Here we are yet again, ya’ll. Steam is running its annual Spring Sale from today until March 23 and not only are there some great deals you can snag on must-play games (which I’ll tell you about in a moment), but there’s also a 10-percent discount on the Steam Deck which you may not want to miss out on.
Steam Sales are such an epic moment of the PC gaming lifestyle that we have literal memes based on how little we can resist cracking open our digital wallets. With sales sometimes hitting upwards of 90% off (you lose money by not buying it at that point!), it’s a great time to catch up on titles you may have been sleeping on, or the perfect opportunity to complete a franchise or two you may have been exploring. This year, to celebrate its one-year anniversary, the Steam Deck is getting a 10% discount during the sale, so you can not only grab a bunch of games to play, but you can also maybe get your hands on one of the coolest sets of gaming hardware currently available.
Celebrate the Steam Deck’s birthday with 10% off
Perhaps the most exciting part of this year’s Spring Sale is a pretty sweet discount on the Steam Deck. At 10% off across all three models, here’s what you’re looking at:
64gb model (with case): $359.10 (down from $399)
256gb model (with case faster storage, and other digital goodies): $476.10 (down from $529)
512gb model (with premium case, fastest storage, digital goodies, and an anti-glare screen): $584.10 (down from $649)
If you ask me, the most expensive model truly is the best option. The anti-glare screen makes gaming outdoors much more manageable, and the increased storage capacity and speed is very nice.
Read More: What to Expect From Valve (And Steam) In 2023
Delivery estimates on Steam put the wait time to about a week or two.
But okay, so if you got yourself a Steam Deck or a nice gaming PC, what are you gonna play on it? Well, let’s have a look at what games are the most bang for your buck.
All of these are great games, but be sure to keep an eye out on Steam for any bundles they may appear in. For example, Prey and Dishonored 2 are currently on offer as a bundle for $10.92. Maybe that strikes your fancy if you’re literally looking for both, or maybe you already own one and just want to grab the other. There are many other examples like this, particularly for large franchises.
Read More: 20 Best Steam Deck Games of 2022
This list tries to prioritize individual entries where it makes sense, but be sure to take a look at what bundles will be offered on Steam for the best deals. Also, while these have been broken up by genre, few games these days fit so neatly into one category, so expect some overlap across genres like “action” and “RPG.”
Save big on these epic-ass RPGs
The RPG genre is quite expansive, so I can’t possibly list all of them here, but here are some of the absolute bests, broken up by sale price point.
Read More: 15+ Epic Games To Play After The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Also, while you can save a couple of bucks with the standard version of Witcher 3, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you do. Spend the extra two bucks and get the complete version with all the DLC. Yes, it is truly worth it. And on a similar note, avoid the standard version of Final Fantasy VIII and go straight for the remaster. It may lack the pure analog input of the original, but the difference in the soundtrack and sound effects is more than worth the extra couple of bucks.
RPGs under 10 bucks
Borderlands 3: $8.99 at 85% off
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut: $9.99 at 75% off
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen: $4.79 at 84% off
Elder Scrolls Online: $5.99 at 70% off
Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition: $6.59 at 67% off
Fallout 4: $6.59 at 67% off
Fallout: New Vegas: $2.49 at 75% off
Final Fantasy VII (Original 1997 version): $5.99 at 50% off
Final Fantasy VIII – Remastered: $9.99 at 50% off
Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch Remastered: $9.99 at 80% off
Pathfinder: Kingmaker: $5.99 at 70% off
Pillars of Eternity – Hero Edition: $7.49 at 75% off
Pillars of Eternity II – Obsidian Edition: $9.99 at 75% off
Undertale: $2.99 at 70% off
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition: $2.99 at 85% off
Read More: 16+ Stellar Games to Play Before Starfield
RPGs between 10 and 20 bucks
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: $14.99 at 75% off
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: $19.79 at 67% off
Divinity: Original Sin 2: $17.99 at 60% off
Final Fantasy IX: $10.49 at 50% off
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster: $14.99 at 50% off
Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition: $16.49 at 67% off
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom: $11.99 at 80% off
NieR: Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition:
$19.99 at 50% off
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: $14.99 at 70% off
Valheim: $13.99 at 30% off
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition: $14.99 at 70% off
RPGs between 21 and 30 bucks (and beyond)
Cyberpunk 2077: $29.99 at 50% off
Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age: $24.99 at 50% off
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: $39.89 at 43% off
Octopath Traveler: $29.99 at 50% off
Tales of Arise: $23.99 at 60% off
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: $29.99 at 50% off
Read More: 14+ Awesome Games to Play After Cyberpunk 2077
Killer first- and third-person shooters
Had we all the time in the world, I’d list first- and third-person shooters separately. Instead, everything here will let you point a virtual gun at something and go bang. Just check out the screenshots if you’re not sure whether or not a game is in first or third person if the difference is important to you.
