Author: Game Infliction

The race is on to recreate Fortnite’s original map using the popular battle royale’s newly revamped Creative Mode.

The teams are using the brand-new Unreal Editor for Fortnite — also known as Fortnite Creative 2.0 — which is a new add-on available for Fortnite on PC. As discussed during yesterday’s State of Unreal event, the Unreal Editor for Fortnite is for players to use for “designing, developing, and publishing games and experiences directly into Fortnite.”

The new tool runs in Unreal Engine 5 and builds on concepts from the existing Fortnite Creative toolset, adding new features for expanded custom content, modeling, textures, VFX, and more. It’s a total game changer for Fortnite creators, and we’re already starting to see some of the possibilities take shape.

Right after the Unreal Editor for Fortnite reveal, multiple teams started working to put the finishing touches on recreations of Fortnite’s original island.

One team, called Atlas OG Battle Royale, has already released a recration of the original Fortnite island.

The map is ready to play and we are in the publishing process now. There are some issues with publishing for all creators. We will hopefully have an update for you soon. Thank you all for your support and patience! pic.twitter.com/YqR3j6onzs

— Atlas OG Battle Royale (@AtlasOGBR) March 22, 2023

Another team, called Reboot Royale, posted a video with footage from the new Unreal Editor, saying they were in the “the final preparations of publishing Reboot Royale for everyone to play.” The development screenshots and gameplay footage are an exciting proof-of-concept for Fortnite players about just how robust the new creation tools are.

We’re in the final preparations of publishing Reboot Royale for everyone to play!

Here is a first look at actual footage from UEFN editor and gameplay. Stay tuned for launch!

? JOIN DISCORD: https://t.co/WiVHPdhJPe pic.twitter.com/6T6CF5awXI

— Reboot Royale • OG Fortnite (@RebootRoyale) March 22, 2023

The Fortnite Chapter 1 map features locations like Greasy Grove, Pleasant Park, Retail Row, Fatal Fields, and more. The map was heavily updated and altered throughout Chapter 1’s 10 seasons, before Chapter 2 introduced an entirely new map.

Chapter 1 ended in late 2019, meaning it’s been years since fans have romped around the map responsible for Fortnite’s rise to popularity. It’s sure to be a nostalgic ride for anyone checking out either of these recreations.

For more, check out everything else announced during yesterday’s Unreal event.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

2023 might finally be the year where 2TB PS5 SSDs might actually be worth the upgrade. Last year, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. This year, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $100 price point and 2TB SSDs are under $200. The reason PS5 SSD upgrades are pricey is that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up an PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive. That means, for better or for worse, picking a top-shelf SSD.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD. 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 (we recommend this one for $10) and install it yourself. It’s very easy.

Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for PS5 for $122.99

Constantly going in and out of stock

Crucial’s newest M.2 SSD meets all the requirements for your PS5 SSD upgrade. It supports transfer speeds of up to 6,660MB/s which is well above the 5,500MB/s minimum threshold. Yes there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the original PS5 SSD. If you’re worried about opening up your PS5 case, don’t worry it’s very easy. Crucial has an official YouTube PS5 SSD install guide to see you through the process.

Samsung 1TB PS5 SSD for $79.99

Samsung SSDs need no introduction. They’ve made some of the most popular and reliable PS5 SSDs on the market. The 980 Pro has been out for a while now, but it’s still one of Samsung’s fastest M.2 PCIe SSD, with only the newly released 990 Pro being faster. It is fully PS5 compatible in terms of form factor and performance, with blistering speeds of up to 7,100MB/s. It goes toe to toe with other well-known options like the WD Black SN850 and the Seagate Firecuda 530.

WD 2TB PS5 SSD from $159.99

Amazon is offering a 2TB WD Black SN850X with preinstalled heatsink for only $179.99. The SN850X is the successor to the SN850 SSD. It has newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, which combined offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds. For PC gamers, there’s also an updated Game Mode 2.0 utility that’s designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions.

Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB “Optimized for PS5” SSD with Heatsink for Only $154.99

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is the same super-fast M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen4 SSD that’s marketed for enthusiast gaming PC builds. This one is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. Performance wise, the MP600 Pro matches the best SSDs out there with its 7,100MB/sec sequential read and 6,800MB/sec sequential write speeds.

Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB PS5 SSD for $142.99

Amazon is offering the Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x 4 Internal Gaming Solid State Drive, which is compatible with the PS5 console, for only $142.99. This makes it definitely the lowest price we’ve seen for a brand name 2TB PS5 SSD, especially since this one even includes a slim aluminum heatshield. The VP4300 is an M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 solid state drive with rated transfer speeds of 7,400MB/s read and 6,800MB/s write. That makes it well above the PS5’s recommended 5,600MB/s speed requirement.

More PS5 SSD Deals

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 easy is it to install the 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.

What if the SSD I bought doesn’t have 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 about $10 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

For more deals, take a look at our daily deals for today.

