Gaming on a budget
A special presentation
To compensate for not posting for two weeks, I wanted to write something a bit more meaty. Since watching Scott The Woz’s video about it, I’ve been thinking about budget gaming a lot. While his video is really good, I feel like he neglected a certain type of player, me. Or you, hopefully. The person who’s willing to mess around a bit to get the most from their games. The person who’s fine playing stuff on PC. In this issue, I wanted to talk about some games and consoles that are totally worth getting, if you’re a modding person or otherwise. I won’t mention piracy for most of this considering that if you want to pirate games, you probably don’t need to worry about budgeting in the first place. You do you.
Since this will be a fairly long article, you might want to use the chapter feature, which should appear at the left edge of your screen. You don’t need to read everything, though it’s always appreciated.
Finally, I just want to say that this is all from my experiences. There’s very clear gaps in my knowledge, and this isn’t a definitive guide, but rather a guide I wanted to make that I feel aren’t really covered in the main stream.
The consoles to get
First of all, it’s important to decide which console you want. Each console has it’s strengths and weaknesses, so deciding which is for you can be difficult. Initally though, we can immediately forget about any consoles before the 6th gen. The Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Dreamcast (and anything before) are at this point, very outdated. Though they are great for enthusiasts, they’re not the best idea considering the console and the games are both expensive at this point, and aren’t that long. We can also forget about the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series. Both are extremely overpriced even for regular gamers, let alone budgeters. So now that we eliminated the most obvious culprits, what should you choose?
Wii
The first obvious option is the Wii. Out of any of these options, Wii is definitely the cheapest upfront, though it’s not a bad option at all. The Wii is home to some of the most modded console games of all time, such as Mario Kart Wii, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While it’s not great for variety, a lot of them go for fairly cheap in person, and is a great option for multiplayer. It also helps that if you have the model that stands upright, you can play GameCube discs on it too, though you do need a controller for it. Wiimmfi and WiiLink (or even WiiLink WFC if you’re feeling spicy) makes it so this console is still completely online compatible, so any online game still works as it should, all for free. If you live with roommates or have friends around often, it’s a great option for that.
Wii U
A less talked about console to get is Wii U, and probably for good reason. At first glance, it is much more expensive than a regular Wii and isn’t remembered the fondest. However, the Wii U has several points that make it a good pick. Firstly, it includes everything in a Wii. While it can’t play GameCube discs, it can play the files natively, which means if you have a friend with a Wii, you can have them rip your discs for you and play them on your Wii U forever (It’s easier than it sounds). Along with Wii compatability, Wii U has a lot of the best games ported on Nintendo Switch. Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, and even games that got sequels got their start on Wii U like Splatoon or Super Mario Maker. These games are some of the best of their generation, and they’re sold for as cheap as candy due to them being on Switch. The latter games are also highly online games that you can play forever, and they’re just available to play thanks to Pretendo. The service also enables Miiverse again, which is an entire community of people you can interact with at any point. If you just want to play any old game Wii U isn’t for you, but it’s a great alternative for people who want to play on Switch.
PlayStation 3
Though it was unpopular during its launch, the PlayStation 3 is great for anyone who is interested in older games. If you’re careful about what version you pick up, you can play PlayStation 1, 2 and 3 discs all on the same console. Since many of the classic games go for cheap nowadays, they’re a great deal for anyone who’s willing or wanting to play the more older games out there. The console is also a Blu-ray player, which means that if you are still stuck on a DVD player, this is a great oppotunity to switch to Blu-ray.
PlayStation 4/Xbox One
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are in a unique position where they are still relevant despite its successor being out for multiple years. This means that while they’re not the cheapest consoles out there, everything still works officially on it. The online, the game subscription services all still work, and will possibly continue to work for years to come. Both also have new games coming out to this day, and with many expansive games going for very cheap in physical stores. Personally, I’ve been able to play many games such as Final Fantasy XV, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Horizon Zero Dawn for less than 10 dollars each. Out of any of these options, these two are probably the best investment for the future, assuming you want to get new games eventually.
Nintendo DS
Since the DS is the second best-selling console ever, the average price of one nowadays is extremely cheap. Though a lot of it’s games aren’t as “iconic“ as its console counterpart, they are still really good and very cheap. Games like Kirby Squeak Squad, two Legend of Zelda games, Super Mario 64 DS that you can play for hours at a time as well as more slow burners like Brain Age, Picross 3D and Animal Crossing: Wild World. If you get an original model or a DS Lite, it can also play Game Boy Advance games, which while it doesn’t have the strongest original library, has a lot of remakes and ports of SNES games, which are considered some of the best games of all time. In general, the DS is an excellent choice as an all rounder console, as there’s something for every type of gamer.
