The Verge’s 2023 gaming and entertainment holiday gift guide

16.11.2023 - 15:59 / theverge.com

For better or worse, gamers can be a fickle bunch. That’s why, when it comes to shopping for any purveyor of fine video games and pop culture entertainment, it may be tempting to pull the cord and just go with a gift card. But alas, there are all kinds of unique gifts you can get for someone of the geekier persuasion.

Admittedly, The Verge staff is almost exclusively comprised of nerds who spend countless hours playing games and tracking the latest goings-on in fandom (they even pay us to do some of that here). So we’ve put our heads together and chosen some fun gift ideas you can buy for the most hardcore (and softest-core) of gaming enthusiasts, from an excellent paperback retrospective and the greatest video game of all time (for under $4.99) to custom controllers, Blu-rays, and the nostalgia trip that is the Lego Pac-Man Arcade building kit.

So, skip the LameStop gift card this year and get a present that’s sure to be a banger.

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By the time you die a fourth time inVampire Survivors, chances are it will already have its hooks in you. The Casetlevania-like graphics, excellent soundtrack, and casino-like rewards you receive from killing scores of monsters feeds a satisfying flow to the game’s reverse-bullet hell. The free add-ons and four-player co-op, meanwhile, keep you coming back for more.
Price: $4.99

Jordan Minor’s recent book represents a fresh take on video game history and the concept of “GOTY” lists. The author highlights a single video game that defined each year between 1977 through 2022, often focusing on the most culturally significant game as opposed to the «best» of the year. Minor's essays are accompanied by guest write-ups from top-class game critics and journalists, too, along with excellent art throughout.
Price: $20.80

2023 may have been a huge year for video games, but there’s no arguing that one of the biggest (and best) to come out this year was Tears of the Kingdom. The Nintendo Switch title blends the open world of Hyrule with a unique crafting mechanic that provides an infinite number of ways to solve puzzles, fight monsters, and get from A to B.
Price: $62.90

It’s okay to be awestruck by the lovingly detailed nostalgia beaming from this Pac-Man Lego set. The colorful, 2,651-piece building kit is a faithful recreation of a timeless arcade cabinet, complete with a light-up coin slot and a mechanical crank that moves Pac-Man and his ghostly pursuers around around the maze.
Price: $269.99

Valve’s newly launching Steam Deck OLED is sure to be a hot commodity this holiday season. While the original Deck with a standard LCD screen is still a great handheld gaming PC, the new model sports a slightly larger, higher-quality OLED panel with a higher refresh rate and