Like many parents, I know well the pain of my Roblox-addicted child asking me to trade my real money for fake money he can use to buy pretend items in a digital video game. So when Roblox announced the April 30 launch of Roblox Plus, a monthly subscription service with perks that could net us a 20% discount on all the digital items, my interest was piqued.

But is Roblox Plus actually worth it? Let's do some math.

What do you get with Roblox Plus?

As noted in today's announcement on the Roblox website, once it launches at the end of this month, the primary benefit of Roblox Plus will be a discount on items purchased with Robux, the platform's in-game currency. Your monthly subscription won't actually come with any Robux (yet, anyway—more on that in a bit), but it does come with the promise that you'll spend less real cash on Robux going forward.

Immediately upon enrolling, Roblox Plus members will receive an immediate 10% Robux discount on all in-game purchases. Once you've been a member for three consecutive months, that discount will increase to 20%.

You'll also get some other, less tangible benefits:

• Free private servers. No longer will you need mingle with the Roblox rabble: a membership will net you a free private server for every game. (My son informs me that most games have free private servers already, so the benefit here is questionable.)

• Transfer Robux without paying a fee. Apparently right now you have to pay a transaction fee if you want to give Robux in your account to another player. Roblux Plus will eliminate that fee. (Robux says there are safeguards in place requiring parental approval for child accounts to send Robux or receive Robux from others.)

• Trade or resell avatar items. Avatar upgrades are usually one-time purchases, but Roblox Plus members will be able to trade or resell them (probably at a steep loss, I'm guessing).

• Publish and sell avatar items. Roblox Plus members will also be able to design and sell their own avatar items on Roblox Marketplace, potentially earning commissions up to 70%. (This was possible before, so I assume the benefit is bypassing the typical 300 Robux upload fee.)

• A "distinct profile badge." Oh big wow.

How much does Roblox Plus cost?

Roblox Plus will cost you $4.99 per month, the same price as the entry-level tier of the current Roblox Premium, which nets you 450 Robux per month. a 10% bonus when you buy additional Robux, and some other perks like item trading. A basic Roblox Plus membership doesn't include any Robux. If you want to keep your existing Roblox Premium sub, you can—but no new sign-ups will be accepted after April 30, and starting May30, you'll lose the 10% Robux bonus too. (Existing Roblox Premium users will get a free one-month trial of Roblox Plus.)

The announcement indicates that in the future, Roblox will launch Roblox Plus bundles that will roll in Robux as well—in tiers of 500, 1,000, or 2,000—but pricing for those has yet to be announced. It's "convenient way to pay once for both Roblox Plus and monthly Robux," the platform says. Very exciting!

Is Roblox Plus worth it?

While Roblox Plus could add new benefits in the future, as it stands, the easiest way to judge whether it's worth it is to do some basic math: In order to recoup the $5 a month membership cost, you'll need to regularly spend at least $25 worth of Robux per month on in-game purchases just to break even—and that's after you've already been a member for three months, doubling your discount from 10% to 20%. (Those first two months, you'll need to spend $50 worth of Robux if you want to net to zero.)

Of course, the math gets much more complicated if you pair a Roblox Premium membership (which gets you a 10% bonus when you buy Robux) and a Roblox Plus membership, but that equation will probably become moot with the launch of the aforementioned Roblox Plus bundles.

Personally, I won't be signing my kid up anytime soon. He doesn't care about free servers or trading avatar items, and thankfully we aren't spending anywhere near $25 per month on Robux. Most months, anyway.

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When it comes to gaming monitors, having an ultra-wide screen takes the experience to the next level, with a more immersive experience than a regular monitor. Unfortunately, that improved experience tends to come at a much higher price. But right now, Amazon is selling the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey G5 for $279.99 (originally $399.99), which is the second-lowest price this monitor has ever been, according to price-tracking tools.

Samsung 34' Odyssey G5

1000R Curved Screen, 165Hz, 1ms, FreeSync Premium, Large Display, Eye Comfort, Multiple Ports, WQHD

$375.78 at Amazon

$399.99 Save $24.21

Get Deal

Get Deal

$375.78 at Amazon

$399.99 Save $24.21

The Samsung Odyssey G5 is a great ultra-wide monitor for those who haven't used one before, with all the important specs you'd want while keeping the price relatively low. Other high-end ultra-wide monitors go for $700 and higher, like the Odyssey OLED G9. Those are much bigger and offer OLED quality visuals, though.

The Odyssey G5 comes with a 1000R curve, which Samsung claims is optimal to avoid eye strain. Your media will be displayed on a 21:9 aspect ratio and 3440x1440 resolution, which means if you watch videos that are not compatible with that ratio, it'll have some black space on the sides to prevent it from looking stretched. You also get a 165Hz refresh rate and native FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) support, helping fast games look smoother. The input lag is 1ms, which is very fast for a budget gaming monitor. It's also compatible with HDR10, so movies or shows will look good, but mostly in dark rooms since the HDR peak brightness isn't very high.

The viewing angle is poor, but curved monitors are not really designed for sharing the screen anyway. You can tilt the screen, but that's as much as you'll be able to adjust. If you want to see what the hype of ultrawide curved screens is about without committing to the high-end options, this is a great option to get your feet wet in the technology.

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If money was on sale 20% off, you'd buy a ton of it, right? Well, this Roblox gift card is "worth" $100 in Robux, the online currency used on the gaming platform Roblox, but it's on sale for $80 during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. If you're reading this, chances are good that at some point in the next day/week/month, your child is going to hassle you for Robux anyway, so you might as well pay 20% less. (Your purchase also comes with a free "virtual item," but your child doesn't care about that.)

Roblox Digital Gift Code for 10,000 Robux [Redeem Worldwide - Includes Exclusive Virtual Item] [Online Game Code]

$80.00 at Amazon

$100.00 Save $20.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$80.00 at Amazon

$100.00 Save $20.00

Speaking of children, parents, listen up: If you keep a bunch of these cards around, you'll never have to scramble for a last minute present again, whether for your kid's Easter basket or the birthday party you forgot about until the invite reminder showed up on your phone. The chances are very good that any kid who gets a Roblox gift card is going to like it better than all the stupid educational toys they were given, making your kid the hero of the day.

Amazon doesn't put these cards on sale often, and not usually at such a deep discount. Here's a chart to show you how relatively rare an occurrence it is:

Credit: Amazon

The point is, don't wait. It will hurt 20% less next time your kid asks you to give them real money to spend on virtual items in a game they will probably tire of within a week. I love Roblox.

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Nvidia might be courting controversy with its recent DLSS 5 tech, but the company’s GPUs are still pretty powerful devices for running your games. If you have an RTX card in your desktop or laptop, you might be able to get even better performance out of it than you’re already seeing. Here are some of my favorite hacks to optimize your Nvidia GPU. 

Enable DLSS to boost your frame rates (or disable to save on performance)

Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (or DLSS) is actually a suite of features collectively aimed at improving the resolution and frame rate of your games. Some of this involves rendering lower-resolution frames and using machine learning to upscale them, while the more recent DLSS 4 and 4.5 models can generate intermediate frames between traditionally rendered ones. In most cases, this means a smoother frame rate, at a lower computational cost.

Of course, DLSS doesn’t come at zero computational cost, and that trade-off might not be worth it for you. Competitive online games or fast-paced action shooters often benefit from smoother frame rates, but some games are perfectly fine at 60 fps or so. In some games, you can turn off DLSS specifically, or you might find a more simplified toggle between Performance and Quality modes. It’s worth experimenting with these settings to see whether your prefer higher visual fidelity, or smoother frame rates.

I should also briefly discuss DLSS 5, which isn’t currently available, but is expected to arrive on newer Nvidia GPUs later in 2026. This is the first version of DLSS demoed that substantially alters the content of what appears on screen. Nvidia insists that developers are in control of how it makes games look, though many developers aren’t exactly thrilled about it. When DLSS 5 eventually drops, you might want to explore disabling it just to see whether it affects the aesthetics of the game, on top of any performance changes.

Use DLAA for anti-aliasing in games you don't use DLSS with

Nvidia’s Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (or DLAA) is in a similar family to DLSS features, but comes at the problem from the opposite angle. Anti-aliasing is a cornerstone bit of graphical technology that helps prevent the "stair-stepping" effect that can occur when rendering angled or curved lines. Where DLSS renders lower-resolution images and upscales them, DLAA takes full-resolution frames and uses machine learning to clean them up to produce smoother lines, without as much of a computational lift.

In general, DLAA and DLSS are mutually exclusive. If you have DLSS enabled, you can’t use DLAA and vice versa. There are other anti-aliasing methods you might find buried in your game’s settings, and most of the older ones don’t rely on machine learning. But this is one area where using machine learning techniques can provide a tangible benefit without altering the creative design of your games.

Disable ray-tracing to increase your frame rates

Another of Nvidia’s marquee features, real-time ray tracing, is an incredibly powerful tool to get photorealistic lighting and shadows. This is the same method that CGI workflows have been using for decades in movies to get realistic images, but it requires so much processing power that it’s only become feasible for games in recent years.

That massive computational cost also means that, unless you’re running a game on exceptionally overpowered hardware, you’ll probably notice a frame rate drop in exchange for reflective puddles. Again, this will come down to personal preference, but if you’re finding that you’re struggling to get smooth motion in your games, consider turning off any ray tracing features in your game’s settings.

Tune your GPU to prioritize either performance or battery life

Overclocking your GPU is a common way to get a little performance boost, but if done the wrong way, it can potentially damage your hardware. So, Nvidia offers an official way to do it that’s designed to minimize that risk. In the official Nvidia app, head to the System tab, and enable "Automatic Tuning." This will let you get some extra speed out of your GPU, while still staying within your graphics card’s warranty.

However, you might also want to consider under-clocking your GPU. For this, you’ll need third-party tools like MSI’s Afterburner. Rather than running your GPU faster than its default, you can set it to run slightly slower. Why on earth would you want to do that, though? Well, in many cases, you often won’t notice much of a difference in performance from a GPU that’s running 5% slower. But for that trade-off, you can make your system run quieter and, on a gaming laptop, get longer battery life.

Pick up a monitor that supports G-Sync

Most gaming-focused monitors (and many that aren’t) support Nvidia’s G-Sync, but if you haven’t double-checked yours, it’s worth looking into. G-Sync is Nvidia’s version of variable refresh rate (or VRR) tech that reduces screen-tearing. This is an effect that can happen when the number of frames being rendered by your GPU don’t perfectly sync up with the frame rate of your display. Tools like G-Sync allow your GPU to vary the number of frames sent to your monitor each second, to avoid accidentally sending half-frames.

There are plenty of great G-Sync compatible monitors out there, from budget-friendly models like this one from LG, to some higher-end models like this one from Alienware. You can usually find G-Sync listed among the top-line specs for monitors while shopping, but if you’re not sure about your current display, find its model number and search for its specs online. If your monitor doesn’t officially support G-Sync, but does support AMD’s competing FreeSync, it’s sometimes possible to still get G-Sync working for you too.