Nintendo 3DS (including New Nintendo 3DS)
With the recent nostalgia for the 3DS, the price of a console has gone up fairly noticably, but is incredibly worth it. There’s tons of excellent games for 3DS, such as Super Mario 3D Land, Tomodachi Life, The Legend of Zelda remakes, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, all contributing to one of the strongest libraries in Nintendo history. It is also a homebrew beast, in multiple senses. You can backup your games and save them to the console, meaning you can take your physical library with you on trains or buses without worrying about the card slot or forgetting a game. It also has a lot of emulators, custom games and features like NetPass, making Streetpass more accessible again. If you’re willing to mess around a bit, the 3DS may be one of the most useful consoles out of any of these.
PC
PC has a reputation for being incredibly expensive, but the reality is that you can get by with a PC that works fairly well for a reasonable price. While it’s still probably going to be the most expensive out of any of these options, a mini PC up to 300 dollars can get you playing a lot of indie games flawlessly. While it can’t run the biggest games out there, it is good in the fact that it can emulate the most, along with having the best deals out there. Many PC storefronts practically give their games away, resulting in deals that sound completely outlandish to any console gamers out there. PC is also home to many fangames which are completely free, particularly for RPGs or platformers. If you’re a fan of Mario, Sonic or Pokemon, you’ll be treated very well on PC. It’s also just a generally good PC for doing office tasks or streaming, so if you have a particularly bad computer it might be a good replacement. Personally I recommend this PC, made by GMKtec. It has been very kind to me so far, and has proven to be able to emulate the Wii at 720p at full framerate, which means it can emulate most consoles older than that as well.
Free games
When thinking about gaming on a budget, there’s really nothing that beats free. That elusive price point may seem like a dream, but there’s some deals out there that let you get games for free, both in official games and fangames.
The Epic Games Store (PC)
Now the Epic Games Store gets a lot of flack, and I understand why. Steam is run well and works so much easier. But the best part about new storefronts is that the other companies put out offers all the time. In particular, the Epic Games Store makes games available for free every week. No ifs, no buts, just games. If you’re looking for free games, you can’t get much better than this.
The Sims 4 (PC, PlayStation, Xbox)
Despite veterans claiming it’s the worst one, The Sims 4 isn’t a bad game at all. If you like simulation games, The Sims is a great option in general. The series used to be that you paid full price for a game only to buy expansion packs, but EA pulled a rare win and made 4 free a while back. This changes nothing about the game, and unlike competitive free to play games, you can completely play The Sims 4 for free and not feel like you’re playing an incomplete game at all.
Deltarune: Chapters 1&2 (PC, All modern platforms)
After the incredible reception of Undertale, it’s unfathomable that as of now, all chapters of Deltarune, its direct spiritual successor, is free. Future chapters will be paid, but these two chapters are still fairly long. While they end on a cliffhanger, they are mostly conclusive without the need of more, and both chapters combined are quite longer than Undertale. It’s a great experience, and it’s a game you need to play regardless of if it’s free or not.
Sonic Robo Blast 2 (PC)
Welcome to the Sonic dimension. You are never coming back. Robo Blast 2 is a platformer Sonic fangame made on the Doom engine, and it works surprisingly well. The reason I recommend this is of how much support it gets from the community. Sure, the main game is pretty replayable, but there’s an online mode to play with strangers. There’s tons of character mods and level mods. There’s new mode mods, and even two major kart racers built on top of it, Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart and Dr Robotnik’s Ring Racers. It’s a great game to play out the box and an even better one to mod.
Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit (PC)
As of now, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit is the definitive Sonic fangame, and for good reason. It’s one of the few fangames that’s completely finished, and stands toe to toe to the official Genesis games. As it’s a Genesis style remake, this is a great game to get a taste of Sonic games for completely free. It’s fairly similar in style, and is just a high quality game in general. It’s also a very replayable game, with it being a very fun game to time attack, and try to go as fast as possible.
Sonic and the Fallen Star (PC)
Fallen Star is not gonna get any people who didn’t like Triple Trouble, but is essentially a sequel for any fans of that game. This is developed by Star Drop, a different team from 16-Bit, but is equally talented. The style feels moreso like an evolution of the Genesis style compared to the previous game, and is a great followup if you loved that game. This is another full game, which means this is another great multi hour game that’s great for time attacking. The same team is currently developing Sonic and the Moon Facility, which seems to be shaping up as a great sequel for it. Keep your eyes peeled for that one.
Super Mario Bros. X2 (PC)
In essence, Super Mario Bros. X2 is a free version of Super Mario Maker, and depending on who you ask, a better experience. While it’s less simple than that game (you have to go on forums to find levels and packs), it provides full game experiences. Each pack might as well be a standalone game, with dynamic world maps, new levels and mechanics, new blocks, and sometimes new graphics and music. The game also comes with a built in campaign, The Princess Cliché, which ironically shows off the less typical things you can do with the Super Mario Bros. X2 engine and editor. This game can suffice your Mario needs for a long while, and even longer if you’re the creative type.
