Let's be honest; Black Friday has not been quite as exciting as prior years' sales overall, based on our own team's consensus, overall online chatter so far, and based on what our own followers have shared. Depending on what you are looking to get before the new year, what categories you're shopping within, and what you're willing to actually spend (in THIS economy?!) you have to be pickier now more than ever.

That said, there's no doubt this weekend is showing us the lowest prices we'll see on most products we've seen all year. IGN's readers, to nobody's surprise, have taken advantage of the best gaming sales that are live, and even some that weren't on sale at all (Switch 2 for example. SMH).

Either way, 'tis the season for shopping, holiday gift hunting, practical buying, and everything in between. Here's what our IGN audience ordered the most of (total quantity) on actual Black Friday from Amazon, still ahead of Cyber Monday. Please note the stock and prices are subject to change, as we've seen fluctuations throughout each day even. If you want something on sale, best to grab it now.

Top-Sellers Overall:

Highlight: Battlefield 6 has dropped to just $35 in the Black Friday and early Cyber Monday sales for both PS5 and Xbox. That's 50% off and going in and out of stock at Amazon, so be sure to check GameStop too for the same deal.

No matter what the overall lack of exciting deals are this year, there's a little something for everyone to shop still. I, myself will be shopping discounts on practical things I want to stock up on around the house, like toilet paper, dish soap, batteries, granola bars and things like that. Other than that, I will be looking into 4k Blu-ray sales of my favorite movies I don't own yet, any wishlisted games on Steam with steep discounts, and will casually browse gift ideas for my loved ones. Good luck out there and I'll see you on the other side!

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

Black Friday proper may be behind us, but the deals bonanza isn't over just yet. If you're looking to upgrade from your outdated gaming laptop, or you want to transition from a desktop computer to a more mobile setup, there are still plenty of excellent deals to choose from. In fact, there are quite a deals that have actually lowered in price compared to yesterday. Check them all of the deals below.

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S Gaming Laptop Deal (RTX 5070 Ti)

PlayStation was definitely one of Black Friday's biggest winners this year, as it had just about everything discounted. Although PlayStation's big sale is still continuing into Cyber Monday, we've already seen quite a few of the popular items sell out.

The most popular deal, by far, has been the PS5 console bundles, which are $100 off and include a pack-in game for added value. While the NBA 2K26 bundle is no longer available, you can still scoop up the Ghost of Yotei Black Edition and Fortnite PS5 bundles for a limited time. But, don't wait too long as these are likely to be the next bundles to sell out.

Every PS5 Bundle Still Available After Black Friday

As expected, PS5 consoles sold like hotcakes during Black Friday, with the bundles providing the best value overall. The best deal this year was the NBA 2K26 PS5 bundle since it effectively included an additional $70 in value with the pack-in game, although it has since sold out everywhere.

There are still a couple of PS5 console bundles hanging on, although they seem to be selling quickly. If you're looking for the absolute best price right now, then you can't go wrong with the Fortnite holiday bundle. The 1TB disc edition is on sale for $449 and the 825GB digital edition is $399, which is the same price as the bundle-less PS5s.

While Fortnite itself is free to play, the Fortnite Flowering Chaos bundle includes some digital goodies that can be used in-game. In total, it's eight PlayStation-exclusive cosmetics (estimated to cost around 5,000 V-Bucks) plus an additional 1,000 V-Bucks to spend in the Fortnite shop. The included cosmetics are:

• Florin Outfit (with LEGO style)
• Blossom Backpack Back Bling
• Floral Finisher Pickaxe
• Blue Blossoms Wrap
• Petal's Edge Guitar
• Blue Bloom Mic
• Petal Steppers Kicks

If Fortnite doesn't interest you, then your only other option is the Ghost of Yotei Limited Edition console bundle from PlayStation Direct for $499. While the Gold edition is sold out, the Black edition is still available. This console bundle includes a special edition console and matching controller, as well as a voucher for Ghost of Yotei.

Like most special edition consoles, the Ghost of Yotei edition isn't likely to stick around for long, so this may be your last chance to pick up that console before it's discontinued.