Enable G-Sync Pulsar for even better motion clarity

This one is much more rare, but if you have one of a handful of compatible monitors, then Nvidia’s newer G-Sync Pulsar feature can get you even better motion clarity. This new tech pulses the backlight on a supported monitor at a variable frequency to render motion more clearly. Nvidia claims it’s the equivalent of, effectively, a 1,000Hz refresh rate.

That’s a bit of a bold claim, and at a certain point it might be impossible for the human eye to tell the difference anyway. That said, if you have a monitor that supports it, you may as well turn the feature on to maximize the motion clarity in your games.

Enable Reflex to reduce input latency

When you’re playing a competitive online game, there are a lot of steps between when you click a button, and when the game registers what you’ve done. And that delay can mean the difference between clicking heads and getting your own head clicked. That’s where Nvidia’s Reflex tech can help. 

This feature tightens the pipeline between your mouse clicks, your GPU, and your CPU, shaving milliseconds off your input latency. That might not sound like a lot, but it can make a difference. Most online games operate on a tick rate (meaning how often per second the game’s state is updated) of around 60-64Hz. That means the game is checking your position, aim, and inputs every 15-17 milliseconds or so. If your input latency is over 20ms, that can mean you’re essentially missing a “turn” or two in the game, just waiting for your input to register. Reflex can shave that down.

You'll find the option in the input setting for most games under "Nvidia Reflex Low Latency." Here, you can choose between "Off," "On," or "On + Boost" (though usually you can just go for "On + Boost" unless you're facing some niche technical problem).

Enable Video Super Resolution for better streaming video

We tend to think of GPUs as mostly being aimed at gaming graphics, but regular old streaming video can benefit from some of Nvidia’s special features too. For example, RTX Video Super Resolution (or VSR) can upscale video from sites like YouTube, Netflix, or Twitch. To turn it on, head to your Nvidia Control Panel or the Nvidia app and look for “Super Resolution” under the Video tab in Settings.

This feature is particularly useful when you’re watching older or lower-resolution video, particularly 720p or lower. For higher-resolution, 1080p streaming video and up, you might not notice much of a difference, because those videos are already pretty high quality, but it can be a nice boost for lower-quality stuff. Keep in mind the usual caveats with machine learning-powered upscaling, though. It’s never perfect, and if you want to avoid artifacts or get the most accurate source image, you might want to disable this feature instead. But it's a good hack for bumping the sharpness of lower-resolution media.

Use the Broadcast app to improve your streaming setup

If you stream online, or even if you just spend a lot of time in Zoom meetings, the Nvidia Broadcast app can potentially help clean up your audio and video feeds. In one of the better use-cases for machine learning, this app has a suite of tools that can help eliminate background noise your microphone picks up, cut out the background from your webcam, or clean up your video.

Some of the app’s features are a bit more, let’s say, ambitious than just cleaning things up, though. The "Eye Contact" feature, for example, will artificially make you appear as though you’re looking directly into the camera, even when you’re not. That can be more off-putting than helpful, so maybe don’t turn that particular feature on.

Update your drivers to make sure your games run smoothly

When it comes to solving technical problems, updating your drivers is right up there with “turn it off and on again.” Even if nothing is broken, though, it’s a good idea to check for new drivers any time you download a new game, or one of your favorites gets a big update.

Often, after a major game gets a new release or update, the Nvidia app will have updated drivers specifically tailored for it. These usually include bug fixes for specific games, as well as updates to the DLSS models that are trained on individual titles. Around the time of writing, for example, Nvidia is touting updates for Crimson Desert and the PC release of Death Stranding 2. If you haven’t checked for driver updates in a while, especially if you’re trying to play something new, make sure to hit that check for update button.

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Sony’s PlayStation 5 is a powerful machine, but if you just plugged it right into your TV and never bothered to go into the settings, there’s a chance you’re not seeing its full potential. From enabling 120 fps gameplay to customizing your Welcome hub, there’s a lot you can do with the PS5, if you’re willing to tinker a little bit. Here are the 10 best tips and tricks to getting the most out of Sony’s current gaming console.

Enable 120Hz and 4K on your PS5

Just because you bought a fancy new PS5 doesn’t automatically mean you’re getting the best performance out of it possible. If you have a 4K TV or a monitor that can support a 120Hz refresh rate or above, you’ll want to double check your video output settings to ensure your console is taking advantage of it.

First, before even turning on your device, make sure it’s connected via an HDMI 2.1 cable. This is necessary for frame rates above 60 at 4K. Your PS5 should have come with one, and you’ll know if it’s the right one if it has a boxy rectangle on either side of the cable. Also ensure that you’re plugging your cable into a port that can accept HDMI 2.1, which will look different based on your screen. On my LG C1 TV, this port says “4K @ 120Hz” above it.

Next, while your console may detect what your screen can handle and adjust its settings accordingly, head to Settings > Screen and Video to manually check them and make some adjustments that need some human fine tuning. I like to leave most of the settings on this page to Automatic to allow the PS5 to pick the best choices for the wide variety of content it can play, but you can select any of the settings on this page to see your options and force an output. If you don’t see 4K (labeled as 2160p) or 120Hz as options here, this is your sign you might need to swap your HDMI cable.

To see what settings your PS5 is using at any particular moment, select “Current Video Output Signal” at the top of this page to check your work. While I mostly like to rely on the PS5’s Automatic settings, one specific change you might want to make would be applying VRR to unsupported games, which could improve fidelity at the cost of introducing instability. If you scroll down far enough on this page, you can also adjust when your console displays HDR, and go through an HDR setup wizard by selecting “Adjust HDR.”

You can also customize your console’s display area by selecting Screen from the sidebar on the left, which is handy if your display has an unusual aspect ratio. While you’re here, you can adjust how long you need to be away from your controller before the console dims your screen.

Finally, if you have a PS5 Pro, you can up the graphics quality on some supported PS4 games. This is under Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output > Enhance Image Quality for PS4 games.

Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) Digital Console Slim

$499.99 at Amazon

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$499.99 at Amazon

Mute the PS5's startup beep 

Let’s say you’re having trouble sleeping, and instead of rolling around in bed, you decide to sneak out to the PS5 for a secret gaming session. Except, uh-oh, the nasty beep that the console plays at startup alerts your partner, and now you have some explaining to do. To keep this from happening, let’s turn off that beep ahead of time.

Under Settings > System > Beep and Light, toggle on Mute Beep Sound to get rid of the sound your PS5 plays at startup. Or, if you just want to make it quieter, you can do that under Volume. 

While you’re here, you can also customize how bright the LED strip on the front of the console gets, under Power indicator > Brightness. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to turn it off entirely.

Change the widgets on your PS5's home screen

Credit: Sony

See all those widgets at the bottom of the Welcome Hub when you turn your PS5 on? Did you know that you can actually customize them? It’s especially handy if you’re like me and can’t stand seeing what are essentially ads taking up more than half of your display.

To adjust your PS5 Welcome Hub widgets, simply press X while hovering over the Welcome Hub tile, then navigate to the controls in the top-right corner. Here, you can select Presets to choose from various options set up by Sony, or select Edit Widgets to toggle specific widgets on and off. Personally, I disabled the News, PlayStation Plus, Wishlist, and PlayStation Store widgets, since they’re pretty much only there to sell you things.

Once you’re done selecting the widgets you want to see, before leaving Welcome Hub setup, navigate to the Settings cog and choose if you want to enable the carousel-like Large Layout, where you want notifications (Temporary Widgets) to show up, and if you want your widgets to match your broader System Appearance settings (more on that later). If you have the News widget active, you can also customize which games show news here.

Finally, to the left of the Settings cog, you can choose a background for the Welcome Hub, picking from options either prepared by Sony, bundled with certain games you own, or pulled from your Media Gallery.

Turn on your PS5's surround sound and connect Bluetooth headphones

Your PS5 can do more than basic stereo sound, even if you don’t own a physical surround sound setup. That’s thanks to the power of various virtual surround sound codecs, which come baked into the console. To turn these on, head over to Settings > Sound > Audio Output > Audio Format (Priority). Here, you can choose between Linear PCM, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Audio, and DTS. Not all of these options support virtual surround sound, and I’ll admit I’m not enough of an audiophile to know the best one for every setup, but because it supports height data, Dolby Atmos has been the most versatile pick for my soundbar.

Alternatively, you can also use Sony’s own 3D Audio technology by selecting 3D Audio (TV) or 3D Audio (Headphones) from the sidebar. Personally, I haven’t found the results here to be as rich as Dolby Atmos, but that makes sense. These are built for gamers using TV speakers or headphones, so they aren’t the best option if you’ve got a soundbar or external speaker setup. Still, they’re worth trying out if you listen over your TV’s internal speakers or via a headset. Note that only Sony’s own headsets will connect to the console wirelessly by themselves, but there are ways around that, which my colleague Jake Peterson has written about here.

Make rumble more responsive on the PS5

Sony’s so proud of the rumble and haptics in the PS5 controller that it updated its classic DualShock branding to DualSense alongside the controller’s launch. But weirdly, the haptics aren’t as strong as they could be out of the box. That’s because the PS5 controller has a microphone built-in, and Sony has intentionally weakened its haptics to prevent interference from being picked up on the mic.

If you’re like me, and you barely use the microphone in your controller, there are two ways to fix that. The first is more temporary, and simply involves pressing the clear button above the microphone icon on your controller to mute it, which will strengthen the haptics until you turn it back on. It’ll also display an orange light while the mic is off.

The second doesn’t require you to manually flip your mic on and off, and will get rid of that orange light. You can enable it by toggling on Mute under Settings > Sound > Microphone > Microphone Status When Logged In, but know that you’ll need to toggle this back to On if you need to use the microphone again.

Turn off (or reduce) the PS5's DualSense trigger haptics

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Sony might be proud of the haptics in its brand new controller, but personally, I think they’re a little bit too strong, especially when it comes to the triggers. With the PS5, Sony introduced its new adaptive triggers, which add resistance to trigger pulls in certain games for heightened realism. But while having the controller fight back against you the first time you try to tighten a bowstring in a Horizon game might be a fun novelty, it gets tiring pretty quick.

Luckily, you can customize this, as well as fine tune any of the other haptics. Under Settings > Accessories > Controller (General), select Trigger Effect Intensity to choose how strong the adaptive trigger resistance should be, and select Vibration Intensity to set the strength for more general rumble. Personally, I have Vibration Intensity set to Strong, and Trigger Effect Intensity turned off. 

