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A new season brings lots of change, especially in the home. It's the time to open the windows to let fresh air in and clear out all that clutter from your closet. As you get into the flow of out with the old and in with the new, you might be realizing where your home could use some upgrades. Luckily, Amazon's Big Spring Sale is coming at just the right time.
Running from March 25 to the 31, the Big Spring Sales promises to bring great deals across many categories, but especially things for the home. And luckily, those deals are already starting to roll in. Whether you want to bring in some smart home upgrades or are in need of a new vacuum, these are the best early home deals ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale.
Best smart home deal Opens in a new window Credit: Tapo Tapo TP-Link Smart WiFi Light Bulbs $10.79 at AmazonLooking to create a little bit of ambiance at home? The Tapo light bulb offers millions of colors and adjustable warmth for a truly customizable experience. If you need to wake up in the morning, the bulb can bright up to cool white, but when you want to wind down, adjust the bulb to a nice warm white. This Matter-certified deviced works with any smart home system, whether it be Apple Home, Google home, or Alexa, within your local network.
Ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, get the Tapo TP-Link WiFi Smart Bulb for 40% off. Normally $17.99, it's down to $10.79, saving you $7.20. It's an affordable solution that will totally transform your space.
More smart home dealsKasa Indoor Pan/Tilt Smart Security Camera — $23.99 $29.99 (save $6)
Kasa Smart Plug 4-pack — $24.99 $29.99 (save $5)
Kasa Smart WiFi Light Bulbs — $26.09 $39.99 (save $13.90)
Philips Smart Lock Bundle — $169.99 $239.99 (save $70 with on-page coupon)
After a long, dark winter, it's a relief to see those first signs of life popping through the earth. However, it's also the first sign that spring allergies are upon us. If you want to get ahead of it, an air purifier is your first line of defense inside the home.
Luckily, the Shark NeverChange air purifier is on sale for just $119.99. As implied by its name, this air purifier has an air filter that lasts five years, so you're not spending lots of money every six months for replacements. Its large LED display shows your air quality and clears the room of dust, pollen, dander, and smoke.
Right now, it's $30 off, making the device 20% off ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale.
More air purifier and humidifier dealsLevoit Cool Mist Humidifier — $29.99 $39.99 (save $10)
Dreo Supersized Cool Mist Humidifier — $35.97 $39.99 (save $4.02)
Levoit Smart Humidifier — $63.92 $79.99 (save $16.07)
Levoit Quiet Air Purifier — $74.99 $89.99 (save $15 with on-page coupon)
Levoit Vital 200S-P Air Purifier — $159.99 $189.99 (save $30)
Levoit Core 400S-P Air Purifier — $186.99 $219.99 (save $33)
Ready for spring cleaning? Start with the floors, clearing away all the salt and sand that's built-up over the winter. However, if you've got a long list of things to do, you can outsource that cleaning to a robot vacuum.
The Roborock Qrevo S robot vacuum and mop, has powerful suction to clear floors of dirt and debris. Not to mention, it mops floors too. The advanced docking station has a 5L water tank to refill the vacuum and provide up to 4,305 square feet of mopping area.
Right now, this vacuum is 38% off. Normally, $799.99, it's down to $499.99, saving you $300.
More vacuum dealsBissell CleanView Swivel Vacuum — $107.99 $119.99 (save $12)
Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner and Mop — $219.99 $269.99 (save $50)
Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Pro Plus — $229 $269 (save $40)
Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop — $449.99 $699.99 (save $250)
Eufy S1 HydroJet Robot Vacuum and Mop — $799.99 $1,299.99 (save $500)
As spring flowers bloom and temperatures rise, Amazon is celebrating with the annual Big Spring Sale. The sale officially kicks off on March 25, but we're already seeing great discounts. These price drops are the perfect time to make sure your summer backyard setup has all the essentials for a great season. It's also time to grab the camping gear that's been packed away for months to check on what needs to be replaced for this coming season.
If you're shopping for outdoor deals this spring, Amazon has you covered. From coolers to tents to solar-powered fairy lights, you're in for some great discounts that are sure to make this a memorable and super functional outdoor season. Check out some of our favorites.
Best portable speaker deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 (Blue) $129.99 at AmazonEvery outdoor adventure could use a portable Bluetooth speaker. Whether you prefer to jam out to classic rock ballads around the campfire or chill out with jazz in the morning, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 packs in mighty sound that comes with some major benefits when it comes to life outdoors. For starters, the speaker can get up to 20 hours of battery life before it needs a recharge, which can be great for long weekends at the cabin. The 147-foot range is also ideal for bringing sound to the party and it also had drop protection of up to about three feet.
It truly shines when it comes to being not only waterproof but floating. Ultimate Ears considers the Megaboom 4 to be "virtually indestructible," which feels worthy of bringing it along on summer's outdoor adventures. The speaker usually costs $199.99, but ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale the blue option is down to just $129.99.
Best camping deal Opens in a new window Credit: Mpowered Mpowered Luci Solar String Lights $32.97 at AmazonThere's something so satisfying about charging with the power of the sun and reaping the benefits of free power. The Mpowered Luci Solar String Lights are the perfect campsite or backyard addition this summer with a solar-powered battery that can last for up to 20 hours. The 18-foot string usually sells for $54.95 but ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale, the strand it down to just $32.97 which works out to a 40% discount.
Since the Mpowered Luci lights can be used both indoors and out, they're designed with waterproof and weatherproof materials. The 18-foot strand features 20 lights that can display in four different light modes. The lights also serve as a power bank, so you can harness the solar-powered battery to recharge your devices via the USB port.
