The beautiful thing about shopping for game fans is that they’re usually easy to please. At this point, every platform has a virtual storefront, so there’s always room for a few gift cards, and unlike hardware or collectibles, scalpers can’t buy up all the digital media before you can get to the store. Even tabletop games have printable versions and PDFs that are much cheaper than paper.
If you’re looking to go the extra mile, though, or if you just want something you can actually wrap, here are some gaming-themed selections for your shopping dollar. This doesn’t include the PlayStation 5 or Nintendo’s OLED Switch, because like the last installment, we’re focusing on gifts you can actually expect to find. And as an added bonus, scroll down for our top video games of the year.
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Essentials Kit
We’ve spilled a lot of ink at GeekWire about the recent rise of D&D. It was already a household name, but due to live-play shows like Critical Role and a variety of tools that let you run D&D online, the franchise has truly exploded in the last two years. If there’s someone on your list who’s curious about the game but has yet to commit to actually buying the books, Wizards of the Coast’s Essentials Kit contains everything a newcomer needs to get started except people to play it with. Price: $24.95.
Steam Deck
It’s always awkward to give someone a pre-order slip for Christmas, but that’s life during an international chip shortage. The recently-delayed Steam Deck has gotten a lot of press for being Valve’s entry into the crowded field of portable options for PC gaming, but it’s also one of the cheapest ways right now to get a decently-powerful computer that can handle just about anything a student, designer, or artist would want to throw at it. It’s not just a games machine; it’s a solid alternative to a traditional desktop that’s priced like a Chromebook. Price: $399.99 and up.
Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda
Back in the day, Nintendo got its start in the video game business with its Game & Watch line of handhelds. This year’s new version honors both that and the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, by packing three early games in the franchise and a reskinned version of 1980’s Vermin (also known as The Exterminator) into a device that’s also a functioning desktop clock. Most importantly, it’s also a neat, one-of-a-kind video game collectible that’s somehow escaped this year’s epidemic of “grinchbots.” Price: $49.99.
Kids on Bikes tabletop game
It’s always worth having a rules-light RPG on hand as a gateway for new players, and you won’t do too much better than the crowdfunded indie Kids on Bikes. Set at a player-determined point in time before smartphones were a thing, Renegade Game Studios’ KoB is a collaborative rules-light game where players take the roles of small-town kids investigating local mysteries. Kids on Bikes is fast-moving, focused on narrative choices, light on combat, and easy to pick up. If you want to see it in action, check out the short live-play show Misfits & Magic. Price: $25.00.
Arcade 1Up recreated arcade cabinets
The retro-gaming market has grown rapidly in the last couple of years, and Arcade1Up is one of the companies that was poised to take advantage. Based out of Florida, Arcade1Up specializes in recreating classic ’80s and ’90s arcade machines at three-quarters scale, using LCD screens and on-chip emulation to mix modern technology with old-school gameplay. There’s quite a lineup of Arcade1Up cabinets at this point, but for my money, the ones to watch are the X-Men cabinet ($749.99), which recreates Konami’s hard-to-find 1992 arcade brawler, and the Street Fighter II Big Blue Arcade Machine ($599.99; shown above), which pairs three versions of SF2 with nine other Capcom arcade classics like the original Darkstalkers trilogy. They’re perfect for break rooms, arcade bars, and if you’ve got the space, home setups.
Dice Forge board game
If you’re shopping for a nerd, you usually can’t go wrong with a board game as a gift, unless they have it already. One of my favorite games that I played for the first time this year was Dice Forge, an elaborate game of resource management and occasional backstabbing where you build your own dice on the fly. (Why yes, it is European.) It’s definitely one of those games where it’s easier to pick it up through play than it is to try and explain it, but Dice Forge gets surprisingly intuitive in a hurry once you’re actually in-game. While you’re at it, check out its 2019 expansion, Rebellion. Price: $39.99; $34.99 for Rebellion.