Install SSD or use HDD for PS4 games or offloaded PS5 games

The PS5 comes with a good amount of storage by default, and while amounts differ depending on your model, it’s usually enough for five to seven AAA games. But if you want more storage, you can actually install a supported M.2 SSD into your PS5 without much hassle. Sony has exact installation instructions here, plus a guide on determining if an SSD is supported. While specific steps will vary depending on your PS5 model and which SSD you get, you generally only need a screwdriver to complete installation. Even better? The new SSD won’t replace your existing internal storage, so you can use them in tandem.

To install games to your SSD once it’s installed, you’ll first need to change your Installation Location to M.2 SSD under Settings > Storage. Then, simply install a game as usual. If you want to move games that are already installed on your PS5’s internal storage to your SSD, head to your Game Library, highlight the games you want to move, press the Options button, and select Move Games and Apps. If you’re also using expanded USB storage, select Movable to M.2 SSD Storage after this step.

Speaking of USB storage, the PS5 also supports external USB drives. You can see requirements here—not every device is guaranteed to work. Also note that while you can play PS4 games directly off USB storage, PS5 games need to be installed to an SSD to work. However, you can keep a PS5 game offloaded to USB storage and then load it onto either your console’s SSD or your custom M.2 SSD when you’re ready to play, bypassing the need for a download.

Quickly customize game difficulty, subtitles, and graphics on the PS5

The first thing I do whenever I boot up a new game isn’t start my adventure, but dive deep into the settings to see what I can customize. It’s not the best first impression, but there’s usually a switch I can flip that will make the game play much better for me, especially if it ups the frame rate. Luckily, Sony’s aware of this optimization sickness I suffer from, and is doing its best to help.

Under Settings > Saved Data and Game/App Settings > Game Presets, you can set a number of preferences for how your games should play ahead of time, and your PS5 will automatically configure them for you when you boot up a supported game. It’s not a fully robust selection, since Sony can’t predict every game’s needs, but you can choose a preferred difficulty here, whether the game should be played in first-person or third-person (if both are available), which language you’d like to play in, whether subtitles should be turned on, your online multiplayer permissions, and most crucially for me, whether your games prefer Performance Mode or Quality Mode (called Resolution Mode here). Finally, I can set my PS5 games to default to smooth performance over the prettiest visuals.

Get hints from the PS5's Game Help feature

Let’s say you’re struggling in a game, but you don’t want to bother to pull up an internet browser and look up a walkthrough. This is where the PS5’s Game Help feature comes in. It’s not available for every game, but if you’re stuck, it’s worth looking for. Just press the PlayStation logo button on your controller, and if it’s there, select the Game Help card. From here, your PS5 will suggest hints towards specific goals based on where you are in your game, and might even show you videos from other players. It’ll also warn you if you’re about to see spoilers, so you can back out before looking at a hint. 

It’s fairly self explanatory, and while the hints aren’t always detailed enough for my needs, I do appreciate that Game Help also estimates how long it’ll take you to complete certain goals, as well as show you your progress towards them. As a busy 30-something, it’s a great way to know how long my play sessions might be ahead of time.

As for where Game Help gets its gameplay videos, it’s from players who’ve opted in to share them. To start sending videos to Game Help, head to Settings > Captures and Broadcasts > Auto-captures > Community Game Help. Select On next to Participate, and Sony may occasionally look at your gameplay and upload select sections from it to its servers to serve as a guide towards other players. Voice or party chat audio won’t be recorded and uploaded videos won’t take up space on your console, but depending on the game, usernames or text-based chat messages shown in gameplay footage might be shared.

Change your PS5 console’s theme to a retro style

Credit: Sony

Finally, this one’s just for fun. Back in 2024, Sony introduced themes to the PS5 home screen that mimicked the look of the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4. These left the system shortly afterwards, but came back for good in April of last year. To try them out, head to Settings > System > Appearance > Appearance and Sound and choose a console you’d like to mimic. Personally, I like the PS2 theme, but I’ve gone for the PS3 look for now, because my husband has a lot of fondness for that console’s XMB menu. Now, if only Sony would add even more themes to the list. Maybe an Astro Bot look?

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For me, third-party "Joy-Cons" were an absolute necessity for comfortable portable play on the original Switch. But because the Switch 2 upgraded its Joy-Cons to a more complicated magnetic connection, we haven't seen many third-party options come out for it yet. It hasn't been as much of an issue for me as on the original Switch, since I do think the Joy-Con 2 are more comfortable than the original Joy-Cons. But they're still not ideal, especially when compared to other portable gaming options like the Steam Deck.

That's why controller company Abxylute's recent announcement is so interesting to me. The company announced on Tuesday that it will soon launch Kickstarters for two different portable controller options for the Nintendo Switch 2, both of which use a novel solution. Instead of sliding onto the console's sides like the Joy-Cons, these are instead shells you slide the console itself into. Just plug your console into the USB-C dock at the bottom of the shell, and you'll get a wired connection to the controller halves that sit on either side of the shell, while still being able to use the system's built-in screen. These Joy-Con 2 alternatives offer gamer a bit more grip, and, as a bonus, one of them also essentially turns your Switch 2 into a portable GameCube.

Credit: Abxylute

Part of the fun of third-party Joy-Cons for the original Switch is that they took advantage of the console's modularity to offer wacky form factors. Take the NYXI Wizard, for example. This controller looked like a classic Nintendo GameCube WaveBird controller out of the box, but you could also take both halves of the controller off a central connector piece and slap them onto the sides of the original Switch for authentic portable Smash Bros. or Super Mario Sunshine gameplay. I missed seeing this kind of innovation on the Switch 2, especially since that system now offers even more GameCube games via Switch Online. Thankfully, though, Abxylute is picking up the slack.

While its N6 portable controller is more traditional, its N9C is for retro gamers. It looks more like an original GameCube controller than a WaveBird, but it has the same familiar stick and button layout, and even has the right colors. There are modern niceties here, like home buttons and a more fully-featured D-Pad and right stick than on an actual GameCube controller. But this is shaping up to be the best way to play GameCube games on the Switch 2 on the go. The N6, meanwhile, has all the same features, but in a more common, Xbox 360 style layout, similar to the CRKD Nitro Deck 2.

There are also some power user features in the fine print, like drift-proof sticks (capacitive on the N9C and Hall effect on the N6), a gyroscope, optional macro buttons, and on the N9C, clicky micro-switch buttons. You could use either controller for any type of game, if you'd like. But it's really the GameCube form factor that's convincing me here. Yes, this design will likely be more comfortable than the Joy-Con 2, but it's also more fun.

Credit: Abxylute

Unfortunately, because the Kickstarter campaigns for these have yet to launch, we don't yet know what they'll cost. Competitors like the Nitro Deck 2 cost $99, though, so you can probably expect to pay around that much. Abxylute's HandheldDIY J6 for the original Switch also costs $95 (when not on sale), which is another good barometer.

That's on the pricey end: My favorite third-party Joy-Cons for the original Switch only cost $50. But for the extra features here, plus the pricing on the competition, it's probably a cost I'd be willing to eat—especially because alternatives are still rare. The only third-party Switch 2 Joy-Cons you can buy right now that offer the same magnetic plug-and-play as the official ones are the NYXI Hyperion 3, and they have yet to be released and cost $126.99 (and they'll jump to $170 once early bird deals end). Abxylute's new reveals may not have that same satisfying snap-on tech, but they're feature-rich, and should still be a good upgrade over the official Joy-Con 2.

When the Nintendo Switch 2 came out, I was a bit skeptical that such a thin and light device could handle AAA, blockbuster games. But when I actually got it in my hands and reviewed it, I was impressed to see that it was capable of running demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 just as well as my Steam Deck could. Since then, it's continued to prove itself by capably running other beefy games like Star Wars Outlaws and, more recently, Final Fantasy VIII Remake. The catch? All these games were all a few years old, and with the exception of Star Wars Outlaws, they all had versions for last-generation systems.

As we started moving into 2026, I was still left wondering how well the Switch 2 will be able to keep up with brand new AAA titles as they come out. Based on some hands-on time I've had with two upcoming technical showpieces, the answer is "very well."

Playing Pragmata on the Nintendo Switch 2

Last week, I attended a preview event hosted by Nintendo where I got to play the Switch 2 editions for Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as the brand new game, Mario Tennis Fever. All of these looked great, but they didn't really push any kind of graphical boundaries. My real interest was in the two third-party titles at the event, both of which were being shown off by Capcom.

The first was Pragmata, an upcoming sci-fi shooter that, most importantly for our purposes, uses the notoriously performance-hungry RE Engine. When it works, this engine is great for fidelity in particular lighting, but optimizing for the thing has been a nightmare on even powerful systems, as evidenced by frame rate-wrecking bugs continually popping up in games like Monster Hunter Wilds. While that's an open-world game, meaning it has to render a lot at once, Pragamata itself is no slouch, and I figured it would make a perfect test case for whether the Switch 2 can handle not just older AAA releases, but new ones, too.

The verdict? If you had told me this thing were running on a PS5, I'd believe you. I played the game in both handheld and docked mode, and on the TV, it was easy to forget everything but the gameplay and just sink right into the experience. Textures were smooth, the resolution seemed to be at least a solid 1080p, if not higher, and I would say the frame rate was actually above 30 fps. I don't have any specific numbers—I wasn't able to test these settings at the event, and Capcom couldn't tell me any details—but my thought is that even if the graphics had compromises to run on the Switch 2, they weren't noticeable and didn't hamper my experience. Hardware snobs who absolutely need a 4K resolution and at least 60 fps might want to stick to PC, but results like this aren't too far behind what the other home consoles can do with the newest games and are a noticeable improvement on how the original Switch handled AAA games.

There, blockbuster games were often either pixelated and slow, or ran on the cloud and required an internet connection. Compromises like these were understandable there, but it sometimes meant you were focusing so much on the game's technical issues that it was difficult to get immersed in the gameplay, assuming developers even bothered to port a game to Switch in the first place.

None of these were problems when I was playing Pragmata on the Nintendo Switch 2. Controls were snappy, environments were easy to parse, and most impressively, the hair was on point! OK, that might sound a bit odd, but hear me out: It's actually super impressive.

Naturalistic long hair has been a nightmare for video games to render until very recently, which is why if you've ever played a video game with a customizable character, the hair options often cap out at medium length, or are very stylized. Pragmata, meanwhile, makes a point of having a companion character at your side at all times who has messy, frizzy, unkempt hair almost down to her waist. And each individual strand of that hair has physics on it, so it moves realistically rather than as one big blob.

That takes a lot of processing power to simulate, and is clearly meant to be a bit of a technical brag for Capcom. But while the devs' work optimizing the game to handle this hair is definitely to be commended, it's also reassuring that the Nintendo Switch 2 didn't buckle at all while doing this. In fact, it seemed like it still had horsepower to spare, based on how consistent the gameplay was. I encountered no frame rate dips, which was a lifesaver in pitched battles.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The only noticeable quality loss was when I played in handheld mode, which seemed to reduce the resolution to about 720p. Here, the game looked a bit pixelated, but given that the PS5 and Xbox don't even have an option to go portable, it's a compromise I'm willing to accept. In a fair, TV-to-TV comparison, I'm happy to report that Pragmata on the Switch 2 is a more than acceptable way to experience the game, even right down to that folicular fidelity.

