Quick! Get these last-minute gifts for the gamer in your life
21.12.2023 - 20:35
/ techcrunch.com
/ Star Ocean
2023 was an absolute unit of a year for gaming. No one could possibly have played all the awesome titles that came out across platforms. I certainly didn’t. But that also means that you have options for grabbing a last-minute gift for that gamer in your life! I’ve gathered a few of the best titles that happen to be the type someone might have put off while playing the latest Final Fantasy or Call of Duty.
I’ve also tried to select games that are multi-platform, other than Mario of course, so make sure you know what your giftee is playing on and make the appropriate selection.
If your gamer is the type who carries dice everywhere, plays a complex card or tabletop game, or makes jokes about “crit fails,” get them Baldur’s Gate 3 if they don’t already have it. Now available on PC, Xbox and PlayStation, this most epic of RPGs is garnering award after award and is even better now than it was when it got released. There’s a good chance they already have it, since it’s been out for a while, but a lot of people have also been waiting for it to go on sale, which it now has. Their hesitation is your gift.
If your gamer talks about how much they love difficult games or that there’s too much hand-holding in games today, get them Lies of P. You wouldn’t expect a Pinocchio-themed game to be one of the best Souls-likes (as imitators of the Dark Souls type are called) in years, but somehow that’s exactly what happened. This game has a dark, original story and setting, as well as a long, satisfying campaign with lots of secrets, weapons, obscure gameplay elements, and of course unbelievably hard bosses. You might want to buy a spare controller in case they tear theirs in half.
If your gamer is a nostalgic one (as those of us “of an age” often are), get them Nintendo’s latest nostalgia bait, the remake of Super Mario RPG. More of a remaster of the beloved Super Nintendo game, this remake has the same story and gameplay elements but updates the graphics and handling for the modern era. It’s another one many will have held off on buying due to the amount of great games right now, but they’ll be happy to receive it.
This is also a nostalgia kick, but it’s for people who don’t mind their media to be a little on the anime side (or don’t have a Switch). Star Ocean 2 was one of the biggest and best of the 16-bit era and has received a masterful remake that uses a stunning “2D-3D” art style. Like Super Mario RPG, some people feel a little weird paying full price for an old game, but getting it as a gift lets them dive in without a care. You don’t really have to be over 35 to enjoy these games, but it will probably help. (PC, PlayStation, Xbox)
Does your gamer have a buddy they reliably play with? Get them Remnant II. One of the