Well ok but I did say it was long. Tbh, my checklist is almost a minigame itself now 🤣

So once I've found a game that looks interesting, I do the following:

Google video search for the game's title and filter to past week, then month, then year and that shows me how many people are actually talking about this game right now and who's doing the talking.

I look at the Steam reviews and initially filter to only show negative ones. I find it's a lot easier to see if the game's been review bombed that way. Also, a lot of negative reviews complain about features I find positive so that's helpful too "This game was way too easy! I finished it in 30 hours and I still had all my hair at the end, harumph!". I also check phrases like "Abandoned by the devs" or "Yet another asset flip" or "Beware! The EULA is a privacy nightmare".

I then switch to positive reviews and read the short ones. The dissertations are just way too much detail at this stage (or any stage really for me).

At some point early on I check the Steam update history. If the last update was years ago I factor that in. I also try to keep on top of relevant news like that time the entire staff of Annapurna Interactive quit, making a sequel to Stray unlikely.

Also, if it hasn't had that many recent updates I'll join the Discord and see how active that is. That's usually so revealing. Often in a positive way like with the G-Rebels devs.

Then I go through my top YT game reviewers like Raptor, Scarlett Seeker, Splattercat Gaming, Orbital Potato and Nookrium and see if they've talked about the game.

I look for the title on Allkeyshop to see if there's a cheaper EU unlockable Steam game key available.

I check for trainers in case I need an escape hatch if it turns out to be too grindy or tedious but still worth playing.

If all the searches have been positive so far I'll wishlist it around this point. If there's a demo I'll play it. If it looks amazing from the start I'll install the demo after looking at a couple of gameplay videos.

I also have a 21:9 monitor so I hop into the Steam discussion group for the game and look for confirmation that it's compatible.

If it's too expensive I'll check SteamDB and look at it's price history. My personal limit is <7 bucks for an old game and <18 for a relatively new one (unless something exceptional suddenly appears like Eriksholm).

I'll check if there any Steam sales coming and if the theme is likely to match the game I'm looking at.

I really do actually do all this by the way. It's the only way I've been able to get more sensible about the games I buy.

I got one!

Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4

I'm more of the just stick to the indie goats type of guy, those which give you unlimited replay ability, but reading your comment made me fondly remember Yes your Grace!

A little game which i got through in two days and probably never touch again but absolutely loved. It made feel more like a King (of a really small realm) than a crusader kings or civilisation.

I avoided B4B because I remembered why Turtle Rock broke up with Valve after L4D and the disaster that was Evolve.

I've started just waiting a bit. If a game is actually good, waiting a few months won't really matter. If the game is dead by then, it was never worth the money in the first place.

Also, I got burned by No Man's Sky back then.