Holiday Gift Guide 2023 — Best in video games and gaming gadgets

Here’s a look at a few of the best and coolest gift ideas for video gamers in the family.

The Games

Let’s start with the great gift examples of highly entertaining and immersive gaming experiences.

Lords of the Fallen: Deluxe Edition (CI Games and Hexworks, rated M, reviewed with PlayStation 5, $79.99) — Recent years have brought a wave of nearly impossible to conquer third-person, Dark Souls-style, role-playing games, and Lords of the Fallen fits into the pack like a well-worn spiked leather glove.

Visually reminiscent of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, the semi-open-world action has a solo player take an addictive plunge into a fantasy universe with breathtaking graphics and punishing combat.

Like its brethren, the action takes place in a fantasy kingdom rocked with demons, ghouls, and other nefarious foes for players to fight.

However, Lords of the Fallen deliciously seems to occur between two different planes. Using an Umbral Lamp, a player warps between Axiom, the land of the living, and Umbral, the domain of the dead.

The worlds are layered on top of each other, as paths or barriers that exist in Axiom may disappear or appear in Umbral. This mechanism offers new enemies and alternative routes to discover the various secrets throughout the maps.

Start with character creation, another staple to the genre, with nine different classes to pick from (10 if you include the deluxe edition Dark Crusader class) and each with a distinct combat style, unique armor and base stats.

In terms of facial and body customizations, it’s extensive with the ability to nearly duplicate a player’s own likeness. The Deluxe Edition also includes a digital artbook, soundtrack and 3D model viewer that allows players to examine enemies and character art in more detail.

For example, in choosing a Dark Crusader class, players move through Axiom with the goal of defeating the demon-god Adyr.

The combat mechanics are standard, with light, heavy and charged attacks. However, combat in the Umbral offers more weapons to use such as the Umbral Lamp to “soulflay” enemies, which rips the soul out of the foe like a dementor in Harry Potter.

The first real boss of the game, Pieta She of Blessed Renewal (a winged, magic-infused knight dressed in blood-red armor), is an excellent example of what’s in store for a player and a good first hurdle to cross.

In this boss fight, the main combat mechanic is revealed: Blocking/parrying hits from enemies drain their stagger meters, eventually allowing players to perform a large visceral attack.

Lords of the Fallen also has a “second chance” system, where if the character dies, they emerge again in the Umbral, with about half health left. After defeating Pieta, players continue to the main hub, the Skyrest Bridge. Here, players are able to purchase and buy combat gear and upgrade materials to continue to build their character.

Stunning on both production values and combat ferocity, Lords of the Fallen is a great combination of many Dark Souls tropes. Despite some of its retreads, it will thrill new gamers to the genre looking to get deeply lost and lock themselves into a 50-hour odyssey of swords and sorcery.

Starfield (Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios, rated M, reviewed with Xbox Series X|S, $69.99) — This open-world, rather, open-galaxy action-adventure role-playing game takes place deep in the cosmos featuring stunning graphics, quirky characters and plenty of space travel.

The story opens on the moon of Vectra in the year 2330. A space miner (called a dusty) searches through a deep and dark location for beryllium. Suddenly, he enters a fairly ominous tunnel and finds … something. Picking up the mysterious metal, the character’s mind is seemingly transported through time and space.

Upon waking up in an infirmary, a player must now customize their miner’s look, background and unique traits, a nearly exhaustible task that includes choosing from 20 different “backgrounds,” each of which start with three different skills.

A player is now thrown into the first- and third-person action after meeting with Barrett, a mysterious client interested in purchasing the strange piece of metal, which he dubs an “artifact.”

Suddenly, a ship of pirates appears, and the player must help to fight them off. The beginning weapon is actually a mining tool, a cutter, with unlimited ammo but very limited range and damage.

Throughout the game, a player is then able to collect new weapons from the bodies of enemies and from weapon crates. After defeating the pirates, Barrett tasks the player with delivering the artifact to the Constellation, a band of space explorers who have apparently found other pieces like the artifact.

That sets up the game as a player becomes the new captain of the Frontier, Barrett’s spaceship, and gets help from his C3PO-like assistant, Vasco. Vasco helps the player throughout the game by allowing that person to offload items into his inventory. This is incredibly useful because, in Starfield, players can loot pretty much any item imaginable, from weapons to pens and succulent plants.

While many recent games have included an aspect of space transportation, Starfield stands out by allowing players to not only build, buy and commandeer ships but fight in space battles with enemies. There is a definite learning curve in successfully controlling and handling the space combat, but after players have the hang of it, it’s pretty darn fun.

