The 2023 Steam Summer Sale has begun, and on top of some Steam Deck savings, it's served up another raft of steep discounts on too many great games to list.
That being said, I've used an incredibly scientific method to select and recommend 12 good games which all cost about $5. Why? Because five bucks is the perfect amount to spend in a Steam sale. It's enough money to really open up your options, but it's also cheap enough that you're probably willing to experiment and take a risk on something new or weird. With that in mind, I've paired some lesser-known greats with a few timely classics, and you can get all 12 for the price of one new $60 game.
- Loop Hero - 67% off at $4.94: Do not hold me responsible for the hours consumed by this ingenious, hard-to-put-down roguelike.
- The Messenger - 75% off at $4.99: The amazing 2D platformer that really put a spotlight on developer Sabotage, which is now working on one of our most-anticipated JRPGs.
- SteamWorld Dig 2 - 75% off at $4.99: My personal favorite SteamWorld game is a stylish dig-'em-up Metroidvania with a lovely steampunk cartoon look.
- Gorogoa - 70% off at $4.49: One of the best and best-looking puzzle games of all time, simple as that.
- In Other Waters - 70% off at $4.49: This wild card short story challenges you to guide a biologist through an alien ocean using clever minimalist tools.
- For The King - 75% off at $4.99: Brush up on your turn-based tabletop tactics ahead of the hotly anticipated For The King 2.
- American Truck Simulator - 75% off at $4.99: The truck sim so good that real trucking companies are using it to scout players because they say it makes them better truckers.
- Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - 84% off at $4.79: If you aren't excited for Dragon's Dogma 2, you must not have played the original open-world banger. Go fix that, pronto.
- Helldivers: Dive Harder Edition - 75% off at $4.99: This twin-stick shooter is also getting a surprise sequel this year, and its chaotic co-op has aged like fine wine.
- Devil Daggers - 50% off at $4.99: Devil Daggers is still the king of high score arena shooters in my mind, even after seven years.
- The Talos Principle - 85% off at $4.49: Before The Talos Principle 2 lands later this year, try to wrap your head around this timeless philosophical first-person puzzler.
- Terraria - 50% off at $4.99: The arguable king of Steam sales and hours-per-dollar, Terraria is still one of the best sandbox games you can play, now with *checks notes* its sixth final update in three years.
Here are the big new games of 2023 to keep on your radar.
