Category: Video Games

Within hours of Xbox revealing Doom: The Dark Ages, a modder had added the upcoming game’s seriously metal saw-toothed shield to the original Doom.

aight I kinda ended up trying to make actual decorate for it… it works, will upload in a bit. pic.twitter.com/OORmCydVL0

— Craneo (@CreeperOfSteam) June 10, 2024

Posting to X/Twitter, modder Craneo showcased a retro version of The Dark Ages’ saw shield being used in the opening level of Doom 2 on PC. The mod replaces the original game’s chainsaw with the new shieldsaw, but this isn’t just a re-skin. In an effort to truly replicate what we saw in The Dark Ages’ trailer, Craneo’s modded saw not only cuts through enemies, but can also be thrown into distant foes and used to defend against damage.

This work arrived in quicker than quick time: Craneo posted the video of the mod to X/Twitter barely 12 hours after the trailer for Doom: The Dark Ages had debuted as part of the Xbox Games Showcase. Minutes later the .wad file for the mod was also posted.

While developed quickly, the mod seems built on smart logic. The defend ability likely triggers a temporary use of Doom’s godmode cheat to negate incoming damage – a skill the game’s original chainsaw certainly doesn’t have. As for the throw, it requires a little tinkering in the sourceport options, but it’s an effective weapon in the OG Doom’s confined corridors, especially because it can ricochet. This version of the shield sadly can’t boomerang back to you, though, so you’ll need to stay alive long enough to pick it back up.

As for id Software’s actual saw shield, we’ll need to wait until 2025. However, despite being a Bethesda game, Microsoft has decided to bring Doom: The Dark Ages to PlayStation 5 as well as the expected Xbox and PC platforms. That’s a good thing, too, as it looks like Doom: The Dark Ages could be the series’ boldest bet yet.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s Senior Features Editor.

2023 and 2024 have shown that 2TB PS5 SSD upgrades are actually worth the price. In 2022, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. Now, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $70 price point and 2TB SSDs can drop to around $100 or sometimes even lower if there’s a good sale. It’s worth noting, though, that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid-state drive with at least a 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive.

TL;DR – The Best 2TB PS5 SSD Deals Right Now

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD and not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (like this one for $9) and install it yourself. For our top recommended picks for 2024, check out our full breakdown for the Best PS5 SSDs.

Adata Legend 960 Max 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $129.99

This deal is exclusive to Amazon Prime members, but is well worth taking advantage of before it’s gone. The 2TB Adata Legend 960 Max is marked down to just $129.99, and alongside fast read/write speeds, it also comes with a preinstalled heatsink so it’ll be ready to use in your PS5 right away.

Silicon Power 2TB XS70 SSD with Built-in PS5 Heatsink for $143.99

This SSD offers 2TB of storage, excellent read and write speeds (read speeds of up to 7,300MB/s and write speeds up to 6,800MB/s), and a built-in heatsink all at a fantastic price. It’s currently available for $143.99 on Amazon, 20% off its MSRP of $179.99, so well worth picking up for your PS5.

WD_Black 2TB SN850X SSD for $148.75

Right now, Amazon has the WD_Black 2TB SN850X SSD available for just $148.75. Normally priced at $189.99, this 2TB SSD features speeds up to 7,300MB/s to ensure your games load as fast as possible. This model will work with PS5, but you will need to purchase a heatsink to go with it (which you can do here for just $9).

XPG 2TB GAMMIX S70 Blade PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD for $149.99

This is another 2TB SSD deal that’s well worth taking advantage of. This option from XPG has dropped 29% in price, from $209.99 to $149.99, but you’ll have to grab a heatsink to go with it as well (which you can do here for $9). This SSD has read and write speeds of 7400/6800MB/s as well.

WD_BLACK PS5 4TB SSD for $309.99 at Amazon

This is a great deal for those looking to maximize their PS5’s storage. For a limited time only, this PS5 4TB SSD is available at Amazon for just $309.99 (see here). Normally, it has an MSRP of $699.99, but nowadays, this and many other 4TB SSDs have been sitting around $280-$300 recently. You’ll also have to grab a heatsink to go with it (which you can do here for $9).

2024 Crucial T705 2TB SSD for $294.99

This is the newest model from Crucial and it already has an excellent discount on Amazon. For a limited time, you can get 26% off this SSD, bringing it down to $294.99 from $399.99. It’s well worth the investment as well, as it offers crazy good sequential read/write speeds up to 14,500/12,700MB/s. If you feel the need for speed, this SSD will certainly get you there.

Samsung 990 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD for $169.99

The Samsung 990 Pro is an excellent SSD for your PS5. From a purely performance perspective, it’s overkill; the stock SSD in your PS5 will be the limiting factor. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive and the 990 Pro is much faster. This one does not come with a heatsink, though, so you’ll need to invest in one.

Crucial T500 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $169.99

Amazon is offering a nice deal at the moment on the Crucial T500 2TB SSD, which is discounted down to $169.99. This SSD has a heatsink all ready to go, so you can install it right away in your PS5, and even offers excellent read/write speeds of 7,400/7,000MB/s.

