The holiday season is upon us, and that means it’s time to shower the ones you love with gifts, which can start to get expensive. So we’ve compiled a Steam gifts guide with five games that’ll expand your friends’ library for under fifteen bucks.
5 Games Under $15 That Make Perfect Steam Gifts
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Nuclear Throne – $12.99
I first saw Nuclear Throne at PAX East in 2014, and instantly fell in love. Nuclear Throne is a roguelike, top-down shooter with intense moment-to-moment gameplay that’ll make your hands cramp along side all the screen shake $12.99 can buy. To put it simply: Vlambeer just makes hits. From Ridiculous Fishing to Luftrausers to Nuclear Throne, they’re like the Diddy of video game development — they can’t stop, won’t stop.
Not a Hero – $12.99
Coincidentally, Not a Hero is another game I first played at PAX East 2014. A 2D cover based shooter from Roll7, the makers of OlliOlli, that’s chock-full of the signature humor and tight game mechanics the studio has come to be known for. But possibly my favorite thing about Not a Hero is the anthropomorphic rabbit named Bunny Lord. You know, just because they can.
OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood – $14.99
Before you say anything, yes, I do know that this is the second Roll7 game in a row. Do I care? No, they make good games and you should by them for your friends. OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood expands on the masterpiece that is OlliOlli. It adds manuals, reverts, and grind switches, so you can keep chasing those combos until the wee hours of the morning. OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood takes the foundation Roll7 laid with OlliOlli and solidifies the series’ place in my heart — I heart you OlliOlli.
Fingered – $1.87
Possibly the weirdest game on the list is Fingered, from James McMillen (Super Meat Boy) and artist James Id. This game is all about eyewitness testimony and its unreliability. Players will have to use vague clues given by an eyewitness to finger the right perpetrator of the crime to be executed by electric chair; extreme, I know, but effective. Fingered is one of those games that emphasizes brevity in game design, and is well worth the price.
Shoppe Keep – $6.99
Ever think to yourself what it would be like to be a shop keeper in a video game? To have all these adventurers tracking mud into your shop, or trying to lowball you on a mana potion? Well, that’s precisely what Shoppe Keep is. Set prices, decorate your shop, restock inventory, sweep up mud and repeat — all in a days work for a shopkeeper. Admittedly, this game is early access, and the last time I played it had its fair share of issues, but the concept is solid. It’s an interesting take on an ignored, yet integral, video game trope.
And that’s the list. Hopefully, there’s something in there that’ll help you expand your friends’ ever-growing Steam games library without breaking your own wallet.
