The holidays are rapidly approaching, and while 2020 has not been the best year, the holidays seem to bring everyone together. However, this year, the togetherness may be via Zoom, Facetime, or another communication method. Nonetheless, we wanted to share some of our holiday gift recommendations for gamers. If you were not sure of what to get your friends or loved ones or maybe yourself this holiday season we hope our guide will be of assistance. On to the gifts!
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales PS4 | PS5, $49.99
When the PlayStation 5 was officially announced, many of us were excited to see what games were on the horizon, and Insomniac surprised everyone with a follow-up to Spider-Man that put you in the shoes of fan-favorite Miles Morales. The game's PS5 version truly showcases the hardware advances in Sony's latest console with zero load times and an abundance of fan service. If you're a Spidey fan, you'll definitely want to play this. Price:
Mortal Kombat 11 PS4 | PS5, $59.99
The “definitive” version of Mortal Kombat 11 is truly a blast to play. Netherrealm took a good game and made it even better with plenty of new characters from the MK mythos and an expansion to an already solid story. The icing on the cake was all the fighters from some of your favorite sci-fi and action film franchises, including Rambo, Robocop, and The Terminator. If you purchase MK11 Ultimate on the PS4 and Xbox, you will be able to upgrade it to the new console versions, which is great if you're getting the game for the holidays.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars, $59.99
This collection of 3D Mario titles is a must-have for hardcore Mario fans. Gamers will be able to revisit the iconic Super Mario 64 along with Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, which even now remains in many folks top 10 lists when it comes to Mario titles. As a Nintendo Switch owner, this collection is a must-have and will probably be a gift to me this holiday season.
When I heard about Ghost of Tsushima, I initially ripping it as an Assassin's Creed clone, but after seeing the game first hand and experiencing its amazing visuals and story, I can happily say I was not only wrong but very off base in comparing the two franchises. Ghost of Tsushima is a great title to showcase a new 4K television and a must-have title if you're a PlayStation gamer.
Our very own Slick recommended No Straight Roads, and you can check out his review of the game here and why he thinks this game would be a great gift for this holiday season.
While there are plenty of great headphones for gamers, we wanted to recommend two options in two different pricing buckets. These Razer Kraken headphones can often be scored on sale and provide some great THX 7.1 surround sound for you to enjoy your favorite games and films. The retractable mic is a plus, along with super comfortable memory foam and cool gel ear cups. Toss in the compatibility with all the latest consoles, mobile devices, and PC, and you have a great set of versatile headphones for use on all your devices.
ASTRO A50 Wireless Headset, $299.99
ASTRO is one of the leaders when it comes to premium gaming headsets. With good reason, thanks to their stellar sound quality courtesy of the command center software and its mod kit customization options. The Astro A50 wireless headphones check off all the boxes in terms of premium build quality and Dolby Audio sound. You get 15hrs of battery life. While the headsets are available for PlayStation and Xbox consoles specifically, you can purchase extra docks and use the headsets on other consoles. All you have to do is place the headset in another dock, and you'll be good to go.
Elgato HD60 S+ USB3 Capture Card, $199.99
As more gamers get into streaming either to pass the time or turn it into a career, they'll run into many options to choose from in terms of capture card hardware. Still, by far, Elgato makes it the easiest to get started and offers solutions at various price points. The Elgato HD60+ lets you stream in 4K at 60 frames per second and offers a zero-lag passthrough. Just connect to USB 3.0 and plug in your console, and you're good to go. Elgato makes plenty of different versions of their capture cards, but the H60 S+ remains a favorite at RAGE Works due to it being a good balance of power and portability at a decent price point.
PlayStation 5 Console, $499.99
Console recommendations were a given, and while all the latest and greatest have compelling reasons to be in your home, our very own Slick recommended the PlayStation 5. Here's what Slick has to say about the PS5 and why it should be your next console. I recommend the PS5 with PS+. The reasoning is that The PS5, out of the box, is one of the few consoles these days comes with a game (Astro's Playroom). If you have PS+, which most do, you get the PS+ Collection, which has 20 games. Even if you have some of them or do not like them all, it is an amazing giveaway. In November, they gave Bugsnax free, and I think it is still available. This month, they are giving another game (gotta find the name). So considering it is doubtful that anyone would get a PS5 and not get PS+, they are giving 23 games for free, depending on what you already may have.
DualSense Charging Station, $29.99
New consoles mean long hours of gameplay either with friends or with family. Before the littlest family member trips on your charging controller cable, score yourself a dock to charge your consoles. It eliminates the mess of cables coming out of the front of your console and always keeps a second controller charging for player two. While there will be plenty of third-party offerings, I'd recommend spending a few bucks more and getting yourself a first-party dock, especially when so many third-party offerings have questionable quality. We don't want to mess up those $70 controllers, do we?
Genshin Impact closes out the gift guide and while the game is free to play Slick wanted to make sure it was included as it is incredibly enjoyable for a free game. Check out Slick's review of Genshin Impact coming soon.
We hope these recommendations help you find a gift for that special someone even if that someone is you. Happy Holidays from all of us at RAGE Works and make sure to keep it locked here for our other gift guides for tech, entertainment and “the works”.
