Factorio and Rimworld have kept me entertained several thousand houers each. Hands down the best value for money on steam. Even beat out free to play games ;)

Factorio, Satisfacfory, Baldur's Gate 3, Noita, Cities:Skylines, Prison Architect, Rimworld, Overload (Descent clone), Mindustry...

If you like Diablo-likes, there's...

• Grim Dawn (new expansion just announced)
• Last Epoch
• Warhammer 40k Inquisitor
• Chronicon (simple graphics but solid gameplay)
• PoE of course but I don't need a second job

The competition! lol! Activision is going to put out 2 games this year. Whatever will we play now that these 2 games are owned by a platform holder?

You are correct though that there are a million cool ass games you can play right now and put your money in the pockets of people who make THINGS instead of people who make value for shareholders.

Better spent money than feeding these vampires.

Just realizing corporations aren't your friends? Anyways, if you like hard, unique puzzle games, Baba Is You is the best there is, fullstop.

Baldur's Gate 3 is amazing

If you're into metroidvanias (platformers where you gain abilities over the course of the game, expanding gameplay and allowing you to access new areas in earlier zones) there are lots of really good indie titles. Hollow Knight is the reference, both Ori games are awesome. Dead Cells is also worth a try if you're into fast-paced action games, though it's more of a platformer rogue-lite.

Terraria is pretty fun

I've been loving BattleBit Remastered lately. It's cheap, fun as hell, and the very small dev team has been very active and responsive. I bought 3 more copies to give to friends so we could squad up.

Just your luck: Dome Keeper is on sale right now

Lies of P

I'm really enjoying Valheim lately. It's similar to Minecraft in a lot of ways, but leans a little more into RPG elements with leveled skills. There's a bit more of a story, heavier focus on combat, and NPCs to interact with (though I haven't reached that point myself).

If you like city building/survival style games I've been having an absolute blast with Timberborn

I've been playing delta V: Rings of Saturn recently

Lies of p if youre into fromsoft like games

I just finished playing Cocoon. It was short-but-sweet - it took me two evenings to finish, so probably in the 5-7 hours range - but it was one of the most interesting and engaging puzzle games I've played in a long time. What's especially fascinating to me is that its controls are so simple - everything is done with one analogue stick / WASD and a single interact button - and it's a very linear game, yet it still feels so engaging to play. It's from the lead designer of Limbo and Inside, so it has pedigree.

I played it via Game Pass (ha...) so it's hard for me to say what the value proposition is like. It certainly isn't going to give you the most time for your money, and it doesn't really have much in the way of narrative or themes, at least beyond abstract ones. But it has a gorgeous aesthetic and some fantastic puzzles.

I've been playing a really fun indie spy deception game called Deceive Inc.

Hades, Into the Breach

Dotage just released, it's a relaxing boardgame / city builder made by a single guy over the span of 9 years. It's very addicting in that "one more turn" way, if you're into these types of resource management games.

Sea of Stars is a pretty fun, especially if you're a fan of old school turn based jrpgs. Pretty decent story too.