Best cooler deal Opens in a new window Credit: RTIC RTIC Ultra Tough Soft Cooler $108.49 at AmazonHydration is key when it comes to warm spring and summer adventures spent outdoors which is why a solid cooler is always needed. Enter the RTIC Ultra-Tough Soft Cooler with storage capacity for up to 40 cans. The insulated bag is great for summer days spent at the lake or the pool or when packing along a picnic for the day. The leakproof design uses a waterproof zipper and RTIC mentions this cooler can keep foods chilled for up to two days with correct use. In part, that's thanks to the 1.5-inch thick insulation made with closed-cell foam.
More outdoor deals worth shopping ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale:LifeStraw Personal Water Filter — $17.47 $19.95 (save $2.48)
Thermacell Mosquito Repellent E-Series — $29.99 $39.99 (save $10)
Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler (40 ounces) — $33.75 $45 (save $11.25)
Govee Smart Outdoor String Lights (96 feet) — $68 $99.99 (save $31.99)
Igloo Trailmate Cooler (25 quart) — $79.99 $99.99 (save $20)
Coleman Classic Series Insulated Portable Wheeled Cooler (100 quarts) — $95.99 $109.99 (save $14)
EcoFlow River 3 Portable Power Station — $159 $259 (save $100)
Coleman Montana Camping Tent (8 person) — $164.99 $269.99 (save $105.33)
Solo Stove Mesa Torch (3 Pack) — $199.99 $239.99 (save $40)
Tentsile Stingray V3 Tree Tent — $749 $849 (save $100)
It's been nearly 30 years since hockey player Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) first swung a golf club and became an unlikely champ. Now, he's back on the golf course for Happy Gilmore 2.
According to the sequel's first trailer, Happy hasn't been golfing for a while. "I haven't swung a club in years," he says.
SEE ALSO: Adam Sandler's 'Happy Gilmore' sequel Instagram post harnesses the good energy, blocks out the badStill, that's not going to stop him from facing off against new top golfers — in a Bruins jersey, of course. He's just going to have to make sure he updates his happy place to "something a little more age-appropriate" first.
Sandler isn't the only star returning from the original Happy Gilmore. Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, and Ben Stiller are all slated to reprise their roles. Happy Gilmore 2 also welcomes new faces, like music superstar Bad Bunny as Happy's new caddy, as well as Travis Kelce, Eminem, and more. Several real-life golf pros are also set to star, including John Daly, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau. Catch them (and Happy!) in action above.
Spring has sprung over at Amazon, with the retailer throwing a Big Spring Sale on March 25-31. This selection is set to include quite a few Apple deals, so if you've been hoping to scoop up some new tech from Apple at a low price, this will be a great time to do it.
SEE ALSO: Every foldable iPhone and iPad rumor we've heard so farBut you might not need to wait, because quite a few iPad models have been discounted ahead of the Big Spring Sale. This includes the 10th Gen iPad, the iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPad Pro. We've included some of the best early iPad discounts that have caught our eye below, and will continue updating this list with the best discounts as they go live.
Best iPad deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad, 10.9-inch (A14 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) $269 at AmazonThis is one the best iPad deals available at the moment. The 10th-gen iPad — with the A14 Bionic chip, 64GB of storage, and WiFi — is currently down to $269. This is $80 off its list price of $349. We consider this tablet to be the best iPad on a budget, saying in our roundup of the best iPads that "The iPad (10th generation) doesn't possess the flair of the Pro or Air, but it's a testament that Apple can still produce good entry-level tech."
If you're not looking for anything fancy and want a tablet to cover the basics, the 10th-gen iPad will get you where you need to go. And at this price? It's definitely worth picking up.
More iPad dealsiPadApple iPad, 10.9-inch (A14 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $299 $349 (save $50)
Apple iPad, 10.9-inch (A14 Bionic, WiFi, 256GB) — $429 $499 (save $70)
Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $698 $799 (save $101)
Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M2, WiFi, 512GB) — $796.94 $899 (save $102.06)
Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M2, WiFi, 256GB) — $798 $899 (save $101)
Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M2, WiFi + Cellular, 128GB) — $849 $949 (Save $100)
Apple iPad Mini (A15 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $453.49 $499 (save $45.51)
Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 512GB) — $699 $799 (save $100)
Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $919 $999 (save $80)
Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 512GB) — $1,099 $1,199 (save $100)
Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,185 $1,299 (Save $114)
Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 512GB) — $1,334.06 $1,499 (save $164.94)
Ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, the retailer is offering some fantastic deals on a variety of items. Apple devices, in particular, have seen some very nice discounts, including Apple AirTags. These little devices are a lifesaver when it comes to keeping track of your items, allowing you to quickly find anything you've misplaced that's been tagged. If you've been hoping to grab one, or more, you can save on them right now ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale.
We've included a few of our favorite AirTag deals below, from the multi-pack to a solo tag. We've also listed some alternative deals in the event that the AirTags sell out. Have a look, stock up, and feel comfortable knowing you can keep a better eye on your devices.
The best AirTag deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirTag (4-Pack) $69.99 at AmazonWhy have one AirTag when you can have four? This multi-pack is a great investment so you can have multiple AirTags right away to attach to various items. This is a great price, only $5.50 away from their lowest-ever price according to price tracker camelcamelcamel. We consider Apple's AirTags to be among the best Bluetooth trackers, so why not stock up with this four-pack while it's on sale?
More Apple AirTag deals:Apple AirTag (1-Pack) — $24 $29 (save $5)
If you're looking for an easier way to attach your AirTag to your bag or a keychain, this AirTag Loop is worth picking up. It has a lightweight design that keeps a secure hold on the AirTag inside so you can attach it to an item without any fear of it popping out or getting lost somewhere else. There are two color options to choose from as well: a lovely capri blue and a vibrant pink citrus. We've listed a few more worthy AirTag accessory deals below.