Playing Resident Evil Requiem on the Nintendo Switch 2

Pragmata is a pretty game, no doubt, but the real technical showpiece at the preview event was Resident Evil Requiem. Also using the RE Engine, if Pragmata is a strong indicator for how the Switch 2 simulates physics, then Resident Evil does the same for lighting.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Again, performance is smooth, but I'd say the resolution here is more definitively closer to 1080p while the frame rate seems a little lower than Pragmata's. Still, character models are detailed, and animations play out without any weird jitters. Resident Evil has made a name for itself on both of these fronts with its recent titles, so it's great to see these qualities preserved.

Based on my experience with Pragmata, though, I expected this. What I didn't expect was just how realistic the lighting would be. Like the hair in Pragmata, realistic lighting is a bit of a performance challenge for games, especially now that many games are using ray tracing for their lighting, which means that lighting is calculated in real time using realistic pathing for each ray of light, rather than being "baked" into scenes ahead of time. This makes it easier for lighting to change on the fly and fall where a player might naturally expect it to, something that's important for Resident Evil, since the title uses it for gameplay. But it also puts a lot of strain on the system.

I was a bit worried going into this demo, because while I knew the Switch 2 was supposed to be able to handle ray tracing, I wasn't ready to believe it until I saw it, especially when it was being used for more than set dressing. In the demo I played, there's a monster that can't follow you into the light, and poor lighting might make it unclear where safe zones were. But like with Pragmata, my technical skepticism quickly drained away, and I instead just sat and quietly played, immersed in the game like I would be on any other console.

Here's the biggest bit of technical praise I can offer the Switch 2: Even in just a half hour of playing, Resident Evil Requiem on the Switch 2 still managed to scare the crap out of me. I left the event unsure of walking out into the dark night outside. If that doesn't tell you how bought in I was in just playing the game, instead of nitpicking pixelated character models or a wonky frame rate, I don't know what will.

What this means for Nintendo Switch 2 owners

I may not have been allowed to capture detailed performance data at this event, but I left pretty optimistic about the Switch 2's ability to handle AAA games. For years now, gamers have come to accept that multiplatform AAA titles will come out on Xbox and PlayStation, but will usually either skip Nintendo or come out for it years down the line. That's because the Wii was much less powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3, the Wii U was less powerful than the Xbox One and PS4, and the Switch was less powerful than the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. After the GameCube, Nintendo has always been at least a generation behind when it comes to performance.

Now, it can finally stand toe-to-toe with its competitors again, just like when you had Nintendo's purple lunchbox in your living room. It may not be at the zenith of performance, but it's more than acceptable. I don't know how long this status quo will last—the next console generation is rumored to be facing delays right now. But for now, Nintendo owners can finally play the newest blockbuster games day-and-date with their Sony and Microsoft-owning friends, without needing to own a second system. That's great for developers and gamers, and should put anyone who just dropped $450 on Nintendo's latest at ease. You can finally pay attention to new AAA games as they come out again, and plus, you still have that handheld mode party trick.

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When Nintendo's Virtual Boy launched in 1995, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. 3D games with a giant, personal screen? Portable 32-bit power in the same year that the original PlayStation came out in the U.S.? "Who cares if you need to prop the thing up on a stand and stare through an obnoxious red filter to use it," I thought, "that's awesome."

Fast forward to 2026, and I was pretty glad I never got one. The console has become famous over the years as one of Nintendo's most notorious flops, with poor sales, an extremely limited library, and reports of severe discomfort from players who did actually get one.

Nintendo's bringing it back anyway. Last September, the company announced that it was creating a Virtual Boy accessory for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, which you can use to play Virtual Boy games in full 3D through a wonky headset-on-a-stand, just like Virtual Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi intended. And now that I've actually been able to go hands-on with it at a preview event, I'm starting to think that maybe my elementary-school self was right, actually.

Turns out the Virtual Boy was actually ahead of its time

Before I tried the Virtual Boy Switch accessory, I had never actually played a real Virtual Boy. I had seen footage of games, which looked like a nightmare to play in YouTube videos, but actual hardware was too rare to get my hands on. Now, though, the Switch accessory has allowed me to actually play Virtual Boy games for myself, instead of just watching other people playing them. And they're a lot harder to scoff at when you go hands-on.

The first thing I noticed is that the 3D effect on this thing is incredible. It's the most convincing 3D I've ever experienced on a Nintendo system, and that includes the 3DS. Characters pop from the background, and stages in games are laid out to use the depth to actually help with gameplay.

Take Red Alarm, for example. The wireframe graphics look like a mess to navigate in flat videos, with your ship constantly blending into the background. But seeing the game in actual stereoscopic 3D suddenly makes everything click. It's still not the most complicated game, but for 1995, having a portable-ish (the Virtual Boy is massive) space shooter with a fully explorable 3D environment seemed like witchcraft. Now that I've tried it, I can say that it works, and I can really appreciate how the developers used stereoscopic 3D to make the simple graphics the console was capable of rendering actually work for a playable 3D space. It all felt so ambitious, and I feel so vindicated in my childhood hype to know the effect wasn't just marketing.

Granted, the 32-bit power here is still a bit misleading. The original Virtual Boy put out a resolution of 384 x 224 per eye and a max frame rate of 50 fps, so it was less like a portable PS1 and more like a souped-up Game Boy. Don't expect to play anything on the level of Final Fantasy VII or Tony Hawk's Pro Skater here. Still, Red Alarm is a type of game that, in 1995, I would have been shocked to find on anything other than Sony's machine.

Does that mean any of these games are going to make your game of the year list for 2026? Well, probably not. But they're decidedly not bad, and they're a novel piece of gaming history that are definitely worth trying, especially if you've been mocking them all these years like I used to. Despite the low resolution, they look crisp on the Nintendo Switch's screen, and they play way better than I thought they would. They also clearly innovated on design tropes that Nintendo would later use in games like Super Mario 3D Land, where the 3DS' (worse, to be honest) 3D effect was also used for gameplay. I can still see why the system flopped, but I feel confident now saying that it was indeed ahead of its time, and I probably would have been happy with it in the '90s if I listened to my gut and got this thing all those years ago. Granted, I wouldn't have been spending my own money back then.

The new Virtual Boy accessory is authentic to a fault

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

"But Michelle," I can sense you typing. "You didn't actually play a Virtual Boy! You played a Nintendo Switch 2 emulating a Virtual Boy!" That's true, but I feel confident saying that the experience I got is probably pretty identical to the one I would have had 31 years ago on the real thing. And that's because Nintendo has really gone all-in on accuracy with its Virtual Boy accessory. That's probably the correct choice—again, the games are mostly interesting for their place in gaming history rather than in their own right—but there are some caveats to be aware of.

The big one: You might have to rearrange your table or desk to actually use the Virtual Boy Switch accessory. The plastic version of the accessory looks just like the real thing, but that means its stand also isn't adjustable. So if your table isn't already at the right height for you to fit your eyes into the viewfinder when you plonk your Virtual Boy replica down on it, you'll need to either take it somewhere else, or stack it on some books or something. Nintendo had adjustable height tables at the event where I tried it, which means the company is aware of the problem.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The other issue is that you supposedly need the accessory to play these games. Technically, there's no reason these games shouldn't be able to be played in 2D in TV mode, but Nintendo told me at the event that isn't possible. According to the company, to boot up Virtual Boy on your Switch or Switch 2, you'll have to take your system out of its dock and place it into the Virtual Boy accessory. I do wonder if some clever fans might be able to get around this and play in handheld mode without the system resting in the Virtual Boy accessory, with each per-eye image just showing in 2D side-by-side. But that's just speculation, and even if it weren't, some of these games need the 3D effect to really work, which is probably why Nintendo's being so strict about how you can use the accessory.

Personally, I don't mind this. I'm playing these games to get an idea of what Virtual Boy was like without having to get a real Virtual Boy, so making the experience as one-to-one as possible is perfect for me. But I understand how it can introduce accessibility issues for others, which might be why Nintendo has allowed just a few new options to make playing Virtual Boy in 2026 a little easier.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Because the plastic version of the Virtual Boy accessory is $100, Nintendo is also selling a cardboard version for $25. It's not a fully accurate recreation like the more expensive model, but it is still decorated enough to be cute in its own right. More importantly, aside from being cheaper, you can also use it without a stand—it actually doesn't even come with one. That means that you can just physically hold it up to your face and control it with Joy-Con controllers connected to either side of the device. I can imagine that might get uncomfortable after a while, but it is how Nintendo's LABO VR worked, and it should be a decent workaround if you can't rearrange your space for the plastic model. It is also a bit more portable.

The second is aimed at helping reduce the strain of those red graphics. While the games impressed me more than I thought they would, I'll admit that the Virtual Boy's red filter still got to me after even just a few minutes of play. That's why players will eventually be able to choose from alternate color options for their games, including a yellow filter, a green filter, and probably the best one, a black-and-white filter. The feature's set to come out "Later this year," and I assume it'll be a godsend for anyone who actually wants to finish a Virtual Boy game rather than just play it for novelty. If you have the plastic model of the Virtual Boy accessory, you'll need to remove the physical red filter for the screen, but that'll only take a few seconds.

New Virtual Boy games are coming in 2026

Probably the coolest part of this release is that, alongside letting you play Virtual Boy games originally released in North America, the new Virtual Boy accessory will also be able to play formerly Japanese-only Virtual Boy releases. In addition to Red Alarm and Virtual Boy Wario Land, for instance, I also got to play Lovecraft-inspired first person horror game Innsmouth no Yakata at the preview event I attended. That adds some serious novelty, and is a pretty smart choice overall, since the Virtual Boy originally only had 14 games in North America.

But cooler than that, Nintendo is also adding unreleased games to the Virtual Boy catalogue for Switch and Switch 2. These include a cancelled F-Zero game called Zero Racers, which makes the accessory pretty much a mandatory buy for Captain Falcon fans.

How to get the Virtual Boy accessory for the Switch and Switch 2

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

I went into trying the Switch's Virtual Boy accessory expecting to make fun of it, and walked away impressed and with a greater appreciation of gaming history. After decades of making fun of the Virtual Boy, I now have to admit I kind of like it. That's easily worth the price of entry to me, and I'd say it's well worth buying if you can swing it—at the very least, it'll make a nice desk toy.

Unfortunately, there's one last caveat here. Both the plastic and cardboard Virtual Boy accessories for Switch and Switch 2 are limited to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. That's not a huge deal, since you'll also need a Switch Online subscription to play these games. But for now, even if you are a subscriber, both models of the accessory seem to be sold out. Hopefully, Nintendo will add more stock over time, so I can convert more people to my new "the Virtual Boy is good, actually" movement.

