October is here, and with it, another Steam games sale has arrived. There’s a lot of great games that are heavily discounted, and it can be a little overwhelming. I’ve thrown together a bunch of games I’ve played and enjoyed in the past, trying to hit as many genres and styles of game as possible.
A few basic rules for the sale list:
- I’ve played all the games on this list.
- All games will be $25 or less.
- The games aren’t in Early Access.
- Games will try and be at a 50% discount or more.
- Most games will be from smaller dev teams or are independently made
- I’ve avoided games that used AI in their creation.
Without further ado, let’s get into it! I’ve broken them down into Single-player and Multiplayer games.
Single Player Deals
Graveyard Keeper - A Spooky Stardew For Those Who Like A Challenge. Graveyard Keeper is a game I respect even if it can drive you a little nutty. I did a weird write up of it years ago about how I enjoyed that it made me figure things out for myself. Running a graveyard while also figuring out how to escape your predicament isn’t easy, but the moment you figure out how to put zombies together to automate mining? Magical. It’s only $4.99 at the moment, and if you really feel like diving in, you can get all three expansions too in a bundle that’s just $13.14. Be warned - each expansion can add another 12-20 hours to the game, so buckle up for a long ride.
Monster Train - Angels, Demons, Cards, And An Amazing Soundtrack. I know that Slay the Spire is the classic deck builder, but I’ll be honest, I absolutely love Monster Train because of its aesthetic. An archaic train filled with demons fighting through angels to reignite Hell and fix the balance of the world? If it gives me a chance to listen to this amazing soundtrack while coming up with broken card combos, sure!
Monster Train is all about making an overpowered deck, but I enjoy how it’s a very tactical experience as you have to position your troops wisely to trigger your combos and defend your train. Eric’s review was right on the money for this one, and all the games in this series are worth it. For $4.99, it’s an absolute steal, whether you are trying out deck builders for the first time or just want something different.
Coromon - When You Want To Relive Monster Hunting, Streamlined. Games in some genres have the risk of coming across as clones. Creature collecting games are especially at risk of this, with Pokémon being a much loved and constantly repeating franchise. Fortunately, Coromon comes across as an homage, well crafted and made with care.
Created by a small team, the reason why you play Coromon is that it feels beatable. I actually really enjoy the plot more than the typical ‘lets go fight in gyms’, but I also appreciate that there are only about 120 creatures to collect, without trading needed. I also enjoy that ‘potential’, that statistic that rates how effective each creature can become, is easily measurable, with the highest rankings being the ‘shiny’ versions people know and love.
It’s only $4.99, and already worth it when at full price. If you are looking for a more off the wall take on monster collecting, check out the 80s-tastic Cassette Beasts, also on steep sale for $5.99.
Control - Warehouse 13 and SCP Fans Alike, Eat Your Heart Out. An action-adventure game that makes you feel like you are breaking the laws of physics and getting away with it. Set up with the protagonist explores a secretive branch of the US Government, you are quickly sucked into an alternate version of today where objects can be gateways to immense powers and immense chaos alike.
This is a game that is at its best when it’s acting trippy. Rooms can break laws of reality, you fight supernatural foes, and you have to save someone from a refrigerator. It’s a Remedy game, so if you’ve ever tried a game made my Sam Lake, you know what to expect. For those who don’t… enjoy the ride. It’s only $5.99 right now, and worth giving a shot right as its sequel Control Resonant is enjoying great reviews on release.
Mechanicus - Grimdark Tactics and Mechanics. If you’ve ever played X-Com or Final Fantasy Tactics, I cannot recommend this game enough. It’s a top-down tactical RPG that manages to separate itself from the pack just from absolutely nailing the atmosphere. You play as fanatical zealots who worship technology while stealing knowledge from ancient robots who long ago lost their souls. It’s so over the top that you can’t help but love it.
One of the best things about Mechanicus is facing overwhelming hordes of robots and feeling like an absolute genius as you cheat your way into firing off more weaponry than anyone legally should in just one turn.