More deals on AirTag accessories:QyQa Airtag Holder (4-Pack) — $7.12 $9.98 (save $2.86)
Belkin Apple AirTag Secure Holder with Carabiner — $14.99 $19.99 (save $5)
MOLOSLEEVE Airtag Holder Air Tag Case with Keychain 4-Pack — $9.99 $12.99 (save $3)
The Tile Mate trackers also rank among our picks for the best Bluetooth trackers because, "in our testing, we found it to be a reliable GPS tracker that works equally well for iOS and Android." If you're looking for some alternative trackers to pick up ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, these are well worth a look, especially the Tile Mate four-pack we've listed above so you can pick up multiple trackers for a little less.
More deals on AirTag alternatives:Tile by Life360 Mate, 1-Pack — $17.99 $24.99 (save $7)
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 — $23.25 $29.99 (save $6.74)
Tile by Life360 Mate (2024), 2-Pack (Black/White) — $31.99 $44.99 (save $13)
Tile by Life360 Starter Pack (2024), 2-Pack (Black Mate/Slim) — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)
Tile by Life360 Essentials (2024), 4-Pack (Mates/Slim/Sticker) — $52.99 $74.99 (save $22)
Roku has apparently found an entirely new way to anger its users by showing them ads before the home screen loads.
The new ads have been highlighted in a Reddit thread full of users talking about throwing their device "in the trash" or looking for ways to "publicly shame" the company.
"Hello! I just turned on my Roku and got an unskippable ad for a movie, before I got to the regular Roku homescreen. Has anyone else experienced this," asked the thread's creator. Judging by the comments below, other users have indeed experienced this, and it's hard to find one that's happy about it. (Update: the ad apparently can be skipped, though it's not clear how obvious this is to users.)
Featured Video For You In Memoriam: The tech that died in 2024Roku confirmed the move to Ars Technica, calling it a "test."
"Our recent test is just the latest example, as we explore new ways to showcase brands and programming while still providing a delightful and simple user experience," a spokesperson told the outlet. There's no word on whether the test could turn into a permanent feature, though.
On Roku's official forum, users are also voicing their opinion about the new ad type.
"I trashed all of my Amazon boxes years ago because of this garbage. If it keeps up, my Rokus will be next," wrote one user. "... today when I went to use the device it tried to force me to watch an ad before I could select my ap. This is unacceptable and if it continues, I'm trashing this device," wrote another.
SEE ALSO: Subscriptions are for streaming services, not your spreadsheetsWe've asked Roku for more details about the test, and will update this article when we hear back. In the meantime, this seems to be a good blueprint for streaming companies of what not to do if they want to keep their users.
UPDATE: Mar. 18, 2025, 2:55 p.m. CET Roku got back to us with the following statement: "Roku delivers the best value and experience for our 90M and growing TV streaming households. This has and will always require continuous testing and innovation across design, navigation, content, and our first-rate advertising products. Our recent test is just the latest example, as we explore new ways to showcase brands and programming while still providing a delightful and simple user experience."
Amazon's kicking off the season in style with its Big Spring Sale, offering excellent discounts for shoppers to check out from March 25-31. If you've been waiting for Apple products to drop to low prices after the holiday season, this is your chance to scoop them up for less. AirPods, in particular, have seen some great discounts ahead of the Big Spring Sale and we've included all of the best deals here. You can find deals on everything from the AirPods Max headphones to the latest AirPods 4.
SEE ALSO: The 9 best noise-cancelling headphones we use and loveWe're tracking all the best AirPods deals ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale below. Bookmark this page and keep checking back — we'll be adding new deals as they drop.
Best AirPods Pro deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 2 $199 at AmazonCheck out our full review of the Apple AirPods Pro 2.
Apple's AirPods Pro 2 have plenty to offer, including Active Noise Cancelation, hearing protection options, personalized spatial audio, and so much more. If you've had them on your shopping list, they've dropped down to $199 at Amazon, saving you 20% off their original list price of $249.
Best AirPods Max deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) $479.99 at AmazonCheck out our full review of the Apple AirPods Max.
If headphones are more your style, the AirPods Max with USB-C are also on sale right now ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale. They've dropped down $69.01 from their list price of $549 to $479.99. If you've had your eye on them, this is a great time to pick them up. We think they're a worthy investment as well, stating in our review that "the AirPods Max check off almost all the boxes for what makes an excellent pair of headphones: great sound quality, ideal battery life, easy controls, and a stylish design (sans Smart Case)."
Best AirPods 4 deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 $117 at AmazonApple's latest AirPods, the AirPods 4, have dropped to $117, which is a nice little deal to take advantage of if you've had them on your radar for some time. Keep in mind, though, that these are the earbuds without Active Noise Cancelation. If you'd prefer to have the models with noise-cancelation, the good news is you can score those at a discount right now as well! We've listed those earbud options below.
More Amazon Big Spring Sale AirPods dealsApple AirPods (3rd Generation) — $137.99 $169.00 (save $31.01)
Apple AirPods 4 (with ANC) — $148.99 $179 (save $30.01)
I didn’t need to be sold on Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, but after a couple dozen hours with one of the largest and coolest games Nintendo has ever made, one moment cemented this remaster as one of the very best games on Nintendo Switch for me.
It came after I decided to get a little adventurous. Following excursions into three of the game’s five gorgeous, ecologically diverse continents, I decided to take things further and go north to Sylvalum, a region defined by alabaster white sand and spherical trees that glow at night. Getting there was a journey in and of itself, requiring me to duck and weave between enemies that could kill me in just one or two hits if they noticed me.