Fixture Gaming S1 mount for Nintendo Switch
At this point in the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan, “JoyCon drift” appears to just be a fact of life, or at least Nintendo is treating it like one. Whether you only play your Switch occasionally or have one grafted to your hands, sooner or later, the stock controllers are going to wear out. The Fixture Gaming S1 mount, as seen at this year’s PAX, is one of a handful of third-party products that tries to address that. It’s a durable hinged clip that attaches your Switch’s screen to a Pro controller. Does it look a little weird? Yes, it does, but it lets you continue to take your Switch on the road and play it with a gamepad that actually works. Price: $29.99.
Nintendo Switch Pro controller
As hinted at above, the Switch Pro gamepad is more or less a must-have for die-hard Nintendo Switch fans. It’s a solidly built, rechargeable alternative to the Switch’s JoyCon stock controllers, with a nice solid feel and time-tested ergonomics. Is it obnoxious that the best Switch pad is a $70 extra? Yes, absolutely. Is it also the best controller for the system? Also yes. Anyone who uses their Switch for multiplayer games can always use another one of these ($69.99). If you’re on a budget, useful third-party Pro alternatives include the PDP Afterglow ($54.99), which also looks cool, and PowerA’s wired Enhanced ($24.99), which plugs into the USB ports on the Switch’s dock.
SteelSeries QcK Gaming Surface
You probably know somebody who’s about due to replace their mousepad. The QcK from SteelSeries is made of micro-woven cloth and comes in six sizes, from the traditional 250mm x 210mm all the way up to a 5XL monstrosity that can cover your entire computer desk. It’s made of easy-to-clean micro-woven cloth that purports to make it easier for precise mouse movements. I don’t love the giant, gratuitous logo in the corner (hello, new place where my tea mug goes), but I like the QcK’s comfort, utility, and durability. Price: $14.99 for the large size, above.
Xbox Series X controller
Microsoft’s wireless Xbox controllers have quietly become a go-to option for gaming on PC and mobile devices, so it’s worth having one around even if you don’t own an Xbox. While the typical “Cadillac option” for a direct-from-Microsoft gamepad is the high-end Elite ($179.99), it currently has a word-of-mouth reputation for low build quality (there might just be one bad batch in circulation) that makes it hard to truly recommend. While there are a lot of competitive third-party options like the Razer Wolverine, the plain old stock Xbox Series X controller comes in five colors (such as Shock Blue, above), is built to last, and works with all your Bluetooth-powered gaming platforms. It isn’t rechargeable, which is weird for a gamepad in 2021, but I suppose you can’t have everything. Yet. Price: $59.99.
Xbox Series S
This might be your best bet for actually putting a ninth-generation console under the tree this year. While the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are scarce on the ground, between high demand and automated scalpers, the Xbox Series S appears to have flown under resellers’ radar and was the best-selling console on Black Friday 2021. The Series S is low-powered compared to its monolithic older brother and it doesn’t have a drive with which to read physical media, but you can easily make it into a box for streaming services, a retro-gaming powerhouse, or the gadget your Xbox Game Pass subscription goes into. Most importantly of all, you can actually find the thing to buy it, at least for now. Price: $299.99.
Games of the Year
2021 has been a weird time for the video game industry. Because games usually take at least a couple of years to make, the various workflow disruptions from 2020’s pandemic lockdowns only began to have a significant impact this year. Many major projects got delayed repeatedly, pulled for a rework, or canceled entirely; others managed to get to release, but had obvious content cuts or didn’t quite feel complete.
That doesn’t mean it was a bad year, but it’s one with fewer obvious peaks and valleys. Even the games I liked in 2021 felt a little rushed; I don’t think I’ve ever qualified as many recommendations as I have this year. Here’s some of what I feel comfortable endorsing, if you’re looking to put some software under the tree.
A note to Switch owners
To parents with a Switch in the house, or anyone who’s buying Switch games for kids: there are a lot of great kid-friendly releases for the system. When in doubt, get something with Mario on the cover and you’ll probably be okay. However, physical Switch games ship on SD cards that are about the size of a quarter (below).