Upgrade your tech-priests during a campaign of tomb robbing that turns them from walking repair kits into unstoppable killing machines. Find yourself getting lost in the mechanical noise of a perfect soundtrack while you figure out how to chain your abilities together to obliterate half of the necrons on the field in just one turn. Even if you aren’t a Warhammer 40k fan, this is a steal at just $1.50. Besides, it’s great to see someone besides space marines get a little love.
Rogue Trader - Grimdark Tactics and Aristocrats! This Time For TTRPG Fans. You know what’s cooler than being stuck in a reality where everything has gone wrong and everything is horrible? You can look absolutely stunning as a noble privateer. If you are a fan of Baldur’s Gate 3 or TTRPG style adventures, you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot.
You play as someone thrust into the role of a rogue trader, wealthy space ship captains who are given some of the greatest freedom available in a galaxy of war and empire. Gameplay can feel rewarding, but again, you stay because the developers absolutely nailed the mood and style of Warhammer 40k. As my friend said about their own playthrough: “I usually try and always be nice in games, but somehow Rogue Trader had me executing one of my own companions. What have you done to me?!”. If that isn’t a glowing endorsement, I don’t know what is.
Live out your campaign how you like. Want to be a snooty royal who makes your companions speak on your behalf? Sure! Want to be a barely accepted psyker who suddenly finds themselves in power and can fall to Chaos? Also possible! Be prepared to commit war crimes.
This is one of the most expensive recommendations here at $14.99, but a single playthrough of Rogue Trader can easily take 100 hours. A great game for fans of Warhammer or for those who have wanted to jump into the world and just needed an excuse. Also, for people who like more traditional D&D antics? Check out Solasta as an alternative; it's a solid RPG that uses D&D 5e system to create multiple campaigns and is currently only $2.99.
Multiplayer
Headliners - Spooky Silly Chaos. Also, Watch Out For Bigfoot. Last Halloween I had an absolute blast playing this game with our community. You and up to 7 friends are photographers during a Cloverfield style event. The goal? Get the best pictures of the action. Take selfies in front of alien creatures, try to get a selfie in front of a skyscraper like slenderman… what can possibly go wrong?
"Yes, that's me! You're probably wondering how I got here-"
I really enjoy this game, and yes, it falls very neatly into what people call ‘friendslop’. I enjoy it because it’s more forgiving than Lethal Company; if you die, your friends can actually grab your camera and loot and save it for next round. It leads to some very funny moments, where one friend will constantly go ‘trust me bro’ to risk it all, while others are laughing picking up his body to escape with on the helicopter later.
Right now, Headliners is just $4.79, and it’s an amazing game to play a few rounds of every Halloween season. If you are looking for other games in this category that are more about adventure than jump scares, I’d suggest Peak which is all about hiking with friends to get rescued, also incredibly cheap for $4.95.
Planet Crafter - Incremental Climate Change… But In A Good Way! It takes me a lot to want to 100% a game, getting all of the achievements and seeing absolutely everything there is to offer. Planet Crafter is one of those games. It’s so good in fact, that after I beat it once on my own, I just went through the game again with friends from start to finish. It’s a weird mix of a survival game and an automation game. There are no monsters, just the need for air as you are dropped off on a lifeless planet. Your goal? Terraform it.
If you aren’t familiar with games like this, you’ll be surprised at how absolutely addicting this gameplay loop can be. Picking up random ore feels boring until you start seeing your base grow into a real home, or when you notice that the air around you is getting easier to breathe. The first time you hit a milestone that turns the sky blue, lets grass grow, or you see rain hit the dry ground? Magic.
It’s a great meditative solo game, but I also had an amazing time playing with two friends, each of us working on a different project. It let us chat about our day, hang out, plan, and laugh. It’s a chill experience, one that I think a lot of people need right now. Planet Crafter is just $11.99 at the moment, and it is still getting quality of life updates and new moons added to give die-hards extra challenges. If you are looking for another environmental adventure that has some combat and can be played solo or multiplayer, definitely also check out Wildmender for just $8.49, it’s such a hidden gem.