More PlayStation Consoles & Accessories on Sale

In addition to the standard PS5, the PS5 Pro is also $100 off this year, although there aren't any free games or bonuses included. This sale effectively erases the PS5 Pro's price increase from earlier this year, so it's still a great deal and likely the cheapest it's going to be for some time.

PlayStation Portal finally gets a post-launch discount and the PlayStation VR2 bundle with Horizon: Call of the Mountain is $100 as part of this sale.

Black Friday may be over, but there are still sales happening at just about every retailer, including Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. Some of these deals are likely to carry on into Cyber Monday, but it's not a guarantee.

Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Now that Thanksgiving has wrapped up, it's time to start thinking about Christmas. More specifically, it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts for everyone this year. The best Black Friday deals are all live this weekend and will probably remain through Cyber Monday. This is the weekend to do all of your Christmas shopping before prices start going up.

I myself am a bit of a known last-minute gift shopper. I need the pressure of Christmas being only a few days away to push me to really hunker down and think about what to buy everyone. And while I still haven't done my own Christmas gift shopping this year, I do have some gift ideas to share based on what's actually on sale.

The Best Gifts on Sale for Black Friday This Year

Illustrated Editions of Books Are Buy 2, Get 1 Free

I have a lot of people in my life that love to read and I've found that illustrated editions of their favorite series are often a top gift idea for readers. Of the illustrated editions that are on sale right now, I'd recommend The Lord of the Rings ones. They all include illustrations and maps from Tolkien himself and are arguably the best gift for any true Lord of the Rings fan. All three of these books are currently available in Amazon's buy 2, get 1 free sale so it's a great time to buy.

Another good option available in that same sale is the interactive illustrated versions of Harry Potter. There are a total of four books that have been converted to this style so far and they are actually cool. The "interactive" part is that they are designed to include papercraft alongside just illustrations. I've taken advantage of this same buy 2, get 1 deal on these before and it can save you quite a bit of money on a good Harry Potter gift.

AirPods Are Really Cheap This Year

AirPods are one of the most purchased items during every Black Friday sale. This has been true since the dawn of the AirPod and will likely remain true until the need for earpods becomes a thing of the past. This year we are seeing some really good deals on AirPods models. You can get a pair of the latest AirPods 4 for only $69 right now, which seems like a ridiculous price for Apple tech.

Everyone Wants a Nintendo Switch 2

One of the most popular items during Black Friday this year is the new Switch console. There aren't any actual Nintendo Switch 2 deals this year, but that hasn't stopped folks from buying the bundles that offer at least some savings. That's because the Switch 2 is probably never going to be discounted. If you don't buy a bundle now, they might all be gone before Christmas.

Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced that 10.5 million players just tuned in for Zero Hour, the highly-anticipated live event that featured heroes from the world's biggest franchises turning up Avengers: Endgame-style to save the day. Online, at least 3 million more watched the event via streaming platforms.

Iron Man, Superman, Godzilla and the KPop Demon Hunters were just some of the characters who made appearances within the event, as Fortnite's finest gathered to defeat the Dark Presence, the game's latest Big Bad. Many of the characters appearing in the event had been teased ahead of time, though exactly what would happen was left uncertain. And indeed, despite going multiple rounds with King Kong and a Star Destroyer, the Dark Presence was still left standing.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the event was quite how much Fortnite celebrated its own beloved lore, with the Dark Presence finally defeated thanks to a last-ditch decision by Jonesy to call in the game's villainous Cube.

Full Fortnite Zero Hour live event gameplay! 🎬

Epic just pulled off its own version of Avengers Endgame 🔥

How would you rate the event out of 10? 👀pic.twitter.com/ifWqkeNKF6

— Beebom Gaming (@beebomgaming) November 29, 2025

Fans are now sharing gameplay of the event and finding numerous Easter eggs, such as characters from Steal the Brainrot being featured in the background, and Hatsune Miku joining the battle while perched on Godzilla's head. I particularly love this fan creation, which overlays Avengers: Endgame's score on top of Zero Hour's "portals" sequence:

Fortnite Zero Hour Event (with Endgame Music)#FortniteZeroHour #fortnite pic.twitter.com/6Jacvsq3px

— ABALDY (@ABaldy64) November 29, 2025

There's plenty here, too, for Fortnite lore fans to digest. As Hope herself questioned, who was piloting the Mecha Team Leader mech? (A member of the Seven?) Will the destruction of the Cube lead to its mothership reappearing? (Yes, see below!) And how is Epic Games going to top this next year?

