Sometimes amidst the flood of triple-A, high-budget, full-price megaproductions and still fresh releases we get a taste for something smaller, or and older game we haven’t tried yet. Or the budget can only stretch so far, so we hunt for great discounts for cool games. We’ve all been there.
With so many titles floating around the various distribution channels it may be hard to spot some worth the attention and money. So we’re here to help. This is a list of top 10 games you can get for just under 5 euro, courtesy of the G2A Epic Sale.
Human: Fall Flat
| Release date: | 2016-07-22 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | No Brakes Games |
This game is recently exploding on Steam, and for good reason: it’s hilarious and people have finally come around to appreciate it.
The basic idea is simple: you control a humanoid figure called Bob. Bob is best described as a white full bodysuit filled with these doodads used to make bean bag seats. Any possible skeletal structure seems limited to maintaining the human shape of an otherwise squishy being.
The goal: solving various puzzles set for you in the game world… or just messing around. Bob moves in an endearingly uncoordinated way, somewhat reminiscent of small children still figuring out their manual skills.
It even has a multiplayer mode, letting you noodle around together, goof about, or push each other from a cliff in a dumpster.
It’s a fun, physics-based game perfect for a getting in a good mood after a tiring day.
The Elder Scrolls
| Release date: | 2002, 2006, 2016 |
| Genre: | Action RPG |
| Developer: | Bethesda Game Studios |
The amount of worldbuilding Bethesda have been putting into these games since the days of Arena is astounding, and the games are large enough for anyone to get lost in them forgetting about the main quest, whatever it is.
Whether roaming the ashen lands of Morrowind as a Nerevarine, closing Oblivion rifts in the green hills and forests of Cyrodill, or slaying copious numbers of dragons in Skyrim, there’s always something waiting beyond the hill and around the river bend.
If you’re in for playing with people, wouldn’t you know, Molag Bal is attacking Tamriel and more champions are needed to stop him.
Left 4 Dead 2 / Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide
| Release date: | 2009 / 2016 |
| Genre: | FPS |
| Developer: | Valve Corporation / Fatshark |
The two games are outwardly rather similar: a group of people with a specific skillset finds itself in a hostile environment, fighting against an onslaught of vicious enemies.
Left 4 Dead series is set in modern times amid a zombie apocalypse. The first game gained huge popularity, which carried over to the sequel. A simple idea, tight execution, and exciting scenarios cemented L4D2 position among the cooperative objective-based action games.
Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide tried to ride on that popularity, marketing in no small part to the fans of Games Workshop’s famous Warhammer Fantasy setting. This one give the players distinct classes (under the guisde of named characters) and pits them against the eponymous vermintide: a swarm of anthropomorphic rats called Skaven, which attacks the human Empire.
Both games are a ton of fun, so in the end choosing which one you want to play is down to choosing the theme the appeals to you more.
Borderlands
| Release date: | 2009-10-26 |
| Genre: | Action & Shooter |
| Developer: | Gearbox Software |
Developed by Gearbox, Borderlands 1 and 2 are at their core first-person shooters with insane amount of loot thrown at the players from every corpse left in their wake.
And not just any drab loot, either. Borderlands made guns interesting again: each of them is randomly generated from a rich selection of affixes and values, making even the guns sharing the same name always slightly different in some way.
The game themselves are also fairly lighthearted, especially when compared to po-faced shooters. Borderlands is colourful, it doesn’t shy away from jokes. It’s in a way embracing the atmosphere of action movies from the 80s and 90s, the cheesy flicks with one-liners and cartoonishly vile antagonists. Good stuff.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
| Release date: | 2014-09-30 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Feral Interactive (Linux) |
Shadow of Mordor is the game which built the foundations for 2017’s Shadow of War.
It was the first game to feature the spectacular Nemesis system, which generates unique enemies for you based on multiple factors, including your last failed attempt to kill the orc. Kill it with fire, it might develop a fear of flames, or come back with burn scars, for instance. There’s also an inherent social dynamic between orc officers, and a lot of brutal in-fighting.
