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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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RPGs between 10 and 20 bucks
RPGs between 21 and 30 bucks (and beyond)
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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
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Shooters between 10 and 20 bucks
Shooters 21 bucks and up
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.
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Under 10 bucks
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Between 10 and 20 bucks
21 bucks and up
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.
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