With the event's gameplay portion complete, some players reported seeing their games abruptly crash as an unexpected cutscene began to air. The cinematic, which you can watch in full below, quickly sums up Fortnite's clearly now-revived original storyline and makes absolutely clear that the game is returning to its focus on its heroic Seven, and their battle against the Cube's civilization, dubbed The Last Reality.

After that, players were treated to a quick glimpse at what's next for the game (and yes, Epic Games couldn't resist making a 6-7 joke in the process). Fortnite Chapter 7 will begin with our heroes enjoying life on a new map themed around the southern US. There are Fortnite-y versions of Hollywood and Area 51 to explore, while fresh gameplay changes include wingsuits and drivable Reboot Vans. Everything seems pretty chill, until The Last Reality's mothership does indeed turn up (and promptly blows up Fortnite's beloved Battle Bus!)

And after that, for those still connected, Fortnite really did call it a day. The game is now offline for a number of hours, with the launch of Chapter 7 due as the game comes back online later tonight.

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

For Black Friday weekend, Lenovo just lowered the price yet again one of its best Black Friday gaming PC deals. Right now you can pick up a Legion Tower 7 RTX 5080 gaming PC for just $1,889.99 after you apply two stackable coupon codes "LENCYBERDEAL" and "EXTRAFIVE". This beats out the original Black Friday deal by $200. It's not the least expensive RTX 5080 prebuilt for Black Friday - the Alienware Aurora R16 just barely beats it at $1,815 - but it's arguably a better deal.

Check out more of the best Lenovo Black Friday deals going on right now.

Black Friday Deal: Lenovo Legion Tower 7 RTX 5080 Gaming PC

We have almost made it to the final month of 2025. Thankfully, a new batch of arrivals of all of your favorite streaming services should keep you busy between the holiday festivities and family events.

Netflix is the king of holiday rom-coms, and so of course we’ll see plenty of new (somewhat similar looking) additions to that list throughout the month. You’ll also get a spread of new documentaries, the third Knives Out movie, and, of course, the Stranger Things finale.

Without further ado, here’s the full list of everything coming to Netflix in December with recommendations from the staff here at IGN.

Everything Coming to Netflix in December

December 1

• All The Empty Rooms
• CoComelon Lane: Season 6
• Love is Blind: Italy
• My Next Guest with David Letterman and Adam Sandler
• Playing Gracie Darling
• Troll 2
• A League of Their Own
• As Good as It Gets
• Bad Teacher
• Big Momma’s House
• Big Momma’s House 2

It's been a good time for PS5 deals during Black Friday, thanks in part some nice price drops on a variety of accessories. That includes cheaper DualSense controllers, discounts on headsets, and more – to keep things easy, below you'll find a few of our favorites still on sale as Black Friday sales start giving way to Cyber Monday deals.

Top Black Friday PS5 Accessory Deals Today

A few of the items above have hit their lowest prices yet, including the PlayStation Portal and the HyperX Cloud III S headset. Some others have returned to previous lows, including the DualSense Edge, PlayStation Pulse Explore earbuds, and PlayStation Pulse Elite headset.

A couple of these items have even landed in our roundup of the best gaming accessories for your PS5 or PS5 Pro. We consider the DualSense Edge to be the best controller for PS5, as it "features three types of changeable stick caps, mappable back buttons, and adjustable trigger lengths." And the PlayStation Portal is ideal for remote play on the console – and finally works on its own thanks to the addition of cloud streaming, making it an even more useful gadget for your PlayStation collection.

These deals aren't guaranteed to stay beyond Cyber Monday, either. So, if you've been hoping to upgrade your PS5 setup with some new controllers or extra storage, now's the time to buy.

TVs on Sale for Black Friday 2025

New accessories aren't the only way to improve your PS5 setup. A new, high-quality TV can make your PS5 games shine, and LG C5 OLED TVs are on sale for up to TK off. The LG C4 is our favorite TV for playing on PS5 and PS5 Pro, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate and bright, yet contrasty OLED panel. The C5 is simply the latest in the line.

