For many of us students—college kids and otherwise—summer is the season to unwind and relax as we prepare for another grueling academic year. People want to make the most of this precious time by spending it with friends and family, traveling to new places, or finding a part-time job to help ease future expenses.

For people like me who prefer to stay indoors during the summer months, sometimes playing a good game is all you need. It has everything that you can do outdoors, just without the hassle of going out.

And it's hot out there. All I want to do is to go into hermit mode until someone decides it's time for me to come back to society.

So when I actually make the time to play games, I want it to be a wholesome and entertaining experience, one that can keep me entirely enraptured in its fantasies even after I finish the game. That's usually not a problem, since it's pretty easy to pick up a game that will cater anyone's tastes.

Nowadays, you can't simply play the $40-$60 game by itself. If you want the whole story and to reap the all the benefits that the game has to offer, you better cough up some money to buy that DLC, or downloadable content. Want that exclusive gear or class changes to beef up your characters to the max? Perhaps you want to learn more about a particular character and the only way to do so is to play their DLC side story chapter. Or maybe you really want to extend your playtime with more grinding and farming through additional map packs. The point is that if you really love a game, you would probably be willing to drop some money on it.

A few days ago, Fire Emblem Heroes released two new sets of characters. But getting the new units to add to your roster is just like winning a lottery: the results are generated randomly and the odds of getting the ones you want (with goods stats!) are incredibly slim.

I poured all my orbs into the summoning banner, hoping that luck would be on my side. But alas, it never is. After two summoning sessions using the orbs that I earned in-game, all I got was fodder units or units that I will probably never use.

Being the impatient person that I am, I figured that the third time would be the charm and paid to receive more orbs. I finally summoned Saber, one of the new units that I wanted. But at what cost? Out of pocket money for some instant self-gratification?

Microtransactions have become a regular occurrence in modern gaming as companies try to wring as much business out of their customers as they possibly can. For games in which you can pay money for in-app purchases in order to have more resources, like Fire Emblem Heroes and Fate/Grand Order, the temptations run rampant from the moment you begin playing.

It's not uncommon to see games have additional season passes, which essentially cover all current and future DLC for a bundle price. If the game happens to have a large amount of DLC planned for release, then you might even expect two or three or even more season passes. Typically, these season passes would range from $20 and higher, depending on the console. Sometimes, the price would even skyrocket up more than $60, which is practically the same price as a new game. That can feel cringe-worthy.

Microtransactions and DLC are no longer little add-ons to a game. They're the gateway to the meta gaming, where you have to pay to win. In order to stand as the top-tier players in the ranks, to enjoy the aesthetics of exclusive skins and costumes, or to expand the game further, be prepared to throw money down. Be wary of the free-to-play games too, especially mobile games; if you don't have a gambling problem now, you might end up with one.

Will that stop me from buying more DLC or in-app purchases? No. It's my decision to spend money on games that I think are worth it. I'll just be sobbing uncontrollably every time I do so.

All I want is a Delthea and Sonya from this summoning banner, dang it. C'mon now!