Following the ascension of Edders into his new role as Reviews Ed, RPS is now looking for a Staff Writer to fill his vacant boots and join our excellent editorial team. Applications are open now, so read on below to find out how to apply.
If you’ve started compiling a collection of digital games, you probably already know just how limited the Switch’s base storage capacity is. The Switch and Switch OLED have 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, respectively. Some of that is reserved for the OS. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom takes up over 18GB of storage all by itself. Other must-have titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Sword or Shield tap out at 13.5GB each.
There’s only one expansion slot in the Switch console so you want to make sure you get the biggest card you can afford. Below, we’ve found some of the best SD card deals right now so you can maximize your Switch’s storage space without breaking the bank.
For now, our favorite deal is definitely on the TeamGroup 512GB Micro SDXC card. You can pick up the TeamGroup card for just $24.99 at Amazon right now, which is a great price vs the next best deal on the Samsung Evo Plus for $28.99. This is also less than the Prime Day price from a few weeks ago, so you’re absolutely bagging a bargain here. Otherwise, the 1TB is also at a great price for $53.99 right now as well.
Amazon has the Samsung EVO Plus 512GB Micro SDXC card for only $28.99, making it one of the lowest prices currently for a Micro SDXC card of that size. It boasts a U3 A2 speed rating, which is faster than most Micro SDXC cards, including the official Nintendo Switch ones.
It doesn’t make any difference for the Nintendo Switch itself, since it will throttle any Micro SDXC card down to U1 speeds. However, it will be useful if you ever want to swap it down the road to your smartphone, GoPro, camera, or any device that supports faster speeds. Plus, it could future proof your purchase if the next Nintendo console supports A2 micro SD cards.
If you’re not married to a particular brand, then there are plenty of lesser-known but still legitimate companies that offer some outstanding deals on memory cards.
For example, TeamGroup is actually a well-known company, but people recognize them more for their T-Force branded lineup of RAM and SSDs.
The Switch isn’t the only gaming system that accepts these cards. If you’re a Steam Deck or ROG Ally owner, you can also use this card, especially if you picked up the 64GB Deck storage option.
For even more Switch deals, check out our complete Nintendo deals round-up featuring discounts on games, accessories, Switch online memberships, and more.
With how expensive gaming is getting in 2023, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy.
We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as PS5 and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.
We talk about retro and throwback game releases being a “blast from the past”, but in this case, it’s more like you’re strolling down a sunny path amid soothing birdsong, and then one particular, innocent-looking paving stone swivels underfoot with a rustle of gears, dropping you into a dingy, yellow-panelled room. There are vacuum tubes mounted on one wall, doors to either side, and a ladder leading further down into darkness.
You click one of the doors and the perspective switches over slide-projector style to a second room with identical proportions. There are pipes emerging from the floor, here, and some kind of antique radio on a pedastel in the centre. Hang on, I know this place. I know this formless sense of dread. I know these machinations. The last time I set foot here, it was 2009 and I was running a Flash game blog, writing up choice submissions to sites like Kongregate. This is Submachine, a 14-part escape puzzle series from Mateusz Skutnik, which Skutnik has now compiled, polished-up and re-released as Submachine: Legacy.
I ain’t afraid of no ghost.
After being announced for Switch earlier this year, publisher and developer Illfonic has now revealed the Switch eShop page for Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed – Ecto Edition which confirms that the creepy co-op ghost-hunter will be heading our way later this week on 19th October.
The game originally launched on PlayStation, Xbox and PC last year, and will see you playing as either Ghostbuster or, well, Ghost, in a series of ‘hide and seek’-style games. It’s a 4-vs-1 set-up where a group of Proton Pack-wielding protagonists team up to catch an illusive ghoul — think of the Luigi’s Mansion minigame in Nintendo Land and you won’t be a million miles away.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Diablo 4’s road to recovery hit an embarrassing snag after developer Blizzard published a new video hyping up the upcoming season that was filled with mistakes.
YouTuber Raxxanterax picked up on the video, which was published on the official Diablo Twitter account on Friday, October 13 — a day that proved unlucky for Blizzard. The video was meant to detail improvements coming to the action role-playing game with Season 2, dubbed Season of Blood. Instead it became the focus of a few laughs.