PS5 Games Are Also on Sale for Black Friday

Outside of accessories and shiny new TVs, we've seen some incredible PS5 video game deals over the course of the sale event as well. If you're filling up your library with some new picks to play over the holidays, you can still score discounts on Silent Hill f, Space Marine 2, Battlefield 6, and many, many more.

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

While Black Friday is technically over, most Black Friday sales run through Cyber Monday. That means you still have tons of time to save big on all the best gaming gear, including gaming mice, some of which are up to 50% off. Below, I’ve highlighted seven options worth checking out:

Magic Puzzle Company makes some really cool jigsaw puzzles. They all have 1,000 pieces, and feature highly detailed and colorful art from a variety of artists. But what makes them special is that each one ends with a fun twist, or “magical surprise.” For Black Friday weekend, all of the company’s puzzles are half off on Amazon and Target. That brings each one down to $12.49 – a terrific deal on some gorgeous and clever puzzles.

Magic Puzzle Company Puzzles Are $12.49

So far, Magic Puzzle Company has released five “series” of puzzles, each of which includes four puzzles. If you’ve never done one of their puzzles, it doesn’t really matter which one you get – just go by whatever one looks best to you.

As for the twists at the end, the company says they combine “the traditional jigsaw puzzle experience with ideas from the worlds of tabletop games and magic.” I’ve only completed one of the puzzles, but it was a neat little trick – definitely more interesting than when you complete a standard jigsaw puzzle.

One thing to note: when you order, make sure you look at the delivery estimate, especially if you’re buying a puzzle as a present for someone. Availability is limited, and some of the shipping times are slipping to mid-December or even January. That said, the same sale is running on both Amazon and Target, so you can check the other retailer if the one you want will arrive too late.

Puzzle fans often overlap with board game fans (it must be the tabletop setting), so you’ll probably be pleased to know there are lots of board games on sale for Black Friday as well. Everything from family-friendly games like Jenga to more advanced fare like Wyrmspan (from the makers of Wingspan) is on sale.

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.

Cyber Monday is coming up fast, but that doesn't mean that Black Friday deals are slowing down. Amazon is offering the TheraGun Therabody Massage Gun at a new low price of $109.99. This massage gun usually comes with a price tag of $159.99, so you're saving a cool $50 overall with this discount.

Black Friday Deal: TheraGun Therabody Massage Gun

Since 1986 the Metroid series has gone from 2D to 3D (and back to 2D) and to consoles and portables, with plenty of Samus appearances and cameos in other games along the way. It’s responsible for co-creating the Metroidvania genre, leading to games like Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest and dozens more. And hey, it's even dabbled in pinball and soccer.

With Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the way, it’s the perfect time to look back on this incredible series. Here are what we consider the top 10 Metroid games, judged by the all-important factors of level and map design, progression, innovation, and lasting legacy.

10. Metroid 2: Return of Samus

These days, one of the most basic functions expected of a Metroidvania game is map screen that slowly reveals itself as you explore its maze-like network of corridors and hidden rooms. But back in 1991, when Metroid 2: Return of Samus arrived on the Nintendo Game Boy, that wasn’t exactly standard practice yet. That makes Metroid 2 feel a bit on the obtuse side, especially since its main focus is sending Samus to SR388 on a planet-wide quest to hunt down every last Metroid left with no real way to track their locations.

But if you persevered and played along with your own hand drawn map (or one tucked inside an issue of Nintendo Power) you were rewarded with a pocket-sized Metroid game complete with all of Samus’ signature moves and weapons from the NES game, even if the benefits of portability also meant playing on a fuzzy little puke-green Game Boy screen. Still, from its big character sprites, tense chiptune music, and lonely, claustrophobic setting, there’s something really special about Metroid 2. And for people wishing Metroid 2 had a few more modern features, 2017’s excellent 3DS remake from MercurySteam totally delivers on that front, but hey, we’ll talk about that one more in a bit.

9. Metroid

Inspired by the 1979 sci-fi film Alien as well as previous Nintendo hits like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, the original Metroid game was unlike anything else at the time. Sure there had been tons of space shooters and platforming games released by the time Metroid arrived in 1986, but none of them had ever brought so many elements of those genres together in the same place, complete with a huge map with horizontally and vertically scrolling screens. What made Metroid especially unique at the time was the way its protagonist Samus controlled and explored through unique power-ups, like the ability to turn into a ball and explore hidden tunnels, or the “screw attack” jump that allowed you to rapidly flip up walls and corridors, tearing through ugly space monsters along the way.

