Best pc games under $20

The fact that Age of Empires II has seen two well-received remasters in its year lifespan should tell you all you need to know. What results is an incredibly deep and rewarding game that keeps players engaged in the moment-to-moment gameplay.

One criticism of turn-based strategy games is that you often spend many early turns not doing much. Contrasted with the scale of Age of Empires II, Into the Breach gives you only a few units on a deceptively small map and tasks you with figuring out how to manage those few resources. You play as the commander of a small group of mechs sent to fight off alien creatures that are breeding underground on Earth.

Unlike a lot of turn-based games, the enemies in Into the Breach telegraph their attacks each turn, shifting the focus from anticipating how the enemy turn will play out to how you can best prepare for it. Prepare is the most you can hope for, too. Each mission is on a turn clock, and if you reach the end, you win. Although a small difference, the change in focus allows Subset to ramp up the difficulty, leading to a game where one wrong move can cost you the entire mission.

Read our Into the Breach review. This entry serves as a shout-out to Devolver Digital in general. Gris is a platformer, technically, but it never lets gameplay get in the way of the thematic content. Further reading The best free games on Steam The best PC games of all time The best gaming PC deals Action Dishonored Arkane Studios has been around for a while — since , in fact — but the release of Dishonored started a second life for the development studio.

Celeste Celeste is about as far away from Hollow Knight as it gets. Read our Celeste review Shooter Borderlands 2 The quintessential looter-shooter, Borderlands 2 is a must-own, even with Borderlands 3 making the rounds. There are a lot of great games out there that cost less than twenty bucks apiece.

Who cares about Battlefield 3 when we can get three, four, five, or even more games for the same price? True diamonds, but with a cubic zirconia price tag, these games span a variety of genres, from turn-based strategy to first person shooters to tower defense.

Lead your ragtag tribe to safety and glory by altering terrain to create pathways, defenses and structures. Can you win before your world crashes to oblivion? Re-enact famous World War II scenarios in online tournaments. The first few games are free, but the cost to keep playing is pretty low. Build a variety of orc-murdering traps as you try to defend your castle from the rampaging hordes. The Stanley Parable. Just Cause 2. Just Ignore Them.

Enter the Gungeon. Plague Inc. Escape from Life Inc. Escape From Tethys. Escape Game Fort Boyard. Fruit Ninja VR. Super Meat Boy. Saints Row IV. Octodad: Dadliest Catch. Alan Wake. Baba Is You. Final Fantasy VII. Mark of the Ninja. Farming Simulator Unreal Tournament The unique aspect is that it's set in space, so you'll be running into alien species, going on quests full of space age jargon, and exploring story-driven narratives that sci-fi fans will love.

You can also gather materials from various planets to craft weapons, furniture, and so on. It's a big, open-ended take on space exploration where you essentially write your own story—what's not to love? For those who like a challenge, Hyper Light Drifter is probably the most challenging game on this list.

Just thinking about the split-second input requirements is making me nervous. But in addition to the demanding gameplay, the game's visuals are absolutely stunning, and the story here is as compelling as it is mysterious. You play as a character—a drifter, if you will—who not only possesses powerful ancient technology, he's also slowly dying of an unspecified illness.

If you're dying to sink your teeth into a good adventure, I can't recommend this game enough. The only way I can describe Life is Strange is that it's like a playable indie movie. You play as Max Caulfield, a teenager with mysterious time-meddling powers. That means you can rewind and try again or pick a different choice. The premise sounds weird, but it's actually one of my favorite games.