I sold my PC yesterday because of financial struggles and as far as I’m aware, I would probably be unable to buy a PC or console ever again. That said, I still want to somehow experience the games I would otherwise want to play on PC. I’m thinking of watching let’s plays but of course, that’s not the same as actually playing them. For those in the same boat, what do you do? Do you just let go? Or maybe watch playthroughs? I’m curious.

  • Sat
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    9 days ago

    If it’s only for one game, you could probably try cloud gaming. I gave a friend of mine who wanted to play Death Stranding 2 but has no PS5 access to remote play, and it seems to be working OK. Some of the services work on phones or TVs.

    Also, my condolences on selling your pc. I hope it helped your situation a bit.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      16 days ago

      I have actually heard about that. Haven’t tried it but I feel like the controls for it on the phone are gonna be messy. I’ll still try it regardless.

  • L3ft_F13ld!
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    229 days ago

    If emulation is an option you could play some classics on your phone if it helps.

    Sorry for your situation. Hope the future looks better.

    • @[email protected]
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      159 days ago

      To elaborate on this… phone emulation isn’t just for retro classics. Many phones will have enough power to emulate modern Switch games, and semi-modern games up to Wii/3DS or so. Many modern games are also portrd to phones (Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Wild Rift, Fortnite, etc).

      Sorry to hear OP is having such a hard time, but SBC gaming is another option if there’s enough of a budget for that. Retroid Pocket 4 Pro (£120 on eBay, upto Wii/3DS/manySwitch), or Retroid Pocket 5 (£190 on eBay, up to PS3 and all of Switch).

      • @[email protected]OP
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        16 days ago

        Unfortunately, I have a Mali GPU so it’s highly unlikely any game will work on my phone. As for retroid pockets, I’ll see if there’s any in my area.

  • Björn Tantau
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    148 days ago

    Due to Long Covid I can only lay in bed and most games are too intense for me. So I actually do watch let’s plays.

    I really like Welonz. She has a really nice mix of indies and big titles, regularly tries out a great variety of games. She is very thorough and while she might not find all the secrets she will go out of her way to show alternate endings and stuff. And she has an interesting voice, so rumor has it that she is actually a ten year old boy.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      26 days ago

      While I have no problems with let’s plays, I still feel like they’re kinda subjective. No commentary playthroughs are on the opposite end of the spectrum but I feel really really bored watching them and I can’t say the same for let’s plays.

  • @[email protected]
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    169 days ago

    I would probably be unable to buy a PC or console ever again.

    Shit dude, that’s rough
    If I may ask, what happened?

    Otherwise, no nearby gaming cafés? They’re usually reasonably priced

  • @[email protected]
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    97 days ago

    If you want to reach out to me for a chat, I’m happy to walk you through what your phone is capable of doing. Emulation is such a scene now, even low-low end phones are capable of doing so much now. You might now be getting winlator running to play PC games (which is no problem for some phones), but you can even play some basic Switch games. Or worst case if it’s very underpowered, you’ve got so many games from the golden age of RPG’s to play through

    • SNES
    • Mega Drive/Genesis
    • PS1

    …and so on. I know this won’t be the “…the games I would otherwise want to play on PC…” but it is still playing incredible games. So, as always, let me know. I’m happy to help with that front!

  • Snot Flickerman
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    299 days ago

    and as far as I’m aware, I would probably be unable to buy a PC or console ever again.

    I don’t have any suggestions but I am so, so sorry and I really hope things turn around for you for the better.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      6 days ago

      Hopefully so, the gaming market in my area has gotten rough. Maybe it’ll calm down for the future but that’s likely not gonna happen too soon. I’m thinking of passing the time without a PC for now. I don’t think I’ll able to afford a PC for a few years at best. Sorry for making it sound too dramatic in the post.

  • @[email protected]
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    38 days ago

    Let’s plays can be okay for new games, but I’d look into emulating something on your phone. If you crave the pc experience (which I totally get), you can probably get an old laptop for very cheap, slap linux on it and have fun.

  • @[email protected]
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    49 days ago

    You could get monthly subscriptions for services like Geforce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming. With a decent internet connection and a controller, pretty much any device that can display video becomes a gaming device. Obviously this may work out to be more expensive in the long run and these services have some weird terms of service so a decent research before subscribing is required but if you need to game for a month with minimal upfront investment they are pretty good.

  • Diplomjodler
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    79 days ago

    You could try to get a used Steam Deck. That will let you play most current AAA games and plenty of indie or older titles for not a lot of money. Apart from that, I wish you all the best and I hope things get better for you.

  • FartsWithAnAccent
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    68 days ago

    Other hobbies lke hiking, biking, etc. but if your only concern is cost, why not get an old computer for super cheap, put Linux on it, and play games thay don’t need high end specs?

  • @[email protected]
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    38 days ago

    I’m sorry to hear that. Obviously we don’t know your situation but I just want to say that gaming doesn’t have to be expensive so hopefully you’re back to it sooner rather than later.