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Valve's Steam Deck revolutionized PC gaming when it came out in 2022, popularizing the handheld gaming PC format. In 2026, it's still got a great performance-to-price ratio, and is plenty relevant compared to more expensive and more finicky alternatives like the Asus Rog Xbox Ally X. But that doesn't mean it's fully stacked right out of the box. SteamOS presents a more intuitive pick-up-and-play experience than I've used on any other handheld gaming PC (or gaming PC in general, to be honest), but there are plenty of hacks and customizations you can use to make it truly yours.

Steam Deck's desktop mode basically turns it into a mini PC

This one's simple, but vastly increases what you can do with your Steam Deck. Yes, the Steam Deck's biggest strength is that you can easily hop into games right from the home screen using the built-in controls, but did you know that you can also use it like a more traditional desktop?

To swap the device over to its built-in desktop mode, press the Steam button (the one on the device itself), then select Power. From there, select Switch to Desktop.

Bam, you'll be taken right to a more traditional PC interface, and one that will look extra familiar to you if you've ever used Linux, the base operating system SteamOS is built on.

You'll need desktop mode to enable a lot of the other hacks on this list, but it's also great on its own. With it, you can install your favorite Linux productivity apps, or even just browse the web using Microsoft Edge, which comes pre-installed (you can install your browser of choice later). You can use the right trackpad, the thumbsticks, or the touchscreen to move the mouse cursor, and press Steam + X to bring up a keyboard, but you can also plug in an external accessory or dock using the USB-C port on top of the device, too. Play this right, and you can basically turn the Steam Deck into a full-fledged Mini PC, complete with a built-in screen.

To leave desktop mode and re-enter the Steam Deck's default interface, click on the Return to Gaming mode icon in your desktop's top left corner.

You can play games that aren't from Steam

By default, the Steam Deck will show you games from your Steam Library, and that's where the Store page will take you, too. That makes sense—Valve wants you to buy games from its store. But because the Steam Deck is essentially just a highly specialized mini PC, it won't stop you from playing games from other PC gaming stores.

There are a few ways to do this, but by far, the most convenient one is Heroic Launcher. This allows you to install games from your Epic Game Store, Amazon, and GOG libraries by picking them from a handy, scrollable list.

Installing Heroic Game Launcher is easy. First, go to desktop mode, then click on the Discover store, which is the little shopping bag icon to the left of the folder icon. Search for Heroic, and install the app called Heroic (it'll likely be the first entry, and will have an icon that looks like a shield with a sword in it).

Once it's installed, open it, either by clicking the shortcut on your desktop or by searching for it using SteamOS' version of the classic Windows Start menu (it'll be to the far left of your taskbar, and will look like the Steam Deck logo).

From here, log into your various alternative game launcher accounts using the Log in button in the top left corner. After that, you could simply install your games and stop here, navigating to desktop mode and opening Heroic Launcher every time you want to play them. But let's go one step further, so you can access them right from gaming mode (the Steam Deck's default interface).

First, let's try installing a game of your choice from the Library tab, to get used to the process. Select the game you want to install, then click Install. You may see the option to change the Install Path or change the "Wine" settings. The latter can help with compatibility, but you likely won't need to mess with these. You may need to allow a C++ install to actually run certain games, but you can simply click "Install" on the pop-up that shows up when you try running these games to do this.

Once your game is installed, click the three-dot menu in the top right corner and select Add to Steam. This will add the game to your Steam library, so you can open it right from the handheld's gaming mode.

You could also stop here, just adding games to Steam on a case-by-case basis. But for ultimate convenience, you can add Heroic Launcher itself to the Steam Deck's gaming mode, to make accessing games in it easier. To do this, click the Steam shortcut on your desktop (or open it from the "Start" menu). From here, click the Add a game button in the bottom left corner, next to the plus sign. Click Add a Non-Steam Game, and in the list that pops up, find and click on Heroic Game Launcher. Click Add Selected Programs.

With this, you'll be able to access Heroic Game Launcher from within gaming mode by navigating to Library > Non-Steam. This is also where any games you've added to Steam from Heroic Game Launcher will show up, and you can use these same steps to add and view other third-party apps within Steam too, even mainstays like Google Chrome. You'll notice that the art for these might be a little barren. There are a few ways to fix this, but I'll touch on my favorite below.

Install plugins to customize your experience

By default, SteamOS is pretty snappy and easy to navigate, but fans have taken it upon themselves to make various plugins to help you customize it further. You'll find these in a program called Decky Loader.

Unlike Heroic Launcher, Decky Loader needs to be installed from a browser. Enter desktop mode, open your browser of choice (Edge is the default), then navigate to decky.xyz. From here, click Download in the top-right corner. Find the install file, either from your browser or the Steam Deck's File Manager (the folder icon in the taskbar) under Downloads. Double click on it, and then proceed with the installation. For the most stable experience, choose the recommended install option.

Now, to actually use Decky Loader, go back to gaming mode and press the physical three-dot button on your Steam Deck (I'll refer to that as the "quick settings button" for the rest of this article). Scroll down to the Decky Loader menu, which looks like a plug. Here's where you can start toying with your plugins.

You've got a number of options here, so let's navigate through where to find plugins and what some of my favorites are. First, select the icon that looks like a market stall (in the top-right corner), and from here, you'll see all available plugins.

By default, these will be arranged alphabetically, but I have the best luck by navigating to "Sort" and selecting "Most Downloaded First." This will put the most popular plugins up top. Some of my favorites include CSS Loader, which allows you to change your Steam Deck's look and theme, and Animation Changer, which allows you to change what animations your Steam Deck plays when it boots or suspends. Download whatever strikes your fancy, and access them through the plug menu when pressing the quick settings button.

Note that, sometimes, installing a new Steam Deck system update might break your plugins. To fix them, navigate to the plug menu and click the cog in the top-right corner, then select "Plugins" and reinstall the ones that have updates. You might also need to update Decky Loader itself, in the General menu on the same page. And if you're not seeing the plug menu, you'll need to exit back out to desktop, reinstall Decky Loader using the install file you grabbed earlier, and restart.

Let's close with an example, and an answer for how to get artwork for your Non-Steam games. In the Decky store, grab the SteamGridDB plugin. Now, with it installed, go to any of your installed Steam games and click the Start button (the three horizontal lines above the right thumbstick). From the menu that pops up, select Change Artwork. You'll see a number of community-made options that will change how the game's various icons and posters will show up across your Steam Deck. This will work with almost any game in your library—most have art uploaded to the database this plug-in pulls from—and some non-game programs, too. Most importantly, it will allow you to easily add art to games that don't have it by default, like Non-Steam games.

Get yourself a dock

The Steam Deck might be a handheld, but that doesn't mean you can't use it like a regular desktop pc, too. I've already covered how to access desktop mode on the Steam Deck, but if you want to go the extra mile and use it on the big screen, you'll probably want a dock.

You've got a few options for this. I use the unofficial JSAUX dock, mostly because I bought mine before the official Steam Deck dock came out. For firmware support from Valve, you're going to want the more expensive official Steam Deck dock, but this will merely increase stability—it's not required.

Credit: Valve

Whatever you pick, you'll just want to ensure it has either a DisplayPort or HDMI 2.1 connection (ensure your TV or monitor supports these, too), since those will support high resolutions and fast refresh rates. A built-in ethernet port is also nice, so you can have a wired internet connection, as are extra USB ports.

With a dock, you'll be able to connect your Steam Deck to a big screen using the USB-C port at the top and the appropriate HDMI or DisplayPort cables for your dock. You'll also be able to connect as many accessories as your dock will allow. And some docks come with handy bonuses. For instance, storage company Sabrent sells a Steam Deck dock with room for an M.2 SSD, for expanded external storage. JSAUX sells one too, although I can't speak to it, since it's not the model I have.

Once you have your dock and it's all set up, just turn on your Steam Deck and set your TV or monitor to the right input, and you should able to play on the big screen, just like with a standard PC. Note that, depending on your screen's resolution, you might want to take advantage of manually setting per-game screen resolutions (available in the cog menu after selecting any game, under General > Game Resolution), as some games might need to be set to a lower resolution to run at full speed if connected to a 4K TV. Or, you could set a global max resolution for games by pressing the Steam button and navigating to Settings > Display > Advanced > Maximum Game Resolution.

You can also take advantage of the Steam Deck's built-in FSR upscaling to help make games look better when running at lower resolutions, by pressing the quick settings button, selecting the lightning bolt icon (this will take you to the Steam Deck's performance settings), and scrolling down to Scaling Filter. Select Sharp to start upscaling the way I usually do, but there are other filters and modes for you to play with to find the right settings for you, too.

Make emulating games from older systems easy

Aside from playing PC games, you can also use the Steam Deck to emulate games from older systems, too. While you could install emulators yourself (programs that are legal, as long as they don't come with copyrighted software), industrious fans have created a tool to make installing all the emulators you could possibly need on your Steam Deck way simpler.

It's called Emudeck, and installing it as as simple as going to desktop mode, opening a browser to emudeck.com, clicking the Download button in the top-right corner, selecting steamOS, and running the install file from either your browser or the Downloads tab in the File Manager.

Honestly, there are a lot of install options you can select here—too many to list. If you're new to emulation, I suggest selecting Easy Mode, which will get you set up with EmuDeck's recommended settings. These should work for most people, but if you want to customize things like aspect ratios, filters, and which emulators you install, choose Custom Mode.

Go through the install process, and then to find your emulators, either open Emulation Station (or the alternative frontend you installed using Custom Mode) in gaming mode under Library > Non-Steam Games, or Steam ROM Manager by opening it in the "Start" menu.

As for actually getting games onto your device, you're generally on your own there: It relies on your collection of retro games and methods for getting files from it. However, many of the same steps outlined in this article will apply.

Make the Steam Deck's fan quieter

If your Steam Deck's fan is too loud, you don't have to just accept it. You've actually got multiple steps to control it, including one easy official toggle and one more advanced fan-made option.

Let's start with the official toggle. If your fan is too loud, press the Steam button on your device, then select System and scroll all the way down until you see Enable updated fan control. Toggle that on to make your fan quieter, but note that doing so could reduce performance, as your system won't handle heat as well (if this is already toggled, you can actually toggle it off to gain a potential performance boost).

Credit: NGnius

For more detailed control, install Decky Loader using the "Install plugins" hack on this list. Then, install the Fantastic plugin. This will allow you to set a custom fan curve for your Steam Deck, which will change the fan speed based on your Steam Deck's current temperature. Simply open the plug-in and tap on the curve under the FAN menu to adjust it to your liking.

Adjust the power draw for better battery life

Not every game needs your Steam Deck's full power. If you're playing a more lightweight title, considering lowering your Steam Deck's performance to save some battery life.