It also established grotesque creature villains like Kraid, Ridley, and Mother Brain, all of whom continued to show up in Metroid games for decades to come. And it concluded with one of the most clever NES game ending sequences ever: a frantic escape from a ticking time bomb after defeating the game’s main boss. And perhaps one of the coolest surprises was its multiple endings, several of which revealed that bounty hunter Samus Aran was a woman the entire time, a concept that was pretty uncommon for video games in the mid ‘80s. So much of what makes modern Metroid games so incredible can be traced back to the revolutionary original NES game, and the same can be said for the entire Metroidvania genre as a whole.

8. Metroid: Samus Returns

Metroid: Samus Returns took all of the promise of the original Game Boy game Metroid: Return of Samus and completely rebuilt it from the ground up and presented it in full color, glasses-free 3D, complete with totally overhauled graphics, newly remade music, and a much improved combat system that gave Samus an uppercut style melee attack to knock back enemies between bursts of arm cannon blasts and morph ball bombs.

It’s still ultimately a remake of a fairly one-note Metroid game, but finally having a map (viewable at all times thanks to the 3DS’ second screen,) snappy, fluid player movement, and offensive options against adversaries makes Samus Returns feel distinctly like its own thing. After Team Ninja’s wobbly and unsatisfying Metroid: Other M in 2010, fans were justified in worrying that another outside developer handling the Metroid franchise wouldn’t exactly lead to the best results, but MercurySteam proved it had what it takes to make a very good Metroid game. And, eventually, it would even make a great one.

7. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

While nowhere near as revolutionary as its predecessor, Metroid Prime 2 is a rock solid sequel that introduces a really cool light and dark parallel dimension mechanic; a classic Nintendo gameplay trope established in The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past’s light and dark worlds that allows you to explore alternate versions of the same levels to hunt for power-ups and suit upgrades that help you better survive in each one. With that concept Prime 2 also introduced Dark Samus, a character that sounds exactly like what you’d expect: a dark, evil version of Samus, which unsurprisingly turned out to be really cool. So cool, in fact, that Dark Samus went on to become an assist trophy and eventually a fully playable character in the Smash Bros. games.

Prime 2 also introduced a pretty barebones Metroid multiplayer mode that felt like a response to the success of games like Halo at the time, and while four different colored versions of Samus strafing in circles while they shoot at each other might not seem like the most interesting thing to do in a Metroid game, it was somehow entertaining enough to work in short bursts between trying to one hundred percent the main campaign.

6. Metroid Fusion

After an eight year hiatus from Metroid games (the series skipped over the entire Nintendo 64 generation, after all) the year 2002 brought us two new entries in the series across the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance, the latter of which was a classic 2D sidescrolling Metroid game with gorgeous pixel art and an endlessly replayable campaign. Metroid Fusion built on all of the excellent gameplay established in the SNES classic Super Metroid, and although it didn’t quite hit the same highs, it’s still a very awesome game on its own, held back only by its slightly more linear exploration and overly talky commanding officer character, Adam Malkovich.

Still, Metroid Fusion immediately stood on its own as a tight, briskly paced Metroid game that instantly became a huge hit with the speedrunning community thanks largely to its multiple ending unlocks that appear depending on completion time and percentage finished. Samus came back in a big way in 2002 and reminded people that Metroid was here to stay as one of the best video game franchises ever created.

5. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

By 2007, the Metroid series had gone 2D, 3D, had touch screen controls, and had become a rumble pack-infused pinball game, so obviously the natural next step was a Nintendo Wii motion and pointer controlled game, as was tradition at the time. Luckily, Metroid Prime 3 largely avoided many of the frustrations and pratfalls that several other franchise sequels stumbled on during the awkward "waggle era" of gaming that we’ve largely moved on from as a species. And while some of the motion control implementation in Prime 3 felt a little finicky at times, pointing a Wii remote at the screen to blast away at enemies was immensely satisfying.