Switch cards are coated with a non-toxic chemical that makes them taste awful, so they don’t pose much of a choking risk, but they’re incredibly easy to lose. If you’re giving gifts to little kids, always go digital, or I guarantee your cherished Christmas present will fall down a heating vent about 10 minutes later.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite
The Aliens franchise has a spotty history in video games, with both all-time greats (Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator arcade brawler) and notorious failures (Aliens: Colonial Marines) on its record. Fireteam Elite, from the small San Jose-based developer Cold Iron Studios, is closer to the top end of the scale.
Set 23 years after the events of Alien 3, you and up to two other players are placed in the role of Colonial Marines, sent on a mission to investigate a derelict colony that turns into a Xenomorph “bug hunt.” While Fireteam Elite is dull as dirt when you play it solo, it’s one of the better co-op shooters of the year when you’ve got at least one friend along for the ride. ($39.99 for base edition; PlayStation 4&5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam)
Deathloop
Arkane Studios, now owned by Microsoft as part of its Bethesda acquisition, is known for open-ended stealth/action first-person games like Dishonored and 2017’s Prey. Deathloop is cut from the same cloth, but leans more towards the “New Weird” edge of the scale: you’re a self-employed assassin on an isolated island where the same day repeats forever, on a mission to break that endless cycle by taking out the eight mad geniuses who were responsible for creating it. It’s a sort of violent puzzle, told through a dizzy ’60s sci-fi aesthetic. ($59.99 for base edition; Steam, console exclusive for PlayStation 5)
Guilty Gear Strive
The Japanese developer Arc System Works is well-known for making graphically amazing fighting games (DragonBall FighterZ, Granblue Fantasy Versus) with storylines that baffle even the most devoted fans. Guilty Gear is a delirious album cover of a franchise, where every character is made up of a random assortment of deep-cut rock and heavy metal references that were reworked into sensibility years later, if at all. It’s the rare video game where I don’t recommend you touch the story mode, as you’ll just end up with more questions than answers.
Fortunately, the gameplay is there, and Strive is one of the most accessible games in the series. Every head-to-head match is an explosive visual spectacle, set to a driving metal soundtrack from one of the best composers in the business today. You’ll never understand a single thing about Guilty Gear, but you’ll enjoy going head-to-head against friends and online strangers in Strive. ($59.99 for standard edition, $6.99 for individual DLC characters; Steam, PlayStation 4&5)
Hitman 3
The first big “triple-A” game of 2021, Hitman 3 is the latest entry in the long-running series, and the end of its current story arc. While it’s tempting to describe any Hitman as an open-ended stealth-action game, they make the most sense when you look at each level as a puzzle with a flexible solution. As the cloned super-assassin Agent 47, your goal is to dismantle the last remnants of a worldwide comspiracy by quietly eliminating its participants. You can go in guns blazing, but you’re encouraged to use stealth and infiltration to take out your targets without being seen, and ideally, in ways that look like (incredibly bizarre) accidents. ($59.99; Steam, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia)
Loop Hero
Sometimes it’s fun when a game plays itself. After a magical apocalypse, a lone hero wakes up on a small plateau floating in space that might be the last remnant of all of creation. When you send that hero out to explore, he automatically continues around the path fighting everything he finds. It’s your job to use the resources and cards the hero generates to build the world back up around him, which makes it more dangerous in exchange for more lucrative rewards. Loop Hero is a very “gamey” sort of game — the entire premise depends to some extent on your previous familiarity with fantasy RPGs — but it’s cheap, fun, and surprisingly enthralling. ($14.99, digital-only; Steam, with Switch edition coming Dec. 9)
Melty Blood: Type Lumina
A fan-created spin-off from the Japanese urban fantasy/romance novel series Tsukihime (“Moon Princess”), Melty Blood has overcome its admittedly strange name to become a cult favorite in fighting-game circles. (Go to a major fighting game tournament and check the most isolated part of the venue. There’s probably somebody there playing Melty on a laptop.) Its latest entry, Type Lumina, is about as close to mainstream relevance as Melty Blood has ever come, featuring flashy fights, unique mechanics, and some great super moves.
