There’s no shortage of great wireless earbuds on the market nowadays, although popular brands are incredibly expensive–often costing well over $100. Included in that group are the JBL Live Free NC+ earbuds which retail for $150 at Amazon but right now you can snag them for just $75 at GameStop Deals.

Each purchase comes with earbuds, three different ear tip sizes, two sizes of gel-sleeves, the charging case, and a quick start guide. If the JBL earbuds don’t live up to your standards, you’ll have 30 days to return the product.

While the JBL Live Free NC+ earbuds are great for all-around use, anyone seeking a dedicated gaming headset should check out our best headset roundups for Xbox, PS5, Switch, and PC.

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Developer Amplitude Studios’ squad-based roguelike Endless Dungeon offers a more rambunctious and silly narrative within the studio’s Endless games, a primarily 4X strategy series with traditionally dramatic and serious stories. It’s a welcoming first step into a universe I’ve often heard friends talk about but never managed to actually get into. Plus, it’s pretty fun!

Borrowing mechanics and features from hero shooters and twin-stick tower defense games, Endless Dungeon sees you form a squad of three from a roster of playable characters. You’re all shipwrecked in a long-abandoned space station, forced to work together in order to escape. To do so, you’ll need to make your way through the station’s 10 districts–which are filled with never-ending waves of monsters–while accompanying a brittle energy crystal that opens up the doors in your way.

I got to play through the tutorial and first district of Endless Dungeon during a preview, using a squad composed of metal music-loving Zed, autonomous police bot Bunker, and cowboy sharpshooter Blaze. I hate to stan anything to do with the police, but Bunker was my favorite, filling the tank role on the team with her massive shield. Of the three characters, I also like her storyline the most. Bunker isn’t actually trying to escape the station–her partner/mentor has disappeared so she’s trying to delve deeper into the station in order to find clues that could lead to what happened to him.

Bunker feels like a necessary choice for missions, where crowd control is the name of the game. The minigun-toting Zed also proved valuable, shredding threw whole crowds of enemies with storms of bullets and musical area-of-effect explosions. I didn’t enjoy playing as Blaze all that much and didn’t see much use for him when he was in the squad. The sharpshooter can dish out a lot of damage to a single target from a distance and create explosive traps. Those mines were also useful for crowd control but every character can create stationary turrets to help shore up defenses, so Blaze felt a little useless at times. Bunker feels far better as she can tank hits and block off chokepoints while on the move.

Regardless of who you play, your goal is the same: Protect the squad’s crystal. If your crystal is broken (or the party is wiped), you’re sent back to the hub where the characters meet to converse and talk about what’s happening. Enemies come at you with a hungry frenzy, desperately gnawing at you or any defenses you build in order to get to the crystal you’re protecting. It’s a difficult proposition when playing Endless Dungeon solo–which saw me frantically swapping between characters as the odds tipped ever more in my foes’ favor. Though an AI does take control of whichever two squadmates you aren’t controlling, it’s really only smart enough to perform the most basic of tasks, like following you and defending a spot. Playing in a three-person party where everyone controls one character is a far more approachable experience, where everyone is working in tandem to overcome Endless Dungeon’s challenge.

Following my time with the game, I emailed Amplitude Studios creative director Jean-Maxime Moris to ask some follow-up questions. The responses are transcribed below.

This isn’t an entirely new genre for y’all, having made Dungeon of the Endless prior to this. What lessons did you learn from that game that you’re implementing into this new project?

Dungeon of the Endless was the crazy child of the Endless Universe, a unique blend of genres and a quite crazy project that turned out amazing in terms of player reception. Its unique identity and tone were defining elements that were loved and that we made sure went into Endless Dungeon. Also, one of the things fans kept talking to us about at community events was the incredible blast they were having with multiplayer. We kept that in mind and thought why not try multiplayer with dual-stick direct control? And Endless Dungeon was born, the first title in Amplitude’s history to aim for a simultaneous launch on PC and consoles!

What was most exciting about using the world of Dungeon of the Endless as a narrative backdrop for this new game? And, on the other side, did y’all face any unexpected narrative challenges with this game already tied to the world of something else?

The background of both Dungeon of the Endless and Endless Dungeon is the Endless Universe, but these two games do not share any connection. Of course, if you look closely, you will find Easter eggs and references to Dungeon of the Endless!

Endless Universe is the backbone of Amplitude, and it is great to be able to have a somewhat more serious tone in our 4X series, but then go crazy with Endless Dungeon.

Endless Dungeon retains the off-the-wall tone of its predecessor and goes for a space western aesthetic in terms of character archetypes, music, and visuals. We hope it will feel as unique to play in as it is to create.

How did y’all come up with the three-man squad? Why is a duo partnership too little and a squad of four just too much?

