Games without microtransactions or paywalls

[Benny91]

Hello there, I'm here solely so i can buy games for my laptop. However, the idea of paying $75 for a game only to have much of it's content locked behind paywalls, or otherwise feeling like a 2nd job just doesn't appeal to me. I bought Cuphead & have great respect for the developers, but what i'm looking for are other games I can just play & have some fun with. No paywalls, no microtransactions (purely cosmetic is fine), just games i pay for once, & that's the end of it - like in the good old days

Does anyone have a list of such games? Does anyone know of such games? I'm not here to discuss microtransactions or paywalls (been done to death), i posted this as i'm not having much luck finding the kind of games i'm after

[rawWwRrr]

There are literally tons of games that don't have microtransactions. And a lot of the ones that do are only for cosmetic items that wouldn't prevent you playing the game if you didn't purchase them.

There are some that are pay-to-win but you can usually figure those out from the negative reviews or a little online research.

[WhiteKnight]

What kind of games you are after?. They are plenty of games that does not have payways or MTX.

[Craig]

You just described like 99% of games on Steam. Really 99% of console games too.

[Benny91]

Originally posted by WhiteKnight:

What kind of games you are after?. They are plenty of games that does not have payways or MTX.

I should hope so. I'm not all that fussed on the kind of games, as long as it's real time action. Racing, beat-em-ups, naval & aerial warfare, space warfare, rpg, adventure, run-and-gun, simulations, etc. My tastes are diverse - i work hard, so i want something fun to play after a hard day's work

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

So you basically just mean self-contained games, that you can just buy once and have the whole game.

There's a lot of them, but I'm not really sure how to find only them. Obviously, I'd suggest filtering out the "Free to play" tag and/or genre label (even though there are a good number of free games that are self-contained and don't do microtransactions/DLC/gacha/etc.). But beyond that, I think most games -- particularly single-player ones -- are probably like this.

Since you mentioned that you just want real-time action but otherwise don't really have a preference, I'll just go and recommend the Ys: the Oath in Felghana.

And may I ask why you mentioned Cuphead?

[Benny91]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

So you basically just mean self-contained games, that you can just buy once and have the whole game.

There's a lot of them, but I'm not really sure how to find only them. Obviously, I'd suggest filtering out the "Free to play" tag and/or genre label (even though there are a good number of free games that are self-contained and don't do microtransactions/DLC/gacha/etc.). But beyond that, I think most games -- particularly single-player ones -- are probably like this.

Since you mentioned that you just want real-time action but otherwise don't really have a preference, I'll just go and recommend the Ys: the Oath in Felghana.

And may I ask why you mentioned Cuphead?

Thanks mate, i'll check it out. I mentioned Cuphead as Cuphead is often quoted as an example of an excellent game without paywall or microtransactions. I believed folks would point me toward that game, so i felt the need to point out that i already have it. I enjoyed the game & it's swinging jazz soundtrack

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

By the way, I'm like you too; I also like it "like the old days" when I just buy a game and know I have the whole thing.

I know you didn't mention DLC, but if there's DLCs that just means I gotta do extra digging to figure out whether they're just decorative cosmetics or a core part of the game experience, then change my purchase plans accordingly (e.g. from "get the base game" to "wait for a bundle with all the DLC". (The exception is soundtracks, which shouldn't be handled as DLCs anyway.)

But while I might be okay with DLC, microtransactions just feel...off to me. It's not a "this is morally wrong" feeling. It's a "I know this game is going to bombard me with subtle encouragement toward spending money and it'll just result in me fighting a temptation the game is intentionally trying to get me to indulge" feeling. As opposed to "I can just dive right in and let myself go and enjoy the game."

[Benny91]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

By the way, I'm like you too; I also like it "like the old days" when I just buy a game and know I have the whole thing.

I know you didn't mention DLC, but if there's DLCs that just means I gotta do extra digging to figure out whether they're just decorative cosmetics or a core part of the game experience, then change my purchase plans accordingly (e.g. from "get the base game" to "wait for a bundle with all the DLC". (The exception is soundtracks, which shouldn't be handled as DLCs anyway.)

But while I might be okay with DLC, microtransactions just feel...off to me. It's not a "this is morally wrong" feeling. It's a "I know this game is going to bombard me with subtle encouragement toward spending money and it'll just result in me fighting a temptation the game is intentionally trying to get me to indulge" feeling. As opposed to "I can just dive right in and let myself go and enjoy the game."

Amen to that! With "DLC", it depends. The ones they intentionally left out to sell back to us later or are needed to make the game feel complete? I tend to treat them as a form of paywall. Others that feel like a sequel or a different game entirely? I treat them as expansions. This is why i didn't mention DLCs - it's often used as a buzzword as "paywall" sounds too greedy & "expansion" sounds too generous

[Start_Running]

OP There are literally thousands of games that don't have any such things currently.

Of course the problem is there is no way to know if such things will be introduced at some point in the future.

[Benny91]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

OP There are literally thousands of games that don't have any such things currently.

Of course the problem is there is no way to know if such things will be introduced at some point in the future.

Problem is, how do i find such games? Yeah, believe you, there must be plenty if i look for them. Trouble is, i have no idea where to even start looking

[wuddih]

https://store.steampowered.com/search/

this is the store search, on the righthand side you will find all sorts of filters, should be sufficient to find something.

[V]

Don't get games made by AAA developers.

[Benny91]

Originally posted by TheUnholy420:

Don't get games made by AAA developers.

I tend to avoid those like the plague

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Benny91:

Originally posted by Start_Running:

OP There are literally thousands of games that don't have any such things currently.

Of course the problem is there is no way to know if such things will be introduced at some point in the future.

Problem is, how do i find such games? Yeah, believe you, there must be plenty if i look for them. Trouble is, i have no idea where to even start looking

Pick a random game and chance are there won't be any in app purchases.
It's literally that easy. There aren't many games that have those things. Gnerallty avoid any game that has a strong online multiplayer focus, or a competitive multiplayer aspect.

[Mythical Ostrich]

Jade Empire
That's the only one