What if the SSD Doesn’t Include a Heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for $9 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

Budget to Best: PS5 SSDs

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How To Install a New PS5 SSD

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

There certainly weren’t many flaws to shine a shaky flashlight beam on in Alan Wake II, but one thing I did lament in 2023’s excellent survival horror sequel was the total absence of Night Springs episodes on the in-game televisions. These quirky, Twilight Zone-inspired tales were a consistent joy to discover in Alan Wake’s original 2010 adventure, so to find them seemingly off the air as though they were the casualties of some sort of in-game writers’ strike was a touch disappointing. The good news is that the series has returned in a now fully-playable form thanks to the Alan Wake II: Night Springs DLC, which serves up three standalone stories that take us back to the small town of Bright Falls and beyond. They’re admittedly a little on the short side since I was able to knock all three episodes over in a single two-hour sitting, but I certainly had a blast with these twisted new nightmares while they lasted.

Night Springs’ first episode, Number One Fan, is definitely both the goofiest and goriest in the collection, allowing us to play as obsessive Alan Wake fan Rose Marigold as she waits tables in Bright Falls’ Oh Deer Diner. This action-heavy installment begins with Rose topping up coffee cups and clearing away pie crumb-covered plates, but she’s soon compelled to blaze a trail through a bloodthirsty mob after she’s sent an SOS from Alan Wake himself, who’s apparently been kidnapped. How does she receive this request for help? Via an unexpected transmission through the puckered maw of one of those wall-mounted Big Mouth Billy Bass singing fishes that thousands of disappointed dads unwrapped on Fathers Day in the year 2000. Yep, things in Night Springs are enjoyably off-kilter almost from the very outset.

Number One Fan completely strips the survival component out of Alan Wake II by strapping a fully automatic shotgun to Rose’s shoulder and lining the pockets of her apron with an almost limitless supply of shells. The whole episode takes place during the magic hour shortly before sunset so none of the enemies are cloaked in shadowy shields, and therefore there’s no need to burn the darkness away with a battery-hungry flashlight before you can dispatch them. Instead, the combat in Number One Fan swaps the series’ signature light-based fights for more high tempo running and gunning. Although its crunchy gunplay may be more straightforward, it still manages to be an ultra violent delight thanks to the campy ‘50s rock music that propels it and the cutesy quips that Rose spouts with each axe-wielding maniac she mulches – like she’s a pump-action-toting Princess Peach. Night Springs’ first episode kicks the collection off with a concussive sequence of skull-shattering bangs in Rose’s relentlessly entertaining and revved up rescue mission.

Guest Side Story

The second episode, North Star, slows the pace down considerably as you plunge into the inkiest depths of darkness you’d expect from an Alan Wake adventure. I was initially thrilled to step back into the shoes of Jesse Faden from Control here, however my enthusiasm took a bit of a hit when I realised that she hadn’t brought her amazing shape-shifting gun and spectacular suite of superpowers from the 2019 action epic along with her. Still, this midnight stalk through the creepy Coffee World theme park featured in Alan Wake II’s main campaign successfully ratchets up the tension after the comparatively carefree murder spree of the previous episode, arming Jesse with a flashlight and regular, non-transforming pistol as she is pit against the same spooky silhouettes that had me nervously shooting at shadows in last year’s game.

North Star is also the more puzzle-oriented of the episodes featured here, and I enjoyed cracking keypad codes and manipulating the mechanical controls of a ferris wheel during this brief investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Jesse’s brother. Still, I can’t help but feel that of the three episodes included in Night Springs, this second one is the least remarkable. It fails to leverage the jaw-dropping skill set of its guest star, and a lot of what transpires in it feels like well-made but fairly standard survival horror fare. This whole second episode effectively went down like a hot beverage from the Coffee World concession stand – stimulating enough, but it also left me with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

Serling Silver

Thankfully, Night Springs’ third and final episode, Time Breaker, is the best and boldest of the bunch and rounds out this collection in the most mind-bendingly meta way possible. Here we’re cast as the real-world actor Shawn Ashmore, who we find reprising his role as Sheriff Breaker from Alan Wake II in a brand new game being directed by developer Remedy Entertainment’s creative director, Sam Lake. During a break in production and after a hilarious moment with Lake giving an extremely self-aware and exhaustingly acronym-heavy explanation of his new game’s plot, Ashmore is blinked into another time and space by Night Springs’ Rod Serling stand-in and multiversal maestro, Mr. Door.

What follows is a surreal string of sequences through ominous forest paths and disorientating hotel corridor loops, psychedelically shifting from the monochrome presentation of early television to the vivid colours of comic book paneling that seem to intentionally mirror Remedy’s past work on the Max Payne series. To say anything more would be to spoil too much, but there are some excellent story surprises and left-turn level designs to be found here that rival the most outside-of-the-box moments from the main Alan Wake II campaign, and it meant that Night Springs finished on a thoroughly hypnotic high note that left me wanting more.