As Raxxanterax shows, the video includes incorrectly labelled dungeon maps, a horse speed comparison that shows both before and after horses trotting along at the same speed, and maths blunders when calculating experience point boosts.
“Blizzard, I’m trying to build some hype for the season, but you’re making it real hard,” Raxxanterax said. “BlizzCon’s coming up, if you want to send me the slides ahead of time, give me an NDA, just to double-check.”
It didn’t take long for Blizzard to pull the video after the Diablo community started to realise just how error-strewn it was.
While this video is a clear misstep for Blizzard, Season of Blood does sound genuinely game-changing for Diablo 4, with a number of improvements that should make season two a lot better than season one. Diablo 4 certainly needs a shot in the arm, given apparent dwindling interest following its record-breaking June launch.
We can forgive Blizzard for being a tad distracted Friday. After all, that was the day Microsoft finally bought Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering $69 billion, bringing Blizzard and its games into the Xbox family.
Don’t expect Diablo 4 on Game Pass this year, however. Activision Blizzard has already said it will work to bring that game as well as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 to Microsoft’s subscription service from 2024.
Diablo 4 Season of Blood kicks off October 17 alongside Diablo 4’s Steam launch.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Minecraft update 1.21 has been revealed, and well, looks like Mojang have been reading my posts demanding the addition of a proper maze generator, those sneaky devils. As explained by Minecraft game director Agnes Larsson, the forthcoming Minecraft update – which has yet to be given a release date – is designed to “focus more on combat adventures and on tinkering” than last year’s Cave & Cliffs update.
The headline addition is an underground structure called the Trial Chamber, a procedurally generated cluster of traps and treasure rooms, fashioned from copper and tuff blocks and arranged around a central hallway. From the Minecraft Live footage this weekend, Trial Chambers look like an evolution of the game’s old buried fortresses, with some nifty new flourishes in the shape of copper bulb blocks that slowly give off less and less light, and new Trial Spawners, which generate a certain number of hostile mobs based on things like the number of players in your party.
Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter’s #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, my eye has been caught by podracing, parrying a grappling hook, seeing your own legs as you parkour about, and heaps more attractive and interesting indie games. Check ’em out!
Battlefield 2042 enjoyed a huge surge in players over the weekend sparked by the game going free-to-play as well as meaningful improvements made over the last two years.
DICE’s first-person shooter launched in October 2021 and became one of the worst-reviewed games on Steam, with players pointing to myriad bugs and performance issues, controversial gameplay changes, and a lack of expected features.
The player count quickly declined after strong launch day concurrents and, at one point, more people were playing 2018’s Battlefield 5 than the more recent Battlefield 2042. Things got so bad that EA boss Andrew Wilson was forced to admit to investors that Battlefield 2042 “did not meet expectations”.
DICE has stuck with the game though, issuing a number of improvements and continuing seasonal updates. This culminated with a free weekend across all platforms, which saw a peak of 102,009 concurrent players on Steam (Microsoft and Sony do not publish concurrent player numbers).
That’s just a couple of thousand concurrent players off Battlefield 2042’s all-time peak of 105,397 which it saw at launch. The free weekend was clearly targeted to go up against rival shooter Modern Warfare 3’s open beta, so its success is even more impressive given the stiff competition. At the time of this article’s publication, over 55,000 were playing Battlefield 2042 on Steam, making it the 12th most-popular game on the platform.
Publisher EA has signalled a bright future for Battlefield despite 2042’s failures. Ridgeline Games is a new Seattle-based studio creating the franchise’s first single-player campaign since Battlefield 5 (Battlefield 2042 does not have a campaign mode of any kind). DICE is handling multiplayer, as you’d expect. Meanwhile, Ripple Effect, an evolution of Battlefield’s DICE LA, is making a “completely different” Battlefield experience.
In August, Wilson said the next Battlefield game will be a “reimagination” of the series “as a truly connected ecosystem”. He also said EA plans to “bring Battlefield back in an entirely new way in the future”.
Until then, perhaps Battlefield 2042’s second life is worth jumping into.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Hello there.
