Gaming can be a pretty expensive hobby, and with AAA publishers across the industry deciding that they’re going to sell their new flagship releases at a higher price point of $70 instead of the $60 that had been the standard for so long, it’s getting more expensive still. Thankfully, however, prices of games tend to fluctuate, often going down to levels where the only way to describe a deal is as an absolute steal. Here, we’re going to talk about a few such standout single player games – or games that might not be exclusively single player but are still perfectly viable solo experiences – that you can get for shockingly cheap prices at the time of writing.
CUPHEAD
Let’s start with one that’s actually always been cheap. Studio MDHR’s Cuphead is a modern run ‘n gun classic, boasting stellar art and animations, devilishly punishing yet brilliantly designed boss fights, and a healthy amount of content, with the entire package setting you back just $20. Throw in another $8, and you can also purchase its excellent expansion, The Delicious Last Course.
MONSTER HUNTER WORLD
Capcom sells its back catalog titles better than most other companies out there, and just as responsible for that as their enduring quality is the prices they drop down to. Monster Hunter World, Capcom’s highest selling game of all time, is currently prices at $20, which, for a game as good as it is and as much content it has, is a ridiculously good price.
RESIDENT EVIL 7
Another relatively older Capcom title that has lost none of its luster in the years since its launch, Resident Evil 7 is a game that also keeps on selling, and looking at its price, it’s easy to see why. Sure, it may not be the hundred-hour romp that Monster Hunter World is, but can you really turn your nose up at one of the best survival horror games of all time being sold for just $20?
THE EVIL WITHIN
We’ll stick with the survival horror genre here, and turn our attention to a nearly-decade old game that perhaps doesn’t get the sort of love it deserves. For fans of the over-the-shoulder Resident Evil formula, The Evil Within is an absolute must-play, thanks to its incredible atmosphere and relentlessly tense combat. At just $20, the game’s an absolute bargain, and one that any genre fan should be pouncing on.
STARDEW VALLEY
Indie darling Stardew Valley has never really been a costly game, given the fact that it’s, well, an indie game, which means it’s always been an absolute steel. Being sold at $15, this is a game that you can pour literally hundreds upon hundreds of hours into. Want to manage and expand your farm? Want to hang out with cool characters and deepen your bonds with them? Want to go exploring caves? In Stardew Valley, you can do all of this and more.
HOLLOW KNIGHT
You may have heard Hollow Knight being called one of the greatest games ever made by many, and trust us, that’s not an exaggeration in the slightest. This grueling Metroidvania masterpiece is an astounding piece of art, representing game design, music, art, and everything else in between at their absolute zenith. Again, by virtue of being an indie game, Hollow Knight has always offered incredible value for money, as it does right now for a price of just $15.
UNCHARTED: THE NATHAN DRAKE COLLECTION
The original Uncharted trilogy is pretty old at this point (he said while setting down his walking cane), but Naughty Dog’s action-adventure games are still worth going back to, not least because of the excellent remastering work that Bluepoint Games did with The Nathan Drake Collection on PS4. The collection can be bought for the price of just $20, which gives you access to not one, but three riotously enjoyable games, making it a pretty sweet deal all in all.
THE LAST OF US REMASTERED
Naughty Dog loves going back to The Last of Us, but even though we do have a full-fledged remake as an option on PS5, the PS4 remaster that launched in 2014 is still an excellent deal. It looks excellent and still plays great (not to mention the fact that it runs at 60 FPS), and can be purchased for $20. For that price, you also get access to the widely beloved Factions multiplayer mode, so in many ways, it’s actually a better option than the PS5 remake for those looking to go back to this modern classic.
GOD OF WAR
A much more recent entry than some of the other games we’ve spoken about on this list, 2018’s God of War is a game that people are going to keep going back to for years- something that is price is only bound to make easier. For a price of $20, you can dive into the action-adventure game’s rollercoaster, emotional journey, which combines narrative and action gameplay in one of the best PS4 experiences ever.
HORIZON ZERO DAWN
Speaking of landmark first party PS4 titles, Horizon Zero Dawn is another stellar game that you can dive into for a surprisingly low price right now. Guerrilla’s post-apocalyptic open world action RPG is retailing for a price of just $20 on PS4 right now, which is more than a reasonable price for a game that you can clock dozens of hours in. On PC, however, it’s priced at $50, so there’s definitely some disparity in its cross-platform pricing.
GEARS OF WAR 3
Yes, Gears of War 3 is more than a decade old, but it still remains one of the best third person shooters we’ve ever played, to the extent that even many much more recent ones can’t hold a candle to it. With an excellent campaign and addictive multiplayer offerings, at a price of just $12, the Xbox 360 title is almost unreasonably cheap right now. On Xbox Series X, in fact, it even benefits from visual and technical boosts, so if you haven’t played this masterpiece, now is the time to jump in.
GRAND THEFT AUTO 5
Nearly eleven years on from launch, Grand Theft Auto 5 keeps selling better than most games do instantly upon release, and doubtless, its reasonable pricing has had a hand to play in that. Currently being sold for a price of $20 on Xbox and PlayStation, the open world game is one that you can pour countless hours into without even the hint of boredom. We’re about a year away (and hopefully no more than that) from Grand Theft Auto 6, so if somehow you still haven’t played GTA 5, now’s the time.
BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT
Rocksteady Studios’ Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League might not be what so many wanted the studio’s next game to be, but you can always go back to its older releases to remind yourself of why the studio is as beloved as it is. Batman: Arkham Knight has had some pretty rough luck with its platform-specific versions on PC and Nintendo Switch, but on PlayStation and Xbox, it’s still an incredible game to go back to- not least because you can do so for just $20 right now.
BLOODBORNE
Whether or not we’ll ever get a Bloodborne remaster, port, or even 60 FPS patch (much less a sequel) is anyone’s guess (though signs point to a big, fat no), but thankfully, FromSoftware’s eldritch horror action RPG is a stellar game even in its original form, even today. Like a number of other first party PlayStation titles we’ve mentioned here, it can be purchased for just $20, which, for what’s irrefutably one of the greatest games ever made, is a shockingly good price.
METAL GEAR SOLID 5
Metal Gear Solid 5’s legacy will always be a complicated one for so many reasons, but one thing that’s hard to dispute is that, for all its flaws (of which it has many), it’s somehow still an absolute masterpiece in more ways than one, from its timeless emergent stealth gameplay to the incredible design it sports across its many missions. Diving into all of that and more for a price of just $20 is more than a fair deal, to say the very least.
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