Lorule love? Termina time?
Prior to release — and especially before a couple of presentations gave us a better idea of what to expect in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — there were doubts as to exactly how different it would be from its immediate predecessor.
& Kingdom. This made us chuckle.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
If you’re looking for a deal on PS5 games, controllers, headsets, SSDs, and more over the Memorial Day weekend, you’ve arrived at the right place. Below, we’re tracking all the best deals on everything PlayStation, including new releases, older favorites, and even top premium items like the best OLED TV or soundbars for PS5.
If you don’t like what you see, you can always come back another time! We frequently update this page with all the best PS5 deals, so you’re more than likely to find something you love when returning. For now, here are all the best PS5 and PlayStation deals right now.
The MP600 Pro is Corsair’s fastest M.2 SSD and the “LPX” model is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. We like this RAM so much, we rated it the best PS5 SSD for 2023. For even more PS5 SSD deals, check out our full roundup here.
If you’ve got the console, you’ll need the games as well. Video game deals can come and go a lot, so I’d also highly suggest following @IGNDeals on Twitter where we’ll regularly post all kinds of discounts on the stuff you really want to buy (including PS5 games!) For now, here’s the best PS5 video game deals you can find in 2023.
To get the most out of your hardware, you’ll want to consider picking up a few accessories for the PS5. When we find worthy deals, here’s where we’ll put them. But, if you’re just looking to pick up an extra controller, for example, see our best PS5 accessories roundup for more recommendations!
Gaming on your PS5 can be taken to the next level with a decent headset. Whether you’re looking for immersive 3D audio, or just a decent headset and mic to chat to your friends over a game of Warzone, then you’ve come to the right place. If you’re looking for a few more options (or some additional advice) check out our full best PS5 headset roundup here as well.
If you’ve got a killer living room set up, you may want to consider the next best thing to upgrading your space, a decent soundbar. Some of the most immersive elements of gaming can be from the incredible soundtracks, and often enough our TV speakers just aren’t good enough to pick up some of the most intricate sounds. This is where soundbars come in.
This enables seamless 4K gaming at 120Hz on consoles like the PS5 or Xbox Series X. It also supports variable refresh rate (VRR), auto low latency mode (ALLM), and even HGiG, making it a comprehensive choice. These televisions are so exceptional that the smaller 48″ and 42″ sizes are also highly recommended as the best gaming PC monitors available. Check out our own IGN LG Evo C2 OLED TV review for our hands-on experience with this TV, or have a browse through our full OLED TV deals roundup for more options.
It’s a wonderful time to be alive in 2023, as PS5 consoles are reguarly available to buy! It was a long time coming, but we’re all incredibly thankful to finally turn off those stock trackers! For now, here’s where you can pick up a PS5 console or bundle. But, keep an eye out for offers in the near future, as Sony has already started experimenting with discounts on the console bundles (such as the recent $50 off the God of War bundle).
For those who have been excitedly waiting to get their hands on it, the PlayStation VR 2 is now live on Amazon. For $549.99, you’ll be getting the headset (with a 4K HDR screen, a 110-degree field of view, and many more features), alongside two Sense controllers with adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.
Our review of the PSVR 2 awarded it with an incredible 9/10, calling it a “quantum leap over the original PSVR in terms of ease of use, visual quality, and immersion,” and that, “any PlayStation owner who loves VR should upgrade as soon as possible.” Below, you can find the link to Amazon’s website for it.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched to immense praise from critics and players alike. IGN scored the sequel to Breath of the Wild a 10, stating “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds.” It’s a title that will be discussed and played for months after its initial release. Yet, with its support comes the cyclical arguments that Nintendo is leaving disabled players behind.
With every successful game comes warranted criticism from disabled individuals examining its accessibility. These discussions almost always scrutinize the options, or lack thereof, available within menus. Can subtitles be adjusted? Is there an option to turn off quick–timed–events? Are there aural indicators for blind/low vision individuals? Questions posed by disabled players come from a place of necessity. Without these tools, many of us can’t play critically acclaimed games. However, conversations about Nintendo and their accessibility efforts fail to explore a facet that Nintendo games have incorporated for generations – family design practices.
If I’m going to argue for Nintendo and Tears of the Kingdom, I need to first acknowledge the Bokoblin in the room – the accessibility options with this game are sorely lacking. You cannot map buttons within the game directly, a crucial feature for any physically disabled player like myself. This is especially problematic with the strange and often uncomfortable control scheme that requires people to hold odd combinations of buttons, forcing them to warp their hands into claw-like shapes. Couple that with no toggles for important actions like switching weapons or fusing objects to arrows, and energy levels are quickly depleted. There are no blind/low vision accessibility settings like screen readers or navigational assistance especially in dark areas like The Depths. And for deaf and hard of hearing players, there are none of the usual settings players may expect to find, such as subtitle presentation adjustments, audio sliders, or mono support.
Even players with varying cognitive disabilities may struggle to play due to the sheer size of the sky islands, Hyrule, and The Depths. Not only are these areas entirely unique to each other, they also include new items that players must incorporate into their inventories. Further, weapon durability – an often-precarious topic that rivals discussions about difficulty modes – cannot be turned off under any circumstance, though fusing does increase each use. From an options analysis, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute and complete failure, a stark contrast to most AAA games released in the past year. But as I’ve discussed before in previous articles, options alone do not make an accessible game.
