So there was at least one request for me to look through the under $5 games on Steam, see if there’s any hidden diamonds in the rough. Let me put some emphasis on rough, because a lot of games under $5 are not really all that great. Hence, the price point.
One thing to note about the $5 and under games, they could possibly go on a daily deal. I know it won’t be that much of a difference, but if you want to save as much money as possible and get as many games as possible, repeat this mantra to yourself: Don’t buy a game unless it’s the last day of the sale or it is a daily deal.
So, here we go.
Binding of Isaac – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/113200
I don’t really have to sell this game to you guys, to be honest. It’s kind of like a fucked up version of the dungeons in Zelda 1, with randomized loot and all sorts of weird shit. It’s amazing, and I highly recommend it. Moody got it for me and I have played the shit out of it. Still do here and there. Also, it’s going to be one of the Christmas Hunt achievements.
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/201480
I haven’t played this game, so I can’t honestly tell you if it’s AMAZING or not. However, watch the trailers/videos for it on the Steam page. It looks like a really neat, really Sam version of the older RPGs that existed. The fighting system looks really fun. I can’t guarantee it won’t get old or repetitive, but hey, it’s worth a shot at $2.49. Someone give it a try and report back.
Serious Sam Double D – $3.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/111600
On that note, there’s also Serious Sam Double D to recommend as well. Like sidescrolling action shooters? Well, it’s a competent one of those. Also, you can stack guns on your gun so you can shoot while you shoot. I’m not kidding. You can create a giant stack of guns and just shoot at ridiculous creatures and bad guys. If your idea of a good Sunday evening is kicking back, stacking 5 guns on top of each other, and then shooting at a giant chicken, this game may be for you.
Freedom Force – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/8880
Do you have a love for old superhero comics? Well, have I got the game for you. Freedom Force takes a lot of those thoughts and drops you into a great world where you can BAM POW the fuck out of some villains. Just to cover my bases, it’s an action RPG. Also, if you want to pay a little more to punch Nazis in the face, and who doesn’t, you can get Freedom Force and Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich for a mere $3.74.
Railroad Tycoon II Platinum – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/7620
Trains man, trains. You want old trains? Steam trains? Coal trains? This fucking game has all that shit. Fuck. You want to manage a mother fucking train empire and make loads a’ money? Fucking Railroad Tycoon II man.
Fuck.
If you don’t buy this fucking awesome train game and build all the mother fucking track in the world, you ain’t a fucking man.
Braid – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/26800
If you’re one of those people who hasn’t played Braid yet, here’s a good chance to get it for cheap. It’s a really well made puzzle platformer where your main gimmick/control is that you can pause and rewind time. There are a bunch of different ways you get to use this, and it is definitely a whole lot of fun. Please ignore the stupid pretentious storyline, though. That’s one of the only drawbacks to the game.
Total War: Medieval 2 – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/460
Okay, do you like massive scale RTS games? Do you like not having to micromanage one unit at a time as you send in massive armies to fight it out in siege, field, and all other sorts of battles? Do you enjoy a massive modding community that has created mods based on the Zelda, Middle Earth, and many other worlds? Well then, pick this fucker up, right now. You won’t regret it. The base game is damn fun, too.
Sanctum – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/91600
Sanctum is a fun little FPS/Tower Defense mix. It’s best played with your friends and if you’re a regular here at this stream, you should be able to get a game going with almost any of us pretty easily. They’ve added some free DLC, some paid DLC. It’s all pretty cheap so nothing really to complain too much about. It’s a lot of fun, though.
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/40930
If you somehow missed the last Kuoushi Christmas bash, you might not own this game already. It’s kind of like Braid, except the story is about pies instead. It has the same game mechanic as Braid though, you control time to solve puzzles and eat pie. It’s also kind of macabre. All in all, a fun little game.
Toki Tori – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/38700
This is a fun puzzle game. You’re a bird, and you must get your eggs back. Something like that. The puzzles are clever, and it can get pretty difficult. It almost feels like Lemmings with all of the different items and shit your bird can do/use, without the mass suicides.
