Dell’s early [cms-block] bender continues this week with a slew of new gaming laptop deals over on their US store. These launched in tandem with the UK deals Katharine highlighted earlier this week, though perhaps in keeping with the vibe at a traditional in-person Black Friday sale, this one is more of a free-for-all: instead of the consistent 15% off everything we got here in Britland, Dell’s stateside discounts come in anywhere between 8% and 24%. Still, as the discounts are applied automatically there’s no need to punch in a code, and the vast majority of laptops included in the sale have had hundreds of dollars knocked off – including 21% off one of their 300Hz Alienware m15 R3 laptops for a saving of $460.

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Revenant is a strong contender for the coolest-looking character in Apex Legends. Does his abilities match his intimidating physique? That depends on how and when you use them. Follow the top tips in our Apex Legends Revenant guide to learn everything you need to know to dominate Season 7 as the Synthetic Nightmare himself.

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Apex Legends

‘ seventh season added in lovely things like a new map and character. However, it also brought about some rather unwelcome changes to the game’s battle pass, making it superbly grindy to level up. Respawn Entertainment made it so the XP required to gain a level was substantially higher than previous seasons.

After a lot of backlash, they recognised the issue and made attempts to improve it last week. It still wasn’t quite enough, though, and now they’ve made further changes to lessen the grind – with even more on the way next week.

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Mirage, the so-called Holographic Trickster of Apex Legends characters, is perhaps the most satisfying Legend to play as when things go right. When you pull off that perfectly timed bamboozle or distraction with your holographic decoys… Man, it feels great. Our Apex Legends Mirage guide will show you how to make the most of Mirage’s skillset, with a multitude of practical tips and strategies on each one.

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Caustic has always been a terror to play against in Apex Legends, particularly in indoor spaces thanks to his deadly Nox Gas Traps. But follow our Apex Legends Caustic guide and the tips and tricks within, and you’ll find that he can be a menace anywhere on the battlefield. Learn how to use his abilities to swing an unwinnable encounter in your favour as the Toxic Trapper.

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2020 has been a good year for visual novels set in coffee shops and cafes. The excellent and stylish Necrobarista immediately springs to mind, but despite its name (and being set in arguably the best coffee shop in all of video games), it doesn’t actually involve making a single drink. Coffee Talk, on the other hand, is all about the ins and outs of the barista experience, and it’s one of the loveliest and most chilled visual novels I’ve played all year.

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They said it couldn’t be done. They said it shouldn’t> be done. But finally, Satisfactory‘s pipes are finally out of the, well, pipeline. After months of pretending otherwise (and a short period on the game’s experimental branch), the 3D factory builder’s long-awaited fluid system has finally arrived, letting you pump all sorts of liquidy nonsense around your contraption without splashing them inefficiently over conveyor belts.

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In case you weren’t aware, I’ve started a brand new Dwarf Fortress diary series, which I kicked off with a fortress-founding video featuring Tarn Adams, the game’s lovable dad. This series concerns the fortress of Inkrose: a settlement founded by seven religious fanatics, intent on living by a set of incredibly impractical commandments which I sourced from the capricious dwellers of the Kitfox Dwarf Fortress Discord server. At the end of our first episode, we left our dwarves living in a hovel with no doors, a pitiful pile of weeds to feed themselves with, and seven boisterous, holy beak dogs circling them with ever-more-menacing playfulness.

Without spoiling anything, I can tell you that things get… quite interesting from here. But before we move on to that, I want to do something I always regretted not doing with the Basement of Curiosity, which is provide you with a proper profile for each and every founding dwarf. Come on in, there’s pictures and everything.

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Crucial’s excellent MX500 SSD has enjoyed some great deals in the UK in recent weeks, but now it’s finally the turn of our pals in the US to snap up this brilliant SATA drive on the cheap. The 1TB model is down to just $92 over at Amazon US today, matching its Lightning Deal Prime Day price. Hurry, though, the deal only lasts until midnight tonight.

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Plastic instruments and rock music is out, readers. It’s all about mash-ups now, and while we don’t all have the patience to actually go off and learn audio engineering, the Rock Band and Dance Central buffs at Harmonix are re-mixing things up with their new game, Fuser. The studio’s new act takes the stage today, with over 100 bangers on the shelf ready for you and your friends to slam together in a do-it-yourself desktop concert.

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