this post was submitted on 03 May 2025
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[–] [email protected] 132 points 1 week ago (3 children)

The amount of options isn’t the issue.

For most 25-40€ games I buy, i can get a great experience for the next 30-50 hours.

Indie games absolutely crush the statistics, where some sub-15€ roguelikes have such insane replayability, that i’ve clocked over a thousand hours into a couple. Not to mention how incredibly creative, unique, and story rich some of them are.

Meanwhile, what used to be 60€, and is now 80€+, is some “cinematic” 20fps on console slop, that you can barely get 5 hours of real gameplay out of. I don’t wanna sit there and watch a movie with an occasional A button press. Or even worse, play something like the Assassins Creed reboot, that had 500 hours of gameplay, 490 of which is just useless collectibles around the map.

[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Measuring games by hours has become an increasing less useful metric to me because I already have my grinding games that I can endlessly replay. When buying new games, I'd rather get something I'll really enjoy for a short playthrough than a long epic JRPG I can't bring myself to actually set aside time for - even though I do really love JRPGs.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago (10 children)

Check out Expedition 33. It feels like a love letter to jrpg but without the time commitment.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

I feel like play time per money spent mattered when most people were buying offline games at full price but to me it hasn’t been relevant for a long time. I might pay full price for a game that is incredible for 5-10 hours but a game that is mediocre for 100 hours I wouldn’t even play for free.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago (17 children)

Would be interested to know what games you have >500 hours in. Especially if they aren't multi-player online games.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)
  • Oxygen Not Included

  • Caves of Qud

  • Fallout 4. A lot of this is going to be due to mods.

  • Wargame: Red Dragon. Intended to be played multiplayer; I played it single-player. Steel Division II is a far better single-player choice if you don't mind the different setting, as the AI is much more interesting.

  • Skyrim. A lot of this is going to be due to mods.

  • Rimworld

  • Civilization V

  • Fallout 76, the only entry here I actually play multiplayer (and even that to a minimal degree; that game tends to have players having pretty minimal interaction with each other unless they're actually trying to play with each other). I would recommend playing Fallout 4 over Fallout 76 unless you specifically want multiplayer; Fallout 76 is just the closest thing to "more Fallout" short of a Fallout 5.

Not run through Steam, so no Steam stats (though available on Steam) but I'm sure that they're way up there:

  • Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. Free and open-source, though there's a commercial build on Steam if you want to effectively donate. If not, can download from their project page.

  • Dwarf Fortress. Free, though there's a commercial build on Steam with a fancier, more-approachable UI and such.

  • Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup, though that's going back a few years. Free and open-source.

Some others with a fair bit of playtime:

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago

RimWorld ...

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Minecraft, slay the spire, civilisation, atomicrops.

Balatro could have been a contender but I lost interest suddenly and unexpectedly.

spoilerTetris the daddy

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Stellaris, civ v, oxygen not included, city skylines, x3/rebirth/4, workers and resources: soviet republic, kerbal space program, rimworld, crusader kings 2 and 3.

Basically anything civilization/city/base/colony builder is my jam and some of them have over 2000 hours over the years. I like building perfect societies and roleplay how people live in them in my head while i do it. It's one of the ways i relax and express creativity.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It kills me the the Jedi games, TLoU2, GoW games, they're fun but they're what, max 30 hours to beat? And they're trying to up the price to 80?

Red dead 2 deserves 80. Cyberpunk in its current state could deserve 80. Both are around 100-120 hour games and I've replayed them multiple times. 30 hour games by proportion deserve a quarter of the price.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Never will understand people equating monetary value with how long they spend time with a game. Quality /= quantity or else Ubisoft and gacha games would be the best games of all time.

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[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 week ago (3 children)

But it still spooked Wall Street, as parent company Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s shares plummeted as much as 10% following the news.

I think our economy might be predicated entirely on stupid.

Also, $80 is a lot when typical people's buying power is decreasing. I think like half of americans can't tank a $500 surprise bill, and they want people to blow nearly 20% of that on a video game? Fuck off, capitalists.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago (2 children)

We (the gaming community) say this every time, but microtransactions and lootboxes have spread like viruses because gamers are buying them.

I hate predatory pricing on principle, but whale votes count for a lot more.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Those systems are literally designed to be psychologically addictive and prey on those weakest to such tactics. It's not stupidity; it's literal brain washing via Pavlovian response.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago

Basic human psychology has been weaponized against us, and they've been getting better at it faster than we're getting better at resisting it, for decades.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't think I've ever bought a microtransaction or cosmetic. I'm doing my part!

*Ok, i think I paid like $5 into warframe after 200 hours, and I used some fake money from google surveys on pokemon go, so I'm not entirely without sin.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 week ago (9 children)

Don't pre order games. Don't buy games at full price. Support indie devs.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I will buy indie games at full price, thank you very much.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I bought Schedule 1 for the full $20 last week.

