Thank you for the links. I guess I'm just undecided on whether to get it now or hope it might be free down the road.

What I should probably do is focus on my backlog.

There is this thread for recommending freeware games.
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/free_games_and_3rd_party_mods_the_updated_list/
As well as this thread that lives up to the site's name as it is specifically for games that run on older PCs. Great free games that might not run on Windows 11 but will work on older versions of Windows are encouraged to be posted here, especially if it's something that has been reclassified as freeware.
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/free_games_and_potato_pcs/

So posting in the above threads would have been very on-topic.

I've seen that tactic used a few times with ShareWare, although in this age of digital downloads even mainstream companies are sometimes using ShareWare or something akin to it where you download a demo that includes the full game and you just need to pay a fee to unlock it.

Either it's a trial but they don't bother telling you it's a trial until after it expires and basically says "pay us to keep using the program" (usually with utility programs rather than games), or you download a game that doesn't mention that it's ShareWare until after you complete the first level. Then it says "Congratulations, you've completed the demo. If you'd like to keep playing, enter your credit card to unlock the full version."
I'm afraid I deleted the game because the surprise ShareWare fees left a sour note on me and now I'm drawing a blank on what game it was, but it's happened to me twice.

I already have that and the delisted preview copy for the 2nd one on Steam, so i didn't need it. it was the GOG copy which I don't have. I'm rather surprised at this, with the short amount of time it was up and I didn't get advance notice until I looked at the thread.

I was gonna post about that though, but I see I had been beaten to the punch this time as well.

Well that sucks. Just realized that a bunch of freebies on Fanatical that I've claimed over months needed me to click them AGAIN to redeem on steam. So the keys expired and I didn't get them. Fortunately none of them were any big loss... probably would have never played them, but still. Did learn my lesson? I guess time will tell.

I’ve done that many times unfortunately. I rarely redeem the keys I get free or in super cheap bundles. They’re just there for a rainy day, or mostly not I guess.

well free is free. GOG is best but on steam is better than not.
It's a great game. You'll enjoy playing it!

Can someone explain the lego games to me? What are they about?

I see them sometimes offered in giveaways and the like, and I don't really understand their theme. Are they just trying to make money off popular movies? Are they just turning movies into games? Does the lego brand imply the games are for children, or have been watered down so they're "family friendly"?

Are the games simply set in the movie land and you have freedom to explore, or are you locked on a railroad course of replaying the movie? There seem to be quite a few lego games so they must be popular. What is the appeal, what does it "mean" to be a lego game? Anything I should know to look for or avoid?