Common Loot

Listen, games are expensive. For a lot of people, they have always been expensive. There hasn’t really been a time where people felt safe and secure enough to drop a large sum of money on something and felt comfortable. When you consider the American tariff situation and the stagnation of wages, it is easy to feel as if people are getting priced out of their favorite hobby.

So, instead of complaining about how expensive Nintendo games, I am going to solve a big issue for you and show you how you can play games for cheap. There are a bunch of different ways, some you will be familiar with, some you will not be. But I will give you the tools you need to have fun playing some of the best games out there without going broke.

1. Do Not Upgrade Right Away and Play Your Backlog

Everyone is quick to upgrade to the best and brightest but in all honesty it might not always be worth it. Social media platforms feel like unpaid advertising, creating the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Your friends have it, you should have it too, right? Wrong. Sometimes you need to take a step back and see what is going on here that way you can properly value something that doesn’t value you.

The PlayStation 5 Pro is a great example of waiting. Not a lot of games are fully leveraging the system, and if you are a parent who works a lot, you only have maybe one to two hours of game time a day if you are lucky. Are you spending that time looking over the fine details and determining that because it doesn’t look crispy that it isn’t worth it? No. Get over yourself. You don’t really care about quality, you just want to spend money. So maybe that should be the real point in all of this. Be realistic. You have a backlog, play those instead and stop measuring yourself up to others.

2. Play Indie Games

Listen, I know the big budget games look phenomenal, but indie games are equally great! They might not have the robust systems like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but they do have a lot of heart and soul that is worn on the sleeve, and they are much, much more affordable.

Games like Hades gave me about 100-hours of playtime and that was a $20 game. Dredge is another title that I poured hours into, making it one of my favorite games in recent history. I’m looking forward to titles like Demonschool, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Citizen Sleeper 2, Hades 2, and a whole lot more. There is a dirge of titles out there that are even inspired by magnificent games of the past.

Best of all, these games do not require you to have the fastest PC or the top-tier console. You can play a handful of these games even on your phone! Dredge just hit the Apple App Store not too long ago and Katamari just launched on 4/4/2025.

I have a copy of Pacific Drive and I have yet to play it, but I am eagerly awaiting to jump into that one soon as I am slowly approaching a work break.

3. Play on Your Phone

I know I mentioned how Dredge just hit Apple App Store. There are plenty of games hitting the mobile market that weren’t there before. You have a ton of Final Fantasy remakes (give or take the quality), Slay the Spire, and plenty more. On top of that, if you are subscribed to a gaming platform like XBox Game Pass, you could also use that to play on the device you always have on you anyway.

Now, some folks don’t want that, and this is where gaming controllers come in. I can’t exactly tell you which one is the best, but devices like the BACKBONE makes a solid option if you want to get a bit serious. And, if you find yourself really playing through a ton of games, it is easily a $100 well spent.

Devices like the Razer Kishi V2 are also really good. And if you want, you could always get an Xbox One or PlayStation 5 controller with their Bluetooth connection and a holder that keeps your phone in place.

4. Get an Emulation Device

I have recently become a huge fan of handheld emulation devices from companies like Anbernic and Retroid. These handheld devices allow you to download old game roms and play them wherever you want. Some of these devices can get a bit pricey so it does require a bit of knowledge before you get started. There are also certain levels and tiers, each with their own maximum console support.

Devices like the Anbernic RG35XXH and RG35XXSP are great starter devices that aren’t that expensive. All you need is the device itself and maybe a standard microSD card to load your games on. From there you simply download the files and you can get going.

I personally have the Anbernic RG556 which is a bit pricey but it supports everything up to PlayStation 2 and PSP. It also handles DS games smoothly along with GameBoy Advanced titles. It has a solid 16:9 screen which makes playing these games an absolute delight. Also, it has GameCube support. It might not be exactly affordable, but in the long term you can’t really go wrong here. The Retroid Pocket 5 is also a great choice.