In Starfield, players are able to travel across the galaxy to help the Constellation find the other mysterious artifacts, all the while being able to complete various side missions. They can even have characters create a home base on several different planets.

The amount of freedom given to players in Starfield is as liberating as daunting, as a player roams indefinitely through planetary systems (landing on more than 1,000 planets) and never knows what items are truly important to collect or what options are most prudent until it’s too late.

Suffice it to report, fans of sci-fi fantasy and Star Wars will immediately fall in love and may never leave their entertainment caves.

Alan Wake II (Epic Games Publishing and Remedy Entertainment, rated M, reviewed with Xbox Series X|S, $59.99) — A long-awaited sequel to the 2010 classic delivers a third-person survival horror game that plays like a psychological supernatural thriller. The game features a mind-bending and engaging story supplemented with incredible graphics and live-action segments.

In the narrative, a solo player switches between two protagonists: Saga Anderson, a bright and curious FBI agent, and the titular Alan Wake, a writer battling with the supernatural as it creeps into his reality.

One of the highlights from the start is the voice acting and obvious care given to each of the characters, both big and small. Through small details in conversations and exposition, the characters become full-bodied personas, making players root for some to succeed and for others to fail.

On the surface, the game resembles an episode of HBO’s “True Detective” as Saga and her partner, Alex Casey, begin to investigate the ritualistic murder of ex-FBI agent Robert Nightingale, who was found brutally murdered after going missing 13 years prior.

However, the game quickly flips from a detective story to a full-blown supernatural adventure when Nightingale comes back to life in the morgue, attacking Saga and others.

Now, Saga must venture into “The Overlap,” a space between our world and something more sinister, in order to discover the secrets behind Nightingale’s resurrection and his suspected killers, the Cult of the Tree.

About an hour into the action, Saga discovers Alan Wake after he’s seemingly washed up on the shore near the murder site, also having been missing for 13 years. Now, Saga and Alan must work together to defeat not only the Cult of the Tree, but their own inner demons and the supernatural forces attempting to stand in their way.

Alan Wake II is a breath of fresh air for horror fans and true crime fans alike with its genuinely scary but rewarding style of play.

While it does involve jump scares to keep players on their toes, the more bone-chilling atmosphere of the story and the visual styles used to portray it are the truly thrilling aspects.

The story uses sporadic live-action scenes to unnerve and disorient players and make them question whether they can really trust what they’re seeing. The game also makes use of Saga’s Mind Place, a play on the Mind Palace technique that allows players to physically piece together clues and deductions to reveal the larger conspiracies at work.

Alan Wake II stands out as an entertaining gift for survival horror fans, integrating the supernatural with the real world in a mind-bending story that’s sure to keep a player hooked.

RoboCop: Rogue City (Nacon and Teyon, rated M, reviewed with Xbox Series X|S, $59.99) — Fans of police Officer Alex Murphy and his cybernetic alter ego are in for a treat in this first-person shooter following the legendary  RoboCop as he fights to clean up the city of Old Detroit, which has been overrun with criminal activity.

With a story taking place between the cinematic events of “RoboCop 2” and “RoboCop 3,” the action begins during a hostage situation at a news studio perpetrated by Soot, a gang leader, and his Torch Head minions. During a standoff between a gunman holding a woman hostage, RoboCop freezes due to flashbacks in his life and hallucinates that the female hostage is his wife.

This “malfunction” causes his partner, Officer Anne Lewis, to have to step in. RoboCop’s malfunction was filmed and released, leading to questions of his efficacy and viability as a crime-fighting machine.

After this mishap, a computer chip is placed in RoboCop’s head to “monitor his performance.” This chip acts as an update and upgrade system in the game. After each mission, players receive a letter grade based on tasks completed and side content explored.

Throughout the game, players play as RoboCop as he completes side missions related to Soot and the rapidly spreading drug Nuke. RoboCop also acts as a street cop, passing out parking tickets and warnings for graffiti.

However, players will be able to choose how they interact with the various (named) criminals throughout the game, as they’re able to choose how/if they’re punished by the law.

The game can be sadistically bloody and violent at times, as players go around mowing down Torch Heads in abandoned buildings and alleyways using RoboCop’s expanding arsenal including his Auto 9 pistol with unlimited ammo.

The skills system in the game is pretty basic, as each level gifts a point that can be used to upgrade various categories. Some are simple such as vitality (health), armor and combat, while others allow players to perform more nuanced interactions with the environment.