Please, Touch the Artwork 2 (PC)
At the time, Please,Touch the Artwork was a fairly notable indie puzzle game. It won several indie awards and was one of the bigger puzzle games I knew about from a young age. So it’s great that the sequel, released in 2024, is just free. No hidden costs, just completely free. It’s a wonderful game that’ll leave you fumbling, and is just a genuinely fun time.
Replayable games
When you only have enough money to get so many games, it’s important that those games you get are something you can play over and over. Luckily, these few games are some of the most replayable games I have been able to find.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
The Super Smash Bros. series in general are highly replayable games. However, Brawl in particular is a very strong contender due to how much modes and side options exist. The biggest one is Subspace Emmisary, a full adventure mode with full scale beat ‘em up levels and boss battles, which might as well be a full game. Along with that, Brawl contains demos of NES and SNES games, a full gallery of trophies with flavour text for each one, sticker collecting, and that’s all not regarding the actual battles, which as with any game you can spend a lot of time in. It’s a fully formed package, something you can’t say about every Smash game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch)
Where Ultimate lacks in side modes, the game makes up for in making the main one as fleshed out as possible. While the adventure mode World of Light is less impressive than Subspace, it’s still quite long, as well as it containing spirits, something you can play with a lot in general smash battles. Ultimate contains the most characters, stages, customization out of any game. There are literal trillions of possibilities you have, and if you like the general gameplay of Smash, this is very clearly the best option.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)
Every Mario Kart is replayable, so what makes 8 Deluxe so different? Simply, it’s the pure amount of stuff in it. I will admit, base 8 Deluxe isn’t too special. It still has 48 tracks, and a pretty good battle mode. But if you spend an extra 30 dollars (or are subscribed to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack for 50 dollars yearly) on the Booster Course Pass, you get another 48 tracks for cheaper than it cost to buy the game. Depending on how much you get the original game for, you can play 96 tracks for the same amount as it cost to get any other game at full price. This is a game you can play anytime people come over, and people have spent hundreds of hours playing this, and it’s a great investment. That or wait until the Switch 2 to come out with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Deluxe.
Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
Wii Sports is the most iconic game for the Wii, and for good reason. It’s a fun tech demo, and was packed in with every Wii in certain regions. But in my opinion the better game to get is the slightly less prolific but still highly successful Wii Sports Resort. Compared to the 5 sports in the original, Resort has 12. Many of these sports play completely different from each other, and each have multiple modes. Many of the sports from the original game are in this sequel either in the same way or in a similar way. It’s a great game to replay over and over, and notably one of the most accessible games in this entire list. I have been able to play many games of table tennis or golf with my parents, and I have even played a game of bowling with my granddad, who actually managed to win against me, something I have seldom experienced with family members. It’s a great game to play with anyone in particular.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (PC, All modern platforms)
I originally considered listing Tetris DS, but Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is so much more polished and full of variety that it’s so obviously the choice. There are tons of modes for Puyo Puyo, Tetris, both, all with slightly different game play. Despite the core gameplay being the same, the way the switch around or are executed are all different that you can keep playing the game forever, both by yourself and with other people. Worst case scenario, you can try the demo which has the main modes.
The Jackbox Party Pack series (PC, All modern platforms)
Jackbox is a game great for parties, which you might’ve guess from the title. Each pack includes 5 social games, all played using your phone, either centered on comedy, trivia, deduction, or something else entirely. The best packs are something you can play every night, with people locally or online. Since each pack has different games, I’ll list which packs are good for which players here.
All-around - Pack 3
High energy - Pack 7 or 9
Long and indepth - Pack 8
Intellectual - Pack 6
Comedic - Pack 5
Online - Pack 4
Many of these packs go on sale regularly, so they might even be cheaper than usual!
Great deals
Minecraft (PC, All modern platforms)
There’s no way you don’t know what Minecraft is, so I won’t try to explain it to you. All you need to know is that to this day, Minecraft is being updated every year to this day, with new mobs, blocks and sometimes new features. It’s a game with a giant active community that you can spend online doing anything your heart desires, build whatever you want, or explore however much you want. As we’ll get into later, it’s also a incredibly versitle game, and only gets better with each passing day.