Minecraft Live saw a number of exciting announcements for Mojang’s blocky world. There was update news, live performances, the reveal of the game’s next mob, but perhaps the most exciting addition came in the shape of a new DLC package from a galaxy far, far away….
The Star Wars: Path of the Jedi DLC will be bringing some Clone Wars action to Minecraft on 7th November. This one will see you playing training to become a Jedi Knight, embarking on missions with some familiar faces (Master Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you know the drill) and taking on monsters and Sith Lords alike.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Action-packed thrills and spooky chills await this month’s selection of games joining the PlayStation Game Catalog. All titles playable from Tuesday, October 17. Let’s get into it.
It’s up to the Batman Family – Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin – to protect Gotham, bring hope to its citizens, discipline to its cops, and fear to its criminals. Gotham Knights is an open-world, action RPG set in a dynamic and interactive Gotham City. Patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs in solo or in co-op and drop in on criminal activity wherever you find it.
The definitive edition of the groundbreaking role-playing game. You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city block to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders, or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.
As the conflict in Iraq (2003) draws to a close a Military Unit, accompanied by CIA field operative Rachel King, is ordered to investigate a suspected underground chemical weapons facility in shadow of the Zagros Mountains. Horrific discoveries and impossible decisions face the Unit as they strive to navigate a subterranean labyrinth and escape the terrifying threat. Will they each prioritize their own survival, or put aside their fears and their personal rivalries to fight together as one?
Fifteen years after the events of Alien, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. Navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien. Underpowered and under-prepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.
Caught in the midst of an epic zombie outbreak on the tropical island of Banoi, survival is your only priority. Smash heads, crack skulls, and slice ‘em up with visceral astounding melee combat and true story-based four-player co-op in a sprawling open world just waiting for exploration.
Two investigative journalists risk it all to uncover stories no one else will dare touch. Their latest lead follows a trail of clues that begin with the seemingly impossible murder of a pregnant woman known only as Jane Doe. The investigation leads miles into the Arizona desert, to a darkness and corruption so deep that no one could yet shed light upon it. Stay sharp to survive in an intense first-person horror experience.
An atmospheric vehicle adventure that follows the emotional journey of a boy and his ship as he embarks on a voyage to find a new home. Sail stormy waters, dive unknown depths, and explore forgotten ruins in a beautifully realized, flooded world. Experience the thrill of captaining a distinctive seafaring vessel. Together you’ll brave high seas, navigate intense storms, and plumb the perils of a briny deep.
Become the gun-wielding badass anti-hero of your dreams as you mow down tons of enemies in a gory ballet of bullets and experience a story of vengeance, love and loyalty, all in a beautiful third-person action shooter, combining the best that Eastern and Western game design have to offer.
The three elements of city development, railroad operations, and company management come together in the supreme urban planning experience. This latest incarnation builds upon the features of previous entries in the series, including Shinkansen bullet trains from across Japan.
In a final act of vengeance, the Old Gods have unleashed a great Desolation upon the world. Mankind is fading, with but a glimmer of hope remaining. Fast-paced and challenging Soulslike combat awaits, where every moment counts. Yet fortune favors the bold, and defeating the Old Gods may grant the player powers beyond mortal comprehension. Each Old God presents a new and unique challenge for the player to overcome, with fitting rewards for those who triumph.
Tekken 6 | PS4, PS5
Face off against tough opponents in large, interactive stages. Customize your favorite character, equipping items with direct impacts on gameplay. Practice and patience make perfect as you hone your combos and seek to win the tournament.
Wield massive blades, execute high-flying maneuvers, and apply pressure to destroy rivals or knock them out of the ring. Dive into modes include the story-driven Gauntlet, challenging Trials, Training, and more.
Ape Escape Academy | PS4, PS5
Never has monkeying around in class been so rewarding. Complete a variety of fun, colorful minigames like dancing, fighting, building bonfires, and more. Strive to be the best and make it to senior year in Ape Escape Academy.
Kurushi™ Final: Mental Blocks (IQ Final) | PS4, PS5
This sequel to I.Q.: Intelligent Qube on the original PlayStation includes brain-busting modes like 100 Attack, I.Q. Final, Survival, and Create. Navigate each stage carefully to avoid being crushed by the rotating blocks.
