Looking to buy game; Steam or GOG version better?

[crine]

As title says I am looking at purchasing this game and am curious if there are benefits to buying either from Steam or a site that gives Steam keys or getting the no DRM version from GOG.

 

I have only recently started playing a couple games on Steam and haven't had any issues with it yet but keep hearing people say things about problems with Steam as DRM, or problems playing without internet connections, or save synch issues etc. I have bought a few games on GOG as well and haven't seen any issues with them but I do wonder if there is a difference in patches/updates between the two versions (steam/non-steam). Is one version patched more reliably or do steam auto-updates cause any problems, etc.?

 

Any advice on which version to buy or what sites to use for more reliable gameplay and any associated pros and cons would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Xaratas]

Booth places sell the same, Gog has a verification process which makes the release of the windows patch about ~1/2 day later, and the mac patch ~1 day, give or take, linux patches aro only available as full image but there are excelent community unofficial patches.

So thats the only difference, oh, the archivments only work with steam as gog has no archivements.

[samm]

I have bought a few games on GOG as well and haven't seen any issues with them but I do wonder if there is a difference in patches/updates between the two versions (steam/non-steam). Is one version patched more reliably or do steam auto-updates cause any problems, etc.?

Not getting into the general DRM-free vs. Steam debate here, but sticking to that question: Steam Updates tend to be bigger than GOG standalone updates. Also, you can use GOG Galaxy to keep the game up to date like you would with steam, or you can decide to download said standalone updates. So all in all, GOG offers more flexibility in patching and potentially saves bandwith, if that is a concern for you.

[Nobear]

I wish I had known about the GoG version not having achievements. I got started with GoG buying some of Spiderweb Software's games there, and they have their own achievements built into their games, so I never thought about it being otherwise.

[crine]

I wish I had known about the GoG version not having achievements. I got started with GoG buying some of Spiderweb Software's games there, and they have their own achievements built into their games, so I never thought about it being otherwise.

 

I am not certain, but from reading some posts on the Steam forum about GoG version it sounds like it might be possible to get achievements if you use the optional Galaxy beta. Not sure though if they are referring to the potential to have achievements on games in the future or if it is in fact a current feature for PoE.

[samm]

I don't know if Obsidian added achievements to GOG Galaxy, but yes, if playing via the Galaxy client, some games have achievements. Only seen that on Game of Thrones so far, but that's because I normally start the games directly.

[POLE7645]

I don't know if Obsidian added achievements to GOG Galaxy, but yes, if playing via the Galaxy client, some games have achievements. Only seen that on Game of Thrones so far, but that's because I normally start the games directly.

So far, the only two games I know that have Achievements on GOG Galaxy are The Witcher 2 and 3. The feature is still in a very early stage and achievements depends on developers willing to work them in.

[Nobear]

 

I don't know if Obsidian added achievements to GOG Galaxy, but yes, if playing via the Galaxy client, some games have achievements. Only seen that on Game of Thrones so far, but that's because I normally start the games directly.

So far, the only two games I know that have Achievements on GOG Galaxy are The Witcher 2 and 3. The feature is still in a very early stage and achievements depends on developers willing to work them in.

 

I hope the PoE devs are working on this with GoG if it's not too much trouble. It'd be nice to have!

[AstralWanderer]

I hope the PoE devs are working on this with GoG if it's not too much trouble. It'd be nice to have!

I'd rather have the developers working on fixing bugs and adding new content, rather than a (completely superfluous to me) feature.

 

With regards to the original question, one side effect of running client software (either Steam's compulsory client or the optional GOG Galaxy) is that they pose security and privacy risks. Security in that they are able to download and update programs on your system - if hijacked they could deliver malware instead. Privacy in that they record what, when and how long you play games - information that could be sold on to advertisers and current/potential employers.

 

As long as Galaxy remains optional, GOG has the advantage in offering you a choice of whether you want to run these risks (for the record, Steam has had at least one compromise and, four years on, no further information from Valve other that this update).