I can't stop playing. It's too fun.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have 170 games in my backlog and the summer sale is coming. I ain't spending 80 bucks on one video game.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 week ago

I will continue to wait until games go on discount

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 week ago (14 children)

What AAA title is worth $80? The most time I spend gaming is in a 10 year old shooter, and an indie survival game. Both of which I bought for <$20.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

One you can spend at least 40 enjoyable hours on, I’d say

[–] Texas_Hangover 6 points 1 week ago (4 children)

KCD2 Is pretty damn amazing.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It sucks that waiting for a sale might only bring down to the original $50 new full price it used to be.

Just have to wait longer I guess.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

[email protected]

The amount of games on the PC is way to large to be buying right away.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago

I made a rule that I can't spend over $10 on a game until I've played through my entire backlog. I haven't bought a game over $10 in 10 years and I've spent $6k on Steam since I started using it.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago

[email protected]

There are so many options out there that asking for $80, or whatever the equivalent is, is just ridiculous. I really hope people stand up against this bulshit.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There are very few games I would spend $80 on. Actually, at this point I don't buy a lot of new games to begin with, I'm mostly just grinding the same old favorites now.

But for the games I really care about, I'm willing to spend on games I know will be worth it to me. I've waited 22 years for a sequel to Kirby Air Ride and if I have to pay $80 for it, I will pay $80 for it.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I pirate games first before buying. Too many games become shit past the return window on Steam. I buy every game I like.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

I’ve only bought one $80 game thus far (And that was during a 30% steam sale so only $55) and from my years of experience of buying games, I can confidently say that my enjoyment in games goes down as price goes up.

Although weirdly all of the $80 games that released so far have been pretty bad so that’s strange.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm over the massive, over-produced games. I looked at the price of the new Indiana Jones game (AUD119), and even though I loved Machine Games' previous work, I noped out. These days, I'm mostly reverting to simple arcade games more akin to the early era of gaming I grew up on. Shotgun Cop Man, from the people that made My Friend Pedro, just came out. It was $13. Finished it in one sitting, but I'll probably play it multiple times. Much better investment.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I think Titanfall 2 is still on sale on steam for uh... 5 dollars.

Its got Northstar, a custom client that allows for private multiplayer servers... also works on linux, literally has its own custom proton version.

Oh and there are mods as well, guided installers, mod managers, etc, for windows and linux.

Runs great on a steam deck!

... and looks ... basically the same as a shooter from 10 years later, at least at 1280 x 800?

(its built on a custom forked version of the portal 2 source engine, so it actually runs efficiently and looks good =D)

Doesn't have a huge playerbase, but it is decent enough that you can probably find a few well populated servers, at least in NA region.

... looks like titanfall 3 got turned into an extraction shooter and then cancelled.

So anyway yeah, hilariously its time to return to tradition for enthusiasts of many old school competetive games from before the bullshit of endless battlepasses and MTX kicked into high gear... and as others have pointed out, the indie scene is full of gems.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

At garage sales books can often be found for 25 cents a piece (320 books in $80).

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Just like other aspects of commerce, we’ll see what the market does. I hate to say it that way, but that’s simply how it works. Look at what’s happening to McDonalds right now. They’ve been raising prices for years, now tariffs have made things even worse, and people have responded accordingly and go to McDonalds less. Ball is in their court.

Another good example is the recent news about Beyoncé no longer filling major concert venues. I know there’s a lot of factors going on in these situations, but the truth at the core of it is that prices finally went up to a point where a not insignificant portion of her audience noped out of the transaction. Simple commerce.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

certainly wont purchase a 80$ game with mid-tier playability.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

No kidding. Not counting games I play 'any way I can':

  • Oolite
  • Endless Sky
  • Nethack
  • Shattered Pixel Dungeon
  • Dwarf Fortress
  • Liberal Crime Squad
  • Mindustry
  • WarZone 2100
  • OpenTTD
  • OpenRCT2 (though this requires some investment, you need the files from the original 2 games)
  • FreeCiv
  • EDOPro
  • Card-Forge

That's just what I have on this machine. If I check my GOG account, I'd have more. And I don't give money to Valve.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

I live in LATAM. I bought civ v once and never stopped playing it since

I don't know who's all this people who can buy games every launch, but they must be so incredibly privileged

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

I still have so many games I've picked up on Steam sales that I'll happily wait for those $80 games to go on sale while going through my back catalogue

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

Bruh it's 2025 and I'm still on a spin cycle of mostly 10 years old or more games

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

That's basically what I've been saying ever since the switch 2 announcement, I'm glad I can just copy the Sources from this article to support my intuition. Thank you, Superjoost!

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