Valve’s Steam Summer Sale 2017 has arrived, and along with it the best deals in gaming.
This year is notable for providing a diverse roster of low priced games across the spectrum, from AAA action and FPS titles, to RPGs and strategy. To help guide you toward the best deals, we’ve combed through the list of low-priced games to find what we believe to be the deals you should know about, ranging vastly in genre and pricing.
Below you’ll find each of these titles along with important information, including expected playtime and a brief description of why you should consider buying the title. Note that this list is in alphabetical order.
1. Dishonored 2
Best Price: $19.99
Original Price: $39.99
Genre: Action-Adventure
Expected Playtime: 12 hours~
Review: Dishonored 2 Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: Dishonored 2 was one of 2016’s best games, having earned a multitude of awards for its masterful mixture of stealth and action gameplay, with a narrative that keeps you invested. It’s still a relatively new game despite this low price point, which is uncommon with most sales of this magnitude.
2. Dark Souls 3
Best Price: $23.99
Original Price: $59.99
Genre: Action RPG
Expected Playtime: 45 hours~
Review: Dark Souls 3 Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: The Souls series has earned a reputation for being the best that modern action RPGs have to offer. This game is of epic proportions, with boss battles that you’ll forever remember, and a difficulty that makes success incredibly rewarding.
3. DOOM
Best Price: $14.99
Original Price: $29.99
Genre: FPS
Expected Playtime: 12 hours~
Review: Doom Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: It’s incredible to think that this generation’s best single-player FPS games are revivals of classics such as Wolfenstein and DOOM. In this instance, what has been delivered is something true to the spirit of the original, but equipped with fresh ideas that make it a joy to play
4. Life is Strange
Best Price: $4.99
Original Price: $19.99
Genre: Story-Driven Adventure
Expected Playtime: 10 hours~
Award: Life is Strange Wins GameRevolution’s Best New IP of 2015
Why You Should Buy It: Life is Strange is a narrative focused title with little gameplay. Despite being simple, it won several game of the year awards thanks to its compelling story and outstanding character development. This title will grip you from start to finish, and pull at your emotional strings.
5. Just Cause 3
Best Price: $12.49
Original Price: $49.99
Genre: Sandbox Action-Adventure
Expected Playtime: 20 hours~
Video: Just Cause 2 Fun Easter Eggs and Secrets
Why You Should Buy It: Just Cause 3 serves an important role on this list being the one game where you can just mess around in an open-world environment. While there’s a story to engage in, the bulk of your enjoyment will come from experimenting in its massive and beautiful open world using physics and a variety of vehicles.
6. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Best Price: $3.99
Original Price: $19.99
Genre: Action-Adventure
Expected Playtime: 15 hours~
Review: Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: While many games argue that they make your choices matter, few have executed on that idea better than Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Set in Tolkien’s fantasy world, this dark adventure pits you against a sea of Orc enemies who don’t soon forget of your actions.
7. NieR: Automata
Best Price: $41.99
Original Price: $59.99
Genre: Japanese Action RPG
Expected Playtime: 45 hours~
Review: NieR: Automata Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: NieR: Automata is great for a multitude of reasons, one of which is its one-of-a-kind campaign that has several endings that slowly unravels the truth of its incredible world with well-timed pacing. This lengthy game will occupy you for a while provided you enjoy action RPGs, and is the only game on this list that released during the 2017 calendar year.
8. Rise of the Tomb Raider
Best Price: $23.99
Original Price: $59.99
Genre: Action-Adventure
Expected Playtime: 15 hours~
Review: Rise of the Tomb Raider Earns a 5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: For those who enjoy more traditional action-adventure experiences with platforming, combat, exploration, and a story to tell, it doesn’t get much better than Rise of the Tomb Raider. This title would go on to win many game of the year awards, and for good reason.
9. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Best Price: $35.99
Original Price: $59.99
Genre: 4X Strategy
Expected Playtime: 9001 hours~
Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: Known as the king of addictive games, Sid Meier’s Civilization V is the kind of game that doesn’t just entertain you, it takes over your life. For the gamer who likes to invest in high play value titles, there is no substitute. Note that you can buy its predecessor, Civilization V, for around $4.99, but it’s an older game.
10. XCOM 2
Best Price: $19.79
Original Price: $59.99
Genre: Action Strategy
Expected Playtime: 30 hours~
Review: XCOM 2 Earns a 4.5/5 from GameRevolution
Why You Should Buy It: Unlike most strategy games, XCOM 2 is action-oriented, fusing in action gameplay for good measure. The result is outstanding, helping to dramatize what is typically a rather dry and mind-consuming genre, yet retaining the high play value and mentally demanding qualities that strategy junkies look for.
Did we miss any games? Let us know in the comments below and share with other readers what games you recommend.
