Need help shopping for games

Ok, here is the deal and dont judge me, but i used to buy a lot of my games from gamestop during their B2G1 free used game sales. I have never been someone who has to be current in games so waiting for used games has always been a preference for me. Here is where the issue comes in: Gamestops by me have changed their design to only show popular games on shelves (and i dont need help finding popular games).. and there are no local game stores near me where i can just browse shelves looking for games that may i may have missed or are cheap.

So knowing this, where do you all shop for games? Online retailers (amazon) require you to either buy new or already know what you want (browsing is broken), digital storefronts have the same browsong problem, and big box stores dont really stock a diverse set of games.

Im hoping there is a place i am missing, any thoughts?

The only box game I get now a days are the games I really want to own or are getting day one, I usually now wait until they are on sale on digital store fronts since they just go on sale 2-3 months after they release

I don't have much advice for you if you want physical, but for digital I just keep a long list of games in my Steam wishlist. Throughout the year I'm constantly adding things I think might be interesting but I don't care enough to pay full price for. As sales roll around, I'll do more research on my list contents and buy the ones that get good reviews/positive word of mouth.

The problem with my system is it requires paying attention to games media throughout the year. If you want to go in completely cold, there probably isn't much other than digital store algorithmic recommendations.

I am kind of confused as to what the exact issue is here. Is it finding games you want to play? Finding cheap games? If you were shopping at Gamestop you were probably playing on console and also you weren't playing super obscure Indies so it sounds like you just want to be able to browse sales. All the console digital store fronts (Xbox, PSN, Nintendo) allow you to browse all titles that are on sale so that's one option. If you really want to buy physical then most retailers including Gamestop will let you browse their sales online and let you know what is included in the BOGO sales or whatever else.

It would help to know what platforms you're shopping for and what exactly you are looking for (cheap games, the ability to discover new games, something else?)

@bigsocrates: my bad for being short. I currently buy for ps4 and switch, but mainly physical (i know its a problem). My honest issue is that i like to find weird or rare games that probably arent touched on by mainstream games media. I used to not go into gamestop with a game in mind that i want to get, and would be able to browse a wall of rejected used games and see what weird stuff others have turned in. That is no longer the case at most gamestops (at least by me) as they are saving wall space for ps5, xsx, and funco pops, which is fine, but now i dont have an outlet to browse and find those games..

I can go to target or bestbuy if i want uncharted or last of us, but like finding a copy of games like "mutant year zero", "sakura wars", or "for the king" (switch game) is probably not going to happen.. so i guess to refine my question, its where does everyone go to shop for these games? And if you dont buy physical or shop for these types of games where do you go (outside of giant bomb) to see coverage of these lesser known games.

Pre-emptive edit: i know vinny did a quick look of mutant year zero.

@imunbeatable80: You can still browse this stuff online but I understand the selection can be overwhelming.

The games you mention there aren't all that obscure. They were all covered by Destructoid (for example) and I believe Mutant Year Zero and Sakura Wars both got reviews. So one thing you can do is go to a site like Destructoid and click on their "reviews" tab to get a list of the recent games they've reviewed and then just click on whatever looks interesting. Obviously you'll see the massive games that everyone knows about, but also a lot of stuff that you're talking about, like Call of the Sea and Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin and The Pathless, which I think are all at about the level of the games you've mentioned

There are lots of other review sites that do similar things that you can also look at recent reviews of. There will be some overlap but also some variety in terms of these C-tier games so it might make sense to sort through more than one. Metacritic also works here. You can just click on "Best games this year" then filter down to PS4, for example, and presto chango you've got a long list of games to scroll through, which will include the big dawgs like Last of Us Part II but also smaller stuff like Creaks and Bloodroots and Creature in the Wall.

Game of the year lists can be great. Polygon does a top 50 that includes the big stuff but also smaller games, and other sites do top 100s. Just scanning through that stuff can help you find fun, interesting, stuff.

Youtube is another resource. Lots of channels do videos on "Hidden Gems" and "Games you Might Have Missed" and clicking on one of those will recommend others. Then you can find a few channels you like and check on them every few months.

These methods should be relatively quick ways to browse through the types of games you want. Once you have identified some games that look good you can do whatever research you want to (if you're just picking games off a Gamestop shelf it sounds like you like to go into things blind, which is cool) and then you can search online to see if your nearby Gamestop has them or just buy them digitally or from Amazon or whatever.

I like separating out my discoverability from my purchasing because I can find the games I want and then I can figure out the cheapest way to get them, rather than being focused on one price. If you just like buying in person then keep a list of games and when Gamestop does its BOGO sale you can just use their website to see if your local branches have copies, or BOGO online if you want.

A couple of tips I hope are useful:

Look at new release lists like the GB wiki's new games page https://www.giantbomb.com/new-games/

Limited Game News / LGN writes up limited physical releases - they also have a running 5% coupon code you can use at PlayAsia if you like importing games.

Everything's on Steam, so use that instead of Amazon, big retailers, and Gamestop.

And invest into PC Gaming, It's way better than consoles.