Grand Theft Auto V (PC, PlayStation, Xbox)
Being the second best selling game of all time directly after Minecraft, GTAV is a great game to do stupid stuff in. While the main story is pretty good, what makes the game special is the self inflicted challenges. Because of how the game behaves, the game is prime for running away from the cops in a car holding a launcher you’re definitely not allowed to own. It’s absolutely absurd, and a great time if you’re willing to put the energy into it.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC, All modern platforms)
Skyrim is a similar situation to GTA, but moreso has an emphasis on the actual story. I will admit I am not too familiar with the game, but it’s an equally quite large game where compared to its counterpart, has a pretty meaty campaign you can get invested in. If you’re not interested in making up objectives to complete on your own, it’s a great alternative.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U, Switch)
With the sequel Tears of the Kingdom being out, it might seem counterintuitive to recommend getting the original Breath of the Wild, which is supposedly inferior in every way. However, there’s a few points to reason why you still might want to pick up the original. The most obvious one is cost. Especially on Wii U, Breath of the Wild is not nearly as expensive as its successor, with the original price being 10 dollars cheaper, and players getting rid of their 7 year old copies or straight up replacing it with the sequel. But even ignoring that, this game is still absolutely enormous, with the ability to spend over 100 hours on it without even beating Ganon. Some people even argue that the game is more tightly designed, and being an overall better game. And while this won’t apply to everyone, if you can mod your Wii U or Switch, you can play Second Wind, a fan made expansion with a new large scale quest, major improvements for massive portions of the game, new gear, moves, food, mobs, and even more.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
While I did spend some of the previous section explaining what makes Breath of the Wild better, that’s still subjective as Tears of the Kingdom is one of the biggest games you can play in general. It’s over double the size of the predessesor, with entirely new vertical areas of the map, and tons of new mechanics that tie into each other to make a game that feels bigger without feeling empty. The new fuse and build abilities make anything possible, and tons of minute details you can spend hours in by itself (case and point; I spend hours on cooking all different kinds of meals). While not without its flaws, Tears of the Kingdom is such a giant game that its worth the full retail price, and is worth saving up for.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
While Super Mario Galaxy is the game that is always talked about in official capacities, Galaxy 2 is arguably a much better value for the player. There are tens of galaxies all with wildly different themes, and many stars to collect. And once you’re done beating the game, you can go for all the stars you missed, which will add double the amount of stars into the game, and ending with the one of the hardest levels in Mario history. In a list full of open world games and exploring, Galaxy 2 differenciates itself by being a game full of properly hand crafted levels and variety. Even if it’s not this game, I recommend getting a game like this, since it broadens your prespective so much.
Horizon Zero Dawn (PC, PS4, PS5)
Though it has its flaws, I highly recommend Horizon. The open world is visually incredibly interesting, and the combat against the enemies are some of the most fun I’ve seen in any game, with you practicing stealth against machines until you are confident enough, jumping out from the shadows in an all out attack. It’s quite a tense game, and not something you can really play while listening to a podcast, but it’s something that you can really focus on, even as someone with ADHD I have had no issues completely getting immersed in the world.
Marvel’s Spider-Man (PC, PS4, PS5)
There’s not a whole lot I can say about Spider-Man that I can’t say about any of these other open worlds. More than any of these options, Spider-Man has a lot of emphasis on traversal, with a great moveset for flying around New York City. It’s a great alternative to the previous game if you’re much more interested in flying around in your own time instead of combat, though there is plenty of that here too.
Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)
While City Folk wasn’t recieved the best at launch, in essence it’s a beefed up Wild World, which is a lot of content. While Animal Crossing isn’t a game you play for hours at a time, it’s a game with longevity. If you get into it, you can play the game every day for years and still have things to do. Thanks to the fan support, you can also visit other villages and recieve special items from online servers. While not the best game to only have, it’s a game you can keep coming back to, moreso than Smash Bros. or Mario Kart.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
New Leaf is a fairly similar story to City Folk, because it’s the direct successor. If you’re ok with not playing on the TV, this sequel has even more things to do. You can build a lot more things in the town, develop even more shops, and there’s a lot more customization in the form of more items. While it’s not necessarily worth owning both, if you can get a game on the 3DS it’s definitely worth picking up in favor of City Folk.
Picross S series (Switch)
If you love puzzle games, Picross S is a fantastic series to get into. Each entry has been basically 40+ hours, with very little of that time being filler, and moreso being challenged by the actual puzzles. Every entry has hundreds of puzzles for 10 dollars each, and if you haven’t played the Picross E series on 3DS, it’s even cheaper as there’s a series of remakes of those games (all in Picross S+ as DLC packs) with 5 dollars per entry for the same amount of puzzles. Personally, picross is one of my favourite puzzle games and I highly recommend it.