Type Lumina is digital-only in North America, but a region-free physical edition can be imported from Japan for the Switch. ($49.99; Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Metroid Dread
I’m still vaguely surprised this exists at all. Metroid Dread is a new entry in the core Metroid series, Nintendo’s red-headed stepchild, which sends Samus Aran to the planet ZDR in an attempt to wipe out a dangerous parasite. Co-designed by Nintendo and the Madrid-based independent developer MercurySteam, Dread is the first 2D game in its series in 19 years, as well as the fastest-selling Metroid, period. It may be due to a lack of competition, but Dread is still the best first-party Switch game this year. ($59.99, Nintendo Switch exclusive)
Psychonauts 2
Speaking of games that I can’t believe actually exist, Psychonauts 2 came out this year. The sequel to a 2005 cult classic, Psychonauts 2 returns to the weird world of psychic investigator, circus kid, and secret agent trainee Raz. The gameplay is straight from the original, full of good old-fashioned 2000s-era action/platforming, but the real reason to pick this one up is its sheer visual craziness. You spend most of Psychonauts 2 either in some lunatic’s internal mindscape, or exploring a location that was built by some of the same lunatics, which gives it an inventive design that few other games can match. ($59.99, or free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate; digital-only on Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, MacOS, Linux)
Resident Evil Village
The famous survival-horror franchise Resident Evil celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, and released Village as part of the festivities. A direct sequel to 2017’s widely lauded Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, Village (see, the subtitle contains the Roman numeral VIII, sort of) catches us back up with the hapless Ethan Winters, who ends up fighting alone against the monstrous inhabitants of a small Romanian mountain town. While Village doesn’t feature RE7‘s VR compatibility, it’s got every bit of that game’s insanity, including a certain sequence that might be the single scariest thing that Resident Evil has ever put onscreen.
With its recent success at the Golden Joystick Awards, Village has a reasonable shot at being 2021’s Game of the Year at the Game Awards in December. Even if it doesn’t win there, though, Village will always be famous for being the game that gave the world the instantly memetic Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, everyone’s new favorite vampire. ($59.99 for base edition; PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Google Stadia)
Roguebook
I’ve been describing this to people as “apparently Richard Garfield’s been playing a lot of Slay the Spire.” Garfield, the original creator of Magic: The Gathering, dipped his hands into Spire‘s genre-pool with Roguebook, an indie “roguelike deckbuilder” where you build up characters’ arsenals by finding magical cards. As a two-person crew of mismatched adventurers, you explore the world inside a magical book in search of a way out, using magical ink to paint in each page’s treasures and dangers. It’s got some of Magic‘s elaborate deck construction, but every run through Roguebook is different, with the risk of failure constantly hanging overhead. ($24.99 for standard edition; Steam, with console editions “coming soon”)
Shin Megami Tensei V
This has really been a good year for deeply weird Japanese games. The Shin Megami Tensei (roughly translatable as “True Goddess Resurrection”) franchise is better-known in North America for its spinoff series Persona, but it’s been wildly popular in Japan since 1987. (None of the core SMT games were translated for North American release until 2003’s Nocturne, perhaps owing to their tendency for content that borders on sacrilegious; 1994’s SMT2 allows you to go deliberately pick a fight with God himself.)
Its latest entry just dropped as a Nintendo Switch exclusive on Nov. 11, and like its predecessors, Shin Megami Tensei V is a challenging Japanese RPG based around equal parts Buddhist principles, world mythology, and Pokemon-style monster collecting. As a Tokyo high school kid who gets accidentally sucked into an alternate universe full of warring angels and demons, you’re left to cut your own path through the chaos while recruiting monsters to back you up. If you know somebody who likes JRPGs’ traditional pace and who complains about how easy games are these days, SMTV was made for that person in particular. ($59.99; Nintendo Switch exclusive)
