A Sale on Steam Deck Friendlies, Up to 92% off Ultimate Editions, and a Mass Effect Historical Low!

When I'm not scouring the web for Black Friday deals, one of my favorite pastimes is speedrunning what I deem to be one of the best video games ever made, Dishonored. I must have played Arkane's 2012 classic upward of 100 times at this point, and while full playthroughs refuse to get old because I never fail to find something new, I have so much fun trying to beat my ghost / clean hands speedrun time whenever I go back to it these days. 

THQ Nordic has released its best look yet at upcoming multiplayer game South Park: Snow Day in an official gameplay trailer, but some fans are a little put off by its 3D art style.

Whenever a new movie prequel is announced, even the core audience that loved the original work sometimes responds with a resounding ugh. Who can blame anyone for dismissing out of hand the marketing formulation that gave us 2007’s Hannibal Rising, 1979’s Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, or 2004’s Exorcist: The Beginning? Prequels tell stories where the end has been predetermined, often without beloved key actors, prompting unflattering comparisons to inimitable classics. (Like what happened with the Star Wars prequel movies.)

Welcome back to Black Frida—er, week. Though the official day of deals itself kicks off on the 23rd, a bunch of retailers have jumped the gun way earlier with their bargains. Join me below as I make sense of this amorphous sales frenzy. I've picked out the truly exceptional price drops on the games and peripherals that are actually worth caring about.

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Thank your own personal deity—possibly Yim Lau Wong—it's (almost Black) Friday. I couldn't tell you why, but the onslaught of said sales period has hit much earlier than anticipated today. We are awash with bargains, friend. Stake your claim on some ridiculously cheap stuff before it's gone, and have a wonderful weekend.

If money's tight and you're hanging for a holiday, it's time to make a more creative getaway booking. Might I suggest you purchase a low-cost ticket to the Mushroom Kingdom, perhaps followed by an extended layover in the Galar or Sinnoh regions. They're all absolutely lovely this time of year. Though with the latter two options, well, you'll be constantly ambushed by native wildlife. So maybe get that rabies shot.

Welcome back to another glorious midpoint of the week that's filled with mad savings. Top of the list has got to be that PC Warner Bros. bundle because holy fiscally responsible decisions, Batman, that's a lot for a little. I'm also liking Harvey's take on Animal Crossing's official RRP. Personally, I'm just hoping for Amazon to match, so I can score some sweet free delivery action with Prime.

Welcome to another day of percolating pre-Black Friday bargains. For whatever reason, those fund-saving festivities have kicked off way earlier than usual. I'm seeing a bunch of Amazon AU scores on my radar, and the PlayStation Store has fired the first holiday season salvo with an Up To 75% Off Essentials Sale. Obviously, the term 'essentials' gets stretched pretty far there, but I did cherry-pick some actual gold for you...

In a groundbreaking move, Snap, the visionary parent company behind Snapchat, has joined forces with OpenAI to usher in a new era of augmented reality (AR) experiences. The announcement, made at the sixth annual Lens Fest, revealed a strategic partnership aimed at empowering developers to seamlessly integrate ChatGPT into their AR Lenses, ushering in a wave of innovative learning, conversational, and creative possibilities for Snapchatters.

Happy Friday, Polygon readers!

Thank your own personal deity—possibly The Outsider—it's Friday! I recommend you stock up for the weekend by using Fanatical's continuing flash sales and some console AAA price drops on Amazon. Personally, I'll be looking into a purchase of that reduced third-party PS5 charger stand. Those things are always handy when USB ports are at a premium.