Hollow Knight (PC, All modern platforms)
There are many great metroidvanias, with huge worlds you can explore for hours on end. So it’s great that one of the most critically acclaimed is one of the cheapest. The atmosphere is very etherial, and truly feels like nothing else in the genre. The game has gotten multiple free updates, and costs very little in digital. The game is also getting a sequel, though people aren’t too sure when that’s coming out.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (PC, All modern platforms)
Shovel Knight used to be an insane deal, containing 4 full length campaigns and a battle mode for 15 dollars. Now, it’s only a super great deal. Each campaign is still essentially a full game, and doing the math they’re only 10 dollars each, even less if you count the battle mode. This is also formed a lot like a retro platformer, which means if you can’t afford to spend money on small retro games, this is a pretty good replacement.
Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch)
While Super Mario Maker 2 didn’t quite blow up as much as the first game, it is by far the bigger game. There’s so many levels available online (including recreations of classic 2D Mario games), with entire worlds online that basically mean you get entire Mario games in this one package. Along with that, you get an actual official 2D Mario game in this because of the Story Mode, featuring 120 courses, which is more than some complete games. Because it has a higher playerbase, there are way more levels than any unofficial fangame, with tons of passionate creators. If you want a 2D platformer, this single game could last you years.
Moddable games
Many games on PC have excellent modding support in no small part thanks to the community. Additionally, the advantage of Nintendo consoles is that they are almost always incredibly easy to mod, meaning the mod support of its games are also incredibly good. This means that you can really get a bang for your buck with some of these games. But what games specifically? I’m glad you asked.
Mario Kart (Wii, 3DS)
Mario Kart Wii and 7 both have excellent mod support, though in what form differs from each other. Mario Kart Wii has the most mods, meaning that if you want to straight up play as many tracks as possible, this is the best option out there. New tracks are coming out every week, with handy modpacks letting you play them all at once. Of them, I definitely recommend Mario Kart Midnight, which compiles the year’s best custom tracks into one hack, with this year’s edition Mario Kart Midnight 2 releasing very recently. I’m not a fan of CTGP Revolution because of how it’s managed, but as a mod I can’t deny it’s very convenient. It has a ton of tracks and has by far the most active online out of all the mods. But if you just want to play the most tracks possible, Mario Kart Wii Deluxe is your best bet. It contains every single retro track plus hundreds of custom tracks, resulting in a mesmerising 800 tracks. Though the quality can vary, a lot are generally good and the occasional bad track can be great fun when you discover them with friends. This page is very useful to look for custom track distributions.
Mario Kart 7 has a fairly different thing going on. As far as I’m aware, there’s only one modpack available entitled CTGP-7, but it’s a damn good mod. Apart from the excellent selection of 88 excellent tracks, the mod presents dozens of new characters, new karts, with speed selecting for those who want a challenge, and a mission mode for the single player demographic. While it’s not as big as the Wii game, CTGP-7 gives Mario Kart 7 a complete new lease of life, which also constantly gets updates.
New Super Mario Bros. (DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U)
The New Super Mario Bros. series in general has a ton of mods to play. As with Mario Kart, the Wii game has by far and away the most mods. The most notable of course is Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii, which completely revamps the game with new assets, a full 8 world game plus several bonus worlds. While this is the most notable, there’s several 8 world mods out there, such as Another Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario’s Final Adventure Wii and Super Mario Super Star. Plus, there’s tons of smaller mods out there consisting of a few levels or worlds. There’s a big list here, which I highly recommend you check out.
DS has not as many mods, but still quite a few. If you like Newer Wii, the sequel developed by the same team is on DS, called Newer Super Mario Bros. DS. If you’re done with that, Super Mario Bros. - The New Worlds is a similarly big mod with original visuals. Notably, there’s remake mods for Super Mario Bros. 1, The Lost Levels, 3, and World, making this a pretty good game to get to experience the classic games in an updated format. There’s mods for Mario vs. Luigi too, making the mod experience for this game pretty all-rounded. If you’re interested, here’s the full list.
The list of mods for 2 is in a weird place, considering that modding the game is still fairly underdeveloped, and there’s very few mods only coming from one source. Super Mario Bros. Next is the main one, which is still in development. They have a Discord server for updates on making it, which I recommend you check out since it seems to be shaping up to be an amazing mod. If you don’t want to wait, Super Mario Bros. Next: The Lost Levels is a great time sink. It’s a 2 part mod including all the scrapped levels and assets from the original mod. While it isn’t as unique as the Newer games, it’s still a great mod to play while waiting for Next. They also have two specials; Sunset Shores and Halloween Special, both one world mods themed around a specific time of year.
