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2024 has been an amazing year for roguelikes

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2024 has been an amazing year for roguelikes

The roguelike genre has turned from a relative niche into something much bigger. Roguelike games can be famously tough to crack into; generally, they have a high difficulty that means you’ll bang your head against a wall as you learn how to play the game, puzzle out what strategies work best in the procedurally generated levels, and figure out how to overcome tough enemies or challenges. 2024 showed that the genre wasn’t only a commercial force through hits like Hades II and Balatro, and also that a roguelike could be almost anything: from a poker variant to a flashy multiplayer action game.

Speaking of Balatro, it was undoubtedly one of, if not the, best games of the year. The game is supremely easy to pick up because of its roots in building traditional poker hands, but each round feels wildly different because of the clever and sometimes superpowered joker cards that can give you massive bonuses. The game is a perfect mix of skill, risk, and a little bit of luck, and it feels so good when you find a strategy that completely stacks the chips in your favor. I think I’ll be playing Balatro for years to come, especially with whatever’s cooking for the game’s upcoming major update. And now that the game is out on mobile, I can play wherever I want.

That is, when I’m not dipping my toes back into Hades II. The game, which is still in early access, is shaping up to be a worthy successor to Hades, and it’s arguably more fully fleshed out than many finished titles. I’ve already put more than 30 hours into Hades II, and I feel like I still have so much to unlock and master, but I’ve intentionally held myself back from playing more so that I don’t burn out on the game before it reaches v1.0. I only beat the new boss in the most recent major update a single time before deciding that was enough.

There are a couple other roguelikes that I have loved and want to put more time into but haven’t because of the sheer volume of other games in the genre to check out. Shogun Showdown, which is all about tactics and positioning, makes you feel like a genius by showing you the future. I really enjoyed getting a handle on the game’s weapons and items so that I could pull off well-planned combos against waves of enemies.

Windblown, the new roguelike from Dead Cells creators Motion Twin, takes a lot of what makes Dead Cells great and translates it to 3D. Weapons are varied, satisfying, and can combo well with each other. The game’s biomes are creative and fun to explore, with lots of nooks and crannies. But where Windblown really shines is its multiplayer — until playing the game, I had no idea how good roguelikes could be with friends. Like Hades, Windblown is also in early access, so I’m expecting to play it a lot more next year as Motion Twin makes major updates.

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And those are just the new roguelikes I’ve actually been able to put time into this year. There are still a bunch more that I want to play or have barely touched that seem extremely promising. Vampire Survivors got two major crossover DLCs that I want to dig into: one with Contra and one with Castlevania. (I’ve only played a couple rounds of the Castlevania expansion, and I was tickled at just how large the map was.) And while I’m talking about Vampire Survivors: Halls of Torment, which is kind of like Vampire Survivors mixed with an old-school Diablo aesthetic, left early access, and I want to check out what’s changed since I first dabbled in it last year.

The Rogue Prince of Persia, a roguelike take on classic Prince of Persia action and platforming, is an example of how big publishers like Ubisoft are jumping into the genre — and it seems like something that’s right up my alley. Rogue is another early access roguelike on this list, but it’s gotten a bunch of big updates since its May launch, including a significant update in November that revamped the art style and added new biomes, bosses, and more. I should also mention that Rogue also has a Dead Cells connection: it’s made by Evil Empire, the studio that worked on many Dead Cells updates and DLCs, which gives me a lot of faith that they’ll do a great job shepherding the game to its eventual full launch. 

Heck, 2024 has been such a banner year for roguelikes that even the 2014 classic The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth got a significant new DLC update that added online multiplayer.

The sheer amount of great roguelikes just this year shows that the framework of the genre offers a lot of ways to make interesting games. I particularly appreciate how they’re generally more digestible than blockbuster epics. Next year has some promising roguelikes like Slay the Spire 2 and Hyper Light Breaker, but I know I’ll be returning to a lot of 2024’s excellent roguelikes over and over again — well, after just one more round of Balatro.

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It’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live

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It’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live

Editor’s note: That’s a wrap, folks! As Prime Day 2025 draws to a close, we’ll no longer be updating this article with additional deals and insights. Plenty of great deals remain, however, so be sure to check out all of our Prime Day coverage for anything you may have missed.