But then I got there, and Sylvalum’s incredible theme music kicked in. By this point, I’m already locked the hell in. I ventured further into the continent, eventually finding an enormous lake shallow enough for me to walk across. Suddenly, the weather became oppressively misty, reducing visibility to near zero. As I carefully trotted across the lake, I found myself running underneath the legs of a gargantuan alien stag the size of a large building. It didn’t want anything to do with me, but seeing that thing emerge from the mist was a jump-scare that drove home how genuinely dangerous and alien Xenoblade X’s setting can be at its best.
I'm so glad this dude was non-hostile. Credit: NintendoXenoblade X, originally released on Wii U for what felt like an audience of about 27 people in 2015, is all about moments like this, little reminders of how physically small and cosmically insignificant humans are. I’ve never played another open-world game that so routinely makes the player feel like an ant in the coolest way possible. The alien planet of Mira, on which the game is set, was not meant for our feet, and Xenoblade X reminds you of this at every opportunity.
All of that was true of the Wii U original, and remains true with this new Switch release. To leave it there would do a disservice to developer Monolith Soft, though. Rather than making a simple remaster with cleaned up visuals and some UI tweaks, Monolith Soft went about seven extra miles. Thanks to substantial and tasteful reconsiderations of various menus and systems, as well as thrilling new story material, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is truly the way to play this almost-forgotten classic. You can finally put your Wii U in the closet for good.
Man in the MiraXenoblade X, which is narratively unrelated to the numbered trilogy I’ve gushed about on this website before, has kind of a bummer of an opening. Before you can even take control of your player-created silent protagonist, Earth has been destroyed in the crossfire of a war between two hostile alien civilizations. We weren’t even part of the fight; we just got in the way of it.
To make matters worse, seemingly only one colony ship managed to slip away in all the chaos: the White Whale. After some more alien war nonsense, the White Whale makes an emergency crash landing on the uncharted planet Mira. The survivors manage to retrofit the ship’s habitat area into a half-built city called New Los Angeles. They get to work not only on figuring out how to survive on Mira, but also on retrieving the Lifehold, a lost part of the White Whale that is the key to the future of the human race.
Transplanting suburban American culture to another planet is a really goofy idea. Credit: NintendoWhile that is a solid jumping-off point for a JRPG story, not even a terrific remaster can save Xenoblade X from its biggest foibles. Namely, the main story takes a really long time to find its footing. Sure, it sprinkles in some interesting reveals early on, enough to keep the player invested, but this is not the kind of strong, character-driven, emotional storytelling you’d find in a numbered Xenoblade game. Monolith Soft has gotten a lot better at visual presentation in the decade since this game came out on Wii U, and it shows. A great deal of the story in Xenoblade X is delivered through wooden conversation scenes where anywhere between three and six people stand still in a circle for a while. It’s no match for the excellent cutscene direction of something like Xenoblade 3.
Luckily, there’s plenty of charming and funny writing to be found in Xenoblade X’s treasure trove of side quests, which you absolutely should take the time to do. The main story does eventually find some interesting thematic ground to cover (who gets to leave Earth before its destruction, and who gets to choose?), it just takes too long to get there.
Nintendo would probably prefer it if I didn’t spoil the new story stuff, which largely takes place after the original game’s unsatisfying cliffhanger ending. Without going too much into what happens in it, the new chapter is a more conclusive coda to the adventure than what was there before. It’s also thematically more in line with the other Xenoblade games, full of achingly sincere emotional beats about the existence of gods, angels, and even Heaven itself.
And yes, fans of the other three Xenoblades will find plenty to pick through and theorize about in YouTube essays and Reddit threads in the years to come.
Be prepared to do a lot of quests The whole game is full of sights like this. Credit: NintendoJust like the original Wii U version, Xenoblade X Definitive Edition opens with a fairly limiting creation suite for the player character, who is a voiceless, amnesiac husk with no apparent stakes in anything that’s happening. Monolith Soft has upgraded the character creator with some new visual options, but it’s still got very rigid male/female gender options that feel out of step with where RPGs have gone in the decade since this game first came out. I understand that it’s probably very difficult to offer extensive pronoun options in a game with voice acting that was recorded more than a decade ago, but the lack of things like that does stand out now.
Regardless, once you make your little dude and go through a fairly stiff and awkward tutorial chapter, Xenoblade X sets you off on an open-ended quest to explore Mira and help humanity build a new home for itself. There is a linear series of main story chapters to complete, but accessing them (especially in the later stages of the story) often requires the player to complete seemingly optional missions or otherwise engage with its many systems.
These usually include affinity missions, each of which revolves around a different playable party member, of which there are more than 20. Affinity missions have full voice acting and even unique boss fights in some cases. These are generally the best Xenoblade X has to offer in terms of authored side material.
My one major complaint about the quest structure here is that activating a main story mission or affinity mission locks you out of doing other story/affinity missions until you complete it. It’s unnecessarily rigid and can become quite annoying if the next objective in the quest you’re locked into is something you don’t feel comfortable doing.
My favorite area in the whole game. Credit: NintendoThere are also non-voiced side missions that often at least include funny premises and objectives, such as one where you have to stop a dangerous political candidate who wants to convert the entire economy into a pizza-based bartering system from winning office in New LA. Many of the side missions involve cultural exchange between humans and several different friendly alien species who shack up in NLA over the course of the story.
I can’t lie: In times like these, I found it nice and refreshing just how much of the missions in this game involve humans embracing diversity and befriending unfamiliar immigrants who have nowhere else to go. It’s not always perfectly sensitive to every issue, but Xenoblade X carries an optimism about people and their ability to accept others that’s nice to see right now.
Beyond that, there are more basic busywork missions that mostly involve killing a certain number of monsters or collecting a certain number of items. Blessedly, these are things you can do if you want, but rarely do you have to do any of them.