U has many mods for players to try out, though there aren’t as many full scale mods as many go in favor of a 4-6 world mid range mod. The big one here is Cloudy SMBU and Cloudy Super Mario Bros. U 2. While they’re not as long as Newer, they are equally enjoyable. U is the best place for themed mods, short mods with a stronger emphasis on one specific idea. Halloween Special, Nature, One Day Escapade, Sunset, there are many small mods to play that you can get through in a day each, but are still really replayable. To see all those mods, you can see them here.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl again (Wii)
While every Smash game has its fair share of mods, Brawl is by far the most developed. What you want to download will depend on how you play. If you just want to play a mostly vanilla game but something that plays faster, Project M is the perfect mod. The game is completely rebalanced, and plays much more like Melee. However, Project M has been discontinued for quite some time now. If you’re looking for a competitively viable mod, you would be in luck with Project+ and Legacy TE. Project+ is a very focused rework based on Project M, while Legacy TE includes new content in stages, costumes and music. But the star of the show here is PMEX REMIX. While it still tries to balance all the characters, it includes hundreds of stages, music, 122 characters, and tons more of modes and little features. While the mod is no longer in development, a majority of the team are continuing onto REX, so be sure to keep your eye on it.
Grand Theft Auto V/The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)
These games rely on you willing to make your own goals. The positive part of that is that if you’re willing to do that, there is almost infinite content here. There’s a lot of challenge mods out there, which means less so full content mods with new modes or anything, but the stupidest things you can think of. While these mods aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they are great fun for people who like a challenge. They are a hoot.
Minecraft (PC)
Minecraft is a beast compared to any of these other games. Minecraft has all different types of mods for basically everything you can think of. New mobs, new features, new biomes, new shaders, there are complete worlds out there, so much so that I think I shouldn’t really tell you what you NEED. Every mod works in different versions and has compatibility issues with each other, so you should just browse some websites! The best one in particular is Modrinth, which is incredibly easy to browse. When in doubt, browse the mods tab and sort through categories or features! If you have a particular pop culture interest, they might have a mod for that too.
Subscription services
As of current, all three big three console manufacturers have a subscription service to buy into, all with different pros and cons. For the case of this section, we’ll only be talking about the services that don’t let you keep the games. For those services, we’ll talk about them later.
Xbox Game Pass (PC, Xbox)
Xbox Game Pass is by far the most well known subscription in the gaming space. The plans go as follows;
Xbox Game Pass Core - $120/yr
PC Game Pass - $142/yr
Xbox Game Pass - $180/yr
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate $240/yr
Xbox Game Pass is known to have hundreds of games at all times. Every month new games are added, with it being incredibly easy to play the games on your PC or on console. With Core you only get about 25 games or so at a time, and it’s not a good deal. Out of the other 3, PC and Ultimate gives you Xbox games at day one. All of these plans also include EA Play, which gives you access to all the EA games, which is useful considering EA games are usually replaced every year anyway. It’s also important to note that Ultimate also includes PC Game Pass, meaning you can play every game on Xbox and PC. All in all, while Game Pass is very useful, It’s not very good for the average budgeter unless you use Game Pass as the primary spending for games, which you could make an argument is worth it, though I would argue getting older games gives you ownership for more games for cheaper.
PlayStation Plus (PlayStation)
PlayStation Plus is very similar to Xbox Game Pass, though it has notable differences.
PlayStation Plus Essential - $80/yr
PlayStation Plus Extra - $135/yr
PlayStation Plus Premium - $160/yr
Surprisingly, Essential and Extra are cheaper than most of the tiers in Game Pass. Essential is not really for getting games, with the only thing about getting games being The Catalog, a feature where every month you’re subscribed you get new games linked to your account, meaning you can build your own personal Game Pass, but only while you’re subscribed. Everything else is the basic things, like online play, discounts, and cloud storage. The Extra tier introduces the game catalog, which is why the price jumps so suddenly. While it’s very slightly cheaper than Game Pass, it doesn’t include games day one, which means it doesn’t serve the purpose of “keeping up with the new games“ as much as Game Pass does. Premium introduces cloud play and the retro catalog which while neat, puts it a lot higher than regular Game Pass which already includes older games by default. If you need a subscription service, it’s best to use Game Pass instead of PlayStation Plus.
Nintendo Switch Online (Switch)
Nintendo Switch Online is in a weird position where they’re the only one out of the big three where they serve a wildly different purpose. However, being distinct helps the service stand out.
Nintendo Switch Online - $20/yr
Expansion Pack - $50/yr
While the service was originally about the online, the star of the show these days is the retro catalog. With the standard plan you get NES, SNES and Game Boy games. While the selections for these consoles are excellent (minus Game Boy), the real best plan is the Expansion Pack. With it, you can also get Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and Sega Genesis games. With those consoles, you get an excellent crash course in Nintendo gaming which is cheaper than all the other services. Additionally, this is the only service to allow a family plan, with the Expansion Pack offering an $80/yr plan to share with 8 people, meaning you can go as low as $10/yr per person. Personally, if you needed a service I would highly recommend this one.
