When it comes to cool stuff, it’s harder than ever to separate the wheat from the chaff. On one hand, there are so many recommendations that are one click away from a purchase! On the other, so much of what you see is cheap product placement of items that no one really wants, has really tried, or really recommends.
This list is not that. At Inverse, we have watched, held, coveted and played all the stuff here so that you can find the perfect trinket or doodad to gift a loved one. There’s a little something for everyone.
The Substance Activator Water Bottle
This seemingly innocent water bottle harbors a dark secret — the perfect, cheeky homage to the biggest sci-fi thriller of the year. — Dais Johnston
George A. Romero’s Knightriders
If you know the film, you know the big, swirling soundtrack that in itself is a masterpiece. — Tyghe Trimble
Godzilla Minus One 4K Blu-ray
Until Netflix quietly dropped Godzilla Minus One on its platform, the film was the most pirated of the year. Now U.S. fans can finally own it, but there’s a catch — the black and white version, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, is not included. That version is only available on the Japanese release. — Lyvie Scott
MCU: The Reign Of Marvel Studios
2024 was a year when we got meta with our superhero movies — spoofing the industry with the likes of The Franchise and going deep behind the scenes with books like the exhaustive MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. — Hoai-Tran Bui
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth Soundtrack
Besides earning a 10/10 from our very own Hayes Madsen, FFVII: Rebirth was also voted best soundtrack by our whole team here at Inverse. Spinning some of these selected musical tracks on vinyl will help you realize that, yes, every part of this game had something to celebrate. — Shannon Liao
Dune: The Spice Must Flow
Inverse’s very own Ryan Britt gets deep into Arrakis in this must-read Dune compendium. The book includes Britt’s expert insights, reporting, and original interviews with Timothée Chalamet, Kyle Maclachlan, Denis Villeneuve, Patrick Stewart, Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Newman, and many more. — Tyghe Trimble
Lt. Spock Action Figure
If you’ve been really good this year, you might ask for this new museum-grade action figure of Lt. Spock with the look straight out of the pilot episode that launched it all, “The Cage.” — Ryan Britt
Crimson Peak 4K Blu-Ray
Guillermo del Toro spent half a year retooling Crimson Peak’s color correction and its edit before it officially premiered. It’s certainly worthy of a reappraisal — and with a higher-quality version of the film available on 4K, there’s no better time to revisit it. — Lyvie Scott
Superman: The Definitive History
The coffee table book to end all coffee table books, this history of Superman goes deep, with tons of exclusive photos, posters, mini-books, and of course, an homage to all the villains. — Ryan Britt
Lego X-Men X Mansion
A $300+ Lego set with 3,000+ pieces? With a giant sentinel and 10 X-Men LEGO figures, who can resist? — Tyghe Trimble
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+
This high-end tablet is gorgeous, sturdy, and powerful — perfect especially for drawing and editing images or even as a laptop replacement. — Tyghe Trimble
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU
Nvidia’s top-of-the-line GPUs are now at the heart of two technological booms: AI and cryptocurrency. While traders stock up on graphics cards, the main draw of such a high-powered GPU is that it makes the trees and shadowy flames in games look prettier. — Shannon Liao
PlayStation 5 Slim
With a sleek line down the middle and a slot for playing Blu-rays, the PS5 Slim is a nice bargain for those wanting to get into the latest line of games and entertainment. No need to shell out for the PS5 Pro, unless you are itching for the slight performance bump. — Shannon Liao
Neopets Battledome Trading Cards
Neopets trading cards have made a comeback, with new starter decks and booster packs filled with shiny possibilities. It’s nice to know these are still being made to this day. — Shannon Liao
Herman Miller Embody Gaming Chair
This usually $2,000 gaming chair is now on sale, which makes it a good time to consider sitting down on Herman Miller’s conception of how gamers like to lounge. It’s very soft and ergonomic. — Shannon Liao
Longlegs Agent Lee Harker T-Shirt
This years’ biggest, most horrible surprise, Longlegs shocked, scared, and left so many of us wanting more. The image on this T-shirt captures it all perfectly. — Dais Johnston
Secretlab Titan Evo
Another chair! But this one’s for the fans of games. I can’t tell you how many times people have stopped me in meetings to comment on Overwatch, thanks to my D.va chair. In celebration of Netflix’s TV show Arcane, Secretlab now has Jinx and Vi League of Legends chair to boot. — Shannon Liao
Sound Burger Portable Bluetooth Turntable
This battery-powered Bluetooth record player is a fun foldable gimmick of a turntable — but one that is also a quality player. Thanks to Bluetooth functionality especially, the Burger is ideal for casual record collectors. — Tyghe Trimble
The Sixth Sense 4K Blu-ray
On its 25th anniversary, it’s time to revisit M. Night Shymalan’s breakout hit — which immediately penetrated the popular consciousness, becoming familiar even to people who never saw the film, and inaugurated our current era of “spoiler culture.” — Zach Schonfeld
Meta Quest 3S
There’s never been a better time to jump into VR. And when it comes to bang-for-buck value, few headsets out today are better than the Meta Quest 3S. With one of the best VR games of the year in Batman: Arkham Shadow, and with exciting releases like Metro Awakening VR and the upcoming Alien Rogue: Incursion, VR is having a bit of a renaissance in the gaming space. As a cool bonus, the Meta Quest Link Cable makes the headset compatible with VR games on Steam, making it a relative no brainer for the PC gamer in your life. — Trone Dowd
Nine Sols
Nine Sols may have been overlooked by players gearing up for the latest FromSoftware Soulslike challenge. But this Taiwanese “tao-punk” game is well worth plundering its depths and exploring its fascinating story. — Robin Bea
Lost: Back to the Island
For the 20th anniversary of the sci-fi TV classic, Emily St. James and Noel Murray dive deep into the flawed legacy of Lost in a thoughtful and deeply researched tome. — Hoai-Tran Bui
Star Trek: The Motion Picture 45th Anniversary Blu-Ray
For the 45th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this limited-edition Steelbook features the original theatrical cut in 4K Ultra HD and a bonus remastered Blu-ray, from Paramount Home Entertainment. — Ryan Britt
A Masterpiece in Disarray
This passionate and meticulously compiled oral history of David Lynch’s Dune can only come from the movie’s biggest fan — which makes Max Evry uniquely qualified to explore the weirdest hurdles, most glaring flaws, and greatest flashes of brilliance of the 1984 film. — Hoai-Tran Bui
Steam Deck OLED
The Steam Deck is already a fantastic way to play games both on the go and at home. The OLED model adds an ever bigger, more colorful screen that makes one of the best handhelds out there even better. — Hayes Madsen
Radster Trail Electric Off-Road Bike
E-bikes are all the rage right now. They’re fun, fast, and more reliable than ever. But the real measure of the e-bike takeover is for it to properly replace a car, at least for those short everyday drives. After a week with the Radster Trail, we’re pretty sure we found that bike. — Tyghe Trimble
