I use both platforms for different things, but as a general rule, I'd typically buy on Steam before looking at GOG. That being said, any older game at this point runs much better with GOG's optimization. Back when this site stood for Good Old Games, it was pretty much a safe haven for game preservation. This was the only way that I was able to obtain Baldur's Gate: Original Saga (non-enhanced). A ton of games just don't exist in Steam and get removed constantly.

That being said, functionality of GOG compared to Steam is vastly lagging. Steam client and its features are better in almost every aspect. Even in small things like the launcher, GOG's is laughably awful and lags even behind Epic's at this point. The main site and forums is another relic.

I absolutely love GOG and what it's doing/done for preserving older games and bringing it to the modern systems, but I'll be damned if I ever pick it for a platform to buy new games.

Rule#451b: no links to gog.com on gog.com ;D

"What does angel number 909 mean?
The number 9 is related to the topics of travel, risk, learning, and truth. 909 is a power symbol that indicates that things are moving fast and hot right now—or they will be soon. It’s a time in your life when you may need to take risks or make choices quickly. You can’t stall by weighing out your options and taking your sweet time. When it comes to seeing 909, it’s time to act now." 🎩
time to act now." 😉

I'd say: GOG is different from Steam.

And some aspects of what they do/offer, is better than Steam.

While other aspects are easy-to-see-through attempts to be more like Steam...and those usually fall short.


shrug

Eh, it depends.
If you mean in terms of actually owning the game you buy without being beholden to a ToS (remember, if you get into a legal dispute with Steam, you are required to delete your library first.), yes GOG is better.

However, steam does have a larger and more active community with better sub forums and a clearer update announcement system and a much larger catalogue of games. Try finding Total War, Command and Conquer or Dark Souls in the GOG store.
GOG does a pretty bad job at giving you announcements and updates news, whereas with Steam it's very clear.

I think if GOG wants to improve the user experience, they should work on making updates more apparent and getting developers to announce news and changes like they do on Steam.
Maybe some sort of system where it tracks the last time you downloaded an offline installer and tell you if it's out of date or not, to really capitalize what makes GOG unique in the current market.

Personally, I prefer GOG because not having your library locked behind a client is great, but there is still a lot of room for improvement and refinement.

I don't know if I'd say that but it's definitely a bit more comfy. Steam is just too huge.

As a programmer with some idea about computer security I was never interested in Steam.

Not even if there wasnt any alternative.

GoG may be slower than Steam, sure. But thats not crucial for me.

i prefer gog over steam since i can customize my game directory, for example on steam i have to rename a source port's executable to "dosbox.exe", that's just fucking gross

Blink once if one of the GOG staffs is aiming a gun to your head, blink twice if you're saying the truth.

That very much depends on what type of gamer or customer you are.

Me personally, I only want DRM-Free games with a proper installer. Steam don't do that, so of course GOG is better.

If however, you are not concerned about DRM-Free or can tolerate the vagaries of DRM-Free Lite where available, then Steam can likely offer you more, and so would be better.

Both GOG and Steam have their benefits and their failings.

So it is in reality a very subjective thing.

It definitely is. When Steam became too popular, cracks started to form. And Steam's forums are badly moderated, run by bots that can't perform basic human tasks, and the wrong users end up getting banned while trolls and spammers alike get away scot-free. And Steam Support is utterly abysmal as well, also run by bots that are anywhere but helpful. Even GOG support had actual humans responding that actually respond, even if they were to take days too.

Definitely prefer GOG as I only want to just buy and install games. Plus GOG's selection is way more impressive. The reason I first joined back in November 2014 (deleted that account when I quit gaming for a while) was because I wanted to play Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer. Not only that but the fact that they have Diablo 1, Star Trek Judgement Rites, and the original Resident Evils give them the upper hand in my book.

The fact that they also cleaned up the forums (except for the bots and the occasional rabble rouser) is especially pleasing as well.

it doesnt have all the games like say CoD but i love gog for singleplayer games, really good for that

While it's certainly the case, Steam has been dropping the ball lately, especially with their incredibly poor and inconsistent moderation. Their own forums is a total dumpster fire, a breeding grounds for trolls who deliberately cause trouble and were able to get away with their actions, regardless of numerous reports sent against them. They also seem to manipulate around Steam's ToS and Guidelines for their own benefits and it almost always worked in their favor too. If Valve can't improve their own platform, then its only a matter of time before many users on Steam will start to migrate over to GOG Galaxy.

I like owning my games. If I wanted not to own my games, I'd pay for a monthly subscription of games, and I already don't. So as far as I know, yes, GOG is much better than poop.