To do this, press the quick settings button and select the lighting bolt icon to access the performance menu. From here, you can adjust the TDP Limit to lower how much power your Steam Deck is allowed to use. By default, it's set to 15 Watts, but on some lightweight games, I've been able to get away with 8 watts or less. Play around to find the right power-to-performance balance for you, depending on your game.

While you're here, you can also set a Manual GPU Clock, which will lower your GPU's performance, and could also help you gain more battery life. Similarly, you can set your screen's refresh rate, which will reduce how many frame your system will be able to display per second, but could similarly extend your playtime.

Get a Steam Deck for cheap

Ever since Valve discontinued the Steam Deck LCD, the base price for the Steam Deck has been $550. Not bad for an OLED screen and all this device can do, but much more expensive than the former $400 starting price.

However, Valve will sometimes drop new batches of "certified refurbished" Steam Decks on its store page. These can go for as low as $279, and while these drops are rare, it's a hefty discount if you can find it.

Valve is your best bet to get a refurbished Steam Deck without any issues, but if you absolutely need one and can't wait for the next drop, you can try a third-party program. GameStop also sells its own refurbished Steam Decks, although at time of writing, stock is also low there.

Refurbished Steam Decks are probably worth keeping an eye out for, but don't plan on getting one if you really want a Steam Deck now.

Get Steam beta updates

Valve is constantly iterating SteamOS, but it can take a while for new features to reach the general public. If you can't wait to get the next big SteamOS update, though, you can easily sign up for beta features. To do so, press the Steam button, then navigate to Settings > System > Beta Participation. From here, join either the Beta or Preview update channels.

These will let you get new SteamOS features more quickly, although they can introduce instability. Still, if you're fine with tinkering, this will let you get your hands on features like display-off downloads more quickly.

Make your Steam Deck more colorful

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Finally, let's make that screen look a little more vibrant. This can be especially helpful if you're like me, and you have one of those discontinued LCD Steam Decks.

This used to be limited to a fan-made plugin, but Valve has now added official support for adjusting your Steam Deck's color settings. To access this, press the Steam button, and navigate to Settings > Display. From here, click Adjust Display Colors. You'll be taken to a menu where you can adjust the device's color temperature and vibrance, and see the results on a demo image right up top.

Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over.

• Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

It's not exactly easy to score a deal on game consoles right now. If anything, the cost of a shiny new PS5 is only getting higher. That means every dollar you can save on accessories or games is all the more important. So, we're rounding up the best deals we can find on console gaming and everything it entails.

The best Prime Day game console deals

I won't lie, this is a pretty meager category. The Meta Quest 3S is down to $250 (or $330 for a bundle that includes games like Batman: Arkham Shadow). On the other hand, almost every major game console has in fact raised prices recently, in response to new tariffs. The Xbox Series X climbed to $650, and the PS5 Pro rose to $750. The only major console that hasn't seen a price increase this year is the Switch 2—but Nintendo raised the prices on everything else it sells.

Unfortunately, since there's no way to predict when or how these trends might change, that means it's unlikely we'll see too many console deals before the holiday season (if even then). So, this is maybe a good time to look at refurbished models, like this PS5 Pro refurbished model for $620.

The best Prime Day console accessory deals

The market for third-party accessories is so much healthier than it's been in years past. For example, the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 wireless controller comes with its own charging dock, Hall effect triggers, and can be used for Windows and Android gaming for $45.

If you need extra storage on your PS5, this SSD from WD Black is my preference. For $180 right now, it adds 2TB of additional storage, and it's super easy to install. With game sizes ballooning every year, it takes a lot to install games without worrying about extra space, but this one has been up to that task for me.

There are also a few excellent deals on the official Xbox wireless controller ($51), this handy PS5 controller dock ($19), and the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds ($128), which happen to be my favorite earbuds overall.

The best Prime Day console game deals

Game prices are going through the roof, but the deals on them continue to flow (eventually). Here are some of the best deals we've found on games you might actually want to play:

PS5 Games:

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach ($50)

• Elden Ring ($30)

• Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth ($35)

• Returnal ($30)

• God of War Ragnarök ($30)

• Horizon Forbidden West ($30)

Xbox Games:

• Elden Ring ($27)

• Split Fiction ($25)

• Life Is Strange: Double Exposure ($24)

And, of course there's Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft recently announced its plan to raise the price of Game Pass, with the highest tier rising to an eye-watering $30 per month, which makes this deal to score three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $57 all the more timely. That comes out to slightly less than $20 per month, which is the old price for Ultimate. So you can buy yourself a bit of an extension on the price hike with this deal.

Nintendo Switch 2 Games:

Sorry, but there doesn't seem to be anything here—Nintendo game prices tend to be pretty sticky most days, and with the console being so new, there aren't likely to be sales on Switch 2 games for a bit just yet. However, original Switch owners can find a couple small deals on things like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Super Mario Odyssey.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

• Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

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Australian indie game studio Team Cherry released Hollow Knight: Silksong on Sept. 4, and within three weeks, the combat/platformer climbed up Steam's most played chart, made Xbox's most played list, and gained legions of fans on Switch and PlayStation consoles. So a lot of people are playing it. If you're one of them, and you've uncovered every secret in Pharloom (or you just need a break), here are 10 more games you might like.

They're (roughly) all in the metroidvania family of games, so they feature 2D platforming, exploration of interconnected worlds, and unlockable upgrades that both open new-areas and add skills. But those seemingly narrow genre conventions can contain everything from the lighthearted comedy of Guacamelee! to the grim, dark world of Blasphemous 2.

Hollow Knight (2017)

If you went out of order and played the sequel first, you can still go back and check out the first game. Made by the same studio as Silksong, Hollow Knight offers a similar mix of platforming, combat, and exploration in the same universe as Silksong. If you're into story, the lore revealed in Hollow Knight will almost definitely give context to everything in Silksong. Added bonus: while Hollow Knight is not an easy game by any definition, it has a more gentle learning curve than its sequel.

Hollow Knight is available on PC, Mac, Switch, Playstation, and Xbox systems.

Super Metroid (1994)

The metroidvania sub-genre is half-named for the Metroid series, so you gotta check out the blueprint. All of the Metroid games have their merit, but, in my opinion, the first entry in the series that totally gelled is 1994's Super Metroid, an all-time classic originally released for the Super Nintendo. The controls can take a little getting used to for modern gamers, but Metroid invented the "exploration+combat+platforming" genre vibe, and it's still a top-notch gaming experience, even for people who weren't born when the original came out.

Super Metroid is playable on every Nintendo system, from the Super Nintendo to the Switch 2.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (2001)

The "vania" part of the metroidvania genre refers to the Castlevania series, so video game archeologists who like Silksong would be doing themselves a huge favor by checking out some Castlevania. But be judicious in your choices: some games in the series are amazing and some are...less so. You could make a case for many other Castlevania games, but Circle of the Moon is my pick if you like Silksong. It's extremely challenging, features beautiful graphics (for 2001) and tons of secrets to uncover through open-world platforming, just like Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Circle of the Moon was re-released as part of the Castlevania Advance Collection (that also includes Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, and Castlevania: Dracula X) for Switch, PlayStation, Windows, and Xbox systems.

Animal Well (2024)

Enough moldy oldies! If your favorite parts of Silksong are the beautiful graphics, sweeping soundtrack, exploration, and deep lore, but you're not so hot on the combat and punishing platforming, check out Animal Well, a metroidvania game that's heavier on puzzles than fast reflexes. Animal Well is the kind of game you get deeply addicted to. It lures you in with beautiful visuals and a lighthearted vibe, but you'll soon find yourself awake at three in the morning, trying to uncover every last secret this work-of-video-game-art is hiding.

Animal Well is available for Windows, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems.

Cuphead (2017)

Okay, Cuphead isn't really a metroidvania game, but I'm including it here for people who crave the difficult platforming and punishing boss battles of Silksong, but don't really care for the exploration. This universally beloved game features a vibe based on cartoons from the 1920s and 30s, and presents players with some of the hardest boss battles in video game history. Like Silksong, Cuphead looks so stylish you might not expect the difficulty, but downing bosses is crazy hard, though it rarely feels frustrating because it's so satisfying.

Cuphead is playable on PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)

Both Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, are excellent follow-ups to Hollow Knight: Silksong. They look beautiful and offer the joy of exploration, combat using a myriad of constantly unlocking new powers, deep and engaging lore, and an extremely smooth progression from powerless nooblet to God-tier combatant.

You can play Ori and the Blind Forest on Switch, PC, and Xbox systems.

Cave Story (2004)

Back in 2004, Cave Story was envisioned as a throwback to the golden age of Nintendo platformers of the 1980s. The ensuing 20 years of gaming added an extra layer of nostalgia, but Cave Story totally works, no matter what era you play it in. Level design has rarely been done better, the story starts simple but moves in surprising directions, and the pixel art style still looks retro-fresh. The gameplay is more linear than the Hollow Knight games, but it still offers a world of hidden secrets to uncover, addictive platforming, and creative boss battles.

You can play Cave Story on PC, Mac, and Switch.

Islets (2022)

If you've just finished Silksong, your cramped-up hands could probably use a break. A bit of an undiscovered gem, Islets is an indie metrovania game with a cozy vibe courtesy of graphics that look hand-drawn, smooth-as-butter gameplay, an intriguing story, and memorable, hilarious characters. Many of the elements are shared across games, but Islets differs from Silksong in terms of mood and difficulty. Where Silksong is heavy on dark mystery, Islets is more charming, funny, and hopeful. It's also a lot more forgiving if you have slower reflexes.

You can play Islets on PC, Switch, and Xbox systems.

Guacamelee! (2013)

Speaking of giving yourself a break, Guacamelee! is 180-degree tonal change Hollow Knight: Silksong. Inspired by Mexican folklore, Guacamelee! casts the player as a luchador saving a colorful world through beating up tons of bad guys. It nearly totally lacks the broody energy of Hollow Knight: Silksong, but the 2D platforming, skill-based progression, and exploration of interconnected world will be familiar.

You can play Guacamelee! on PC, Mac, Xbox, Playstation, and Switch systems.

Blasphemous 2 (2023)

If you want a game that's darker than Hollow Knight: Silksong, Blasphemous 2 might be the download for you. Its Spanish Gothic visuals are a far cry from the colorful world of Hollow Knight, and its dark, religious tone and brutally visceral combat provides a nice contrast to Silksong's cute vibe. Looks and tone-wise, Blasphemous 2 sits squarely on the "Castlevania" side of metroidvanias, but maybe the darkest of its many secrets is that it's not as punishingly difficult as the Hollow Knight games.

You can play Blasphemous 2 on PC, Switch, Playstation, and Xbox consoles.

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Here we go again. After hiking the price of Xbox consoles earlier this year, Microsoft just announced it is already raising prices again—the second price hike in four months. Now, even Microsoft's cheapest console, the Xbox Series S, will cost at least $400.

