I’m still waiting for Elden Ring to go on sale for $20 but might end up settling for $30.
I always buy games only on sale. My rule of thumb is: if it’s around 20€ it’s a no-brainer. Anything above that I only buy for games that I really really want and that stay above 20€ even when on sale.
This is the way I do it too. I also factor in cost by hour. Like if I think I will put 50 hours into a game then I wouldn’t mind paying $50 cuz that’s only $1 per hour of enjoyment. Most games are 5-25 hrs though so that’s the price range I tend to stick with.
There’s also quality of enjoyment. Like if I take 4 hours to beat a game but it’s so good it changes my life or is unlike any game I’ve played before, then I don’t mind a higher cost per hour. For example, Outer Wilds.