10 bargain Steam games for under £7, but you need to act fast
Alas, the latest Steam sale is coming to an end. If you’ve got games still sitting in your basket, it’s time to checkout. This will be the last sale until, well, the next one in a few months, but with so many bargains, you should treat yourself.
The Steam sale is a great time to pick up some ridiculous deals. There are some RPGs that will absorb hundreds of hours for less than the price of a coffee. We should know, we bought them all. So, we’ve put together a list of ‘must buy’ deals for games under £7, but you’ll need to be fast. The sale ends tomorrow.
The Elder Scrolls Online - £4.79
Speaking of RPGs that will soak up all your time, welcome to Tamriel and The Elder Scrolls Online. Here you can explore a Massively Multiplayer version of The Elder Scrolls where you and your friends can tackle dungeons and enormous bosses together, all while trying to find the best loot in the game.
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Besides being a loot-drive RPG, The Elder Scrolls Online features some of the best writing of the series and often surprises its players with huge cataclysmic events that shake up the world as you know it. If you’ve been a fan of Skyrim or Morrowind games for a while, now is your time to go online and revisit some of your favourite destinations backed up by brilliant quests.
Stardew Valley - £6.59
The epitome of a cosy game, Stardew Valley has millions of players worldwide because nothing is better than taking it easy and growing some carrots. Or marrying your neighbours after a long love affair over the garden plots. This is another one of those where you’ll invest hundreds of hours, but rather than bonking trolls on the head, you’ll be analysing the sale prices of potatoes.
Or working out which questline to pursue in order to marry your favourite NPC and then forgetting all about them just to go fishing for hours at a time. It feels like a never-ending game as there have been numerous updates adding more and more things to do, and even if you run out of tasks, modders will have your back.
Batman: Arkham Knight - £1.59
The closing instalment in the Arkham trilogy takes Batman out into the streets of Gotham with a unique Batmobile designed by the folks at Rocksteady. Of course, everything you expect from a Batman game is included - stealth tactics, bone-crunching brawls, plenty of technology, plus the usual gathering of criminals.
With a gripping story and plenty of opportunities to whisper under your breath, “I’m Batman,” you’re sure to have a blast whipping your Batarang at people, speeding around the streets in what is basically a tank, and then whooping some minions before taking on one of the rogue’s gallery. Batman: Arkham Knight is your chance to be the hero.
Fallout 4 - £6.39
Is the Fallout hype train still rolling? The Amazon Prime show certainly stoked the engines and millions of people found their way into the wastelands whether they’ve played before, or it was their first time. Fallout 4 is a great place to experience everything the post-apocalyptic world has to offer.
You find yourself out in the world as the sole survivor of Vault 111 and while solving the mysteries of your history, you have to survive against ghouls, super mutants, and all kinds of creepy creatures. Looting and shooting is often the name of the game, but you can play how you like, whether that’s by chatting your way out of trouble, or by simply avoiding it via stealth. Plus you can set up a little settlement and let your creativity out.
Watch Dogs 2 - £4.99
The goal? Execute the biggest hack in history. What actually ends up happening? Wander around San Francisco looking at the sights and trying to hack people’s phones. It’s easy to forget there’s a big story in the middle of Watch Dogs 2 because there are too many other distractions. If that were a commentary on social media and our ‘always online’ world, I’d be impressed.
It actually shows that while you will get around to the story, what’s so engaging is a bustling city full of people to interact with. By ‘interact’, it’s really snooping. There are so many gadgets to play with while you intrude on the privacy of others - RC cars, drones, and 3D printed weapons. That last one is more for incapacitating others. But you get the idea.
Firewatch - £3.35
Everyone should play Firewatch. It’s one of the most touching and beautiful experiences in the realm of games. When you say it’s a walking simulator, some may consider that a boring idea. But walking around the forests of Wyoming ends up being the best way to appreciate a sentimental narrative that ponders our place in the world.
There are subtle ways to adapt the story to your choosing, yet the plot never strays too far from big topics. As the developers say, “Firewatch is a video game about adults having adult conversations about adult things.” It never shies away from things that might make you feel uncomfortable, or consider your own life and the people around you.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - £2.49
What can we say that hasn’t already been said about The Witcher 3? Oh, here’s one thing I’ll say, GAMINGbible’s Ewan owns this game five times over. He loves it that much. It’s one of those games that will be remembered forever. It’s got it all; stellar combat, a brilliant story, engaging characters who feel fully rounded. And there’s no busy work, each quest feels like it has consequences or a place in the world.
It sounds like hyperbole but there’s genuinely nothing wrong with the game. Whether you’re dealing with skulking monsters or picking flowers to make potions, every moment is joyous. CD Projekt Red are masters at their craft and it shows. The Witcher 3 is an RPG that will likely never be beaten unless it’s by a sequel.
Far Cry 5 - £4.99
Far Cry 5 stands out from the series for being a little different. While the franchise has usually stuck with angry dictators to overthrow in gorgeous countries, it took a chance on the player bringing down a Doomsday cult. The direction paid off for most fans as it felt different enough to dive in and cause some chaos in a world off-kilter.
If the Far Cry series does anything right, it’s the villains though, and Joseph Seed was a horrible piece of work that deserved to be brought down. Not that the others aren’t but there’s something so familiar and homegrown to Seed and his cult. The game took a step away from the political stage and looked to what can damage on a smaller scale yet with the same destructive ideals. The action-packed sequences lived up to the story it told, too, always feeling over-the-top, emulating action films of old.
Two Point Hospital - £3.74
Strategy games can often feel very serious, so it helps to break the mould with some Two Point Hospital. Always silly, despite the balancing of books and ensuring that people get cured, you can boot up this game and while away the hours giggling away to yourself at the silly diseases or extravagant machinery.
You can take it all seriously, of course, and strive to be the very best, but it’s a forgiving game if you need to unwind and get a little daft. Tapping into the retro strategy games of the 1990s, this hospital simulation will tickle your funny bones, and then take an X-ray of them, before diagnosing you with Humouritis. It’s a must-play, especially if you’re fond of the old Theme Hospital days.
DOOM - £3.19
If you haven’t played DOOM - the remake - then we can’t be friends. You go into it thinking, “I know DOOM, it’s just demons and guns,” and then you play the remake and it’s so much more. Sure, there are still demons and guns, but the thumping metal soundtrack is exhilarating, the guns feel like they have a heft to them, the gory carnage is a thrill, and close-combat finishers are brutally brilliant.
Definitely not one for the easily offended as you’ll be tearing off heads, pulling out entrails, and stomping demons into a fine pulp. The action never abates from one blood-soaked moment to the next, and DOOM genuinely makes you feel like you’ve been on a rollercoaster. Of death and electric guitars.
Topics: Steam, PC, Doom, Watch Dogs, The Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, Stardew Valley, Batman, Fallout, Indie Games, The Witcher 3, Far Cry