Walmart's selling gaming loot crates and they're actually good: here are some of the best
Get a package of cool gaming merch for under $20
The physical loot box phenomenon has exploded in the past few years, and it's rapidly reaching a fever pitch. Right now, you can get crates of random goodies delivered to your home every month ranging from collectibles and geeky accessories to clothes, wine, and food. Walmart recently jumped on the bandwagon and started offering gaming and geek culture focused boxes a la carte from a couple of different companies, and some of them are surprisingly excellent.
The cool thing about getting a box from a retailer like Walmart rather than buying into a monthly subscription is that you get to just grab the boxes you want, and you're aware of its contents before you buy (though some of the boxes still have some random elements). There's no long term commitment, and you can grab boxes from different categories and across different genres all from one source. Walmart seems to be doing a decent job of curating which boxes are available on the site. Check their site for the full listing, but I've gone through and chosen the best of the lot and broken them out below.
Retro Arcade Classics Loot Crate for $19.88 at Walmart
My favorite package from Walmart's listing is a condensed dose of pure nostalgia for anyone who remembers the days of arcade and 8-bit gaming. Highlights include a nifty little GALAGA enamel pin, an action figurine of Sonic chasing those good golden rings, and a PAC-MAN pint glass.
Harry Potter Collectible Box for $19.88 at Walmart
For everyone's favorite franchise that doesn't quit, this Harry Potter box comes packed with cool goodies like a handsome Hogwarts notebook and house-specific drink coasters emblazoned with beautifully rendered coats of arms.
Fallout Collectible Box for $19.88 at Walmart
There's a Fallout 76 box for sale as well as this one, but I strongly prefer this collection, which comes with a random Vault Boy figurine from one of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes and a Nuka Cola cap bottle opener.
Gaming Treasure Loot Crate for $19.88 at Walmart
This one is a great mix of goods from a broad range of games, including a really cool looking Bioshock Infinity key blank, a Borderlands game mat, and a copy of Ready Player One (I promise the book is better than the film).
Taking some of the randomness and all of the monthly commitment out of the loot box formula makes the whole proposition much more attractive, and these offers from Loot Crate and CultureFly are some of the better boxes I've seen. They're stuffed with goodies you'll love, and even if there are some additional items that you're not so fond of, pretty much everything in these boxes makes for a great gift.
Also, don't hesitate to dig into some other great deals over at our cheap Xbox One deals page, or if you need a controller stop by our Xbox One controller cheap roundup.
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Alan Bradley was once a Hardware Writer for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, specialising in PC hardware. But, Alan is now a freelance journalist. He has bylines at Rolling Stone, Gamasutra, Variety, and more.