For example, as searching through criminal hideouts RoboCop may find a safe that can only be cracked after reaching a certain level of the Engineering skill.

At times the graphics look a tad outdated and the dialogue synced with mouths is pretty rough, but the mythos and black humor remain intact, and best of all, the RoboCop, actor Peter Weller, returned to provide his voice and likeness.

For fans of the franchise, RoboCop: Rogue City will be a welcomed flashback to the films and the characters.

Mortal Kombat 1 (Warner Bros. Games and NeatherRealm Studios, rated M, reviewed with Xbox Series X|S, $59.99) — The three-decade-old franchise that pushed the limits of exposing gamers to extreme visceral violence inside side-scrolling fight arenas returns for another round and going back to its roots to deliver some horrifying action.

Mortal Kombat I follows many of the same themes and mechanics of its predecessors with some new additions while acting as a reboot of the first Mortal Kombat from 1992 and a sequel to Mortal Kombat 11.

The story follows a new timeline formed by fire god Liu Kang and opens with a tutorial scene in a remote village in Fenglian Province. Kung Lao and Raiden, simple farm hands with surprising martial arts skills, must defend the honor of Madam Bo when she is confronted by the Lin Kuei. During these sequences, players fight Smoke, Sub-Zero and Scorpion.

The combat is fluid and fairly simple, allowing players to learn combos and controls, but the fights themselves are not easy, challenging players from the start.

Suddenly, Lord Liu Kang appears and claims that the Liu Kuei members were sent by him to test Kung Lao and Raiden’s abilities. Throughout the rest of the story chapters, players control various iconic characters including Johnny Cage, Raiden, Kenshi Takahashi, Reptile and more Sub-Zero to name a few.

In the player-versus-player matches, there are almost two dozen fighters available to choose from. If the base characters are not enough, the premium edition has the “Kombat Pack,” which includes characters from various universes such as The Invincibles’ Omni-Man, The Boys’ Homelander and the Suicide Squad’s Peacemaker.

The matches are a continuation of the game mechanic styles of previous Mortal Kombat games, although with a slight twist.

Mortal Kombat 1 introduces a roster of Kameo characters such as Jax Briggs and the half-human, half-dragon Goro that can act as sidekicks to the main combatants. These fighters can help throughout the match with special moves and are featured in the Fatality and Brutality scenes.

Through advanced, too-lifelike graphics and devastating combo mechanics, Mortal Kombat 1 continues to employ a winning, albeit depraved formula, with an entertaining story mode and punishing multi-player mode that will keep veterans and newbies satisfied.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 (Konami, rated M, reviewed with Xbox Series X|S, $59.99) — For fans of the legendary series, Konami provides a historical catalog of the first 17 years of the Metal Gear Solid franchise in one remastered place. Nostalgic players will get the chance to re-experience the single-player, third-person tense stealthy combat through government mercenary Solid Snake and his various missions and exotic locations.

The Master Collection includes Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake; Metal Gear Solid (including VR missions/special missions); Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (HD Collection version); Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (HD Collection version); Metal Gear (NES/FC Version); and Snake’s Revenge.

This edition also offers an avalanche of additional content such as animated videos, graphic novels, digital books, soundtrack and screenplay books for select titles.

For those unaware, Metal Gear Solid 2 was a trailblazer in its day, as a prominent example of an early postmodern video game that showcased artistic expression through the medium. Heavy themes are covered throughout the Metal Gear Solid series, as it examines the consequences of warfare and espionage and involves the nature of reality and artificial intelligence.

While newcomers may be turned away from the retro graphics, the additional retro content gives them a chance to delve into the world of Solid Snake as he completes epic and action-packed missions.

For veterans of the franchise, this collection is the best of both worlds, as it has all of the early games in one convenient location with the lore as an added bonus for those interested in the backgrounds of characters, locations and missions.

While there is a learning curve for players unfamiliar with retro mechanics and controls, the story itself is enough to convince them to learn new tricks to experience the full Metal Gear Solid experience.

Peripherals and gadgets

Now, let’s add the equipment that will certainly help bring the gaming experience to life.

Victrix Pro FS (PDP, $399.99) — Players despondent over their inability to succeed within third-person fighting game realms such as Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6 will find a competitive edge through this premiere arcade-style controller compatible with PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC.

