The best deals from the Steam Autumn sale
While most of the focus this Black Friday will be on graphics cards, laptops, monitors, and peripherals, PC parts wouldn't mean much without games to play, and the second-to-last Steam sale of the year has brought us a bounty of good deals. The Steam Autumn Sale will run through December 1.
Some of the biggest games released this year are discounted, and we've listed our favorites below. Of particular note: Death Stranding, F1 2020, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps are on sale for half off, and Doom Eternal is just $19.79, 67 percent off the price it launched at this year. That's an excellent discount on both ripping and tearing.
We've also put together lists of games that are under $25, $10, and $5, and you might be surprised what you find. Control, which just released last year, is down to $20, for instance. At the under $5 tier, there are some modern classics that are more than worth the price—you can build quite a good PC game collection from what you'd find in the average change jar. Without further ado, here are our favorite Steam Autumn Sale deals:
2020 sales
2020 games in the Steam autumn sale
Death Stranding | $29.99 / £27.49 (50% off)
It has the trademark Kojima wackiness, but what sets Death Stranding apart is the depth of its simulation—simply trekking up a hill and across a creek becomes exciting and perilous. As we wrote in our review, "a journey that will linger in your mind long after it's over."
Doom Eternal | $19.79 / £16.49 (67% off)
Kill the legions of hell by the thousands, 2020 style, at one hell of a discount for a game released this year. It's faster and more intense than 2016's Doom, and we loved it: James scored it a 94 in our review.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps | $14.99 / £12.49 (50% off)
Getting lost in a gorgeous, 2D world of natural splendor and cute meerkat friends is fitting after the year we've had. Bring a controller, recline, and enjoy (if you want to know more, here's our review). The first game is also only $5 itself right now.
F1 2020 | $29.99 / £22.49 (50% off)
The official F1 adaptation continues to be one of the best racing games out there, with a deep career mode, tactical racing, and spectacular graphics. It could give off a bit more personality, we said in our review, but is "simply a superb game."
Hades | $19.99 / £15.59 (20% off) - It's not just filled with excellent roguelike action, but great writing and characters, too.
Star Wars Squadrons | $23.99 / £20.99 (40% off) - Finally, a legit Star Wars flight sim after so many years. It feels sublime on a flight stick. Go dogfight!
Halo: The Master Chief Collection | $25.99 (35% off) - Five Halo games on PC for $26 is a bit of a no-brainer. Play one of gaming's best FPS series on the platform it was meant for.
Cloudpunk | $13.39 / £11.38 (33% off) - The story is so-so, but flying around a stunning voxel metropolis in so much fun it doesn't matter.
Monster Train | $17.49 / £13.64 (30% off) - A great card game that'll suck up hours of your time. Think a lot Slay the Spire, a little Magic the Gathering.
Crusader Kings 3 | $39.99 / £33.59 (20% off) - The year's premier simulator of royal family drama and intrigue. One of our all-time favorite grand strategy games.
Super Mega Baseball 3 | $33.74 / £26.24 (25% off) - Our favorite baseball game on PC (not to be confused with Blaseball, which is quite different).
Paradise Killer | $14.99 / £11.61 (25% off) - A real step forward for the detective game genre, with a fantastic soundtrack.
Amnesia: Rebirth | $25.49 / £20.22 (15% off) - Cosmic horror that doesn't hold back. "It makes The Dark Descent look downright adorable," we said in our review.
Noita | $14.99 / £11.61 (25% off) - What happens when you apply physics simulation to individual pixels, then toss in fire and explosions and acid and ice? Beautiful chaos
Spelunky 2 | $17.99 / £13.94 (10% off) - A "more is more" sequel, but when that applies to one of our favorite games ever and piles of new secrets to find, it's a real treat.
Wasteland 3 | $41.99 / £38.49 (30% off) - A meaty PC RPG to sink your holiday break into. Old school, but with just the right modern touches, according to our review.
Risk of Rain 2 | $19.99 / £15.99 (20% off) - A fantastic co-op roguelike that's all about finding ridiculous item combinations to deal crazy damage in the 45 minutes you'll spend alive, then doing it all over again.
Persona 4 Golden | $15.99 / £12.79 (20% off) We thought it would never happen, but Persona finally made its way to the PC. A great JRPG if you like mysteries and getting to know a cast of nuanced characters.