Core Keeper - Pixelated Survival And Adventure. This is going to be a quick one. For people who like the idea of survival games but don’t like the usual first or third person view, this might be a great choice. A retro-pixelated game with a bird’s eye view, you and your friends spawn in the middle of a massive underground network and have to explore to discover its secrets…and maybe find a way out.
This is a fun game for lots of reasons. It has some fun boss fights and the ability to sword-swing your way through entire caverns of foes. At the same time, you can have a player who just likes building play ‘camp mom’ and build a perfect farming zone… or an industrial defense network, or a massive mine cart rail system. What sets the game apart for me is how you explore: it just feels different when you discover the map by digging into new biomes, hacking at the earth until you suddenly spill out into a foreboding chamber, a grassy knoll, or ancient ruins filled with treasure.
A game that came out in 2024 after years of early access, Core Keeper is still getting free updates, including new skill trees like explosives or new systems like mounts. Yes, it’s only 40% off, but for $11.99 I still feel like it’s a steal.
Void Crew - In Space, Only Friends Can Hear You Scream. Okay, this one is personal to me for some reason. Made by a small team in Denmark, Void Crew is essentially a roguelike style adventure where you and teammates get sent out in a ship to fight through multiple zones against worse and worse odds until you go home and cash in, or get blown up. It’s some of my favorite multiplayer gaming I’ve ever done. The pilot is important, but they can’t shoot the guns. The gunner is needed, but can’t repair the ship and reload the ammo while still firing. If you have a full team of 3-6 crew, be prepared for some amazing emergent gameplay as you figure out how to escape a sector right as a black hole shows up.
So, why is this personal to me? Because for some reason, every 6 months it will get a score of steam reviews claiming it is a ‘dead game’. My friends, it is a very small game studio that has been adding free content every 6 months or so. Many reviews say ‘not much to do after 30 hours’, but the game retails for only $25? I don’t understand. You get more content for a game by encouraging people to buy it if you like the gameplay, not by being upset there isn’t more!
There's nothing as satisfying as feeling panic overcome all your friends and come out the other side of a big fight victorious.
…Sorry for a small crash out there. I just absolutely love that this game really makes teamwork feel important, with every player adding something valuable to the ship crew. I still buy the game for friends and jump back in every 4-5 months for a few runs, and am hoping we’re due for another update this upcoming winter. Currently on sale for $12.49, Void Crew is absolutely worth the cost if you can jump in with a team.
Humankind - The Quirky Take on Civ 4x Games That Got It Right All Along. Apparently this sales list has turned into a way for me to shout some of my grudges into the void, and I apologize for that. At the same time, Amplitude Studios is at its best when it’s experimenting with well known formulas and trying to add a unique perspective. When they released Humankind in 2021, it was their take on the 4x Civilization franchise. The change? That instead of playing as just one culture, you would constantly change as you moved through the eras. Maybe you started the ancient era as the Phoenicians to make money through trade, and suddenly you have a bunch of people who declare war on you. Switch up, and become the Goths for the classical era to fight them back!
It’s a very fun concept, with its own pros and cons. It’s not for everyone who wants that ‘classic’ Civilization experience of earlier games… which is what makes it so much funnier that Civilization 7 announced it was going to have you change cultures during eras as well years later, despite many purists hating on Humankind’s experimentation.
Regardless, I think it’s a fun game, you can play solo or jump into a shared world with friends to see who wins out. I think the combat in the game is a fun tactical take on what usually happens in 4x games, and it’s also just a very pretty experience, filled with art and a chance to play as groups through history you normally wouldn’t see highlighted. It’s on sale for $12.49, but if you want to see Amplitude’s take on a sci-fi 4x, definitely check out Endless Space 2 for just $9.99 as well.
A Fun Game For Everyone
There you have it, 11 games, each in a different genre and style. As things get more expensive, it’s great to buy a game to let you unwind at the end of the day affordably. Are you a huge fan of one of the games listed? Feel free to second any recommendations or leave some of your own in the comments!
As the days get shorter, it's always good to find some time to game, solo or with friends. Good luck out there as we truly enter autumn and the final stretch of 2026.
