crimson_tide wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 5:44 pm
Izzy, I need your help. There's other stores like Humble Bundle but I don't get them. What are GOG and Fanatical exactly? I think GOG needs a separate launcher on my Steam Deck? Is there other storefronts I should look? Where do you shop is essentially what I think I would like to know. Thanks

!
Sure crim, I'll share my PC gaming shopping habits that have worked for me.
Yes, GOG is a separate store / launcher. But the nice benefit of GOG is that your purchases are DRM-free. I have a pretty big library there for that reason alone, and they give away free games fairly often - mostly older or obscure stuff, but some good titles oftentimes. (Also you can add any non-steam game to your Steam library. It essentially just acts as a shortcut, but if you like to consolidate things, you can do that.) As for updates on freebies, GOG and otherwise, I'd recommend checking this thread and maybe turning on notifications so you don't miss out.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/add-th ... -122169843 I've added so many freebies that were worth it just by getting updates from there alone. But I surely recommend GOG as a storefront. Their commitment to DRM-free makes them a rarity in the PC space and reason enough to be a customer imho.
As for Steam, outside of buying directly on their storefront, I tend to use the following in order of frequency:
https://www.fanatical.com/en/
https://www.humblebundle.com/
https://www.greenmangaming.com/
Here's a list of stores :
https://gg.deals/stores/ There's a toggle at the top to turn off keyshops (unofficial stores) if you want to see a comprehensive list of Steam authorized sellers.
Those are all official stores, meaning that you won't have any possible issues with illicit keys that could be revoked due to shady sellers. Also, if you aren't aware of Humble Choice, it's usually a great way to get good deals if you have a broad taste and can enjoy a big variety of genres. You can pay $12 + tax and get 8 games each month. There's no real subscription, so you can get it in months that appeal to you and ignore (pause) the rest. I've gotten so many great games through that, and they're yours to keep - not like PS+ "rentals" that are tied to an ongoing subscription.
As a further reference, it's very useful to check
https://gg.deals/ when you're thinking of picking something up. You can check the current prices and compare on all official / approved storefronts as well as unofficial key-shops / resellers. I only mention the unofficial stores because there are some that are *perhaps* worth your time just due to how good some deals are. Of the unofficial stores, the only one I would even consider is
https://www.cdkeys.com/. They sell legit keys, but their method of obtaining them is generally to buy in one region and exploit regional pricing gaps to make their profit. It's just a bit on the shady side in some respects, but they do have phenomenal deals in some cases. I've only used them a couple of times ever, but many people use them nearly exclusively due to their very low pricing in many instances. Worst case scenario, it's possible to get a key revoked for being illegitimate in which case they'd provide another, at least as far as I'm aware. Again, I've only used them a couple times, but they were *great* deals when I did.
Another probably-obvious tip is to populate your Steam wishlist so you can get updates on discounts to games you are really interested in directly from their storefront.
Edit: One other thing I forgot to mention is
https://itch.io/. I have a huge library there. And, like GOG, it's a separate launcher / storefront. But if you're into smaller and more experimental / fringe types of games or are looking for a really particular niche, there's *tons* of that sort of stuff there. I love that place too.
Anyway, hopefully that's helpful. That's my essential "arena" of game shopping and how I do things mostly.