Compact gaming laptops under $1,000 are flat-out rare. At $899.99, the Asus TUF Gaming A14 is light to carry (just 3.2 pounds!) but a real heavyweight on value.

The HP Victus 15.6 144Hz gaming laptop is a budget-friendly way to play PC games.

Or you can pick up some titles you missed over the years. Start with Esquire's 2023 game of the year "Alan Wake 2" if you ...