I realised when I wrote my GOTY blog for this year that I don't really burn money on new hot games that often. It's probably for the best, wallets deserve some love too.
But that means that I know a quite a bit about budget games, so I thought I'd share. Keep in mind that the games I've chosen are only on PC due to the prolific sales on the platform and the ease of access.
I've picked out games I like which are cheap, easy to run and last long. There are of course exceptions to the rules, but you're bound to find something fun here. Unless your taste in games is completely opposed to mine, you savage.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Detailed, Complex, Fanservice, Speedwagon
Requirements: Low
As far as fangames go, this is pretty impressive. It's a complete RPG version of Stardust Crusaders where your character gets to join the rest of the heroes and fight Dio and his minions.
Usual Sale Price: $15
Pros: Custom moves, Fashion, PVP, Co-op
Requirements: Medium
I have to pay some lipservice to my GOTY 2017. It's a very unique fighting game built on learning and character building. Be wary of some bad connectivity however.
Usual Sale Price: $10
Pros: Stylish, Replayable, Cinematic, Depth
Requirements: Medium
A very tough character action game oozing with style and pretty colours. And a few crappy minigames.
Usual Sale Price: $8
Pros: Brotastic, Diverse, Explosions
Requirements: Medium
Ever wanted to shoot hundreds of robots whilst aided by a French robot, a giant American meatwall and a no-nonsense Brit? Then this is the game for you.
Usual Sale Price: $10
Pros: Replayable, PVP, Co-op, Fashion, Depth, Exploration, Long, DLC
Requirements: Medium
Souls-games are always something to bite into. I picked the complete version of the second game since it actually goes on sale and is longer than the third game. With it being so difficult to get into, I recommend researching before you buy it.
Usual Sale Price: $4
Pros: Cool, Dense, Stealth, DLC, Exploration
Requirements: Medium
Out of all the Deus Ex I've played, this is the one I can recommend the easiest. It's very long if you decide to dive into all the sidequests and do a ghost playthrough.
Usual Sale Price: $10
Pros: Stylish, Multiple characters, Cinematic, Replayable, Depth
Requirements: Medium
The DMC game with the most complex combat system. You get 5 characters with different feel and loads of room for mastery.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Good music, Atmospheric
Requirements: Low
You're an egg. Then you're not, and you get to do some fancy metrodvania stuff. Well worth a try.
Usual Sale Price: $5
Pros: Cute, Relaxing, Replayable
Requirements: Low
A cute character action game with just enough depth to be fun. See my review for details.
Usual Sale Price: $3
Pros: Roguelike, Chill OST, Hats
Requirements: Low
A simple little shooter that manages to create randomized levels that don't feel lke they're made of premade chunks.
Usual Sale Price: $13
Pros: Complex, Queen, Replayable
Requirements: Medium
The most gigantic PSP game known to man. It's technically related to FFXIII, but I have no clue how. Something, something Crystarium. It's a weird FF instalment built on action combat and light strategy gameplay. In order to get the full story, you need to replay it, which means you can do all the hard quests you left behind in the first playthrough.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Reacts to choices, Secrets, Replayable, Speedrunning, Aliens with character
Requirements: Low
Iji is an intersting sidescroller that feels inspired by System Shock 2 due to the leveling system. It's good for a casual playthrough, but incentivizes the player to go out of their way to find secrets.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Waifus, Writing, Optional lewdness, Kenji
Requirements: Low
I haven't played many romance VNs, but this one impressed me. Every girl gets ample screentime that deals with their disability.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Jack Frost, Aesthetics, Music
Requirements: Low
Who can say no to a free SMT Metroidvania starring Jack Frost that somehow acts as a prequel to Strange Journey? If you find such a person, give them your dissappointed eyes. I think the same devs have also made a Konosuba game that's a bit more like Megaman as well.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Story, Exploration, Subversions
Requirements: Low
This game is love letter to Final Fantasy set out to give more depth to standard fantasy tropes. It mixes RPGMaker assets with some pretty decent artwork to help build the world.