Rush – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/38720
If you liked the puzzles in Toki Tori, you better check out RUSH as well. Same developers, good fun. Roll some blocks around and send them to their home. Hopefully they are not too good for their homes and will answer you when you ask them if they are. But yes, a fun game.
Obulis – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/11330
The gayest game I have ever streamed, but I loved every second of it. It’s a really neat, physics-based puzzle game where you swing balls and try to send them into their respective buckets. Tons of stages where you can just have a nice time watching balls roll, bump into things, and make you feel good about yourself when you solve one of those tough puzzles.
Nation Red – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/39800
I can’t support the developers of this game enough. When it came out on Steam, it was just a single player, topdown zombie shooting cash-in game. Or so it seemed. Then they continued to release content, patches, and a whole slew of other shit for this game. As far as I know, they still are. Now there is 4 player coop multiplayer with tons of new weapons, perks, achievements, different game modes, and that’s all on top of a very satisfying zombie killing game. Seriously, these guys deserve your support, but you also owe it to yourself to kill some zombies. It’s damn fun.
World of Goo – $2.50
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22000
Mumblebee streamed this fun little puzzle game for a number of days, and had himself a merry time doing so. That’s because it’s full of nice little semi-physics based puzzles with goo that looks like all sorts of things. Mostly oil, I guess. But hey, I’m not racist. Don’t you look at me like that. I’m just going to go back to talking about the game. GOO, YOU CAN CONTROL IT AND MAKE GOO TOWERS AND SHIT.
Shatter – $2.50
http://store.steampowered.com/app/20820
Ever play Arkanoid? You know, the block breaking game where you are basically playing single player Pong. Well, this is like that game, but on massive amounts of crack and amazing. You can push/pull your ball towards/away from your paddle to break more blocks faster. There are also boss fights and all sorts of other cool shit.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed – $2.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/21680
So, there’s this game. It’s an old school sidescrolling action game where you have a bionic arm that can do neat shit. It’s fun, it has a great remastered 8-bit soundtrack, and you’ve got a bionic arm. BIONIC FUCKING ARM. Do you get the joke with the name now? You’re a commando with a bionic arm. Also, it’s a re-release, so you have been re-armed. GET IT?
Trine – $3.39
http://store.steampowered.com/app/35700
Trine is a great platformer where you control 3 different heroes in one. It’s kind of like Lost Vikings except it’s a lot more platforming and you can only use one of the heroes at time, because their souls have been fused together. There’s a thief, a wizard, and a warrior. The wizard can make some great physics-based attacks with boxes and shit. The thief can bounce around on a grappling hook. The warrior can uh, block things with his shield and hit stuff. It’s a good time.
Shadowgrounds Pack – $4.41
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/552
These two games are topdown shooters with a really great atmosphere. You basically run around shooting alien things, but there’s a decent story and the atmosphere is pretty great. Not much else I can say about them, though. They’re just solid games.
Super Meat Boy – $3.74
http://store.steampowered.com/app/40800
I don’t have to even talk about this game. All I have to do is tell you to watch my old streams. This game gets balls to the wall difficult, and it now has custom maps on top of that. Oh, I guess I should say it’s a 2D platforming game with a really well done difficulty curve. Everytime you fuck up, you know it’s your own fault, but you can restart the level and get back to playing really fast. GOOD FUN, UNTIL YOU BREAK YOUR MONITOR WITH YOUR FACE. I’ve never done that, though. So just good fun.
Zeno Clash – $3.75
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22200
GET. THIS. GAME. NOW. Seriously, I fucking love Zeno Clash. It’s a very satisfying first person brawler with a really bizarre and great world. The artstyle is awesome, the characters are… okay. They’re not bad, but not amazing. The character’s clothing/design is good, though. Seriously, I love Zeno Clash. It’s great just punching shit and not giving a shit about shit. There are some ranged weapons, but I’m not as fond of using them.
Magicka – $3.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/42910
The spoken language in this isometric action game is Swedish Chef. BORK! BORK! BORK! BUY IT… ORK! It’s fun, and you get to experiment with combining different elements together to get different spells. You feel like a real wizard. There’s no mana, no energy, no nothing like that. You just combine elements and blow shit up like a real wizard should do. Also, it’s 4 player coop, so just imagine the shit you can do to fuck with each other.