For all its failures, Tears of the Kingdom is an excellent demonstration when exploring the benefits of accessible design. While the barriers faced by disabled players will undoubtedly cause immense frustration and fatigue, Link’s adventures in Hyrule aren’t totally unplayable.
Physically disabled players can enjoy simplistic combat scenarios, as many encounters can be resolved with just the ‘Y’ button, albeit with good armor and high damaging weapons. Even with Ultra Hand, a core mechanic of this entry, individuals can build designs that automatically eliminate targets. And if the resources are available, players can save their creations and quickly construct them with the press of a button.
Deaf and hard of hearing players have access to fantastic subtitled dialogue, with particular emphasis on important points and people of interest. Further, the game actively visualizes enemy attack patterns, important locations, and objects, providing necessary information to the individual. And even with specific audio-based quests, the game actively guides people toward the objective with contextual clues and enclosed spaces. As for blind/low vision players, they have access to auto-pathing on horseback, and a plethora of audio indicators for low health, destroyed weapons, and even defeated enemies. All these tools are inherently layered into the design of the game, not within a menu labeled accessibility.
These design practices do not fix the glaring issues that continue to plague this game. Tears of the Kingdom can and should be criticized for its lack of accessibility care and detail. Yet, it’s unfair to automatically write off the entire experience as inaccessible without understanding the primary selling point of Nintendo games. Despite the overall size and relatively in-depth plot of Tears of the Kingdom, these games are meant to be played by everyone. From seasoned fans to newcomers to gaming alike, the simplistic nature of Nintendo and subsequently Zelda titles can appeal to a vast array of people, including disabled individuals.
I firmly believe no studio or publisher can be labeled as “The Worst” when discussing accessibility from a general sense. The individualistic nature of the disabled experience means any game or system is playable, and by making absolute statements, we are actively erasing the real and valid feelings of those who can play these franchises. That’s not to say you can’t be upset with the lack of accessibility, but there are other AAA games that have done far worse even with the inclusion of an accessibility menu, like the initial release of Gotham Knights.
After reading this you may be wondering if I can even play Tears of the Kingdom, and the unfortunate truth is I can’t, at least fully. I have not played a Zelda game since Breath of the Wild released in 2017. In fact, my frustration with that game led me to become a journalist focusing on accessibility. And as I’ve learned about the intricacies of accessible game design and the disabled perspective, I realized I was allowed to feel angry, but not discredit those who could enjoy Link’s adventures. Throughout my career, which earnestly began in 2019, I’ve interviewed disabled players who can only play the Nintendo Switch, and others who have never had the capability to play games with award-winning accessibility. It doesn’t mean those titles are failures, but that no disabled experience is the same.
Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute success for Nintendo, but it’s one rife with legitimate questions about its future, specifically for accessibility. And as publications, content creators, and fans continue to share their excitement, it’s understandable that many disabled players feel left out of conversations. But for those disabled individuals who can enjoy the game, it’s proof that accessibility is not one-dimensional, and there is still so much more the industry needs to learn.
Grant Stoner is a disabled journalist covering accessibility and the disabled perspective in video games. When not writing, he is usually screaming about Pokémon or his cat, Goomba on Twitter.
Shooty shooty, pew pew.
Hello folks, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Last time, we took a look at The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS, pitting North America against Europe and Japan for a good old-fashioned Duel.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Wave 1 available now.
Nintendo has added a new batch of icons to its ‘Missions and Rewards’ scheme for the Switch Online service. This time it’s for Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
New details have surfaced.
There have been rumblings online about the 2021 title Hot Wheels Unleashed getting a sequel, and now even more information has surfaced.
As highlighted by VGC, dataminer ‘billbil-kun’ has found evidence of ‘Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 Turbocharged’. It will be published by Milestone and will apparently be available in three versions (standard, deluxe and legendary) – with Season Pass content also planned. This follows a photo of a toy car featuring the new game’s logo.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Move over, 3DS XL.
There’s a huge scene online invested in modding and recreating Nintendo’s past systems in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways, and the latest video doing the rounds is a “Wii XL” project. Yes, move aside 3DS XL, because there’s a new and much bigger system on the block.
Modder and YouTuber Jon Bringus (Bringus Studios) thought the Wii “could be improved” by simply making it bigger. The end result is a system that’s apparently “12 times larger by volume” than the original model and is fully functional – meaning it can still play both Wii and GameCube titles. It also comes with some improvements such as HDMI support.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Crowdfunding platform Fig will go offline on Sunday, May 28th, and all pages related to previously funded campaigns will disappear along with it. That means that creators who were continuing to use the platform to communicate and deliver rewards to backers are currently scrambling to transition to alternative methods, including the likes of Double Fine and Gearbox.
Sons Of The Forest is about crash-landing on a remote island described as a “cannibal-infested hellscape.” If you’ve played the early access survival game and thought, “Hellscape? More like swellscape,” then Patch 06 might be for you. Released yesterday, it adds a “first pass of hard survival” mode, alongside cooking improvements and the ability to craft custom effigies. Lovely.
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Daedalic Entertainment have apologised for the “underwhelming experience” players are having with Lord Of The Rings: Gollum. In a statement shared on Twitter, the developers say they “deeply regret that the game did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves” and say they’re working to address bugs and technical issues.