Usual Sale Price: $9
Pros: Detailed, Long, Worldbuilding, Tita hugs
Requirements: Low
I could put the whole Trails series here, but the latter instalments are still a bit pricey. But this first game is plenty. It's a masterful JRPG overflowing with detail and charm. And now they all have turbo modes to speed up combat!
Usual Sale Price: $3
Pros: Cute, Quirky Characters, Multiple endings
Requirements: Low
The Miwashi games are a group of weird Japanese games about relationships. That's about the best way I can describe them. Buying one is cheap enough, so give them a go.
Usual Sale Price: $6
Pros: Cinematic, Frantic, Nanomachines, DLC, Replayable
Requirements: Medium
Playing MGR is like riding on a rocket that's steadily going faster. It starts crazy and goes to batshit places.
Usual Sale Price: Free!/$2/$7
Pros: Cute, Aesthetics
Requirements: Low
Playing the Momodora series and seeing it develop is pretty cool. It starts with Cave Story as its inspiration and ends at Bloodborne.
Usual Sale Price: Free!/$13
Pros: Aesthetics, Multiple endings, Hover machine gun
Requirements: Low
Ahh, the original indie darling. It's a fun platformer sprinkled with metroidvania elements and fun characters.
Usual Sale Price: $9
Pros: Shooting Nazi zombies in the face, Co-op, Sniping
Requirements: Medium
Nazi zombies, a classic. And for good reason, especially with Sniper Elite mechanics.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Quirky
Requirements: Medium?
Due to potenial owners of the IP not giving a damn, you can just download HD versions of both NoLF games for free, complete with patches to make them run on modern systems. What a world we live in.
Usual Sale Price: $3
Pro: Aesthetics, Multiple game modes
Requirements: Low
It's Pac-Man, but all pretty and exciting.
Usual Sale Price: $4
Pros: Capitalism, Infinite mode, Cute, Dungeon crawling
Requirements: Low
Ever wanted to run an item store and exploit the wallets of children and the elderly? Look no further, this game is here for you. Capitalism ho!
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Exploration, Bunnies, Multiple endings, Asshole bonus boss
Requirements: Low
One of Yahtzee's games, this one starring a poor British bloke stuck in an underground kingdom armed only with a shotgun and a ghost.
Usual Sale Price: $6
Pros: Replayable, Depth, Cinematic, It's Resident Evil 4
Requirements: Medium
It's Resident Evil 4 people! Go read my review if you're somehow doubtful of its greatness.
Usual Sale Price: $8
Pros: Friendship, Explosive, Co-op, Suplexes
Requirements: Medium
If you can distance yourself from the award-winning Resident Evil canon, you'll find a gigantic adventure with explosions around every corner.
Usual Sale Price: $8
Pros: Exploration, Replayable
Requirements: Low
This game is the child of Dark Souls and Symphony of the Night and carries that brand proudly. It's loaded with secrets and challenge, plus some fun metroidvania powers.
Usual Sale Price: $3
Pros: Music, Depth, Resource scavenging, Cyberpunk, Co-op?
Requirements: Low
The defining immersive sim game full of robots and mutants that want to eat your face. It has a great atmosphere helped by the awesomesoundtrack.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Stealth, Speedrunning
Requirements: Low
Another Yahtzee game, this one being a stealth game akin to Thief. It's pretty fun to traverse the diverse levels whilst looking for loot and avoiding alarms and guards.
Usual Sale Price: $3
Pros: Cute
Requirements: Low
A nice and innocent little 2d RPG beat-em-up. Sometimes, that's all you need.
Usual Sale Price: Free!
Pros: Psychological
Requirements: Low
One more Yathzee game for the road. This is a cinematic platformer built around light puzzle solving interspersed with some suspenseful drama.
Usual Sale Price: Free
Pros: Fanservice, Mystery
Requirements: Low
This is a fanmade chapter 5 for Apollo Justice for people who felt like the game needed a better ending. Due to the engine, it forsakes the proper game's gimmicks and instead plays like the first three games.
That's that. Enjoy your backlog, suckers!