Gameplay-wise, Shadow of Mordor is a mix between Assassin’s Creed parkour and Batman Arkham combat, all taking place in the land of Mordor, where shadows lie. Although the plot itself may cause a headache of any Tolkien’s fan, in relatively unobtrusive and happy to leave you to your own devices.
Crusader Kings II
| Release date: | 2020-09-01 |
| Genre: | Strategy |
| Developer: | Paradox Development Studio |
Crusader Kings II, developed by Paradox, the reigning kings of historical grand strategies, is effectively a dynasty simulator, letting you take a prominent family on a journey through centuries of European history.
It includes all the cool bits of history, like arranged marriages, assassinations, threats and declarations of war, and more, all in order to cement your family’s position on the courts and thrones. CK2 is in essence an outstanding story generator, providing ample fodder for anecdotes to share with other Crusader Kings 2 players.
Although complex, as most of Paradox’s game are, it’s well worth checking and figuring out. It even lets you choose between picking some of the historical figures and creating your own noble to elevate from the masses of his or her peers.
Mortal Kombat X
| Release date: | 2015-07-22 |
| Genre: | Fighting |
| Developer: | High Voltage Software |
Mortal Kombat is one of the most famous video game franchises out there, which is something you can expect from a series running strong since 1992.
Mortal Kombat X is a direct sequel to the 2011’s soft reboot of the convoluted franchise, and spends a lot of time depicting events taking place twenty years after the previous game’s ending. Plenty of time for some new characters to emerge, such as Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage’s daughter Cassie.
Mortal Kombat X introduced fighter variants to the gameplay. Now before a battle players can choose one of three specialisations for their fighters, each focusing on a different aspect. Thunder god Raiden for instance can specialise in electricity based attacks, teleportation, or placing electric traps. Additionally each variant has a different appearance, reflecting the ability focus.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of kings
| Release date: | 2017-11-05 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | CD PROJEKT RED |
Before there was the widespread The Witcher 3 mania, CD Projekt Red brought us a smaller, but just as satisfying experience.
The game’s plot kicks off when king Foltest gets killed by a mysterious assassin, but Geralt gets the blame for it.
Divided into several distinct acts, The Witcher 2 has choices which are actually meaningful, challenging combat demanding preparation, and a tightly-woven, cinematic narrative. It’s definitely worth your time, especially since it builds up the early stages of The Witcher 3.
Tomb Raider
| Release date: | 2013-03-04 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Feral Interactive (Linux) |
The Tomb Raider franchise has gone through several soft reboots over the years, but none as radical as the one launched in 2013, developed by Crystal Dynamics.
In a weird twist of fate, the series which inspired Uncharted ended up sharing some of the PlayStation’s hit key elements, like exciting setpieces and a continuous cinematic presentation. The result was distinctly entertaining, even if Lara should sue the environment of the game for extensive abuse. Spikes, rocks, long falls. The lass was in a world of hurt during that game.
This War of Mine
| Release date: | 2014-11-14 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | 11 bit studios |
This War of Mine is distinctly different from what we’ve learned to expect from war-themed video games. It won’t send you charging against enemy emplacements, mowing down grunt in droves, designing large-scale strategies, or reshaping the map of Europe. Instead it forced the players to take a long, hard look at the harsh reality that civilians face every time war rolls through their country.
Gameplay is divided into two phases: night-time, when your characters can relatively safely leave the building to scavenge for resources, and daytime, when they can use said resources to craft, upgrade, heal etc.
This kind of perspective is incredibly rare in games, which makes This War of Mine a unique and worthwhile experience.
Honourable mentions
- Life is Strange – a mystery story in the vestments of a teen drama. It got great reviews, and for good reason
- South Park: The Stick of Truth – developed by Obsidian Entertainment, The Stick of Truth ruthlessly mocks gaming and fantasy tropes with the traditional South Park flair
- Castle Crashers – how about some cartoonish “rescue-the-princess” plot, eh? Castle Crashers is a smashing game for a coop party
That concludes our list of top 10 games from the “Under 5 Euro” epic sale on the G2A.COM marketplace. Did you know them all? Did we pique your interest? Let us know in the comments, and happy hunting.