Terraria – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/105600
Hahahahaha I don’t even have to recommend this game, you all have it already anyway. However, I will just mention a few brief things about it. It’s a 2D action adventure game where you explore a world that has been procedurally generated. You build better weapons by mining and getting better resources. You build a home for yourself to shelter you from the dangers of the outside world. You fight bosses. You go to the Underworld and brave magma to get better items. All sorts of amazing things in this game. Also, I currently have 122 hours played in this game. Just saying.
Solar 2 – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/97000
You’re an asteroid. You want to become a black hole that devours the universe. You absorb other asteroids until you become a planet. You absorb more asteroids until your planet has enough energy to support life. You become a star after absorbing enough. You use your gravital pull to bring planets into your orbit. And on, and on. This game is amazing. You can go from being an asteroid to a 10 star system with a ton of planets, to a black hole. And that’s not even counting the ingame missions. There’s something very restful about floating through space, finding other planets and stars, absorbing or destroying them, and all sorts of fun things like that. It’s a very sandboxy game. It’s also worth every penny.
Plants vs. Zombies – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/3590
WHY DON’T YOU HAVE THIS GAME ALREADY? It’s a great tower defense kind of game where you plant plants that shoot and eat zombies to defend your house. It’s kind of adorable, but also very addictive and fun. Seriously, there’s nothing more satisfying than 100% completing this game, and then finding yourself still tending your zen garden because, well, you want to. THERE’S A ZOMBIE ON YOUR LAWNNNN~
Machinarium – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/40700
This game is gorgeous. It’s a point-and-click adventure game in a somewhat derelict world run by robots. You must go exploring and adventuring in this extremely well-drawn world with a great soundtrack and a decent story. There’s no real talking or anything like that, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a nice story. Anyway, it’s good, and I do recommend it.
Space Rangers 2: Reboot – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/46330
THIS GAME IS HUGE. There’s so much to do, and so many minigames/sidequests/quests/anything you could ever want to do. It’s basically a futuristic space simulation game, where you go around the galaxy doing whatever you want. There are RTS battles, text quests, ship battles, and tons of other things. Seriously, give this game a try. Also, if I’m not mistaken, it has a pretty terrible translation that kind of adds to the atmosphere/world. Maybe they fixed that, which would be unfortunate.
Dwarfs!? – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/35480
This game is not Dwarf Fortress, nor is it trying to be Dwarf Fortress. It’s a much more arcade-style game where you run a small Dwarf colony, and you’re trying to just get all the gold you can, while not drowning your dwarves with water or burning them to death with lava. Also, there are some enemies in the game, goblins and monsters, that you must defend yourself against. Let me tell you something about that. You shoot your dwarves out of a cannon to reach them if they’re too far away. That’s good Dwarfing fun. There’s also a whole dickton of different game modes.
Defense Grid: The Awakening – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/18500
Tower defense game done right. Defense Grid is one of the best tower defense games I’ve played. If you have but a passing interest in the genre, or even dislike it entirely, I highly recommend you play this game anyway. Also, if you like the genre, chances are you already have it. Give it a look, it’ll be worth your time.
Painkiller: Black Edition – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/3200
Get this game if you like destroying hoards of enemies with imaginative weapons and some great settings. Seriously, it’s a lot of fun. One thing to note, though. If you really enjoy this game, that does not mean you should ever get any of the expansions for it. By all accounts, they are all just really, really shit. The base game I’m linking here though, quite good.
The Void – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/37000
Bizarre and Russian, but a really well made game. It can be frustrating, because there are situations where you mess up and cannot complete the game, but don’t realize it until you get stuck. You basically take colors into your body to fight and do anything in a sort of nightmare landscape. If you run out of color entirely, you die. It does have a sort of puzzle aspect to it, even though it’s in the first person. Regardless, it’s bizarre, depressing, and overwhelmingly Russian.