The durable, lightweight and rounded metallic purple body (16 inches long, 11 inches wide and 2.5 inches tall) with rubber-gripped carrying handles and LED-illuminated sides is made from a single piece of aircraft-grade aluminum and is more than able to absorb all of the knocks from a gamer throwing a fit and any drops during transport.

The face of the Victrix offers eight 30mm industry standard Sanwa Denshi push buttons mapped to X, O, square and circle handheld controller buttons; and R1, R2, L1 and L2 handheld triggers; and a Link 2 detachable shaft with ball top attachment on Sanwa Base joystick.

Also, a control bar at the top with touchpad has a PS home, options and a share button and buttons to tweak the unit’s lighting, adjust volume, lock the bar and remap the buttons or stick. A 3.5mm headset jack can be used at the unit’s bottom.

Owners plug the device into a computer or entertainment console via a 10-foot-long, detachable USB-C to USB-A cable (bumpers at the top of the unit wrap the cable for transport). They will appreciate the responsive, relaxing design with an ergonomic 6-inch wrist slope that allows plenty of room to rest appendages with the fingers fluttering away to pull off those deadly multi-hit combo moves.

Equally slick is the option to pop open the plastic black underbody to expose its components for further customization, for example, swap out the stick and buttons (an Allen wrench included and stored in the case), or to stow the stick and access the switch to change functionality for the PS4, PS5 or PC.

Additionally, the package includes a non-detachable joystick (not easily stored in the case and requiring some work to install) and a soft cloth case.

900 MAX HX (Nacon and RIG, $249.99) — Players aurally immersed in the worlds of video gaming will immediately fall in love with RIG’s latest multifunctional, lightweight and comfortable pair of wireless, over-the-ear headphones.

This Best Buy exclusive’s listening features include breathable, fabric and leather, cushioned earpads, an adjustable snap to fit (small, medium and large) reinforced metal headband, a soft springy sling headband to tighten around the noggin and an onboard, non-detachable, omni directional microphone that can flip up to immediately mute the voice.

Weighing about half a pound, the headset reproduces sound through high-sensitivity 40mm audio drivers with booming bass and a tuned acoustic chamber.

Onboard controls on the left earcup only include a volume wheel, a Blu-tooth connect/mode select button, a red power button button, and a button for accepting and rejecting calls or turning off music and a USB-C port.

The 900 Max HX offers dual-mode wireless connectivity through both 2.4GHz lag-free USB-A dongle and Bluetooth 5.1. Dual wireless connectivity adds to the functionality, for example chatting on a phone call with a Bluetooth smartphone connection and using the dongle at the same time for game audio.

For the Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC, a player uses the included UBC-A dongle to plug right in the consoles.

The additional tech magic on the 900 MAX HX is the chance to play supported games within a personalized Dolby Atmos sweeping, three-dimensional sound experience.

Owners download the Dolby Personalization app, which scans the shape of the head, ears and shoulders to build an acoustic map for a more accurate soundscape.

The caveat for usually creating that experience is purchasing a subscription to Dolby Atmos ($14.99).

However, for owners of the headset, it automatically activates Dolby Atomos via a free app from the Microsoft store. Caveat No. 2, it is only applicable to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Windows 10 and 11 PC systems.

Also, connect a phone and headset via the Navigator app to download the latest firmware as well as set up equalization profiles for the best possible sound.

Gamers can expect roughly a whopping from 50 to more than 60 hours worth of wireless gaming on a single, two-hour charge using the included docking station (depending on the wireless connection option).

That’s right, a shiny black block to proudly display and precariously cradle the headset plopped into a tenuous connector area for the left cup while charging with an LED indicator.

The dock block can also embed the dongle to make it a charging and connectivity point.

For gift givers feeling an economic pinch this year, they can still satisfy casual gamers’ audio addictions with RIG’s 600 Pro HX ($99.99). The headset offers paired-down functionality such as less battery life and no charging dock but equal audio drivers, dual-mode wireless capability and works with the Navigator and Dolby Atmos apps.

Revolution 5 Pro (Nacon, $199.99) — With its matte black industrial-style ribbed design and familiar fit for both large- and small-handed humans, this wireless controller created primarily for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 perfectly accommodates both the casual as well as veteran player who wants to customize nearly every part of their tactile gaming experience.

That’s accomplished with not only swappable D-pads, joysticks and extra hand grip weights but a software app (available for both Windows and Mac) to preset four different profiles for the controller’s buttons and the assignments of the bumper triggers to certain actions.

The app also allows players to customize the lighting of the backlit joysticks with either a single color, multiple colors, prism colors or action, where the color changes based on the button input.