When you aren’t questing, you’ll most likely spend your time running around Mira, planting mining probes to expand the map. These also double as a source of regular passive income, making it well worth the player’s while to meticulously plan out their probe network in the in-game FrontierNav menu.
As a lifelong fan of MMORPGs, Xenoblade X’s questing rhythm is familiar and comfortable to me. “Just one more quest and then it’s time for bed” regularly turned into late-night sessions that ultimately led to a staggering 96 hours of playtime before I hit the end credits. There’s no denying that Xenoblade X is a beast of a video game, but I had a good time for almost all of those 96 hours.
Stick with it, I promise Skells rule. Credit: NintendoI realize I’ve gotten nearly 1,500 words into this review without mentioning that you eventually get access to fully customizable mechs (called Skells) in this game. That’s appropriate because it takes literally about 30 hours of gametime before Xenoblade X grants access to this game-changing system. It’s another 15 hours of gametime before your Skell gets the ability to fly, which alters things even further.
A lot of people will read that paragraph, say “screw that,” and go play something else instead. To each their own, but I strongly feel that instant gratification for mech lovers would make Xenoblade X a substantially less interesting experience.
Put simply, Skells alter the player’s perspective in a way that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen another open-world game pull off. Before you have a Skell, you are but an insect to the megafauna of Mira. Many parts of the world are fully inaccessible because you can’t jump high enough, and it’s not even worth trying to kill big monsters most of the time. Once you have a Skell, you suddenly see Mira at an entirely different scale. You can kill more things and go to more places.
Flying around Mira is a blast. Credit: NintendoIt’s a massive change to thrust upon the player after 30 hours of gameplay, but then it happens again once your Skell has a flight module. The ability to freely fly around Mira is a profound change, and one that unlocks places you never even dreamed of being able to visit before. This is where the real magic of Xenoblade X reveals itself: Anything you can see, you can also touch. Things that would be background elements in other games are fully modeled objects that you can walk on, even if there’s no reason to do so.
I’ve just never played another open-world game that so intentionally and effectively plays with the player’s relationship to the game world itself. You experience three different versions of Mira over the course of the adventure. It’s rad as hell. It also doesn’t hurt that the environmental art direction is outstanding across the board. All five continents are beautiful in their own way, and they all manage to put at least one fun twist on familiar concepts like “green plains” or “jungle.”
Also, one of the new things they added in the remaster is a Skell that transforms into a jet. It’s easily the most fun way to get around Mira once you unlock it.
They fixed the combat, tooFighting monsters is, obviously, a very big part of Xenoblade X, and it’s also the part that’s most likely to make newcomers bounce off of it. Like every other game in the series, combat here is roughly akin to that of classic MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. When you target an enemy, your character automatically begins attacking while you scroll through a horizontal bar full of Arts, which are cooldown-based combat abilities, on the bottom of the screen.
While fights play out in real-time, this isn’t an action game. Your job is to properly position your character and manage cooldowns, not skillfully execute combos. The most unique thing about the combat in Xenoblade X relative to its peers is the general lack of healing abilities. While there are a handful of Arts that recover health, the main way to heal your party members is to use certain Arts at the right time whenever one of your teammates calls out for it, which recovers a little bit of health for everyone.
I know this looks like a lot, but trust me, it's way cleaner than the Wii U version. Credit: NintendoThis system, known as Soul Voices, is something you can spend hours tinkering with, or ignore entirely, as I did. In general, this is by far the most build-crafty Xenoblade game, with lots of adjusting to be done in the game’s many menus in order to put together the perfect party for any situation. It is immensely satisfying, especially in the game’s later chapters, to carefully put together a plan and see it work just as you imagined.
Combat was hectic and fun on Wii U, but it always felt like it was missing something. Monolith Soft found it in the Switch version with the quick cooldown system. By simply hovering over an Art that’s currently on cooldown and pressing a button, you can skip the cooldown and instantly use the art again, as many times as you want. This is governed by a new meter that doesn’t really refill until a fight is over, so you do need to be careful about it, which is nice because otherwise it would be totally broken.
Quick cooldowns make fights substantially faster and more fun. Monolith Soft has hit a satisfying balance of giving players more ways to succeed without trivializing combat. It can still be very challenging, but the player now has a slightly bigger margin for error. I should note that Skell combat is very similar to on-foot fights, but you don’t get access to quick cooldowns. This is a cool disparity that didn’t exist before; combat on-foot is more agile and reactive, while Skell fights are slower and more methodical, as they should be.
They fixed everything else, too Auroras are cool. Credit: NintendoThe Wii U version of Xenoblade X was a hard game to love at times. There were certain elements of its design that made tedious grinding more necessary than I prefer, and in general, the user interface was a mess. Monolith Soft’s efforts to alleviate those problems are, by a wide margin, my favorite thing about the Definitive Edition port.
The two most important changes involve the game’s large roster of party members. In the original game, you had to manually walk up to someone in NLA and talk to them to add them to your party. The Wii U version also did not give any experience points to inactive party members, meaning you had to grind to keep people at an acceptable level. Since affinity missions have strict level requirements, this was an extremely tiresome chore.
I’m pleased to report that the Switch version allows you to switch out party members from the main menu at any time, and everyone levels up regardless of how much you use them. Affinity, a separate stat that goes up as you spend more time with characters and is usually a requirement to start affinity missions, also accumulates much faster than it did before. This makes it a breeze to complete every single affinity mission in the game, something that I would never have done before.