Better than that, though, Prime 3 also capped off the excellent Prime trilogy with a more beautiful and breathtaking world that added more verticality and cool new traversal methods, along with “hyper mode” which gave Samus the option to go full on attack frenzy at the expense of her health. Metroid Prime 3 was a fantastic send off for the Prime franchise at the time when none of us had any idea it wouldn’t get a sequel for eighteen years. Unless, of course, you count the 3DS game Metroid Prime: Federation Force... which we definitely won’t, even if it did tease Metroid Prime 4 in its secret ending. True story.

4. Metroid: Zero Mission

The second Metroid game on the Game Boy Advance is also a remake of the first Metroid game ever released, with a stunning new 16-bit pixel art overhaul, taking notes from Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion to improve the original NES game in just about every conceivable way. Every boss fight feels bigger and better, the improved soundtrack rocks, and hey, there’s even an actual map now! And if you ever get nostalgic for the original, it’s unlockable here, too.

On top of that, multiple difficulty options made their way to Zero Mission, along with new cutscenes, a time attack mode, and a gallery of images that you can uncover by performing specific criteria. While the original NES game was revolutionary at the time and still has its charm today, Zero Mission is truly the best way to experience the game that started it all for the Metroid series.

3. Metroid Dread

While the remake Samus Returns for the 3DS was MercurySteam’s first effort at a Metroid game, Metroid Dread was a totally original adventure that added a whole new twist, creating one of the most tense and exhilarating Metroid experiences to date. Being constantly hunted by E.M.M.I, the fast, hulking, and intelligent killer robots ready to end Samus’ mission in seconds, meant that the typical explore-at-your-own-pace gameplay of the traditional Metroid mission was frequently replaced with tense and dangerous urgency.

MercurySteam also took the melee combat and parrying system from Samus Returns and improved it, making close quarters fights feel better than ever, which, with the snappier controls and increased player speed, allows Metroid Dread to go pound-for-pound with the best modern Metroidvanias. Dread is also the toughest game in the series since the original NES Metroid, but manages to never feel cheap or padded thanks to its brilliant map design and liberal checkpoint system. In an ideal world, MercurySteam is giving us a new 2D Metroid every few years while Retro Studios continues to make 3D Prime games, giving us the best of both worlds for this legendary series.

2. Metroid Prime

On the N64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Donkey Kong 64 all proved that once 2D Nintendo franchises could successfully make the jump to 3D, but unfortunately, this era didn’t involve a brand new 3D Metroid game, or really, any new Metroid game at all. But in 2002, Retro Studios did the unthinkable: it successfully transformed the classic feel of Super Metroid into a stunning, atmospheric, and revolutionary first-person action platforming game with fantastic shooting mechanics and an incredible world to explore. From seeing small drops of condensation build around Samus’ visor to the first time we stepped into the icy Phendrana Drifts as the camera panned out and the piano music swelled, we knew we were experiencing something magical.

Everything from morph ball exploration to suit upgrades and an ever evolving arsenal of weaponry and traversal tools made their way into our hands in Metroid Prime after the franchise had been largely dormant for eight years. Boss fights and explosive set pieces brought the series to epic new heights, setting the stage for future Metroid Prime games for years to come. At the time, standard first person shooters were a dime a dozen, but there was really nothing like Metroid Prime. Not only that, but twenty years later, Prime still holds up well, as proven by the Nintendo Switch release of Metroid Prime Remastered.

1. Super Metroid

Almost three decades later and after a wide variety of experimentation across various genres, perspectives, and control methods, Super Metroid still remains the greatest Metroid game of all time. In fact, Super Metroid set the bar so high that the team behind it couldn’t figure out how to top it during the entire Nintendo 64 era, so the Metroid series just took that generation off like it was a victory lap. Super Metroid still feels amazing and is still enjoyed by new players and hardcore speedrunning obsessives alike.

But why? Well, it's perfectly paced and has some of the most rewarding exploration, meticulously crafted level design, pulse pounding music, and some of the best looking pixel art of all time. Like several of its most successful Super Nintendo contemporaries, it took everything that worked in the previous NES installment and improved it, making one of the greatest and most iconic sidescrolling action games ever made. Super Metroid helped define both the future of the series and the genre as a whole. It’s a master class in game design and one that both indie and triple-A game developers have been citing as an inspiration for nearly thirty years now. It’s not only the best Metroid game, it’s one of the best video games ever made.