As someone who got an Xbox Series S for $150 a few years back, that stings. (Granted, I got a really good deal. Still.) Microsoft is blaming "changes in the macroeconomic environment" for the new prices, so read into that what you will.

How much more expensive will the Xbox be?

Here is what Microsoft's consoles will cost after the new pricing takes effect:

• Xbox Series S (512GB): $400 (was $380)

• Xbox Series S (1TB): $450 (was $430)

• Xbox Series X Digital Edition: $600 (was $550)

• Xbox Series X: $650 (was $600)

Keep in mind that even after Sony's own price hikes, U.S. gamers can still get a PS5 for $550 and a PS5 Digital Edition for $500. Yes, Microsoft's consoles technically start cheaper, but the Series S is more comparable to the original Nintendo Switch than an Xbox Series X or a PS5, and $400 is a lot to pay for it—although the original Switch also got its own price hike just last month, and the OLED model of that machine will also now run you $400. If you're comparing apples to apples, though, Sony's console is about to be a good bit cheaper than Microsoft's.

Gamers who prize physical media will be the hardest hit, as to get a disc drive on your machine, you have to opt for a non-digital Xbox Series X, which means you're going to get a bigger price increase than your peers. The last jump bumped the Xbox Series S up by $80 and the Series X by $100, while this one increases the Xbox Series S by $20 and the Xbox Series X by $50.

On the plus side, Microsoft said pricing for controllers and headsets "will remain the same," which isn't how it went last time around. Maybe that's a hint at the overall console strategy: Microsoft has been investing a lot in cloud gaming recently, and you technically don't even need a console to play its games. In that case, upping pricing on its hardware is maybe a bit less risky for the Halo folks than the God of War ones.

And I haven't even touched on Microsoft's most expensive machine. If you're an Xbox loyalist and you want to go all-in on its 2TB Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Special Edition, that will now run you $800, a $70 bump in the price tag. Honestly, at that point, you could probably just get a PC instead.

There is something you can do about these price increases, even if it kind of feels like giving in to a ransom: They won't go in effect until Oct. 3rd, so if you were still on the fence about getting an Xbox, now is the time to act. You'll still have to deal with the price hike from May, but at least you'll save between $20 and $70.

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It's been a little over two months since the Nintendo Switch 2 came out, and Nintendo is already raising prices ... on the original Nintendo Switch. In a short and not-so-sweet blog posted to the company's website last week, Nintendo said that it would "adjust" U.S. pricing for all models of the Switch 1 starting on Aug. 3.

Time has passed, and the new pricing is here. According to Nintendo's website, the standard Switch 1 is now $340 (up from $300), while the OLED model is now $400 (up from $350) and the portable-only Lite version is now $230 (up from $200). In addition, the company's also raised the pricing for certain accessories, as a pair of Switch 1 Joy-Cons now costs $90 (up from $80). Even the Alarmo alarm clock is $10 pricier. Note that you may temporarily see alternate pricing at other outlets, as they either move stock they already have or work to update their listings. However, the new pricing is the plan going forward.

It's an odd move to raise prices on such an old device, especially right after releasing its successor, the Nintendo Switch 2. Notably, with the new pricing, the Switch OLED is now only $50 cheaper than a Switch 2 itself (which does lack an OLED screen, but can play exclusive games and makes numerous other improvements).

So what's the reason? Well, Nintendo's blog specifically blames the price hikes on "market conditions," and these higher costs follow yet more tariffs in the United States.

The news that the Switch 1 would get more expensive came just a day after an executive order from the White House that once again threatened trading partners with tariffs, set to kick in on Aug. 7. Japan, Nintendo's home country, was hit with a 15% tariff, and while that's not quite as high as some countries are having to deal with (Switzerland is getting a 39% tariff), it's also not nothing. Plus, much of the Switch's production takes place in Vietnam, which is staring down a 20% tariff.

Given that the new Switch 1 pricing is an increase of about 13%, it's not hard to figure out what happened here. Interestingly, the Switch 2 is not getting any price increases, though, but that might be to help keep sales momentum going after the console recently doubled the first-month sales of the original.

Also not getting price increases are Switch or Switch 2 games themselves, as well as Nintendo Switch Online memberships.

The news follows a separate price hike for Switch 1 systems in Canada, which saw $20 price increases on the Switch and Switch Lite, and a $40 price increase on the Switch OLED.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Prime Day ended last week but it's still not too late to take advantage of some of the best Prime Day deals on gaming monitors. Most of the deals on Samsung monitors are still active, with a few models reaching some of their lowest prices ever, according to price tracking tools.

One particularly notable deal is on this 49-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G93SC, which is currently $899.99 (down from $1,599.99. This is the same price it hit during Prime Day.

Samsung 49" Odyssey OLED (G93SC)

QD-OLED, 240Hz, 0.03ms, DQHD, G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro,Height Adjustable Stand

$899.99 at Amazon

$1,599.99 Save $700.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$899.99 at Amazon

$1,599.99 Save $700.00

A 44% discount on a Samsung OLED gaming monitor is worth paying attention to. (OLEDs are inherently expensive, so the best time to get one is on sale.) This monitor happens to be one of the best gaming monitors of 2025, according to IGN (provided you have the proper desk space for it), so you don't want to miss out.

The specs are impressive: 5120x1440 resolution, insanely fast 240Hz refresh rate, VRR, and HDR10 compatibility. The 32:9 aspect ratio makes it a super ultra-wide display, the equivalent of putting two regular 16:9 monitors side by side. (You can actually plug two display cables to use it like two 27-inch 1440p monitors if you feel like being productive.) The 0.03ms input lag is minuscule, making competitive gaming with quick response times more than possible.

Because this is an OLED, you'll get the best contrast with colors that pop. It offers the signature visuals of an OLED TV, with the specs and responsiveness to handle heavy gaming. Samsung's Quantum Dot technology also lowers the chances of suffering burn-in.

In short, for the price, this is the best gaming monitor you can get right now.

This week, I'm contemplating camping out at my nearest Best Buy to score a Nintendo Switch 2. Meanwhile, my kids have zero desire to encourage me in this pursuit, because the only gaming platform they truly care about is Roblox (my son also committed the sacrilege of calling Mario Kart "boring.")

If you've somehow never heard of Roblox, you probably don't have kids yourself (the first time my daughter asked me if she could try it out, sometime during the early part of the pandemic, I thought she was calling it "Road Blocks"). It's not a gaming system, or even a game, but an online platform/social hub that allows players to access any one of thousands of independently developed, (sort of) free-to-play games I'd mostly describe as both ugly and asinine. Kids, who famously have no taste, love it—40% of the platform's 85 million daily users are under 13.

My first impression of Roblox was that all the games look terrible (they're all built on the same blocky gaming engine, which doesn't foreground visual complexity, to put it nicely) and played worse. The controls tend to be laggy and cumbersome on both a laptop and a mobile device, and the gameplay is often barely that. Many games seem to be variations on the concept of a "skinner box," where the entire point is to play them long enough to level up and get better items to unlock harder challenges that will require you to play long enough to level up and get better items—which is fine if the gameplay is satisfying. But "games" like Sword Simulator don't require you to do anything but walk around and slash at enemies that can't hit back, building experience as you move. You can even set them to "AFK Mode" (that's "away from keyboard") and they will play themselves. Progressing in these games often involves taking shortcuts that cost "Robux," the in-game currency you buy with real-world dollars. Fun.

For a long time I found my kids' obsession with Roblox both mystifying and annoying—especially when they'd refuse to play real video games (Mario) with me instead. Finally, I decided to put in a good-faith effort to figure out why so many kids like Roblox, and not only because I was worried about reports that its a place where minors are often scammed and exploited, or worse; aside from those larger, and certainly pertinent, issues, I also just wanted to try to bond with them over something they liked instead of expecting them to share my own views about what games are fun (Mario).

After some trial and error (Roblox is hardly intuitive to anyone who didn't grow up fused to an iPad), I was heartened to discover that some Roblox games are...actually kind of fun to play with your kids, or even by yourself after they go to bed. They don't conform to my concept of what a video game should be, but they aren't universally terrible, and now I'm sometimes actually willing to say yes when the kids ask if we can play them together. Here are six Roblox games our family has enjoyed (and to be fair to my kids, they also have played a lot of Mario with me).

Grow a Garden

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

You know a Roblox game has escaped containment once The New York Times starts writing about it—and Grow a Garden is one of the most popular Roblox games ever in terms of concurrent users, surpassing the daily average users of the likes of Fortnite. You can think of it as Roblox's answer to that old Facebook mainstay Farmville, and it's my family's current group obsession. The gameplay involves a pretty simple progression loop—you buy and plant seeds and sell the resulting fruits and veggies for cash to buy more seeds, eventually building up a bank account large enough to afford rarer seeds that yield yet more valuable produce—that quickly grows addictive: Once you have enough money to cultivate a good crop, you can set about spending your excess funds oh tools and upgrades to make your garden look cooler and enhance the value of your crops via "mutations" that can make them grow huge or multi-colored (random in-game weather events can also trigger mutations, which encourages you to keep playing, as you must be online to benefit).

New seeds are introduced periodically, and to keep things interesting in-between weekly moderator events, there are crafting, pet-raising, and pet mechanics. The best part of Grow a Garden is that it is satisfying to play even if you never spend a cent on Robux—you can use the in-game currency to skip quests and avoid waiting for plants to grow or pets to mature, but otherwise, they're mostly unnecessary. (This doesn't stop my son from asking for more Robux anyway.)

Play Grow a Garden

Toilet Tower Defense

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

This is probably my son's (and my) favorite Roblox game, but it has a high barrier to entry, in that it's built on the back of the "Skibidi Toilet" phenomenon, which is probably too much to get into here. (Luckily, Lifehacker's Steven Johnson has digested it for you.) But once you've accepted the fact that your goal in the game is to build up an army of robots to defend your base against waves of attacking toilet monsters, it's actually a pretty fun twist on the "tower defense" genre of gaming. Gameplay is a mix of active battles in which you deploy your resources and upgrade them before your forces are overcome by toilets, and quests/commerce/trading, which is how you can obtain better battle units.

To really do well, you have to spend a lot of time playing, but you can also spend some real money on Robux or gems, two distinct types of in-game currency that can earn you stronger fighters. That said, you can also play it without spending any money at all, and it's a great co-op experience, as all players in a match work together toward the same goal.

Play Toilet Tower Defense

Dress to Impress

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

My daughter would prefer she never have to hear about Toilet Tower Defense again, but she loves Dress to Impress, and everyone in the family gets a kick out of playing it together. It's a far simpler concept, not unlike playing dress up with Barbie dolls: Each round has a theme (from "Beach Day," to "First Date," to "Classic Goth"). You have a few minutes to navigate your avatar around a dressing room and select garments and colors and patterns that match the prompt, and modify your hair and makeup. It ends with a runway walk where you can rate other players' outfits, but in my experience, no one takes the judging very seriously, so it all feels very low stakes.