That’s not all, though, Not even close. Here’s just a sampling of some of the other improvements the developers made over the Wii U version:
You can change the time of day from the main menu
Character faces generally look a lot better
Objective markers for quests are significantly more helpful than they used to be
There are now multiple save slots
You can highlight specific segments of the minimap, which makes searching for things easier
Last but certainly not least, a majority of the fonts have been updated to the admittedly kinda sterile sans serif font Nintendo uses for everything now. In this case specifically, this was a great choice. The Wii U version's text could be hard to read at times. On top of that, just about every menu has been updated to efficiently communicate as much information as possible, when possible. The Combat UI has also seen massive improvements, making it much easier to read the situation and react accordingly than before.
Is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition worth getting?Does the sun rise? Is water wet?
Put simply, Monolith Soft has done a remarkable job updating this game without compromising on what made it so compelling in the first place. Most of its irksome little annoyances have been removed, while maintaining a fair and enjoyable amount of friction. Mira is still an incredibly dangerous planet to explore, especially before you have Skells.
I promise I wouldn’t recommend a game that took me nearly 100 hours to finish unless I really thought it was worth the time. This is the best Xenoblade Chronicles X has ever been, and I’m extremely thrilled that people who are curious can finally check it out without digging out a Wii U.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launches exclusively on Nintendo Switch on March 20.
Celine Song has come to tangle us up in an enticing love triangle all over again. The celebrated writer/director of the critically acclaimed Past Lives returns with Materialists, a tantalizing three-way romance starring Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, and Dakota Johnson.
The logline from A24 teases: "A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex."
Johnson stars as this matchmaker, described by friends as the "eternal bachelorette." However, her prospects change at a client's wedding when she meets a dashing and wealthy unicorn (Pascal), as in "an impossible fantasy." She also reconnects with her ex (Evans), a charming but broke bachelor who has a catering job, roommates, and dreams of growing old with her.
How is a gal supposed to choose between two of the internet's most beloved boyfriends?
We'll find out when Materialists opens in theaters everywhere June 13.
SAVE $70: As of March 18, the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) are on sale at Best Buy for $479.99. That's 12% off their list price of $549.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) $479.99 at Best BuyIf you find yourself frequently listening to the latest and greatest songs, brand new audiobooks, or exciting podcasts, it's important to have headphones that can keep up with you. High-quality options usually come with a hefty price tag, but every once in a while a deal floats around that's worth taking advantage of. If you're an Apple user who has been looking to make the jump to the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C), you're in luck, as they're currently on sale at Best Buy.
The retailer has knocked the price of the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) down by $70, from $549.99 to $479.99. This applies to all of the available colors as well, so you can choose between the midnight, blue, orange, purple, and starlight models. That's not all, though. Your purchase also comes with Apple Fitness+ for free for three months if you're a new subscriber and up to three months of Apple Music for free if you're a new or returning subscriber.
SEE ALSO: For gym rats and picky audiophiles alike, these are the 7 best headphones of 2025The AirPods Max headphones offer excellent sound quality courtesy of the Apple H1 chip. They also offer noise-canceling features that let you either completely tune out the world around you or open things up to hear your surroundings without cutting off what you're listening to. We had a lot of positives to note about them in our review, with Brenda Stolyar saying, "When it comes down to it, the AirPods Max check off almost all the boxes for what makes an excellent pair of headphones: great sound quality, ideal battery life, easy controls, and a stylish design (sans Smart Case)."
We also ranked them in our roundup of the best noise-canceling headphones for flying as the best option for Apple loyalists, noting "The AirPods Max aren't just a pretty pair of headphones. With the help of eight microphones, these headphones provide excellent active noise cancellation."
If you've been looking to upgrade your headphones, don't miss out on $70 off the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) at Best Buy.
Outside of the AirPods Max, there are a few more Apple deals worth checking out right now. Over at Amazon, the AirPods Pro 2 have had a nice little discount, and at Best Buy you can save $100 on an Apple iPad mini.
Netflix is continuing the rich tradition of Scandinavian crime drama with Camilla Läckberg's The Glass Dome, a thriller about a criminologist travelling back to the Swedish town where she was held captive as a child.
As you probably guessed, it's not long before another child goes missing, and soon Lejla (Léonie Vincent) is on the trail of a mystery that might be connected to what happened to her as a girl. Intriguing!
FREE GIFT CARD: As of March 18, Best Buy's offering a free $50 e-gift card when you purchase a 512GB Meta Quest 3 VR headset.
Opens in a new window Credit: Meta $50 Best Buy e-Gift Card with Meta Quest 3 (512GB) Get DealIf you've had your eye on the Meta Quest 3, now's your chance to scoop it up and score a little extra cash in the process. Right now, Best Buy's offering a $50 e-gift card when you purchase a 512GB Meta Quest 3 VR headset, which comes to $499.99.
It's not the only bonus that comes with the Meta Quest 3. Purchasing this headset also comes with the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow and a three-month trial of Meta Quest+ to kickstart your VR journey. Best Buy also notes that your purchase comes with a one month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership.
SEE ALSO: Meta Quest 3S vs. Meta Quest 3: What are the differences?We think very highly of the Meta Quest 3, even if its battery life doesn't last for quite as long as we'd like. We rank it as the best option overall in our roundup of the best VR headsets, saying that "the Meta Quest 3 is the best Quest VR headset to date. Pretty much every single spec (save for battery life, strangely) is bigger and better than the Quest 2, including power, resolution, comfort, and more."
Similarly, our review had a lot of positive things to note about it despite its battery life, with Mashable's Kimberly Gedeon saying, "The Meta Quest 3 is a lighter, sleeker version of its predecessor with a new color passthrough feature that lets you enjoy more mixed-reality experiences, but the battery life could be better."
Take advantage of this free $50 Best Buy e-gift card with the purchase of a 512GB Meta Quest 3 VR headset at the retailer.