And there you have it, the top 10 Metroid games leading up to the launch of the highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Once the new instalment releases it will join a lineup of fifteen games with Metroid in the title, all of which I made sure to give a nod to in this article, even if only ten of them made the list. So what’s your favorite Metroid game ever made? Which game do you wish made the list or got bumped higher or lower? Are you a diehard defender of Metroid: Other M or Federation Force? Did you play hundreds of hours of the Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo when the Nintendo DS launched like I did? Morph ball bomb into the comments below and tell me all about it.

Warning: This review contains full spoilers for South Park Season 28, Episode 4!

South Park definitely doesn’t have the best track record with holiday episodes this year. The Halloween-themed “The Woman in the Hat” turned out to be the first real misfire of Season 27/28, bringing an abrupt halt to all the momentum the series had established up to that point. And now Thanksgiving proves just as difficult a nut to crack, with “Turkey Trot” also falling short of the mark. Not the most auspicious setup for the big season finale, to say the least.

The one advantage “Turkey Trot” has over “The Woman in the Hat” is that it doesn’t struggle as much in tying together the two halves of the episode. This week kicks off with the cash-starved Chamber of Commerce resorting to (what else?) Saudi Arabian funding to bankroll their annual 5k run. That dovetails neatly enough with the show’s latest Trump Administration spoof, as Secretary of Defense War Pete Hegseth shows up to rescue the imprisoned Peter Thiel at his boss’ behest.

It also helps that this episode makes more of a meal out of lampooning Hegseth than “The Woman in the Hat” did with its very brief, surface-level spoof of Stephen Miller. The show is every bit as scathing as it was with officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (who also makes a return appearance to commit more acts of canine murder). It’s amusing to see Hegseth portrayed as a glorified YouTuber in perpetual search of content. The fact that he comes equipped with his own theme song and spends half the episode getting pushed around by Sgt. Yates just makes the spoof that much better.

But beyond satirizing Hegseth himself, this episode doesn’t have a lot else going for it. The Turkey Trot storyline itself falls pretty flat after the initial Saudi Arabia reveal. It becomes one of those cases where the show repeatedly seizes on the same handful of beats long after the novelty is gone. How many times do we need Cartman to rehash the same race science joke? Haven’t we seen him try to exploit his fellow students for his own selfish ends 1000 times before? Maybe some viewers might appreciate a slightly more traditional storyline involving the South Park kids, but this just feels like something that’s been done before, and better.

At the very least, there was potential to dig a lot deeper on the Saudi Arabia front. Perhaps this episode would have been better off if that were the sole focus, rather than bringing Hegseth and the military into the fray. Having him launch an attack on the Turkey Trot race is a neat enough way to tie things together, but it doesn’t end up yielding as much humor as you’d expect. It’s all a fairly anticlimactic way of tying things up, right down to the overly predictable twist of Tolkien accidentally winning the race and proving Cartman correct.

Sidebar - The show once again proves its gaming bona fides by showing Tolkien playing Arc Raiders, but then it immediately cancels that out by suggesting he was playing on an Xbox 360. That’s a minor detail, but it still bugged me watching Cartman carrying such an ancient console through the streets.

In the end, this episode only manages to make it feel all the more like the series is spinning its wheels right now. Apart from Hegseth winding up in the jail cell right alongside Thiel, nothing here really serves to advance the larger narrative of these two seasons. I’m still struggling to understand what the point of that Cartman “6 7” subplot even was, given how abruptly it's been swept under the rug. And there’s absolutely nothing this week regarding Trump and Satan’s baby or the new love affair between Trump and J.D. Vance. “Turkey Trot” winds up being a real momentum killer right before the big finale. There’s an awful lot of ground to cover and loose ends to tie up in only one episode. We’ll soon see if the South Park crew are up to the challenge.

Steam is running a Black Friday sale for the first time ever this year. Yet despite some of its great deals, key platforms Green Man Gaming and Fanatical are both having Black Friday sales of their own. Below are some of the best you can find this weekend.

