Need a next level prezzie for someone who loves video games? Don’t put your search on pause. We’ve rounded up some of the best Christmas gifts for the gamer in your life - helping you to get your holiday shopping wrapped up early doors. So, here’s a load of great gaming goodies for you to choose from…
Meta Quest 3S mixed reality headset
Perfect for… exploring new worlds
If they haven’t dipped their toe into virtual or mixed reality gaming just yet, the brand-new Meta Quest 3S is a brilliant shout. For a start, this standalone headset does both. By using two RGB cameras, you’ll transform your living room by adding virtual scenarios and objects to your space. Play a digital board game on your coffee table or fight back against a demonic horde pouring through a hole in your ceiling. Both are honestly just as fun.
What about the graphics themselves though? Well, it’s got 4.5 times the resolution of the old Quest 2 and a super powered Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip. Both make the visuals even sharper and loading times get a nice snappy boost too. So, the best Meta Quest 3 games are going to really look the part and won’t take an age to get into.
Oh, and if you’re a Batman fan, you’re in for a treat. You can grab the caped crusader’s latest adventure – Batman: Arkham Shadow – for free when you buy the headset. As the Dark Knight, you’ll patrol the streets of Gotham solving crimes and fighting gangs of thugs in gritty hand-to-hand combat. Kapow!
PlayStation 5
Perfect for… playing epic blockbuster titles
Sony have now sold well over 50 million PlayStation 5 consoles since launch. Wowza. And with a complete re-design that hit shelves last year, it’s got way better. It’s now 24% lighter and 30% smaller than the original (so it should fit in that space under your telly now), but still packs all the same power. You can pick from a digital edition or a disc drive version too. Which is handy whether you have a big stack of physical games, or prefer to download them from the PlayStation Store.
The PS5 is built around speedy SSD storage. This’ll fire up games in a flash – yes, even those massive open-world ones. And ultimately that means you get to spend more time playing, and less staring at a boring loading screen. Speaking of worlds, boy do they look jaw-dropping. 4K Ultra HD graphics (at up to 120 fps) adds a whole other level of realism and makes even the most bombastic set pieces run smoothly. There’s none of that immersion breaking lag here.
We haven’t even mentioned what you can play yet either. The PS5 has some of the best exclusive games on any console. In Spider-Man 2, you’ll suit up as New York’s legendary protector and go toe to toe with Venom, Lizard, and other deadly villains. Or how about diving into God of War Ragnarök instead? To save the world, you’ll have to defeat all manner of Viking gods and mythical beasties using an arsenal of magic weapons. It’s pretty Thor-some.
ASUS ROG Ally X
Perfect for… gaming on the go
Buying for a gamer with a long commute? Or maybe they’re always jetting off on city breaks? Either way, you can’t really go wrong with the ASUS ROG Ally X. It lets you bring all your favourite PC games with you in your backpack. Which’ll make any journey absolutely fly by. Especially if your trip goes completely off the rails with a few dreaded delays. It’s the UK after all.
Games are big old things nowadays. Luckily, you’ve got plenty of room to play with here. The Ally X is packing a hefty 1TB SSD, which is more than enough space to download a few triple A titles. And that’ll sound like a really good idea. Especially when you die for the hundredth time on that Elden Ring boss and want to swap to something else.
You might also wonder how it stacks up against a standard gaming laptop. This handheld is pretty much like having a Windows gaming machine in your hands, with plenty of power to boot. The Radeon graphics keep everything looking ultra-sharp, while its Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU easily runs some of the most demanding titles. So don’t underestimate it – it’s small yet mighty!
Logitech G535 Lightspeed wireless gaming headset
Perfect for… getting fully immersed
The Logitech G535 Lightspeed is built for gaming marathons and multiplayer all-nighters. With up to 33 hours of battery life on just the one charge, you can get lost in that epic fantasy RPG for hours on end. And while that is a whopping day and a bit worth of play, we definitely don’t recommend sitting there for that long…
A set of 40mm drivers will put you slap bang in the middle of the action. The clear and powerful stereo sound makes everything way more realistic – whether you’re casting spells or fighting for your life in a shootout. And you can hear exactly where every noise is coming from. Whether that’s a monster stalking you in a haunted house, or a knight swinging a sword at you from behind. Stay on your toes.
What if you want to really turn things up to 11 though? Simple audio controls on the ear cup let you switch up your settings on the fly. There’s no faffing about with complicated buttons here. Which means you won’t have to spend ages flipping through pages and pages of instructions to work things out. After all, nobody enjoys doing that at the best of times. And especially not at Christmas.
Samsung Odyssey G5 monitor
Perfect for… good lookin’ gaming
To really take advantage of modern games’ shiny new graphics, they’ll need a monitor that’s up to scratch. We’d go for the Samsung Odyssey G5. By teaming an IPS LCD screen with DisplayHDR 400 tech, you get razor sharp contrast and far deeper blacks. And that’s going to make all those horror games way creepier. You might not see what’s lurking in the shadows until it’s too late…
It’s a game changer for fast-paced multiplayer titles as well. Because of the 180 Hz refresh rate, you’ll be whizzing round the battlefield like Sonic – with nothing to slow you down. And with a 1 ms response time, you won’t be missing your shots because of pesky input lag. So, there’s no excuse not to be at the top of the leaderboard once the round’s over!
Need more advice?
Still need presents for the rest of family? No worries. Check out our health and beauty gift guide for some stunning prezzies. Or if dad’s after a new phone, make the right call with our gift guide for phone fans.