Apple Arcade
While Apple Arcade is very infamous for making games exclusive, in reality there aren’t that many. The majority of the games are ports of indie games. While it does make it a fairly good subscription for indie games, there’s a problem here of exclusivity, but not in the way you expect. Since every game has to be exclusive in the App Store, any game that hasn’t bothered to make an Apple Arcade version available on the service is not viable on there. While I don’t personally see value in it, there are some good exclusives on there. In particular, Apple is really pushing Sonic Dream Team, an original 3D Sonic game for the service. If you’re interested in it, it’s 50 dollars a year, certainly one of the cheapest subscriptions on this list.
Play Pass
Google Play Pass is Google’s competitor to Apple Arcade, and in my opinion, a much better one. Unlike Arcade, Play Pass doesn’t invest in exclusives, as it just unlocks games that are already in the Play Store. The effect this has on the service is that developers can include their game on it far more easily, therefore there are much more games and apps on it. Compared to its competitor’s 200+ games, the service has 950+ apps on it. And it’s not just shovelware, genuine top tier indie games are on here and while some games from Arcade such as Balatro are missing, this has far more variety, as well as removing in app purchases and ads in already free games. The price is a lot cheaper too, with the cost only being 30 dollars yearly.
Netflix
The best thing about Netflix is that you probably already have it. While it’s not a great service to get for gaming, it’s a great place to start if you have it.
Basic with Ads - $84/yr
Standard - $186/yr
Premium - $296/yr
If you don’t have it, I won’t lie and say you need to get Netflix at this point considering it’s getting worse every year. But if you do, Netflix has a lot of games to play for what is essentially free. Mobile especially has a lot, with games like Sonic Mania Plus, World of Goo, Bloons TD 6, Reigns, Into the Breach and more, just sitting there for you to try. Please try it out if you have it.
Game bundles
When I only played games on console, I realised that I was missing out on a whole world of great deals out there. While there’s certainly some shady sites out there that might give you better deals, I have chose to compile only the trustworthy ones here.
Humble Bundle
Humble is certainly the biggest bundle site out there. They usually have about 6 game bundles going on at any given time, and they’re usually fair good deals. There’s never really a bundle that goes above 20 dollars, and there’s anywhere from 6 to 15+ games in them. Obviously what they’re selling will depend on when you read this, but it’s a good idea to check there from time to time. They also have a subscription service, which lets you keep games every month. It’s 12 dollars a month, but the best part is you can pay for a month, exit and use it as a one time bundle. These games are often fairly major games (This month includes Persona 5 Strikers and Remnant II along with 6 other indie games), and if you have to get a bundle might be a good idea to get in for a few months.
Fanatical
Fanatical has a certain advantage over Humble, and that is choice. Fanatical bundles are treated more as a pick-n-mix, where the price of how many games will cost how much is decided, but you can choose which games to buy from a pool of games. This means there’s less risk to fall into duplicates or spending too much money to save on only one game you want. They also have a lot more AAA games to save on too, so it’s a great pick for the modern gamer.
Itch.io
When talking about bundles, people neglect Itch, but it’s a serious contender for good bundle sites. A major difference with the other sites is that this isn’t strictly a bundle site. However, the great part of Itch comes from its charity bundles. Historically, Itch has had some incredible bundles for indie games. A large majority of my digital library comes from the Palestinian Relief Bundle, which raised almost 600,000 dollars, cost only 8 dollars for the average consumer which included 200 games. This may seem like just a thing of the past, but these happen every so often. Make sure to keep in touch with the site, because sometimes it can host incredible deals, that also goes to a great cause.
Indiepocalypse
I love Indiepocalypse dearly. Unlike any of these other options, this is a collection. Every month, a new issue of Indiepocalypse comes out on Itch, with 10 games included. 8 of them are games sent by the author, 1 was contacted by the team to be included, and 1 is a specially commissioned game only available in the collection. Every issue is 15 dollars, meaning every game is a little over a dollar, as well as including unique art for the issue and a zine. It’s a great way to try out some new genres with very little financial risk. It’s also a very fun and cute idea, and supports the artists the most out of any of these options. I genuinely recommend getting these to anyone, not just budgeters. As of this month, there are 59 issues!
Prime Gaming
Similar to Netflix, the best part about Prime Gaming is that you might have it already. If you’re subscribed to Amazon Prime, you can claim Doom Eternal, Bioshock Remastered, Borderlands 2, Figment 2 along with tens of other indie games right now for no additional cost. Not just rent them, but own them on your library, which you can play after unsubscribing. If you have a decent PC, you might not even have to buy any games for a good while just by using your family’s Prime membership.
