Few games demonstrate the disconnect between graphics and aesthetic like Metaphor: ReFantazio. A pure technical analysis would conclude that it has the fidelity of an early Nintendo Switch game at best, and yet anyone whose heart flickers with even the tiniest ember of sentiment will instantly fall in love with its lavish pause screen animations. Yes, this RPG has style for days, maybe even an entire calendar, and an upside of its more dated aspects is that it runs fine on the modest internals of the Steam Deck.

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If you care about my opinion, I generally still think sticking with a micro SD is the safer and simpler option for Steam Deck storage, but if you’re set on upgrading the internal SSD of your handheld, the Corsair MP600 CORE Mini 2TB SSD is your best bet, now down to $129.99 on Amazon.

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Maximizing storage for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally is, frankly, essential. While the built-in SSD handles most games well, few will truly push it to its limits, meaning a good micro SD card is often your best bet. Enter one of the year's standout deals for Steam Deck owners.

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I will not lie to you, gentle reader. When I first laid eyes on Secret Door's Sunderfolk, while lurking to the rear of a gaggle of journomancers at a preview event last week, I let out an ostentatious sigh. Fortunately, I still mask up to preview events, and am thus free to adopt all kinds of snotty facial expressions without being set upon by burly PRs and shoved into the minifridge for later disposal. To sum it up, Sunderfolk is a hex and turn-based 2-4 player digital boardgame with fantasy animal characters and deckbuilding elements, reminiscent of Gloomhaven. Conceived during the pandemic lockdowns as a way to "bring back game night", but without the traditional 30-minute unboxing ritual, it's played on the big screen but controlled using a dedicated smartphone app, with players stroking and swiping to move characters and play cards.

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We've all used a Steam Deck, so we all know how poor the battery life can be when playing a more graphically extensive game like God of War: Ragnarok, or Cyberpunk 2077. Here's the trick, you need a good power bank to accompany your portable PC adventures.

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I’m told that if I do one more Prime Big Deal Days post, they’ll take off the metal clamps holding my eyelids open, and won’t put them back on until Black Friday next month. Result! So here’s a little after-dinner mint of a PC gaming hardware bargain: JSAUX’s Steam Deck thumbstick covers, which come packaged with some stick-on decals for £8 / $8. Both 20% off, they be, leaving a price so low I have real hope you’ll forgive me using the phrase "stocking stuffer" in October.

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I always like to balance the inherent cynicism and general corporate awfulness of covering events like Prime Big Deal Days by focusing recommendations on hardware I genuinely like, and ideally, what I actually own. Partly hence the G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard post from yesterday. And here’s another: the sleek-lookin', sharp-recordin' Logitech StreamCam, which is down from £139 to £70 in the UK and down from $170 to $100 in the US.

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Would it be fair to say that we sometimes overlook SATA SSDs? With NVMe drives forming our future and mechanical hard disks increasingly consigned to the past, the 2.5in form factor is just kind of... there. In all of its middle groundedness.

Which is harsh, because they can provide heaps of capacity at relatively attainable prices, as the Crucial BX500 is currently demonstrating. Per Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon UK is running the 2TB version for just £92 (34% off) as well as 4TB for £178 (41% off). Meanwhile, Amazon US is lopping 43% off the 1GB model, bringing it down to $54, with the 4TB model shedding 13% to reach $210.

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It’s easy to think of your PC’s RAM as something that just needs to be enough>, rather than a powerhouse like the graphics card or CPU. Easy for me, anyway, until testing out the Silent Hill 2 remake this past week served up a reality check: modern games need a lot of memory, and in SH2’s case, might not even get past the Steam launcher if they decide you’re lacking in it. As penance, I’ve found some DDR5 RAM deals in the Prime Big Deal Days sales that should set any modern rig for years and years of... well, games launching properly, I suppose.

As such, while 16GB is the bare minimum you can get away with, I’d recommend 32GB to be safe. For pure value, check out Crucial’s DDR5 Pro set, which I've been using in my own testing setup for a while: it’s down from £140 to £80 on Amazon UK, and down from $150 to $81 on Amazon US. But the single best deal here, I reckon, is Corsair’s Vengeance RGB kit, which the US site has slashed from $130 to $100. That’s the same price as the non-RGB equivalent kit while also being faster, at 6400MHz to 6000MHz. Us UK folk can also get a similar set for £101, down from £147, though that’s set at 6000MHz.

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Few gaming headsets weave together top sound quality, sustained comfort, and clean mic input as deftly as the Logitech G Pro X Wireless. As such, it usually costs a bundle, but with Prime Big Deal Days administering some cuts, it’s going cheaper right now. A lot> cheaper: on Amazon UK, it’s down to £110, a full 50% off the RRP. Amazon US, meanwhile, has it down from $230 to $130.

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