With computers being a practical household necessity at this point, it’s little wonder that PC gaming is now ubiquitous. From the classics of Doom to the modern hits like, well, Doom 2016, this is a market with thousands of games available covering every interest and genre imaginable. When it comes to PC gaming you should also know what to look for in a monitor.
Even if you don’t have a powerful gaming rig, there is still a colossal library of new and old games that will work perfectly on your machine, but where should newer players start? The current trajectory of the gaming market is one where a base game will commonly get you very little, with the cost of the full experience often including expansion and DLC content. Fortunately, there are other cheaper avenues where players can turn.
A good start when it comes to free games is to turn to the major PC gaming services like Steam and the Epic Games Store. Steam is especially helpful in that it offers hundreds of free-to-play games, some of which compete with the highest level of full-priced offerings. Warframe has been a personal favorite of ours on Steam for some time, though international mega-hit DOTA2 is also not one which should be ignored.
The Epic Games Store takes a slightly different approach. A newer entry into the mainstream gaming market, this store can’t match the selection of Steam, though it utilizes other avenues to draw players in. One of these avenues is that of free games promotions.
Rather than just offering games released with free-to-play models like those on Steam, these free games promotions are usually full-priced games which are temporarily offered as free downloads. The undersea adventure/occasionally terrifying Subnautica was the first on this front, with many more to come.
Of course, we don’t have to go entirely free, as there are lots of games available to play for very little up front. Some of the more popular games here are those from online casinos, which offer all the wide variety of classics from physical casinos with the potential of very little charge per game or round.
These even come with bonuses offers like credit bonuses and free spins, giving players more bang for their buck.
Seekers of more traditional video games could also consider the type of bundles as popularized by the Humble Monthly Bundle. This package only costs $12 a month, with each new month bringing with it a selection of indie and AAA games. The savings in this package, in particular, are enormous, with each set of unlocks bringing in over $100 in retail value for the meager $12 fee.
These can also be gifted to friends and family if you already own a particular game or collect one it isn’t your genre, making great gifts for similarly interested gamers.
Probably the most important thing which you need to keep in mind when it comes to all of these bonuses and savings is that they change and rotate constantly. Make a habit of checking each at the beginning of the month, and you could find the exact game you want for a mere fraction of the standard retail value. We got Overwatch, Destiny 2, and Mutant Year Zero this way, and these three alone have given us hundreds of hours of entertainment.
Leave a Reply