The best October Prime Day gaming deals: Save on PS5 games, headsets, controllers and more
Amazon’s October Prime Day sale tends to be a decent source of discounts for gaming gear, and the latest iteration of its “Prime Big Deal Days” event seems to be no exception. A number of games, headsets, mice, controllers and other accessories we like are currently on sale, so if you just can’t wait until Black Friday, we’ve rounded up the best Prime Day deals on gaming devices below. We’ll update this post as we find more; just remember that you need to be a Prime member to access some of the offers.
Split Fiction (Xbox) for $25 ($25 off): A pick from our guide to the best couch co-op games, Split Fiction is a imaginative crowd-pleaser that’s designed from the ground up to be played with another person. As in, you literally need a second person to play it. Like It Takes Two before it, it overcomes some hacky writing with brisk action, a lighthearted tone and a Nintendo-like commitment to presenting new methods of play. This deal for the Xbox copy represents the lowest price we’ve tracked, though the PS5 version is also on sale if you’d rather play there.
Elden Ring (PS5) for $30 ($20 off): You’ve probably heard about it by now, but the action-RPG Elden Ring is both challenging and darkly funny, with a world that runs incredibly deep and feels lived-in a way few games have. It’s unafraid to test your resolve, yet it always grants you the freedom to simply turn around and find another path forward.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) for $35 ($15 off): Engadget’s Mat Smith gave this grandiose action-RPG a favorable review last year. You need to have played its predecessor — and ideally, the original PS1 game — to get the most out of it, but it’s positively stuffed with things to do, and its combat system is still a tactical rush at its best.
Gran Turismo 7 for $30 ($40 off): Gran Turismo 7 is the PS5’s premier sim racer, and a love letter to automobiles as a whole. Like the rest of the GT series, it revels in the patience and precision required to figure out how a given car meshes with a given course. Learning the intricacies of each combination is both intense and rewarding, and there’s a singular style to it all that just doesn’t exist with most sports games.
Returnal for $30 ($70 off): Returnal is a third-person shooter roguelike that’s at once a technical showcase, a stiff challenge and an achingly beautiful reflection on the nature of grief. It is not for the faint of heart, but its bullet-hell battles are wonderfully fierce, and just about everything in it contributes to its overarching story. It’s also worth checking out if you’re eager to developer Housemarque’s next game, Saros, which seems to borrow many of the elements introduced here.
The Last of Us Part I for $30 ($40 off): The PS5 remake of Sony’s zombie drama is one of the most unnecessary remakes ever made, but if you’ve never played one of the earlier versions, this is the best way to rectify that. If you’re looking to play the (even moodier) sequel, the PS5 version of that one is similarly discounted.
God of War Ragnarok for $30 ($40 off): Ragnarok is another Sony sequel that’s more about increasing scope than radically reinventing itself, but its Norse world is beautifully varied and detailed, smashing baddies with a magic axe feels great, and the whole thing is excessive in the way you’d expect a God of War game to be without going overboard.
Horizon Forbidden West for $30 ($40 off): Engadget’s Jess Conditt called Horizon Forbidden West the “total package” in her review a few years back, praising its frenzied combat, gorgeous art direction and complex narrative. It still has one of the more distinctive post-apocalypses in gaming, blending robot beasts with stunning vistas. That helps paper over some less-than-inspired side content and bits of sluggish pacing.
Final Fantasy XVI (PS5) for $23 ($7 off): Final Fantasy XVI is a more straightforward action-RPG than something like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: You don’t need to come in with prior knowledge of any other story, and its hack-and-slash combat is simple to pick up. It can get bogged down in pointless side quests, but its main concern is having you watch giant demigods melodramatically smack each other, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Astro A50 X gaming headset for $330 ($60 off): The A50 X is an upgrade pick in our guide to the best gaming headsets. It should specifically appeal to those who own multiple gaming systems, as its included base station lets you connect and swap between PC, PS5 and Xbox audio with the press of a button. It’s among the better-sounding wireless headsets we’ve tried as well, and its mic is fantastic. This deal isn’t an all-time low, but it’s the largest drop we’ve seen since July. The standard Astro A50 is also on sale for $250; that one works just as well if you only play on one device, but it lacks HDMI switching functionality.
8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller for $50 ($10 off): The Ultimate 2 is a versatile wireless gamepad for Windows PCs and mobile devices. It can connect over Bluetooth, a wireless dongle or a USB cable, and its magnetic TMR joysticks should be far less susceptible to “joystick drift” than typical controllers. Those with large hands may find it a touch too small, but it’s built well, it comes with a handy charging dock and it gets a solid 20 or so hours of battery life. 8BitDo’s companion software includes a variety of useful customizations beyond that. This isn’t a major discount, but it’s still a couple bucks below the pad’s typical street price.
Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite MMO gaming mouse for $55 ($25 off): We recommend the Scimitar RGB Elite to MMO and MOBA players in our guide to the best gaming mice. It’s not the lightest or most technically advanced model, but it comes with 12 comfortable and easy-to-reach side buttons, which make it easier to pull off more complex actions in games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. We’ve seen it fall below $50 a few times before, but this deal matches the lowest price we’ve tracked since May. A newer wireless model called the Scimitar Elite Wireless SE is also on sale for a low of $80.
ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless mechanical keyboard for $151 ($59 off): We speak positively about this model in our guide to the best gaming keyboards. Its sturdy case, crisp keycaps and battery life all impress, while the thocky NX Snow switches in this model feel and sound delightful. Its companion software is a bit of a mess, and its 96 percent layout may feel a little cramped to some, but it’s a nice buy if you want a higher-class pre-built keyboard.
ASUS ROG Azoth mechanical keyboard for $190 ($85 off): It’s a couple years old at this point, but the ROG Azoth remains an exceptionally well-built mechanical keyboard for enthusiasts. Its gasket-mounted design and layers of foam give each key press a soft landing, while its pre-lubed switches feel nice and smooth. It even comes with a toolkit for manually lubing the switches down the road, and the PCB is hot-swappable if you ever want to switch things up. There’s a useful control knob and programmable OLED display for quickly adjusting settings and checking the battery level beyond that. ASUS’ Armoury Crate software is still fairly sloppy, however.
Crucial X9 Pro (1TB) portable SSD for $75 ($26 off): If you’re looking to offload some games to external storage, we consider the Crucial X9 Pro the best portable SSD for most people, as it offers fast enough transfer speeds in a rugged and compact design. This isn’t the best price ever for the 1TB model but it matches the largest discount we’ve seen since April. Other size options are also on sale.
Crucial P310 (1TB) M.2 2230 SSD for $80 ($55 off): The P310 is a small-size SSD you can use to add storage to a handheld PC like the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally. It uses cheaper QLC memory, not the faster and more durable TLC, but reviews say that it performs well anyway. This deal ties the best price we’ve seen for the 1TB version since April.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-october-prime-day-gaming-deals-save-on-ps5-games-headsets-controllers-and-more-082623558.html?src=rss