Additionally, a player can change the trigger sensitivity and response curves of the joysticks and D-pad. Finally, once all the settings have been worked out, the app even includes a “test area” to adjust final settings they’ve just configured.

The controller uses dual wireless and wired connectivity to consoles controlled via onboard selector switches, a USB-A dongle and a 10-foot USB-A to USB-C cable.

Highlights worth noting are a magnet-based technology that completely erases the joystick drift that has plagued players, where the stick would be stuck in one position. Now, the joystick reliability returns to its initial position without any calibration errors.

Additionally, the controller has adaptive triggers that can switch between a long and short press setting, a battery life boasting roughly 10 hours per charge and Bluetooth connectivity to wireless earbuds and headsets.

The packaging includes an accessory storage box to hold the additional customization items including six various-sized weights, four metal joystick rings, an extra D-pad, four more extra joystick heads and the external microphone connector.

And, owners get a zippered hard-shell case with room for the controller, a netted area for cables and a place to hold the accessory storage box.

Now on the not-so-great side, PS5 players may be disappointed to learn that the haptics (the responsive vibrations) are not functional with this controller. Also, the instructions included are not very clear and require a bit of web searching to find the links for the apps and instructions.

Still, the Revolution 5 Pro delivers as promised with that generous and somewhat overwhelming range of customizable settings and controls guaranteed to improve any serious gamer’s virtual adventures.

WD_Black C50 (Western Digital, $79.99 and $149.99) — The days of using traditional discs to play video games are nearly gone and replaced by a code to download enormous amounts of data, sometimes in the hundreds of gigabit range, to an entertainment console’s limited hard drive space.

Helping to dampen the aggravation of serious gamers having to delete and reload games to their console’s drive from an ever-growing library, Western Digital offers Xbox Series X|S owners a solid-state solution to the dilemma.

Specifically, an expansion card about the size of half of a business card simply plugs into the back of the entertainment console and expands storage up to 1 terabyte.

The card leverages Microsoft’s Velocity Architecture to deliver similar performance to the console’s internal SSD storage drive and is compatible with the Xbox’s Quick Resume feature to switch back and forth between games.

That translates into housing roughly 920 gigabytes of data on a 1 terabyte card to now store games such as Starfield (125 gigabytes), Mortal Kombat 1 (100 gigs), Lords of the Fallen (45 gigs) and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (200 gigs) with plenty of space to spare. 

The card also features a ridged, industrial black cap for safe transportation to another location and Xbox.

For a limited time, gift receivers also get a code to download the Forza Motorsport Race Day Car Pack (full game sold separately) that includes eight cars such as the 2018 Acura #36 NSX GT3.

For those gamers looking to capture, store, access and produce their exploits for influencing fun and potential profit, no matter the inside or outside conditions, Western Digital offers the nearly indestructible PRO-G40 SSD ($179.99 to $379.99) to even better protect their precious data on a black, solid-state drive about the size of an old-style flip phone with up to 4 terabytes of storage.

It has hyper read speeds up to 3,000 megabit per second (Mbps) and write speeds of up to 2,500 Mbps, thanks to an aluminum core that pulls heat away from the internal drive and uses a Thunderbolt 3 connection (an 8-inch cord is included).

Its ultra-rugged design has IP68 dust/water resistance to survive being dunked in water, 4,000-pound crush resistance and can handle up to a 10-foot drop. What it can’t survive is getting lost due to its outrageously compact size, so be careful road warriors.

Super Icon Rematch Glow Wireless Controller (PDP, $44.99) — Nintendo’s Switch offers players a level of currently unmatched flexibility when it comes to gameplay.

Action can happen via the hand-held console anywhere or it can be hooked up to a TV with the docking station for use with traditional gamepads.

The Super Icon Rematch Glow wireless controller enhances the later option and is a welcomed accessory for younger Switch owners.

This glow-in-the-dark beauty works both wired via an antiquated micro USB port and wireless, with up to a 30-foot range. The battery life is also impressive when compared to controllers for other consoles, with 40-plus hours of action on a single charge.

Unexpected highlights are a metallic red D-pad and the back buttons are mappable, allowing players to further customize their gameplay experience.

The equally tempting gifting point for Nintendo fans is the controller’s classic red-and-black checkerboard design featuring icons of Mario Brothers’ characters such as Mario, Luigi and Toadstool.

On the downside, the controller’s instructions are not easily found. Players must use a QR code to find the setup instructions, and even then, this specific controller doesn’t have a designated space on the PDP page.