Five Acclaimed Steam Games to Grab for Less Than $25 This Weekend

A long weekend is an ideal excuse to start something new, and Steam's current discounts make it possible to build a varied mini-library without spending the equivalent of one newly released game. Five highly regarded PC games spanning action-adventure, tactical stealth, action-RPGs, historical horror, and comic-book science fiction can currently be purchased for less than $25 combined.

The lineup is especially appealing because it is not five versions of the same experience. There is a modern reinvention of Tomb Raider, a demanding isometric loot hunt in Grim Dawn, and a tense, story-driven journey through plague-ravaged medieval France in A Plague Tale: Innocence. Players who prefer careful planning can take on the superb maps of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, while anyone looking for a polished linear blockbuster can finally give Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy a chance.

As of September 4, the individual discounts bring the full group to $23.75 before tax. Availability and pricing can change, as usual with digital promotions, but each selection is cheap enough to make a compelling case on its own. Together, they offer dozens upon dozens of hours of very different kinds of games.

Tomb Raider (2013) is $3

Crystal Dynamics' 2013 Tomb Raider is the starting point for the modern Survivor trilogy and remains a strong action-adventure even more than a decade later. It reimagines Lara Croft's origin, placing a younger and less experienced version of the explorer on a dangerous island where survival, combat, and discovery all become intertwined.

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The reboot takes some familiar cinematic adventure ingredients and combines them with a more exploratory structure. Lara gains tools over time, opening up ways to revisit areas and reach previously inaccessible spaces. That gives the game a light Metroidvania flavor without losing the forward momentum of its narrative. Bow combat is a particular highlight, with stealthy takedowns and improvised weapons helping establish the tougher survival tone that defined this era of the series.

Its presentation remains one of the biggest reasons to play. Detailed environments, character animation, weather effects, and a heavy atmosphere make the island memorable, while the campaign tells a focused story instead of stretching itself indefinitely. For $3, it is an extremely low-risk entry point for anyone who missed the reboot when it launched.

There is also a larger option for players who know they want more Lara Croft. The complete Survivor trilogy is available for just under $11 through September 7, bundling Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. That package is separate from the five-game total, but it is worth noting for anyone looking to commit to the whole arc.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is $4

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is one of the standout real-time tactical stealth games of its generation. Set in Japan's Edo period, it puts players in control of a small team of specialists, each with distinct skills and limitations. The challenge is not brute force. It is reading patrol routes, understanding sight lines, using the terrain, and arranging a clean solution before a plan collapses into chaos.

The game is often compared to the classic commandos-style formula, but it earned its reputation by making those foundational ideas feel approachable and modern. A ninja can move quickly and eliminate isolated guards, a samurai can handle confrontations that would overwhelm other characters, and other squad members bring distractions, traps, disguises, and mobility options. A mission becomes a dense puzzle box where the same objective can be tackled through several different approaches.

Its levels are also exceptionally attractive. Villages, fortifications, snowy landscapes, waterways, and busy public spaces have the carefully arranged quality of elaborate dioramas. That visual clarity is not merely decorative; it helps players observe routines and formulate strategies. When a carefully synchronized sequence works, few strategy games provide a more satisfying payoff.

At $4 instead of its usual $40 price, Shadow Tactics is a particularly good purchase for players who enjoy pausing, experimenting, quick-saving, and gradually mastering a difficult scenario. It can be punishing, but its systems reward patience and creativity.

Grim Dawn is $3.75

For action-RPG players, Grim Dawn offers a grimier and more deliberate alternative to the faster, flashier side of the loot genre. Developed as a spiritual successor in spirit to the classic isometric dungeon-crawling traditions associated with Diablo II, it sends players into a Victorian-inspired apocalypse full of monsters, ruined settlements, occult threats, and constant equipment upgrades.