Iron Harvest | $39.99 / £37.59 (20% off) - World War I, but with mechs. Company of Heroes fans should especially check out this alternate history RTS.
Fall Guys | $15.99 / £12.79 (20% off) - Battle royale, but in the style of an obstacle course game show. Good for some laughs, if not the year's biggest social gaming phenomenon.
$25 and under
Steam deals under $25
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order | $23.99 / £21.99 (60% off)
Star Wars by way of Dark Souls with satisfying lightsaber combat, which is what matters most. "A must for Star Wars fans," we said in our review.
Control | $19.99 / £17.49 (50% off) - One of our favorites from last year, with "abundance of mystery, wonder, and glorious room-destroying combat" according to our review.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 | $17.99 / £11.99 (60% off) - One of the finest RPGs of the decade, and absolutely worth playing before Baldur's Gate 3 if you haven't already.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | $15.99 / £13.99 (60% off) - The successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night mostly lives up to that series' legacy, according to our review.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | $17.99 / £14.99 (70% off) - While you're waiting for Valhalla to go on sale, Odyssey can soak up a couple hundred hours of your time.
Civilization 6 | $14.99 / £12.49 (75% off) - The best Civ game ever? It's even got a battle royale mode.
Metro Exodus | $15.99 / £13.99 (60% off) - Take a memorable journey though a stunning post-apocalyptic world (with some so-so shooting).
$10 and under
Steam deals under $10
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus | $7.99 / £4.99 (80% off)
A "fun and frantic" FPS according to our review. We'll never pass up more Nazi shooting or BJ voiceovers, and especially appreciated how Wolfenstein 2 wasn't afraid to get a little extra weird with its alternate history.
The Evil Within 2 | $7.99 / £4.99 (80% off) - A modern horror gem from the creator of Resident Evil. It's even more batshit than that series, if you can believe it.
Resident Evil 7 | $9.89 / TK (67% off) - An excellent soft reboot starring one of the most deranged families in PC gaming. One to play before RE8 in 2021.
Ark: Survival Evolved | $9.99 (80% off) - While you wait to test your hardware with Cyberpunk 2077, the dino survival game will get your GPU's fans spinning.
$5 and under
Deals under $5
The Sims 4 | $4.79 / £4.19 (88% off)
We can't count the number hours we've put into The Sims 4 over the years. This price is really just a gateway drug to its many expansions. Every one of them (except Snowy Escape) is on sale too, so you can pick them all up for roughly… $450.
Among Us | $3.99 / £3.19 (20% off) - It's the game no one will shut up about. But it's genuinely and amazingly fun, and now it's a buck off so you have no excuse not to see for yourself.
Sleeping Dogs | $2.99 / £2.39 (85% off) - Open world action in a scintillating city isn't quite on par with something like GTA, but it's still pretty darn fun.
Terraria | $4.99 / £3.49 (50% off) - Despite adding tons of content since launch, it's always only been a mere $10 for one the best PC games. And now it's $5. Just buy it if you haven't already.
Mudrunner | $4.99 / £3.99 (80% off) - The Dark Souls of driving games. You're stuck at home anyway, why not get stuck in the mud?
Hotline Miami | $2.49 / $1.74 (75% off) - Brutally gory and punishing shooter set to a pounding disco beat.
Wizard of Legend | $4.79 / £3.71 (70% off) - A great-feeling no-nonsense action roguelike to lose some hours to if you've exhausted Hades already.
American Truck Simulator | $4.99 / £3.74 (75% off) - See what America really looks like for as much as a latte. The earlier expansions are on sale too, with Oregon and New Mexico going for under $4.
Thumper | $4.99 / £3.99 (75% off) - One of the best looking and sounding music games ever for a quarter the price of a fancy vinyl album. Chip in another two bucks to get the soundtrack.
Fallout: New Vegas | $2.99 / £2.39 (70% off) - Hard to believe any RPG lover wouldn't already have it in their library, but just in case.
Lyne | $1.49 / £0.99 (50% off) - Excellent minimalist puzzle game that's remarkably cheap even without the discount. A buck and a half gets your hours of challenges.
Dungeons of Dredmor | $2.49 / £1.99 (50% off) - This roguelike RPG isn't just deeply challenging, it's also remarkably funny.