With the Winter video game sales in full swing, or winding down with giveaways in some cases, it's always prudent to trawl for the good stuff that's good and cheap. Like, less than $1 American cheap. That, my friends, is cheap. So, like last year, I went trawling through the terrible search systems of the online PC game platforms to find you some sweet deals.
Are they the newest games? No. Are they literally the cheapest games you can get? Also no. Are they better than every game you can play for free? Definitely not. But they are pretty good games and maybe you've tried those other games. Maybe you'd like to try some new games. Perhaps your relative sent you $5 for the holidays. Here's now to make that $5 into five video games.
If you have more money, maybe go check out our list of the best deals of the 2020 Steam Winter Sale.
Steam
- Poly Bridge — Build bridge. Bridge fall down. You laugh.
- PAYDAY 2 — Steal things, shoot at the police. Do it cooperatively!
- Teslagrad — An underrated, beautifully animated 2D Metroidvania.
- Blackwake — A multiplayer naval combat FPS that just came out this year and has pretty positive reviews. I have no idea why it's only $1 but that seems like a steal if this is your jam.
- GoNNER — A particularly difficult roguelike puzzle-platformer that will definitely be considered a cult classic in a few more years (also on Epic.)
- Tomb Raider — Yes, that Tomb Raider.
- Men of War — One of the most tactically detailed RTS ever made, down to the individual bullet.
- Sentinels of the Multiverse — A cooperative superhero card game adapted from the rather-popular tabletop game.
GOG.COM
- Anachronox — A strange, turn-based western RPG with the turn-based stylings of a JRPG. A compelling story makes this one perfect for the RPG aficionado.
- Original War — An odd early-2000s RTS with signature RPG elements. Nothing quite like it has been made since. (also on Steam: Original War.)
- Thief Series — The OG stealth games. Thief, Thief 2, and Thief 3. (also on Steam: Thief and Thief 2).
- Eador Genesis — A clever old turn-based strategy game, like a fusion of Civilization and Might & Magic. One of those forgotten gems.
- The Legacy of Kain series — The classic vampire action-adventure and roleplaying games from Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, and Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2.
Itch.io
- Quiet as a Stone — A casual, slow, minimalistic game of exploration in a beautiful digital environment. As much toy as game.
- Super Hexagon — One of the greatest twitch-based games of modern times. On a personal note, Super Hexagon is the first video game I ever reviewed.
- Bard Harder — A ridiculous fantasy visual novel about flirting your way to success when your combat skills just don't cut it.
- Shipwreck — An adorable, short top-down adventure game in the vein of classic Zelda games.
- Rusty's Rail — A tiny, funny little clicker game about trains for the idle crowd.
I feel bad for not including at least 25 games, but there just wasn't that much great for cheap this year. I guess you could go get Deus Ex and its sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War for less than $1, but the interfaces... they just haven't aged well.