I do have a few nitpicks with this one: The standard wardrobe options are somewhat limited, and you'll need to pay about $7 in Robux to unlock "VIP Status" if you want more variety. You can choose a male or female avatar, but they can't share clothes, and the male options are pitiful. (There's also a weird bit of in-game lore about the NPC nail tech that creeped my son out, but that's neither here nor there.)

Play Dress to Impress

Mega Hide and Seek

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

If your house is too small for a real game of hide and seek, this game takes it online. Players are shrunk down and thrown together into one of a dozen or so familiar environments, from a classroom to a child's bedroom, and assigned the role of either a hider or a seeker (duh). They must then navigate their mouse-sized avatar around the room, looking for or avoiding the other players, before the timer runs out. Different game modes spice things up, from a winter mode that makes everything slippery, to a "zombie" variation in which everyone the seeker tags is infected and becomes a seeker too.

That's basically it—I appreciate Mega Hide and Seek because you can do basically everything in the game without buying Robux, which only earn you the right to choose the map and game mode.

Play Mega Hide and Seek

Murder Mystery 2

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

This one probably isn't the best choice for parents who feel iffy about their kids hunting one another down with knives, but the name implies more scares and graphic violence than the game actually delivers. In practice, it's actually not all that different from Mega Hide and Seek: Players are assigned a role—Innocent, Murderer, or Sheriff—and dropped into one of a handful of random maps and given a few minutes to survive. The Murderer has to hunt other players, the Sheriff has to kill the murderer, and everyone else just has to stay alive. Rounds are fun and fast, there's no blood or gore involved, and it all plays out like a simplified version of Among Us. (Incidentally, this is an update to a game called Murder Mystery—hence the "2"—but you can no longer go back and play the original.)

Play Murder Mystery 2

Epic Minigames

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

We play a lot of Mario Party as a family, but given large age differences and varying emotional regulation skills, it doesn't always go well. A few rounds of Epic Minigames delivers the same flavor of gameplay—everyone competes frantically in a series of brief, simple challenges that last a minute or two each—with less of the board game trappings that can lead to hurt feelings. The challenges are usually pretty mindless (stand on a colored square and hope the floor doesn't drop out from under you, run away from giant spikes before they can slam into you, etc.), but they don't take much dexterity and are over before you have a chance to get bored. Plus, there's really no need to buy Robux to play it—though of course, the game developers are happy to let you spend them on stuff like in-game pets and special death animations if you really want to. (I do not.)

Play Epic Minigames

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I own an Xbox Series X, a PS5, and a PC. Somehow, I never ended up buying a Nintendo Switch. But I've kept tracking deals on the system for all this time, and during Prime Day 2025, I've finally found a good enough deal on the Nintendo Switch OLED that I considered pulling the trigger—and even though Prime Day is over, the deal is still live.

Yes, the Switch OLED is four years old at this point, but it features a few quality of life improvements over the original Switch that make it worth it, even in light of the Nintendo Switch 2's recent launch. Until July 19 (or until inventory runs out; whichever comes first), you can get the Nintendo Switch OLED with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for $275 from Woot!, an Amazon-owned site.

Nintendo Switch OLED (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle)

$275.00 at Woot!

$350.00 Save $75.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$275.00 at Woot!

$350.00 Save $75.00

Keep in mind that this deal is for international models of the system. That means that these units were originally intended for sale outside of the U.S., but due to some oddities with supply and demand, they're now available in the U.S. Nintendo of America probably won't honor the warranty that you'd otherwise get with a Switch you buy in the U.S., which could be a dealbreaker for some people, but you will be able to buy, download and play digital games just fine. Notably, Woot! offers a 90-day limited warranty, so if something goes wrong with your console in the first three months after you buy it, you can contact the store for help.

Still, you're mostly on your own once you buy this thing. I have some experience with that, since Nintendo doesn't have an official presence where I live (India). Its consoles and games are available here through some local retailers, but they have to import them from other regions. We don't get any warranty support from Nintendo at all, but in general, I haven't heard of too many cases of the Switch breaking down. If that's a risk you can live with, then this is a good deal on a console that's going to be relevant for years to come.

The real question is: Should you buy this Switch, or save up for a Switch 2 instead? If you've never had a Switch, or if you want to introduce a kid in your neighborhood to Nintendo's games, then the Switch OLED is a great starting point at this sub-$300 price. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe itself costs $60 normally, and it's hard to find a deal that gets you the game under $40. You're guaranteed dozens of hours of fun co-op gaming with that title alone. As it is backwards-compatible, I recommend grabbing the Switch 2 if you have the cash, but since that console doesn't have many exclusives right now, the Switch OLED can still play most of the games you're going to find on the new system. Also, it's not like you're going to find a sale on that machine much more expensive machine any time soon.

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If you missed your shot to get a Nintendo Switch 2 when it launched early last month, your best chance to grab one without a lot of effort on your part is coming later this week. As with most console launches in recent times, stock of Nintendo's new flagship system is still hard to come by, so this drop should come as a relief for anyone who wants to get in on the company's newest generation of games as soon as possible. Even better, it coincides with the release of the Switch 2's first explusive, Nintendo-made 3D platformer, Donkey Kong Bananza.

The restock comes courtesy of Best Buy, which recently posted a surprise note to its website that every single location will have Switch 2 units to sell this Thursday, July 17. The catch? They will only be available in stores, and while you can pre-order Donkey Kong Bananza, there's currently no reservation system in place for the console itself. That probably means you'll have to deal with an old-fashioned first come, first served line, although I've reached out to Best Buy for additional details and will update this post when I hear back.

Also unclear is which Nintendo Switch 2 packages will be available. At launch, the Switch 2 was sold both individually for $450 and in a bundle with Mario Kart World for $500, saving you $30 on the normally $80 game. Again, I've asked Best Buy for details, but it's possible the Mario Kart bundle won't be part of Thursday's restock.

Is it a good time to buy the Switch 2?

Whether this restock will be worth lining up for depends on how much of a stickler you are for fidelity and which Nintendo franchises you care about most. When I reviewed the Switch at launch, I was impressed by its power, battery life, and its slightly sleeker, more grownup design, but I couldn't help feeling like it doesn't offer a lot for the average gamer just yet. At release, it was (and still is) a great way to play Switch 1 games, actually improving their graphics and performance in some ways, but the library of exclusives was/is pretty limited. Getting one at launch made sense if you were desperate for new Mario Kart, but I advised others to wait.

Now, with Donkey Kong Bananza joining the Switch 2's library, it might be time to bite the Bullet Bill. The title is the first 3D Donkey Kong platformer since the Nintendo 64 era, so fans of the unruly ape should be happy. It's also notably a new game from the team behind the beloved Super Mario Odyssey. That's bound to be a big draw for many Nintendo diehards, and I can understand not wanting to wait to play it.

Plus, getting a Switch 2 now will set you up for Metroid Prime 4's release sometime later this year. While that game will also be available on the original Switch, I've already had a chance to play an early demo of the Switch 2 version using the optional mouse controls, and it felt so intuitive that I'm not sure I could go back.

You have other options

Still, you're probably not going to see a discount during this restock, or any other kinds of price drops quite yet, so I get if you're still on the fence. If you're not ready to show up early to buy a full-priced console, your Best Buy might be out of by the time you get there, so you can also try joining Amazon's waitlist for one (either the console alone or the bundle with Mario Kart World), although it might be a while until you get an invitation to buy one that way.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Prime Day 2025 ends tonight, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. 

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

Sales on first-party Nintendo games are rare, but if you're OK with spending about $40 per game this Prime Day, you can get recent releases from some of the company's biggest franchises, including Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Pokémon.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

$47.99 at Walmart

Get Deal

Get Deal

$47.99 at Walmart

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

$42.99

$59.99 Save $17.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$42.99

$59.99 Save $17.00

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

$47.99

$69.99 Save $22.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$47.99

$69.99 Save $22.00

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

$44.99

$59.99 Save $15.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$44.99

$59.99 Save $15.00

Super Mario Odyssey

$39.39 at Walmart

$67.19 Save $27.80

Get Deal

Get Deal

$39.39 at Walmart

$67.19 Save $27.80

Super Mario RPG

$34.99

$59.99 Save $25.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$34.99

$59.99 Save $25.00

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

$39.99

$59.99 Save $20.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$39.99

$59.99 Save $20.00

Super Mario Party Jamboree

$44.99

$59.99 Save $15.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$44.99

$59.99 Save $15.00

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

$42.99

$59.99 Save $17.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$42.99

$59.99 Save $17.00

Pokémon Legends Arceus

$44.99

$59.99 Save $15.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$44.99

$59.99 Save $15.00

SEE 7 MORE

Twenty-eight percent or so might sound like a modest discount, but in Nintendo bucks, it's a king's ransom. And the selection is pretty solid, too. No, there aren't any Nintendo Switch 2 games on sale yet, but if you're still on the original Nintendo Switch, there's enough here to give you hours of fun. (alternately, you can take advantage of the Switch 2's release to also get an original Switch on the cheap right now, then use these game deals to beef up your library.)

Switch 1 mainstays like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey stand out as must-haves here, but personally, I'm impressed to see more recent games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom already getting marked down. Whether you like platformers, party games, or RPGs, there's something to appeal to you here. And yes, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is on sale, too.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

$42.99

$59.99 Save $17.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$42.99

$59.99 Save $17.00

The only catch? A good chunk of these sales are on Woot!. Woot! is an Amazon subsidiary, so you don't have to worry about getting scammed, but stock often tends to move faster there than on its bigger brother. It's a race to the flagpole, folks.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Home Depot have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

• Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale begins at midnight on July 8 and will include deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+. 

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale, “Black Friday in July,” runs through Sunday, July 13 and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Prime Day 2025 ends tonight, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. 

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

You can't just buy a Nintendo Switch 2. You need screen protectors, a carrying case, and other accessories to keep things protected and organized. That's why I'm ordering this Switch 2 accessories bundle. And doing it fast, because Prime Day is almost over.

the bundle contains a carrying case, two screen protectors, Joy-Con cases and grips, steering wheel accessory, a game card case, and more. And all that is only $29.98, which is worth it for the case and the screen protectors alone. Not only is that a crazy low price, it also means you won't have the hassle of individually hunting down each of these things separately.

Binbok Switch 2 Accessories Bundle

$29.98

$49.99 Save $20.01

Get Deal

Get Deal

$29.98

$49.99 Save $20.01

The company says the case is waterproof, drop-resistant, and shockproof. It comes with a handle, mesh pocket for small items, and 12 game card slots.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have Prime Day competition sales that are running through July 13, and are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

• Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale begins at midnight on July 13 and will include deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+. 

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale, “Black Friday in July,” runs through July 13 and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.