sale and the deals are already quite good. Target has been price matching many of the same deals we've seen from Best Buy and Amazon's Black Friday sales that started last week, but these new discounts really up the ante. The most exciting new discounts are a massive buy 2, get 1 free sale on physical media as well as a buy 1, get one half off sale on toys, board games, and puzzles. There are still more deals to come, but most of the best discounts are live right now.

The Best Target Black Friday Sales Today

In general, you can find a lot of the same popular Black Friday deals featured everywhere else. In terms of video game deals, today is actually the day that the Nintendo sale went live as well, so the first round of Switch game discounts is now available. Meanwhile, the PlayStation Black Friday sale has been running since Friday and includes some of the only console deals we're probably going to see all week. On the tech side of things, Target has been price matching all of the Apple deals we've seen at Amazon as well as TV deals from Best Buy. Those are the discounts you can find everywhere else right now.

The fresh deals that Target has brought into the sales world today are the BOGO promotions and some exciting new toy deals. First there's the buy 2, get 1 free sale on books, movies, and music that will likely be one of the most popular Black Friday deals of the year. Amazon has already started price matching this sale with its own "3 for 2" promo. There's also the buy 1, get 1 50% off sales on toys, board games, and puzzles that offer a wonderful opportunity for extra savings on gifts for the 2025 holiday season.

Some killer new LEGO deals are live at Target

While the general BOGO promos are the most exciting, it's the LEGO deals hidden in this sale that I'm most excited about. Most notably, there's the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory set that is getting discounted for the first time. We actually built this set when it first came out this earlier this year and I didn't think there was any way it would get discounted before next year. If you've had your eye on that one, I'd definitely recommend snapping it up before the deal is gone.

More Target Black Friday Deals Are Coming

Although Target's official Black Friday sale is live now, the retailer has already confirmed that more discounts will be dropping on November 28. These details come as part of Target's Black Friday ad that it released last week with all of the details of its sale. You can flip through all of the pages of that ad in the reddit thread below:

These upcoming deals will start as early access sales for Target Circle 360 members on November 27 and go live for everyone on Friday, November 28. Most notably, Target is promising 40% off select LEGO sets, which is a 10% increase from what we're seeing now. This is also when LEGO is planning to launch its own Black Friday sale, so we'll probably see a lot more sets drop in price on actual Black Friday this year. Here's the full list of upcoming sale categories from the ad:

  • Up to 50% off toys (Jurassic World, Squishmallows, FAO Schwarz)
  • Up to 50% off sleepwear
  • 40% off select LEGO sets
  • 40% off Wondershop holiday décor
  • 40% off shoes and slippers
  • 40% off beauty sets
  • 40% off sweaters
  • 40% off outerwear and cold-weather accessories
  • Up to 40% off men’s & women’s clothing

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Amazon's Massive "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" 4K Blu-ray Sale Is Back for Black Friday 2025

✇IGN
Par :Robert Anderson
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Amazon's Black Friday sale is finally rolling, and the headline act is obvious. It's brought back its wildly popular 3 for 2 offer on physical media like 4K Blu-rays, the one that collectors like myself are always on the lookout for.

And once you see what's included this time around, you'll see what's got me so excited. It really is one of the best sales of the year, and probably the best of Black Friday 2025.

4K UHD Blu-rays: Buy 2, Get 1 Free Sale

This is the sweet spot for anyone who still cares about owning the good stuff instead of relying on whatever a streaming service feels like keeping.

Truth is, trying to narrow this sale down is a losing battle. There are too many heavy hitters to pretend this is some neat little shortlist. If you're smart, you'll dig through the full selection yourself because there’s no way all the worthwhile picks fit in one roundup.

The lineup this time round is mega stacked, including Fallout Season One (just in time for another binge before Season Two kicks off next month), Alien, The Mummy, Back to the Future, Batman (1989), Lilo & Stitch (2025), and plenty more as well. It really is worth just checking out the whole collection ASAP to find your favorites, just as I have.

As for how it works, it's exactly what you think. Buy two, get a third free. Add three eligible items to your basket and the cheapest one drops off at checkout. Clean, simple, and ridiculously good value when the lineup is this strong.

The deal scales with your cart, too, the more you grab, the more you save. Six items? Two free. Nine? Three free. You can mix and match across categories, with eligible books, board games, puzzles, and vinyl sitting alongside movies and TV box sets.

There's big new books like Callie Hart's Quicksilver follow-up, Brimstone, and Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, or soon to be film, Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. All of which are worth a buy, in my opinion at least. Comics are included as well, with some of the best Batman graphic novels up for grabs, such as my personal favorites, The Long Halloween, and the Court of Owls Saga.

Amazon’s search filters are still a mess, labeling almost everything as ‘DVD’ even when it’s 4K. Fortunately, the sale page itself is far easier to navigate once you’re in. And if Amazon doesn’t have the version you want, Target runs a nearly identical 3-for-2 promotion with plenty of overlapping stock.

Should I Wait for Black Friday on November 28?

So, should you wait for “Black Friday proper” to start hunting? Not this time. The sale is already live, and it’s one of the strongest offers you’ll see this week. If you care about owning your favorite films instead of relying on whatever happens to be on a streaming service, this is exactly the kind of deal to jump on now.

This sale follows one of Amazon’s best 4K film promotions in years, and it might even top it. It’s impressive, and well worth a browse while stock lasts. Check out what catches your eye, and stay tuned to IGN for more Black Friday updates this week.

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.

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Here's Every Switch Game Already On Sale for Black Friday 2025

✇IGN
Par :Robert Anderson
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Nintendo's Black Friday 2025 sale has kicked off across every major retailer, running Nov. 23-29. You're looking at up to half off a wide spread of Switch and Switch 2 games, and it's one of the stronger lineups Nintendo's bothered to put out in a while.

