A Gamer’s Christmas Gift Guide

What to buy a gamer for Christmas (2017)

Hello everyone, Rockape here. This is my little guide to anyone looking for ideas for what to buy their gamer loved ones this Christmas 2017. Please note that this isn’t a list of games released only in 2017, but a list of, in my opinion, great games in general. This is aimed at people who may not have much interest in gaming, but have a lot of interest in what they buy for their loved one, as a child, teenager or adult.

Games

Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy – First on my list is a game remastered from my childhood, the Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy. This is a classic adventure game which any adult gamer will probably have a sweet spot for as it was a major character of the PlayStation 1 era (which most people I know at least owned!). It is super friendly so you could buy it for kids, and it has different levels of difficulty depending on how much effort you want to put into it. The downside is it’s only available on PlayStation 4, but it should be considered a must buy if your gamer hasn’t already bought it.

Overwatch – Next on the list is Overwatch, this is a game that won Game Of The Year when it was released in 2016 across most if not all the major awards people and critics. Boasting over 30 million players there is a chance that your loved one already owns this, but if not now would be a great time to get this game as there are always new players available. Overwatch is a fast-paced first-person shooter. It’s advised for ages 12 and up with a decent internet connection as it is played with other people and is available for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Assassins Creed: Origins – Next is Assassins Creed Origins which is the latest in the assassins creed franchise. Set in ancient Egypt the developers have changed the combat to be closer to more modern action games but keeping with the Assassins Creed style. This is a great addition to the Assassins Creed lineup and will keep your gamer occupied for a long time if they love the series. Be advised it is considered an 18 age rating due to plenty of stabbing based violence throughout the game, but that is a given since it is about killing ancient Egyptians with a storyline involved. It is equally a fun game if your gamer has an interest in ancient Rome but I won’t spoil that here. This is available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus – The next game on my list is going back to first-person shooters with Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. If your gamer loves killing Nazis, they would find a lot in common with the main character as you go around killing plenty of Nazis in this well-written action game. You will want to make sure your gamer has played Wolfenstein: The New Order and its prequel Wolfenstein: The Old Blood as they build the characters up for Wolfenstein 2. Hey, you could well pick up all 3 games as the first two will be cheap now as they’ve been out a couple of years. This is available on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One and has a release date of 2018 for the Nintendo Switch. Of course, this has an 18 age rating.

Minecraft –  Next up is a game you’ve heard of, especially if you have kids. Minecraft is available on mobile and what feels like every console you can think of. This is a game you want to get someone if you want to keep them busy for weeks or months on end. Although it might get slated by a lot of people these days as it is an older game now, if you have kids into their technology, chances are they watch Minecraft videos all day on YouTube if they can, so this would bring them closer to that world. Just make sure you’re supervising them or they will spend hours and hours a day on this.

South Park: Fractured But Whole – Next game on my list is for the South Park fans, I love South Park and the first game Stick of Truth was a wonderful role-playing game made by developers working together with the South Park team to make you feel like you are really in their world. The second installment fractured but whole plays like a new epic movie with a different style of play to the first game and makes you feel like you’re in the world again with all its wacky dark comedy styling so to me this is another worthwhile purchase. But bear in mind due to it being South Park, this is an 18 rated game but saying that I grew up in my teenage years watching and loving South Park. This is available on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC.

A Big Gift – The Nintendo Switch

My final actual game suggestion is definitely the crème de la crème of this whole list – Nintendo Switch. It has taken the gaming world by storm this year with the likes of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (also available on WiiU) and Mario Odyssey taking home plenty of awards from all the different ceremonies and gaming critics alike. No matter who you are buying for there is fun to be had with this console, it has fantastic multiplayer games, you can play with it anywhere using the portable screen and it comes with two controllers allowing you to join in on easy to understand, fun to play video games alongside your loved one. My advice would be to bundle this with Zelda, Mario or Mario Kart 8 (my personal favorite multiplayer game of all time) and you will set someone up for a long time, at least until the next big Nintendo games are out.

Vouchers

Now I’ve given a few games suggestions, I also want to suggest vouchers. These vouchers will allow your gamer to buy what they want as each console has its own online store these days. You can pick up vouchers for Steam if your gamer is on PC, and for any other console, you will spot their respective vouchers easily from any major store or games store. They pretty much sell these anywhere where you can also find Amazon or Itunes vouchers or whatever.

Both Xbox and Playstation run their online services on a monthly payment subscription basis, so you could help your loved one by offering to pay for that for the year, or a set amount of time, whatever works for you.

Other Gifts

In previous years I have suggested some peripherals to go alongside your gamers favorite games but this year I think I’ll stay mainly quiet on this subject as there are so many brands popping up, everyone has their own taste such as Razor or Corsair gear but I do suggest you could look at controllers Specifically controller customisation as you can buy custom controller skins now and that would make such a great present for your loved one.

If they have a favorite game, I would suggest Funko Pop! Figures as they are adorable, and make for an excellent collection. You can get Funko Pop! Figures these days for just about anything, so even if you cant find one of their favorite game, you can always pick up something from their favorite movie.

With that said, have a wonderful Christmas, don’t drink and drive and don’t worry about what you buy, its the thought that counts at the end of the day, if you’ve got to the end of this article then you’re already ahead of the curve!

This post was written by David Jones, aka Rockape. You can follow Rockape on Twitter and Subscribe to his YouTube channel to keep in touch.