The three-man squad was the sheer result of iteration on single-player gameplay. We had four in mind originally but realized while playtesting that the cognitive load was too much: keeping in mind what three other heroes are doing in the midst of action can be quite challenging. We did try two but that was not as much fun and would have been limiting in multiplayer. So, three it was, the perfect balance between accessibility and fun!

How is Endless Dungeon’s story told? How do characters discover or unlock more of the narrative?

Endless Dungeon’s story is told in many ways and its depth grows the further you get in the dungeon and the more content you unlock in the meta. You will unlock new characters to hang out with in the saloon or to go on a run with. They’ll have stories to tell and their own quests that you can complete navigating the 10 districts of the game, also unlocked progressively. You will also unlock stories about the station’s history and raison d’être (the reason for being). These will echo the notes you come across as well as the game’s environmental storytelling.

Is the storyline experienced in a linear manner? How confusing is it to keep up with everything?

In a procedural roguelike, nothing is totally linear yet there are key beats that will trigger throughout the game for all to experience. Hopefully, it won’t be confusing at all although if you are already familiar with the Endless Universe, you get a head start in terms of piecing the lore and story together.

And how does gameplay progression work? I didn’t really get a chance to see how the characters themselves might grow stronger over time (if they do at all).

Characters do grow stronger over time or rather, they are gradually given more and more options to try out in combat through meta progression. All these items and upgrades are purchased in the saloon at various stands using a meta currency that you earn from run to run. For instance, at the saloon bar, you can buy mocktails: passive upgrades that you get to equip for a run. If you collect blueprints in the station, you can give them to the Gunsmith who will turn them into new weapon attachments or new hero upgrades. You’ll be able to carry a growing amount of these upgrades.

There are also upgrades that you gain during a run: the hero upgrades you buy with Food, or the Crystal upgrades you get spending Crystal Shards. You also meet the good old Merchant who will sell you weapons and devices that will in turn level up in combat!

How many different heroes will be available at launch? Number of levels?

There will be a total of eight heroes at launch. There are nine districts spread across three floors. You visit one district on each floor, descending into the dungeon. Every new run means mapping out a new path towards the core, the 10th and final environment.

Will the game support cross-platform multiplayer?

The game does not support cross-platform multiplayer across manufacturers. However, it does support it within a given ecosystem. For example, PlayStation 4 players can join their friends on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players can play with their friends on Xbox One consoles.

How is the economy shared between players in multiplayer? Do we all pull from the same pool of resources?

All the resources you accumulate in a run are shared in multiplayer. Your chances depend on efficient communication and decision-making!

What doors shall we open next? In what order? What turret shall we research next? Who needs an upgrade the most?

These are just a few of the questions you will need to ask yourself and your friends and when pressure and mistakes kick in, that’s when multiplayer will be the most fun.

In multiplayer, how far apart can I be from the rest of my party? Do we have to stick together, or can we be whole levels apart?

You can wander as far apart from each other as you want within the same zone. The three players always go through a zone together and need to reach the exit… together!

There are times when you will spread out to cover choke points or points of interest, and others where you will need to regroup to escort the crystal for instance. Try out different team tactics and learn to adapt and improvise in the face of more and more monsters!

In terms of the waves, how often do they occur? Is it determined by how many rooms I’ve explored? How much time has passed? Something else?

Once you find a monster spawner in a zone, you know the first wave is coming. And after the first will come many more, depending on how fast you are moving forward.

The timing between waves depends on the elapsed time since the previous wave as well as the number of doors you open. And we add a slight element of randomness to the mix!

Is there an actual antagonist to Endless Dungeon? I only saw the mindless creatures blocking my escape–is there anyone out there I eventually have to worry about?

I can’t say much more today but there is a lot to worry about inside the dungeon! Fans of the Endless Universe and newcomers alike will not be disappointed!

We look forward to releasing new information about the game in the coming months as well as to getting feedback from our community during OpenDev!

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Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is the unlikely sequel to the unlikeliest of hits. The original Mario + Rabbids game, Kingdom Battle, was a wild collaboration between Nintendo’s most iconic characters and Ubisoft’s screaming, Minion-like goofballs, all mashed together with a healthy dose of XCOM. Most shocking of all was that it all worked together beautifully. For Sparks of Hope, Ubisoft is experimenting further with free movement more reminiscent of a traditional Mario game, new playable characters like Bowser, and an emphasis on flexibility with its new Sparks system.

“To me, it was a dream project and it was almost unbelievable to have the opportunity to start to work on a game with Mario and Rabbids,” creative director Davide Soliani told GameSpot. “I always respected, as a player and as a developer, [Nintendo’s] IP, but it was very tense for me to go in front of them and to pitch our idea. And since then, we kept collaborating together because we did Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, but we also worked on [Donkey Kong Adventure]. Then we started with Sparks of Hope.