Very specific situations where you would get a lot of benefits that I think you should know about
There’s some very specific situations where you would benefit a lot from having certain things with each other. While if you’re literally starting from nothing this won’t help, if you’re inheriting a few games from a friend or already have gifts from someone, this might apply to you.
Ripping Game Boy on Wii
The Wii can read GameCube and Wii discs, thus can rip GameCube and Wii discs. However, if you have an earlier model of the Wii with the GameCube slots and happen to own a Game Boy Advance with a Link Cable, you can rip Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games. While this is a very specific set of needs, since your Wii can emulate Game Boy Advance, the Wii can play all the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, GameCube and Wii games you own physically. Personally, I sent these files to my New 2DS to play with Open AGB Firm so I can play them on a big screen portably. If you have a Link Cable lying around or know a friend with one, it might make sense to buy GBA games now, which go for cheap enough that buying them are still a good deal in cases.
Uh. I thought there’d be more. Apologies.
Beyond the list
Beyond all this, I want to highlight how to game for cheap without the need of a list or specific stores. Firstly, going to physical second hand stores can always help. Without me or any YouTuber telling you what is a good deal or not, if you see a large scale game for cheap, it’s probably a pretty good deal. Physical stores can often sell games for cheaper than online, so visiting them every so often is a good idea. If there’s a store you visit often, sign up for a rewards program. While the actual regular benefits might be small, you can get updates on really good sales which might make it possible to grab a game that’s a little expensive. Wishlist games on digital storefronts. Check storefronts in general which can host amazing bundles or even free games. Buying indie games is always a good idea, they go for a lot cheaper than AAA games at launch, so they’re a good option for people who want the latest games. And in general, make friends! Making connections online or offline who are similarly interested in this can know different things since they have different points of view. You can share information around and learn all sorts of cool deals.
My final picks
Well, to conclude all this information, if I were to restart my gaming journey, where would I start? Weirdly, I’ve been thinking about this for longer than I’ve thought about this article. Personally, I would get a Wii U. It can play all the Wii games, and while it’s more than a Wii, it doesn’t have any subscription to play online like the Switch or PlayStation and Xbox. To choose 5 games, I would pick Mario Kart Wii, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Wii Sports Resort and Nintendo Land.
Mario Kart Wii has a lot of mods, which are highly replayable by yourself, with friends, or online. It’s a great game to play every time a friend comes over.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii, again, has quite a bit of mods. It’s a great game to play endlessly alone, moreso than Mario Kart. But like that game, this is also a great game to play with friends thanks to the 4 player multiplayer. It’s a bingeable game, which means that it can be a game you can spend hours at a time on, which doesn’t apply to every game on the list.
Animal Crossing: City Folk is my third pick, which might come from left field. This game in particular is a good game to break up the pace. While Animal Crossing is a great game that you can spend hundreds of hours in, it’s something you don’t play for hours at a time. With this game being included with these other games, it creates a healthy balance of games that you can switch between. You can play Mario Kart Wii, unwind a bit with City Folk only to play a world of Mario Wii.
Wii Sports Resort is a very obvious pick. While it’s not nearly as single player friendly as the other choices, it helps in that anyone can play this game. Having one game that you can play with anyone around is important to me, and this would make the times when you can’t have friends over to play a hardcore game more bearable.
Finally, I would choose Nintendo Land. More than any of these, this is a completely multiplayer game. But also, it’s one of the best. Even at this point we still play Nintendo Land every time people come over, and we spend hours at a time playing it. It’s a great game to play with people all the time.
You may have noticed, I value multiplayer a lot in my games. Animal Crossing: City Folk is my only dedicated singleplayer game, with every other game either being compatible with both or being designed for multiplayer. Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. Wii do a good job at being versatile games for both singleplayer and multiplayer. When you’re constrained to only so few games. But all in all, this is my choice, and I don’t know what you value. This could look completely stupid to you, and that’s fine! Gaming is a hobby for anyone, and you can play however you want. In fact, it’s why I wrote this. I want anyone and everyone to be able to get into games for as cheap as possible. As much as I’m not a fan of Netflix or Amazon, I’m so glad they’ve invested in gaming, as it’s making it easier than ever for people to gain access to premium games, and not just your average Candy Crush clone. If you find a game you love from this, that’s all that matters.
Afterword
I did not expect to write this long when I started this. But I’m glad I did. I’m personally very satisfied with how this turned out, giving as much information as I possibly can in a topic I am very passionate about. Thank you for reading all of this, if you’re still here. We’ll be going back to our regular schedule next week, and we’ll be back with more news and recommendations. If you have anything else you’d like to add to this, please comment it or email it to me. If I get enough feedback, I’ll write a second edition of this, because I’m insane. But yeah, thanks for reading this far. I’m not feeling too hot, so I’m just gonna go lie down now. See you next week!