Thank your own personal deity—possibly Sheogorath—it’s Friday! If you somehow haven’t already taken the plunge, may I cheerfully suggest you go die, repeatedly, in Elden Ring at a very low price? Alternatively, Humble has quite the quiver of sports games available, and Xbox folk can save a ton on a terabyte. Whichever way you do go, stay safe, save often, and I’ll see you Monday.

In retro news, I’m remembering the 23rd birthday of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, an N64 cartridge I still own that’s now worth, ohhh, a kidney. Originally slated to be on the ill-fated N64DD and technically the sequel to Kirby’s Dream Land 3 on SNES, Crystal Shards was a six-planet platformer that was the only title in the franchise to offer combinable copy abilities (Cutter, Spark, Bomb, Needle, Ice, Burning, and Stone). This rock solid (yet short and easy) solo campaign was bolstered by a decent 4P minigame assortment of 100-Yard Hop, Checkerboard Chase, and Bumper Crop Bump.