How I Spend Money on Games

I hold myself to a very strict rule when it comes to games:
I never pay more than $30 for any single game.
There have been a few exceptions, which I'm about to discuss.

I will start by acknowledging that this rule is pretty much impossible for console gamers or anyone who's a fan of AAA titles. The current standard price of a new console or AAA game is going to be $40 to $60 (and sometimes more if they're baiting you for 'gold' editions). If you are in this category and still manage to wait until the price drops to $20 or $30, I commend you. You probably know all the pains of the internet spoiling the entire game before you get to play it.

If you're a PC gamer, though, this rule is a lot easier to follow. There are a lot of fantastic games for $30 or less -- and it's easy to browse through game sites that offer indie titles or bundles of games for just a few dollars. This has been the bread and butter of my self-imposed rule. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get great games.

But sometimes, it's worth it to give extra.

The Myst 25th Anniversary Collection

If you missed out on this Kickstarter, then I'm very sorry for you. As it is, I didn't find out about it until it had less than 2 hours left. Anyone who's played PC games since the 90's has probably played at least one of the Myst games (and if not, shame on you). Always beautifully designed, each of the 7 games in the series from the release of the first game in 1993 to the last in 2005 held lush worlds ready to be explored and nearly-impossible puzzles to solve.

My first encounter with the series was actually the second game, Riven, which my aunt showed me at her house. I loved it, even though I had no idea what to do and wasn't aware of the story behind the games. Fast forward a few years, and I finally had the first game for myself and everything suddenly made sense. I own the first three games as physical copies, and have digital copies of the fourth and sixth games. I never acquired the fifth game, Myst IV: Revelation, because it was produced entirely by Ubisoft and they are notoriously greedy and never have discounts. It's also not even available on Steam or GOG.

Imagine my giddy surprise when someone on Discord shared the link to the Kickstarter! After a quick check of my bank account and a little math, I went ahead and pledged the tier that would net me digital copies of all 7 games, DVD copies of all 7 games, a Myst Book box (to store the DVDs, and has blank journal pages and a hidden compartment), digital Myst Book extras, and an LCD Linking Book panel which shows video fly-throughs of the games in the Myst Book's window, making it look like an actual Linking Book from the series. I consider that pledge worth every penny! If I could have, I would have gone up another tier to get Gehn's pen and inkwell -- because that tier also came with digital copies of the three books.

My pledge cost, with shipping: $187

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Obsidian Edition

This was another recent acquisition, but it was also an inevitable one. I adore the first Pillars of Eternity game, even though I haven't come anywhere close to finishing it. I've restarted it several times with different characters because there are so many different opportunities and ways to play the game. Choices matter, outcomes change the game flow -- and it's just beautifully made.

So when I saw that Pillars of Eternity II was coming out, AND that it was about the Deadfire Archipelago and you get a ship and fight pirates... well, if you know me at all by now, you know I cannot refuse anything like that. I bided my time and waited for a good deal, though, knowing there would be one somewhere. I had managed to acquire the Royal Edition of the first game (top tier, all goodies) for practically a steal on G2A.com (which has become too iffy these days even if you purchase the transaction protection) and paid less than the cost of the Champion Edition (middle tier). I loved it so much that I also bought the Collector's Edition Guidebook.

The deal I found was only a few days before the game released, and it was on the Fanatical website (formerly Bundle Stars). I was able to get the $75 Obsidian Edition (top tier) for -- again -- less than the Deluxe Edition (middle tier).

My cost, with all future DLC and preorder bonuses: $53.19

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

After following this game's development for over a year, I knew I had to preorder it. I opted to do so through my local GameStop because I wanted to have a physical copy of the game. The preorder came with some sweet extras in the form of an extra character skin and some weapon runes. I didn't get much else out of preorder, and I had to update via Steam anyway. My only real regret is that at the time I didn't have a controller that would work well with the game even using an app to make it masquerade as a 360 controller. The keyboard controls were hard, and I never got very far in the game. My husband has the game (and the sequel) on the PS4, so I hope to play more of it sometime.

My cost, with extras and preorder bonuses: $52.99

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II

This one is the first significant exception I have made to my spending rule, and to this day I have no regrets. I adored the first game in this series. There was plenty of action as you fought waves of mythical monsters, and also lots of humor from the witty, snarky banter between Van Helsing and his ghost companion, Katarina. It was even one of the games I can say I finished (though I haven't earned all of the Steam achievements).

Then Neocore said they were doing preorders for the second game, and they reeled me in. There were cosmetic in-game pets, vendor discounts, armor/magic items, extra storage, an art print, a map, a CD of the soundtrack in a leather case, a leather mousepad, all future DLC, and... you could get your name in the game's credits.

I was a total fangirl. I didn't even think twice about forking over the money to pay into the Legendary Supporter tier. No regrets. And I happily told everyone I knew about the game -- and streamed it on Twitch. If you were wondering, they came out with a third game to finish the storyline and have since also released a Final Cut version that has all three games combined.

My cost to become Legendary: $200

What are some rules you have for yourself when it comes to spending money on games? I'd love to read about them in the comments! Comment on this entry between now and June 1st for a chance to win a copy of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut ($45 value).