Additionally, you can get Emulation platforms to run on your phone quite easily and with the above handheld controllers, you can get started playing some classic games without a problem. Some of these apps that will run the games might have a cost of $5 or so, but that is better than the ad-driven versions. You get a nice and clean interface with some strong gameplay.

If you want to learn more about game emulation and devices, I suggest you check out Retro Game Corps which has a solid and thorough list of devices, how to set them up, and a whole lot more. Also, Russ (the owner) seems like a swell guy and he is incredibly dedicated to gaming and that is worth mentioning.

I’d also like to mention that if you are a bit technical, you could invest in a Raspberry Pi and load it up with a few titles for your TV. It does require some know-how, but it will always be affordable.

5. Shop on Marketplace and for Deals

Okay, right out the gate I am going to say that your milage may vary here. But chances are that there are some people looking to get rid of something on the cheap and this is where you can do some solid buying. Now, I can’t tell you how to deal with everyone directly, but I suggest always starting a conversation and see where it goes. You could haggle a lower price if you act nicely about it and if the device isn’t that old or worn out, you could walk away with a really good deal!

6. Visit r/PatientGamers

There are many different communities out there but one of my favorites is r/PatientGamers. This is a group of people who are not hooked on the latest and biggest releases. They like to wait before jumping into the next big title and honestly, I admire it deeply!

They might share some deals every once in a while or at least give you peace of mind when it comes to not being on the up-and-up. This kinda ties into a couple of psychological ideas that I alluded to earlier. People tend to jump into the brand new game because they want to feel part of that community, well, here is a new one that doesn’t care about the latest and greatest. They only care about you having a good time and I think that is leagues better than feeling pressure to experience something because someone else is telling you to.

7. Get a Gaming Subscription

I did mention this before but I’ll say it again, get a gaming subscription. Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are excellent and when you really don’t care about the latest titles, these could be a godsend. Instead of dropping $60 to $80 on a game, you just pop down a few bucks. You don’t even have to sub for a full year if you don’t want to. Simply pick it up for a month and then drop it once you don’t want it anymore.

Of course, those aren’t the only ones out there. NVIDIA also has their own game streaming platform, GeForce NOW which has multiple tiers with various functions and features. It is cloud based but if you have a strong internet connection, the service works quite well. They also have a ton of games like Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more.

8. Get a Used PC

Okay, so you have absolutely nothing. Well, if you have a few bucks and some time to spare, you could get a decent rig that plays indie titles and older games quite easily.

It can start just like Marketplace where you find an old office computer or something that is approaching it’s end of life. An old laptop like the Lenovo ThinkPad might be a solid starting point for emulation while a tower would be what we really want. The important thing is you want a processor that isn’t that old. An AMD Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series are pretty good till this day alongside anything that is over 8th Gen Intel. I say 8th Gen simply because that can still handle some modern games. You just need to be careful and don’t be afraid to ask your PC savvy friend for help. If they try to convince you to buy a new PC right now, then find assistance elsewhere.

I would like to disclose that Windows 10 is approaching it’s end of life and if it cannot meet the requirements of Windows 11, then you should leave it just to PC gaming. Do not do anything data sensitive on it as you could run the risk of becoming a victim of various online theft.

Additionally, look for office closeout sales. They will have a few towers they want to get rid of and you can easily swap some internal parts out for something newer at a fraction of the cost. It might not be the fastest, but it could be incredibly cheap.

9. Visit Your Local Retro Game Store

If you want to be more authentic and “legit,” then I would suggest looking up your closest retro game stores. They are usually employed by people who know what they are talking about in the event you don’t. But most importantly, they will have the older devices that are not the new hotness of the modern age. I have been thinking of grabbing a 3DS recently to play some of their games too. Just be weary about pricing and do some research to determine how much you should really be spending.

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So there you have it- a few tricks to help you play games for super cheap. When there are a few new ways, I’ll definitely update this to keep people informed. Remember, you don’t always need to have the new thing, especially when times are tough. There is always something to play whether it be new or old. After all, why should you wait for an old game to come on a console when you can play it RIGHT NOW?

Anyway, do you have any cool ways to play games for cheap? Let me know in the comments section below!