The appeal is in the depth. Character building, class combinations, gear choices, resistances, devotion systems, and the steady search for better loot give players plenty to learn. It is a game for those who enjoy studying how abilities interact and turning a promising build into a devastating one, rather than simply racing through encounters on spectacle alone.

Its reputation has long leaned toward the more hardcore end of the action-RPG spectrum. More recent updates have moved parts of its feel closer to a top-down Soulslike direction, which has drawn mixed reactions from some veterans. For other players, that harder-edged approach is exactly the attraction. Either way, it remains an unusually substantial game at this price point.

There is no need to rely on an old critical consensus alone: user feedback on Steam sits at 94% positive. For $3.75, it is an inviting opportunity for curious newcomers to see whether its bleak world and complex progression systems are the right fit.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is $4

A Plague Tale: Innocence remains a beautiful, unsettling stealth adventure with a strong sense of place. It follows Amicia and her younger brother Hugo in late 1349, as they try to survive in Aquitaine, France, amid war, religious persecution, disease, and swarms of rats that transform the medieval setting into something nightmarish.

It is not an open-ended stealth sandbox, nor is it trying to be one. The game is a tightly paced narrative experience that typically runs around eight to 10 hours, using its mechanics to support the emotional strain of its journey. Light is protection, darkness is dangerous, and every area carries the threat of both human enemies and an overwhelming tide of rodents. That core tension gives its puzzles and stealth encounters a distinctive identity.

The comparison to The Last of Us is understandable in broad terms: there is a protective sibling relationship at the center, harsh environments, and a cinematic approach to storytelling. But A Plague Tale: Innocence has its own visual and historical character. Its version of medieval France is tragic, oppressive, and often gorgeous, with ruined villages and battlefields serving as more than simple background scenery.

This is also an especially timely place to begin for players who recently played the more action-focused prequel, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, but have not experienced the earlier mainline story. At $4, it is an inexpensive way to see the foundation of the series and why its atmosphere made such an impact.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is $9

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is the most expensive game in this group at $9, but it also represents a steep drop from its normal $60 Steam price. Five years after release, it still feels somewhat underappreciated, in part because it arrived in the shadow of the troubled reception surrounding the live-service Avengers game and during a period of broader superhero fatigue.

That context obscured a very different kind of Marvel game. Guardians of the Galaxy is a single-player, linear, story-focused adventure built around Peter Quill and his dysfunctional crew. It is not chasing a service-game model. Instead, it prioritizes character banter, colorful locations, major set pieces, and a pulp-science-fiction tone that suits the team remarkably well.

The writing is one of its clearest strengths. The Guardians spend plenty of time arguing, joking, and getting on one another's nerves, but the interactions give the group personality beyond their combat roles. The worlds they visit are equally important, filled with strange creatures, alien architecture, and imaginative landscapes that evoke old-school science-fiction art as much as modern superhero spectacle.

Combat has an inventive squad-command element, allowing Star-Lord to direct the other Guardians' abilities while fighting. The puzzles are less ambitious, but they keep the campaign moving rather than getting in the way. For players seeking a polished, finite comic-book game with a clear ending, it remains one of the better choices on PC.

A varied $23.75 Steam haul

Buying all five games individually comes to $23.75: $3 for Tomb Raider, $4 for Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, $3.75 for Grim Dawn, $4 for A Plague Tale: Innocence, and $9 for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

That total covers an enormous range of moods. Want a cinematic action game? Start with Lara Croft. Want to spend a weekend planning perfect stealth maneuvers? Choose Shadow Tactics. Need a long-term loot-driven obsession? Grim Dawn may take over. For something haunting and compact, A Plague Tale fits the bill, while Guardians of the Galaxy is the pick for players who want humor, colorful worlds, and a focused blockbuster campaign.

The best deal is ultimately the one that matches what you will actually play, but this is a rare set of discounts where nearly every genre preference has a strong answer. Even selecting two or three from the list would make for a very affordable holiday-weekend backlog.