The Best Black Friday Deals at Green Man Gaming

Green Man Gaming has sales running for multiple publishers, including PlayStation, Bethesda, and Konami. Of these, one of the best deals available is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered for $28.47. This Virtuos-developed remaster was made in Unreal Engine 5, allowing Oblivion to be recreated with striking visual fidelity.

Another Bethesda game on heavy discount is Doom: The Dark Ages, which released this past May. This prequel takes place before both Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, with multiple new gameplay features that make this entry stand out. That's just $29.75, a more than 50% dip from its $69.99 list price.

And for the multiplayer fans, Borderlands 4 is down to $48.71, while NBA 2K26 is now over 60% off.

The Best Black Friday Deals at Fanatical

Fanatical also has some solid deals, including Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for $43.74 and ARC Raiders for $34.39. Both are excellent multiplayer games that can quickly become an everyday staple when playing with friends or hopping in for a quick match or race.

If you missed out on last December's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Fanatical is selling that for just $41.99, down from its usual $69.99. Troy Baker's performance as Indiana Jones is one to remember, and the Order of Giants DLC is a fun addition to check out after rolling credits on the base game.

Lastly, Resident Evil 4 (2023) is down to $13.59, a 66% drop. This remake took one of the greatest action games ever made and brought it to modern platforms with new enhancements, voice acting, and gameplay updates.

More Black Friday Gaming Deals

The best Black Friday deal on the Sonos Era 100 speaker isn't actually at the Sonos store, or even at a big box retailer like Amazon, for that matter. Instead, you'll have to head over to Sonos' official eBay Store. There, you can pick up a certified refurbished Sonos Era 100 for just $134 with free shipping.

Sonos refurbished products come like new, in pristine packaging with all the original accessories. They even come with the same one year warranty as a brand new product. This is Sonos' official seller account so the reconditioning, packaging, and shipping is all done in-house.

Sonos Era 100 Smart Speaker for $134

Certified refurbished with 1 year Sonos warranty

HP just unloaded a last minute Black Friday deal on one of its most powerful gaming laptops. The Omen Max 16 RTX 5080 gaming laptop is just $1,699.99 after a $1,300 instant discount and an additional $100 off with coupon code "GOBBLE100". This is indisputably the least expensive RTX 5080 equipped laptop for Black Friday. The RTX 5080 is an absolute monster of a mobile GPU that surpasses the previous generation's top performer, the RTX 4090.

HP states on the page that this "Flash deal" ends tonight at midnight PT.

Omen Max 16 RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop for $1,699.99

The Tomtoc Slim is one of the best compact Nintendo Switch 2 cases, and now it's at its lowest price ever for Black Friday. Amazon is asking just $25.89 after a 30% off instant discount – that's for the black, white, or gray color options. This is a much better deal than the official $39.99 Nintendo Switch 2 case, which Nintendo hasn't discounted on even the most prestigious of deal days.

Black Friday Deal: 30% Off Tomtoc Slim Switch 2 Carrying Case

Sonos doesn't discount its popular speakers very often, so it's a wise investment to jump on a good sale when you see one. The Sonos Arc was discontinued last year to make way for its successor, the Arc Ultra. It's no longer available new at Sonos direct, however for Black Friday you can pick up a certified refurbished model for just $399. That's $500 less than its original retail price of $900. It's a heck of a better value than picking up the Arc Ultra, currently "on sale" for $879.

Sonos refurbished products go through rigorous testing; they come with all accessories, manuals, and documentation and are reshipped in "pristine" packaging. Most importantly, Sonos includes the same 1-year warranty as buying new. I like when retailers offer the same warranty as new because that means they have faith in the reliability of their refurbs.

Sonos Arc Soundbar (Refurbished)

We are through much of Black Friday and the best Meta Quest deal is still one that I first spotted last week. The Meta Store on eBay is offering refurbished Meta Quest 3 512GB VR headsets for just $359.99 after a 20% off coupon code "CYBERWEEK20". Better yet, it comes with an extended 2 year warranty supplied by Allstate. Since these headsets are reconditioned and shipped by Meta itself, it's not much different from buying a brand new one. Although there are other Meta Quest deals, none are as enticing as this one.

Refurb Meta Quest 3 for $359.99

Includes extended 2 year warranty