For the uninitiated, Black Friday itself doesn't hit until Nov. 28, but most of the industry has decided the rules don't matter, so most of the real deals tend to be available to browse already.

That means you can already scoop up some of the best prices on several incredibly worthwhile picks. Let's take a look at what's on offer.

When it comes to first-party, my top pick is Super Mario Odyssey right now, which ranked fourth on IGN's "Top 100 Nintendo Games of All Time", for just 30 bucks.

There's also Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake, Splatoon 3, and more down to $29.99, alongside Luigi Mansion 3, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD at $39.99.

When it comes to third-party deals, there's more than enough to keep Switch 2 owners satisfied.

That includes discounts on Star Wars Outlaws (including all its DLC) for $39.99 on Switch 2, $20 off its original list price, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, now just $44.99 on another fairly recent release.

Final Fantasy's 1-6 Pixel Collection is also down to $39.99. That's $35 off, and the lowest price ever on the game. That features another from our "Top 100 Nintendo Games of All Time" list, Final Fantasy 6, which sits at a very nice 19th overall.

There are also several other big Black Friday discounts on Switch games like Red Dead Redemption, EA SPORTS FC 26, Monster Hunter Stories Collection, Just Dance 2026, and more.

Other standout offers in Nintendo's Black Friday sale includes a big discount on the best microSD express card right now. It's for the recently released Samsung P9 512GB MicroSD Express card, now just $74.99 after a 25% off instant discount.

There's also a whole bunch of great amiibo deals that are absolutely worth your attention.

Amazon has dropped Tears of the Kingdom amiibo, Riju and Sidon to $9.99, while Best Buy has matched that price on Tulin and Yunobo. Street Fighter amiibo are also discounted, sitting at $14.99 at Best Buy.

How Do These Deals Compare to Last Year?

In all honesty, they are a mixed bag this year. While $30 for a Switch game like Super Mario Odysesy is a superb deal, we're lacking discounts on some other notable Switch or Switch 2 games.

There's no discounts for new titles like Donkey Kong Bananza, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, or Mario Kart World, at least not offically, and we're still waiting to see if any retailers have some surprise offers.

We also haven't seen a big discount on a game like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which fell to just $29.99 last year. That was a huge deal, and would be perfect for anyone looking to upgrade it to the Switch 2 edition. Ah, I see why it's not on sale. That would make buying it for $70 unappealing.

You see how it is, Switch 2 is now available, and Nintendo isn't looking to offer up any bargains that it doesn't have to, on hardware, the best new games, or anything else for that matter.

Should You Wait for Black Friday on November 28?

Black Friday deals are more confusing than ever these days. Most retailers spend November teasing limited-time offers, but the reality is that the deepest discounts rarely arrive until about a week before what I like to call “Black Friday proper.”

Having tracked Nintendo sales for years, one thing is clear: once a Switch deal hits, it usually sticks for the rest of the sale. That means the prices you see now on consoles, games, and accessories are very likely the ones that’ll hold through to December. If you’ve been holding out for a solid deal, there’s no need to wait any longer.

These offers are reliable, worthwhile, and unlikely to get any better. Grab the games and hardware you’ve had your eye on, there’s no risk of Black Friday regret, only the satisfaction of finally getting exactly what you wanted at a price that makes sense.

Are you planning to pick up anything in Nintendo's Black Friday sale? Let us know in the comments, and stick around with IGN as we continue to update you daily on the best Black Friday deals for 2025.

For more deals, check out every PS5 game that's discounted at part of PlayStation's brand new 2025 Black Friday offers.

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.

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Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Just Got Its First Major Discount Only a Couple of Months After Launch

✇IGN
Par :Lloyd Coombes
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Sonic and Mario’s rivalry may have cooled since they started competing in the Olympics together, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might be the closest to a Mario Kart beater we’ve seen in a while.

The game succeeds with a “kitchen sink” approach, with a ton of characters, worlds, and power-ups that come from all over SEGA’s IP and beyond, and now you can save big on it for Target's Black Friday sale.

The Black Friday sale at Target has dropped the price of the PS5 and Nintendo Switch versions down to $44.99 - a $25 discount on a game that only launched at the end of September.

The big draw this time is not just that the game’s vehicles transform between different modes, but that racers will travel through dimensions to different tracks during the same race. That keeps everyone on their toes, with the kart in first getting to decide from one of two options.

There are a huge number of characters included, too. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman are obvious inclusions, but the game’s season pass includes Steve and Alex from Minecraft, Pac-Man, Mega Man, and more.

In our review, Jada Griffin awarded the game a 9 out of 10, saying, “Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds fires on all cylinders with a fantastic roster, excellent courses, and lengthy list of customization options.”

That roster is only growing, too. The SpongeBob SquarePants pack will take players to Bikini Bottom, while there’s also a free update introducing NiGHTS, AiAi, and Tangle & Whisper. It’ll also come to Nintendo Switch 2 at long last on December 4.

Other standout offers in Nintendo's Black Friday sale includes a big discount on the best microSD express card right now. It's for the recently released Samsung P9 512GB MicroSD Express card, now just $74.99 after a 25% off instant discount.

When it comes to games, my top pick is Super Mario Odyssey right now, which ranked fourth on IGN's "Top 100 Nintendo Games of All Time", for just 30 bucks.

For more deals, you should also check out every PS5 game that's discounted at part of PlayStation's brand new Black Friday offers. There's some big discounts on first party PlayStation games in the sale especially from the past few years. My top pick is Game of the Year 2024 winner, Astro Bot, for $39.99, which is endless amounts of fun.

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.

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