If you're on the hunt for more gaming-related deals right now, have a look at our breakdown of Steam's Spring Sale. If you're a PC gamer, there are plenty of excellent discounts to check out right now on a wide variety of games, including Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo IV, and so much more.
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.
With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.
So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on MashableHere are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Tuesday, March 18, 2025:
Across"Dude! Come on!"The answer is Bruh.
The answer is Alamo.
The answer is Rambo.
The answer is Creek.
The answer is Henry.
The answer is Blare.
The answer is Ramen.
The answer is Umber.
The answer is Hooky.
The answer is Arch.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of GamesAre you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.
SAVE UP TO 96%: The Steam Spring Sale is coming to an end, and some of the best RPGs out there are at their lowest-ever prices. As of March 18, these top picks are still up for grabs at a discount:
Hogwarts Legacy — $14.99 $59.99
Diablo IV — $27.49 $49.99
Baldur’s Gate 3 — $47.99 $59.99
A game this good rarely sees discounts, which makes this deal even sweeter. Baldur’s Gate 3 brings tabletop RPG-style storytelling, strategic turn-based combat, and some of the most immersive roleplaying choices ever seen in a video game. This one is worth every penny at full price, but at $47.99, it’s a must-buy.
The best deal on Diablo IV Opens in a new window Credit: Blizzard Diablo IV $27.49 at SteamHell has never looked this good. Diablo IV offers fast-paced combat, deep character customization, and a sprawling dark fantasy world with enemies to crush and loot to hoard. The addictive gameplay loop and online co-op make it a steal at $27.49, especially for fans of action RPGs.
The best deal on Hogwarts Legacy Opens in a new window Credit: WB Games Hogwarts Legacy $14.99 at SteamThe price has officially dropped lower than a first-year’s flying lesson. Hogwarts Legacy delivers an open-world wizarding experience filled with spells, potion brewing, and enough side quests to keep you exploring the castle for hours. The game world is packed with secrets, and at just $14.99, this deal is too good to ignore.
The best Steam Spring Sale 2025 dealsThe Steam Spring Sale is packed with deals across every genre. Elden Ring is still crushing spirits at 40% off. Red Dead Redemption 2 is sitting at an absurd $14.99, making it the best time to saddle up. Horror fans can prepare for the Silent Hill 2 remake, and indie lovers can grab Dredge or Undertale at deep discounts.
There’s still time to grab some great games before March 20, and these are the best deals worth considering:
Call of Duty Black Ops — $48.99 $69.99
Cyberpunk 2077 — $23.99 $59.99
Diablo IV — $27.49 $49.99
Disney Dreamlight Valley — $29.99 $39.99
Doom — $1.99 $19.99
Doom Eternal — $9.99 $39.99
Dredge — $12.49 $24.99
Dynasty Warriors: Origins — $55.99 $69.99
Elden Ring — $35.99 $59.99
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — $48.99 $69.99
Forza Horizon 5 — $29.99 $59.99
Frostpunk 2 — $31.49 $44.99
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced — $14.99 $29.99
Garry’s Mod — $5.99 $9.99
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut — $40.19 $59.99
God of War Ragnarök — $47.99 $59.99
Hades II — $26.99 $29.99
Heavy Rain — $1.99 $19.99
Helldivers 2 — $31.99 $39.99
Hogwarts Legacy — $14.99 $59.99
Metaphor: ReFantazio — $52.49 $69.99
NBA 2K25 — $20.99 $69.99
Palworld — $22.49 $29.99
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition — $3.99 $39.99
Payday 2 — $3.99 $9.99
Persona 3 Reload — $34.99 $69.99
Phasmophobia — $14.99 $19.99
Red Dead Redemption 2 — $14.99 $59.99
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl — $50.99 $59.99
Silent Hill 2 Remake — $48.99 $69.99
Slime Rancher 2 — $20.99 $29.99
Street Fighter 6 — $29.99 $59.99
TCG Card Shop Simulator — $9.74 $12.99
The Elder Scrolls Online — $1.99 $19.99
Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition — $2.99 $29.99
Total War: Warhammer III — $23.99 $59.99
Undertale — $0.99 $9.99
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 — $38.99 $59.99
The NCAA basketball tournaments have finally arrived, and that means it's time to create a bracket or two.
Unfortunately, sports outcomes are almost entirely random and none of us can truly know what's going to happen. As such, some people have decided to try alternative means of putting together brackets. Let's celebrate that. Here are three of the weirdest ways people have arranged their March Madness brackets in 2025.
SEE ALSO: Samsung’s ridiculous Buzzer Beater Bundle is over $5,000 off — because one TV isn’t enough for March Madness Using ChatGPTPerhaps the most 2025 way to put together a March Madness bracket is to use ChatGPT, which is what our colleague Nelson Aguilar over at CNET (Note: Mashable and CNET are owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis) did. The concept here is fairly straightforward, so I'll spare you the nitty-gritty details, but one humorous thing to note is that the initial bracket ChatGPT put together didn't have the right teams in it.
SEE ALSO: The best VPN deals in March 2025Another thing to mention is that ChatGPT's bracket is almost entirely chalk. There are only a handful of upset picks in it, which means ChatGPT is a coward.
Going by mascotsPerhaps the easiest and most fun way to figure out who you like in any sporting event is to go by team mascots. Everyone loves the big stupid cartoon characters that roam basketball sidelines! Thankfully, the NCAA March Madness app seems to have a mascot-based picking system for people who don't actually care about basketball.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.There's also a shockingly detailed and thorough article about this on the NCAA's website. Anyway, my pick for the national champion based solely on this criteria would be the Wofford Terriers.