Some of these slip into other genres. Generation Zero, for example, is a first-person shooter, but has many survival elements. So you might want to poke around each one’s page before pulling the trigger.
Shooters under 10 bucks
Black Mesa: $9.99 at 50% off
Deep Rock Galactic: $9.89 at 67% off
Doom (2016): $4.99 at 75% off
Doom Eternal: $7.99 at 60% off
Dishonored: $2.49 at 75% off
Dishonored 2: $5.99 at 80% off
Far Cry 5: $8.99 at 85% off
Generation Zero: $4.99 at 80% off
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: $7.99 at 67% off
Metro 2033 Redux: $3.99 at 80% off
Metro: Last Light Redux: $3.99 at 80% off
Metro Exodus: $7.49 at 71% off
Prey (2017): $7.49 at 75% off
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl: $5.99 at 70% off
Wolfenstein: The New Order: $4.99 at 75% off
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus: $5.99 at 85% off
Read More: The 16 Best First-Person Shooters You Can Play In 2023
Shooters between 10 and 20 bucks
Deathloop: $19.79 at 67% off
Control: $11.99 at 70% off
Gears 5: $13.19 at 67% off
Halo: The Master Chief Collection: $15.99 at 60% off
Pavlov VR (VR only): $14.99 at 40% off
Prodeus: $19.99 at 20% off
Neon White: $19.99 at 20% off
Shooters 21 bucks and up
Boneworks (VR only): $23.99 at 20% off
Half-Life: Alyx (VR only): $23.99 at 60% off
Halo Infinite (Campaign): $29.99 at 50% off
Action, survival horror, and other genres
Finally, let’s take a look at some games that fall under the wide umbrella of action and survival horror. Some games mentioned above might also fit in here, but these are mostly titles devoid of RPG mechanics and don’t emphasize shooting enough to really warrant that categorization.
Read More: 16 of the Best Action Games You Can Play In 2023
Under 10 bucks
A Plague Tale: Innocence: $7.99 at 80% off
Alien: Isolation: $7.99 at 80% off
Devil May Cry 5 + Vergil: $9.89 at 67% off
Resident Evil 2: $9.99 at 75% off
Resident Evil 3: $9.99 at 75% off
Resident Evil 7: $7.99 at 60% off
Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience: $7.49 at 75% off
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life: $5.99 at 70% off
Read More: 11+ Captivating Games To Play After The Last of Us
Between 10 and 20 bucks
Days Gone: $16.49 at 67% off
Dead Cells: $12.49 at 50% off
The Forest: $10.99 at 45% off
Grand Theft Auto V: $14.98 at 63% off
Kena: Bridge of Spirits: $19.99 at 50% off
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: $14.99 at 50% off
Monster Hunter Rise: $19.99 at 50% off
Monster Hunter: World: 14.99 at 50% off
Praey for the Gods: $14.99 at 50% off
Resident Evil Village: $19.99 at 50% off
Red Dead Redemption 2: $19.79 at 67% off
Signalis: $17.99 at 10% off
Yakuza Remastered Collection: $19.35 at 68% off
21 bucks and up
Death Stranding Director’s Cut: $23.99 (upgrade from og version is just $5.99 and is very much worth it) at 40% off
God of War: $29.99 at 40% off
Lost Judgment: $38.99 at 35% off
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: $29.99 at 50% off
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection: $34.99 at 30% off
With a storefront as large as Steam is, it’s impossible to grab every deal imaginable in this list. This curated selection, however, should help guide you either to some essential titles to add to your library, or might send you on the right path to finding something more to your interests.