If you’re anything like me, when you first heard that a game set in the Lord of the Rings universe following the exploits of Smeagol was being developed, you were skeptical. Though vital to the story of Middle Earth’s conflict with Sauron, he’s largely a one note antagonist who is present for as long as necessary throughout the books, and no longer. At least that’s what I thought going in. But my brief time with The Lord of the Rings: Gollum makes a solid first argument that the lost journey of the third “hobbit” could be just as interesting as Frodo and Bilbo’s. Much of the new story blends seamlessly into the well-established lore, but it’s Smeagol’s relationship with his suppressed alter ego that keeps the journey compelling.

A big selling point for me was the possibility of following the footsteps of Middle Earth’s greatest misfit and watching him duel with himself. The body of the man is piloted by two minds, the naive and placid Sméagol and the selfish and malicious Gollum. Whenever he’s guided to make a choice, they’re usually from either perspective. Does Sméagol answer a question honestly and earnestly, or does Gollum lie and insult the inquirer? The developers told me that these choices do add up, and eventually you’ll find yourself in positions where one personality will dominate the conversation based on your preference of one over the other.

This isn’t a standard morality system as you’ve seen in games like Mass Effect, as not every choice Sméagol makes will keep him out of trouble. Sometimes the obsessive self interest of Gollum will keep him out of chains. This expresses itself in interesting ways while you explore the world too. In one chapter, you’re escorted into a spooky keep somewhere in Mordor by an imposing orc. He walks back to his post and gives you strict orders to stand still and wait for a gong. A good Sméagol would have nervously waited, but as a shifty little Gollum I attempted to escape. He’s quite the climber, with the platforming feeling largely like the Uncharted variety of ledge grabbing, vine scaling, and acrobatic swing jumping. It was a little jarring at first to see him move so video game-ly, considering my impression of the character established from the books and movies, but after a while his almost supernatural scampering feels right. This mixed with its approach to combat – to discourage it at every turn in favor of stealth and trap laying – combined to lock you into a style of play that feels appropriate for the sort of creature who lives in the shadows of bigger, scarier things and lives to tell the tale.

At the end of the above section, after traipsing over jagged scaffoldings and tip-toeing through laboratories and offices full of very important and conspiratorial looking objects, I met a creeper named Candle Man. His poise and intimidation factor made him right at home on the cliffs of Mt. Doom, so I assumed this was a character from a book I’d missed like The Silmarillion. I was corrected by Damiri Knapheide, Loremaster to the Daedalic development team, who assured me that he and several characters I had met in the roughly hour-long demo were creations for this story. Established characters like Gandalf the Grey make an appearance as well and are written and performed in a way that feels spot on to the characters we know and love.

Does all this make a cohesive experience that justifies taking another trip into the well-worn territory? There isn’t enough in the demo to be certain, but The Lord of the Rings: Gollum does at least make a good first impression, outlining a solid case for piloting one of the strangest and yet most important characters in the lore. Hopefully the final product, launching on May 25th for PC and consoles, melds the split personality choices, parkour, stealth, and story into a project you won’t want to throw into a volcano.

It’s difficult, but deeply rewarding. It’s a lot easier when you have help. You can’t pause it. And at some point, you WILL ask, “wait, what am I supposed to do with the umbilical cord?” Am I describing Bloodborne… or parenting? Or both?

We’ve all heard something difficult described as “The Dark Souls of ____” – but hear me out: the first thing you do in Bloodborne AND as a parent is stumble out of a hospital terrified at what happens next and with no clear instructions about how to approach it. In both cases, this terrifying new scenario is the result of some reckless behavior involving bodily fluids.

Early on, it’s not easy – it can be frustrating, confusing, scary – and everybody’s talked it up so much that you might feel like there’s something wrong with you personally for not immediately loving it… and if we’re being honest, a lot of people DO give up and just walk away.

However, a special camaraderie is formed among those who have overcome the many challenges surviving the hunt and/or raising a kid, and complete strangers are often quick to help each other out, whether they’re being summoned to help beat The Blood Starved Beast, or coming to the rescue when another parent ran out of wipes.

For some, going through the whole ordeal once is enough, while others are immediately ready to do it again. Whether you’re starting a new game plus or having a second kid, there’s an increased challenge on a strictly mathematical level; in Bloodborne, the enemies have more HP and do more damage; with a second kid, that’s twice as many mouths to feed. However, some find the second go much easier, since this time around you know exactly what to do. Plus, all your experience and most of your equipment carries over. Y’know, unless you sold your Kirkhamer or donated those swaddles.

Maybe through some combination of skill or luck, you found this infamously harrowing challenge to be a walk in the park. That’s great! By all means, share your tips and tricks with newcomers. Even better, offer some assistance. Whatever you do, don’t brag about your accomplishments; saying it’s easy benefits no one and makes you sound like a jerk. If you really insist on making it a contest, that comes later. In Bloodborne, it’s PVP. In parenting, it’s pumping points into your kid’s insight and enrolling them in AP classes and extracurriculars. Either way, it involves sinister bells ringing.

In any case, whether you’re a hunter braving the cosmic horrors of that great nightmare frontier, or a parent running on three hours of sleep, may you find your worth in the waking world. Don’t give up! A hunter is never alone! …Er, parent. Whichever.