Something I've been meaning to write about for awhile now.

I hate DRM, especially when it comes to games.

In specific, I hate Steam's DRM.
And any DRM at all, really.

I used to have a Steam account.
I used to have the Steam client on my computer.

There was one point at which,
I couldn't play my games offline,
even though you're supposed to.

And then I was eventually locked out of my own account, permanently,
and Steam's tech support wasn't able to assist me;
supposedly, they had no way of determining that I was who I said I was (incompetence or sabotage?)

I must've had 25 games, some bought on sale, some bought at full price.
However much I spent, that was money I was never going to get back.

After watching videos by ReviewTechUSA (check out his YouTube channel),
I eventually found out about GoG.com,
and The Humble Store websites,
where you can buy downloadable PC games, and WITHOUT DRM;
the Humble Store sometiems even provides a Steam Key with the game,
along with a DRM-Free download of the game straight to your PC,
WITHOUT having to use a separate game client/account that you need to use to play the game.

I've always thought that was odd, having to have some other software program to play a bunch of different games (well, I guess it's like with how Emulators and ROMs work).

Nowadays, I don't buy a downloadable game if I can't get it DRM-Free;
and no, I no longer buy downloadable games on consoles
(with the exception of classic console games, which, even some of those,
you can download for PC at sites like GoG.com, shockingly enough).

Look for games that you want at these sites:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store
https://www.gog.com/

GoG.com even has sales (just like Steam!) and I've gotten games I've wanted for a long time,
50% off or more!

I think adding games to your wishlist first helps,
because I think they actually monitor peoples' wishlists,
and actually throw you a bone intentionally;
half of the games on my wishlist (15 of 30) I've gotten on sale!

This looks like a poem. I love Steam but that's likely always going to be the case until I run into a problem like you have, at which point it would become incredibly frustrating.

Yup, I agree. Even worse is when you purchase a physical copy of a game (think Ubisoft, or EA) only to find out you have to download some program on your computer in order to "validate" your purchase online. That's why I don't support either company.

If you're talking about the spacing/paragraphing, etc., I typed this up in Word first, then copy and pasted it, and that's how it turned.

When there are alternatives to Steam that DON'T have the problem I'm talking about, I have absolutely NO incentive to buy off of Steam.

Yeah, this's where I say physical copies are pointless, when you have to validate the purchase online with a special code, to PROVE that you paid for it, especially when software updates also require an internet connection.

I'm fine with digital, so long as no DRM is applied; when you have physical stuff, that's stuff that can lost, damaged, stolen, etc.

That was my exact first reaction too, haha.

Anyway, GoG >>>>>>>>> Steam, nobody should be surprised by that anymore.
Valve is terrible at quality control and their support sucks too.

I've lost pretty much all respect for them now that they don't seem to be interested in making games anymore either.

After further purchasing transactions, about as many on Humble Store as GoG, I'd have to say Humble Store is the better option.

Humble Store has been very timely and cooperative with responses and refunds, when I have a technical issue with a game, and even when I return it for a refund (which, I don't dawdle on contacting their technical support; I tend to contact them the same day as I purchased the game). I've returned 2 games because they weren't compatible with Gamepads - I absolutely detest that!

GoG, I contacted their customer support about 1 game, and 5 days ago at that, and they still haven't gotten back to me. Trying to find the proper form to contact them to request a refund for a game, made me go through a labyrinth of links, and then, I still probably didn't submit the correct form, so that's probably why they're not getting back to me.

I kind of dislike how GoG puts their own branding on the installers for the games they sell, and since they're based out of the U.S., you can't use a prepaid debit gift card to pay for your games on GoG.

Also, always make sure to compare prices between Humble and GoG; one may have a game on sale, while the other doesn't.