Asking your dogLastly, as is very common with big sporting events, people are asking their animal companions for help. Animals don't know anything about sports, but in fairness, neither do most people who watch sports. And knowing things is overrated anyway, considering the outcomes of these games have very little to do with the seasons the teams have had up to this point.
SEE ALSO: March Madness livestreams: Watch NCAA tournament bracket matchups liveAll it takes is a cursory TikTok search to find people polling dogs to build their brackets. It's adorable and can't be any worse than the brackets you make yourself.
It’s that time of year again — March Madness is officially tipping off, and 68 teams across Division I men’s and women’s college basketball are set to battle for the ultimate prize. The chaos begins on Tuesday, March 18, with The First Four — a play-in round featuring the lowest-ranked conference champions and the final at-large teams scraping their way into the main bracket.
On the women’s side, their First Four kicks off a day later on Wednesday, March 19, meaning you don’t have much time to finalize your bracket (or let an AI generate one for you).
Either way, if you’re looking to stream or watch every first-round game of March Madness, here’s everything you need to know:
How to watch men's 2025 March Madness tournamentThe men's bracket opening games will be on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV. As usual, The First Four will air exclusively on TruTV, continuing a tradition that dates back to 2011. Once the Round of 64 kicks off, games will be split between CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV.
SEE ALSO: The best VPN deals in March 2025 Must-watch matchups:(7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas – CBS/Paramount+
(8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton - CBS/Paramount+
(6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake - TruTV/Max
(5) Memphis vs. (12) UC San Diego - TBS/Max
No cable? No problem. CBS games will stream on Paramount+, while TNT, TBS, and TruTV matchups will be available on Max.
How to watch women's 2025 March Madness tournamentUnlike the men's tournament, which is spread across multiple networks, the women’s bracket will be exclusively broadcast on the ESPN family of channels — including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC.
Must-watch matchups:(3) LSU vs. (14) San Diego State - ESPN
(1) South Carolina vs. (16) Tennessee Tech - ESPN
(7) Louisville vs. (10) Nebraska - ESPN
(8) California vs. (9) Mississippi State - ESPN2
No ESPN+? No problem. You can still catch the action through Sling or FuboTV. But keep in mind—some games might be region-locked, so if you’re traveling (or just want to be safe), a VPN is a smart move. Check out our best VPNs list to find the right one for streaming.
A new column of steam rises from Yellowstone.
While the expansive volcano shows no hints of an eruption, magma brews beneath the surface, fueling hundreds of geysers and other heated phenomena. In a new blog on its website, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory reports a new steaming feature in the national park, illustrative of this dynamic world's constantly evolving, and thrilling, landscape.
"While driving south from Mammoth Hot Springs towards Norris Geyser Basin early on Aug. 5 last summer, a park scientist noticed a billowing steam column through the trees and across a marshy expanse," wrote Yellowstone National Park geologists Jefferson Hungerford and Kiernan Folz-Donahue. "The eagle-eyed scientist notified the park geology team to verify if this was indeed new activity."
It was.
SEE ALSO: What will happen when the next supervolcano erupts, according to NASAThe steaming hydrothermal vent is located at the base of an ancient lava flow, and geologists measured its temperatures at 171 degrees Fahrenheit. It could be newly spawned activity from a steaming feature previously found nearby in 2003.
Here's a recent view of Yellowstone's new hole, venting steam into the sky, which the geologists shared online:
The new steaming vent in Yellowstone National Park, photographed in August 2024. Credit: Jefferson Hungerford / Yellowstone National Park Steam rising from a new hydrothermal feature in the woods of Yellowstone National Park. Credit: Mike Poland / USGSThe vent remains active this winter, but subdued, as water has drained into the opening. But come spring, it may robustly light up again.
"The activity from these features waxes and wanes with time — you might even say that some of them pick up steam! Sorry…we couldn’t resist," the geologists wrote.
Today, Yellowstone remains a place of low volcanic risk. Sure, there are sometimes small explosions stoked by hot water and steam. But it's mostly thermal pools and awesome geysers, reminding us of what could potentially awake, one distant day.
Yellowstone's last volcanic eruption happened some 70,000 years ago, and the events weren't giant eruptions on the scale that would deposit ash over a huge swath of the U.S. "Of the past 50 or so eruptions, almost all were simple lava flows," the USGS explained. "If they occurred tomorrow or next year, they would have minimal direct effect outside Yellowstone National Park."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.If magma does once again snake its way from deep inside Earth and saturate these shallower reservoirs, an eruption wouldn't be a surprise. We'd have many decades, if not centuries, of warning. The moving magma would trigger swarms of potent earthquakes, and the ground would majorly deform.
Such new steaming features, however, are just the norm in an ever-changing volcanic world.
Apple might be preparing for a big selfie camera upgrade on the iPhone.
According to analyst Jeff Pu (via MacRumors), all the devices in the iPhone 17 lineup (that includes the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the rumored iPhone 17 Air) will have a 24-megapixel front camera.
SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone 17 dummies leak, revealing sleek new designsThat's a pretty big upgrade given that the currently available iPhones all come with a 12-megapixel camera. Other details are absent, though Apple sleuth Ming-Chi Kuo previously said that the camera will "significantly improve the image quality".
For the end users, this should mean more detailed, sharper selfies, but Apple could also use pixel binning tech to produce brighter selfies.
Featured Video For You Apple iPhone 16e is the new affordable Apple phoneThe upgrade makes sense given that numerous Android phones come with a selfie camera with a higher resolution. For example, the recent Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a 32-megapixel selfie camera.
Pu also shared some other details about the upcoming iPhones. He says that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will have 12GB of RAM and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera.
Apple doesn't share details about upcoming products, so all this will be in the realm of speculation until the phones officially launch, likely in September.
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