Beat Hazard – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/49600
God I love this game. In a world of games that interpret your MP3s into game courses for you to play, Beat Hazard stands out from the pack. It is basically just Asteroids on steroids. That’s two times the roids. Well, it’s a bit more than 2 times, but that’s besides the point. You get your music, you put it into the game, and you receive an epileptic seizure. There’s so much visual overload in this game, especially if you turn the effects up to 200%. If you don’t, you’re playing the game wrong.
Ghostbusters: The Videogame – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/9870
You know you’ve always wanted to strap on a proton pack and catch ghosts. This game is your best bet for doing so. It has all of the original actors doing the voices, and you get to go around catching ghosts. BUSTING MAKES ME FEEL GOOD. It’s the lyrics. You know, to the song in the movie. COME ON, WHY DOES NO ONE REMEMBER THAT LINE IN THE SONG.
And now for Bigheaddemon’s weeaboo gaming recommendations! Comments from me will be in italics.
Chantelise – A Tale of Two Sisters – $2.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/70420
A recommendation from Bigheaddemon, the weeaboo. Too bad he wouldn’t write anything to help me sell it to you, so you get to hear me conjecture about it based on the screenshots. It’s an action RPG with 3 whole dimensions for you to run around in. The characters are all based on anime dating game stereotypes and you can do manly things like go fishing. Also, when your girl runs, you can just stare at her ass because you love yourself some hentai.
This just in from Bigheaddemon:
Chantelise is a 3D platformer/hack and slash in which you fight to save your sister. Not as good as Recettear, and also balls to the wall hard in comparison, but pretty worth it considering how cheap it is. Just don’t excpect and easy ride. It was also in the top 20 most sold games on Steam, if that’s any indication of quality.
Recettear – An Item Shop’s Tale – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/70400
A surpirsingly fun RPG that plays like a mix between Ys and Menuquest. A pretty nice selection of characters that all play pretty differently, a rockin OST, some purty pictures and some pretty damn clever humour all make this worth $5. Also you run an item shop, that is pretty clever. CAPITALISM HOES! It was also in the top 20 most sold games on Steam, if that’s any indication of quality.
Jamestown – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/94200
This game is sick. Great OST, looks fucking beautiful, built like a steakhouse but handles like a bistro. The story is awesome, all the ships are fun and varied, the game difficulty is on a great curve. Probably the best shmup on steam, and a great choice for people new to the genre and GAME MASTERS.
Gundemonium Collection – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/11712
3 games for the price of one, and each title is stupider than the last. All shmups, all hard as hell, all the moves have ridiculous names that even after reading the manual I didn’t really understand. Every game has the original OST a remixed OST from fans of the game, every track sounds awesome and is worth your time. If you liked jamestown or some other shmup give them a shot, but these are almost touhou levels of ridiculous diffuculty and loli.
The Witcher – $4.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/20900
Great game with possibly the best storyline OF ALL TIME. Combat is pretty decent, soundtrack is ambient and fitting, animations are kind of stiff though. Be forwarned, the first 2-4 hours of this game are the most boring time you will ever have with a game, trust your pal bighead when he says IT GETS SO MUCH BETTER HOLY SHIT.
Outta 5.
A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda – $2.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/92300
Bighead and Highwang love this game, but seeing as how they’re not around to comment, you get some more conjecture from me. You uh, you have a jetpack and a gun. You fly around in 2 dimensions. You shoot bad robots. It looks like there are boss fights! You can also recycle… Oh, I see. This is like one of those simulator games. Recycling simulator 2010!
DO NOT BUY ANY OF THESE GAMES IF THEY ARE NOT A DAILY DEAL UNLESS IT IS THE LAST DAY OF THE SALE.
Trust me on this one. I’m going to keep trying to save you money, and that’s the best way to save. Daily deals could knock off a few more bucks and be the difference between getting 5 games, and getting 10 games. Assuming you’re on a budget, anyway.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of quality games in the $2-$5 range. However, these are all games I can get behind and recommend to you guys. Post in the comments if there are any games you’d like to recommend that I missed. Generally anything that isn’t a daily deal but is under $5.”