There are mere hours left of Amazon’s extended Prime Day extravaganza. And, yeah, we’re a little exhausted, but after days of lightning deals and all-time low prices, these discounts won’t be around for much longer. So, if you’ve been hesitant to jump on these laptop deals before heading back to school, now’s your time to act. Typically, Prime Day is your last opportunity to take advantage of bottom-dollar prices until Black Friday / Cyber Monday, so it may be a while before you see prices plummet on a gadget you’re interested in buying.

Really, there’s an overwhelming amount of Prime Day deals, so to make things easier to navigate, we’ve organized all of our favorites by category below. That will allow you to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for — or even uncover a deal on something you didn’t know you wanted.

Tablet and e-reader deals

Soundbar and Bluetooth speaker deals

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Verge favorites and other miscellaneous deals

Update, July 11th: Added several more deals, including those for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Razer’s Kishi Ultra mobile controller, and Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus.

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Massive scam spreading designed to trick you and steal your money

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Massive scam spreading designed to trick you and steal your money

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Look at the image. That’s not the real Omaha Steaks. It’s from a fake site designed to steal your money.

It’s happening all over the internet right now. You see a great deal on name-brand stuff, a new smartwatch, fancy cookware, maybe some designer jeans, and you click. 

Everything looks real. The logos, the layout, even Apple and Google Pay are options. But it’s a scam, and now your credit card info is out there.

5-MINUTE CLEANUP FOR YOUR PHONE AND COMPUTER

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A massive scam targeting you

Silent Push analysts uncovered thousands of fake websites posing as trusted stores like Apple, Michael Kors, Harbor Freight, REI, Omaha Steaks and more. There’s a massive global scam operation that uses real payment methods on fake checkout pages. Like thousands-of-sites massive.

An image of a fake “Omaha Steaks” website designed to steal your money. (Silent Push)

The twist? The criminals, likely based in China, take your payment and ghost you. No product. No refund. No customer service. Total fake-out.

I’M A TECH PRO AND THESE ARE MY SECRETS TO BETTER FLIGHTS AND LUXURY TRAVEL

They cloned sites

They’re copying everything. Logos, layouts, even the checkout process, so much so that you’d swear you were on the real REI website while buying $10 trail shoes. 

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But there were some sites with mismatched logos and products. A Harbor Freight clone showed Wrangler jeans.

photo illustration of person holding a credit card shopping online

FILE PHOTO: A photo illustration of a person shopping online. (iStock)

Even worse: These scam sites are popping up faster than hosting companies can take them down. Many are still up right now.

IS YOUR PHONE LISTENING TO EVERYTHING YOU SAY? IT’S COMPLICATED

Don’t fall for it 

  • Slow down and read. Misspelled words, weird domain names like “nordstromltems.com” (that’s an L, not an I) or random products are huge red flags.
  • Use virtual cards or a credit card. Not a debit card. You need that fraud protection.
  • Stick to the real URL. Skip the sketchy ads. Always type the URL in yourself.
  • If the deal looks too good, it probably is a scam. Period.
Hacking

FILE PHOTO: A photo illustration of a cybercriminal. (iStock)

Bottom line: If the deal looks like it crawled straight out of your dreams, it’s probably from your nightmares. Slow down before you click “buy.” 

Now you know this is happening. This scam campaign is a big one, and you need to stay sharp. Help save the world and use the icons below to share this know-how with your family and friends.

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Here are 58 Prime Day deals you can still nab for $50 or less

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Here are 58 Prime Day deals you can still nab for  or less

Amazon Prime Day is an excellent time to save on a wide range of big-ticket items, including 4K TVs, laptops, and the latest pairs of noise-canceling headphones. But if you, like me, are in the market for something more budget-friendly, rest assured that there are plenty of deals to be had for $50 or less. Thankfully, we’ve sifted through hundreds of discounts to find a host of Bluetooth speakers, charging accessories, video games, smart home devices, and other gadgets that come in under that threshold. It’s the final day of Prime Day, which means these deals aren’t going to be available for much longer.

While Prime Day 2025 runs a little longer than previous installments — the event lasts through July 11th this year — these sub-$50 deals might sell out quickly. The good news is retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy are matching Amazon’s pricing in some instances, giving you more places to shop over the next few days. We’ll continue to update this post as Prime Day progresses, but for now, feel free to browse the options below.

Headphone and earbud deals

Other miscellaneous deals

Update, July 11th: Adjusted to reflect current pricing and availability, and to provide a link for readers to our coverage of Prime Day day four.

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