“I will say that we are now collaborating with Nintendo for eight years in a row. We never stopped collaborating with them, and this gave us confidence, strength, and knowledge of how to not just be respectful of their IP but also to know more about the Mario universe, going deeper and deeper. But we also strengthened our relationship in terms of exchanging ideas.”

That bizarre mix of influences–a Mario game, but also a Rabbids game, but also a tactics game with adventure elements–meant Soliani and his team had to convince Ubisoft, then Nintendo, and finally, the players, of the game’s merit. That made the team adopt a philosophy of constantly surprising players with humor and strategic depth. In Sparks of Hope, Soliani says he wants to surprise players with “this extra vibe of epicness.” That extends to both the story, with a more expansive scope, and in terms of the combat systems.

“I believe that this was also true with the Kingdom Battle, but even more true in Sparks of Hope,” he said. “There is such a depth in our combat system, which is one of the elements we are mostly proud of. There are others, but this is the core of our game, I believe.”

Soliani says the combat system this time is heavy on synergy between heroes and skills, letting you customize the heroes to your liking with their skill points and giving you more flexibility and the ability to use combos. The demonstration we saw was a good example, showing a much greater range of ways that the heroes could interact with each other and the environment than in Kingdom Battle. While that game had a few combo moves, like spring-boarding off each other for extra reach, the short combat encounter we saw had a much greater range of synergies–from marking enemies for a combo attack to floating above for a gentle landing to using environmental hazards and enemies like Bob-ombs as weapons.

All of this is complemented by the new movement system, which is now free-roaming. Rather than selecting your position on a grid, Mario and his crew move the way you’d expect them to in any other Mario game, jogging around the battlefield, jumping over obstacles, and collecting coins. Combining that level of intuitive movement with more natural combat options, eschewing the last game’s menu system, means this looks to imitate classic 3D Mario mechanics. It remains to be seen if Ubisoft nailed the feel of a Mario game, but it looks very naturalistic in gameplay demonstrations. Free movement is a core essence of Mario games.

“To me, [the new movement system] adds freedom,” Soliani said. “That’s the perception I wanted the player to have while playing the game. Nothing wrong with the grid system and the cursor; I love those kinds of games. I did Kingdom Battle because I love those kinds of games. But we didn’t want to do just a pure sequel. We wanted to rework the game from the ground up. We wanted to bring a new reason and a good reason to buy another game. So freedom is what I had in mind. The ability to just run inside the battlegrounds, to vault over the cover and jump on the other side, dashing [into] some others that could be flipped and then taken and then thrown out of boundaries, or maybe against other heroes. For example, you can flip and throw the bomb against another bunch of heroes, so yes, it’s an enemy that can damage you, but you can turn the table at your own advantage and flipping this guy and using it as a weapon instead.

“And this is just within the movement phase. Then you have the attack phase, the techniques, and bags full of items that you will be able to buy along the course of your journey. So there are a lot of elements, but all those elements can be quickly–super quickly–assessed in the combat system, but not like we were doing in Kingdom Battle by browsing different slots. You can quickly assess everything and move your character with the simple press of a button. So the dynamics and the velocity that the players have now with the combat system, it’s another level. It’s unmatched. And to support that, we also created the various types of enemies. Before they were always moving, attacking, and using the techniques. Now we have different kinds of enemies. So I believe that we have been better at proposing different kinds of interaction with the combat system and different ingredients to have fun with during the battles.”

At the center of both the story and the gameplay are the Sparks–Super Mario Galaxy’s Lumas crossed with Rabbids. The creatures are being kidnapped by the villain Cursa for unknown but certainly evil reasons, and as you rescue them you’ll gain new suites of abilities and customization options. In the video we saw both a burst of electricity and a huge area-of-effect ice blast. But Soliani says they also augment the heroes, letting you enhance their existing strengths or make up for their deficits.

“First of all, the Sparks are creatures that you have to save from this malevolent entity that is, let’s say, threatening the whole galaxy. But once saved, they can be used in combat, their power can be used in combat, in order to help you out. Those Sparks can also grow up along with you so you can make them stronger.

“And their ability and the fact that you can keep them as you want to any heroes, it’s what makes the whole difference. You can take a new archetype and a specific Spark can either help what are already the good characteristics of a hero. For example, make it stronger with the Spark that is announcing the damage output of any given hero. So if you take someone like Mario, that has already a quite good damage output, you can make it even stronger. But you can instead keep another kind of Spark, which is helping, maybe, the weaknesses of Mario. Mario is not as tough as Bowser. So all those combinations together is what is going to make the play style of each player shine. So the modularity of the Spark is what is going to make each hero even more interesting than before.”

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was a surprising addition to the Mario canon, not least of which because Nintendo is notoriously protective of its characters. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope appears primed to surprise players all over again, with a greater degree of flexibility and more Mario-like mechanics. The bizarre crossover experiment just keeps paying off in new ways. But this time, we aren’t surprised at how fun and engaging the collaboration looks.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 20.

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