23 good games in the Steam Summer Sale that you can get for $2 or less, which still feels illegal

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From modern classics to underrated gems

Muse Dash
(Image credit: hasuhasu)

The 2023 Steam Summer Sale is still as hot as the weather outside, and as ever some of the best deals can be found in the ultra-cheap range of $2.

Having already picked out a dozen $5 games that you can get for the price of one new game, I wanted to plumb the true depths of discount purgatory in search of unbelievable prices on modern classics, underrated favorites, and little-known but highly rated gems. I set the bar at $2.49 – partly because I'm rounding down here, and also because two quarters are rarely a deal-breaker in my experience – and after probably too much digging, I've come back to share my riches. 

Here are 23 cool games in the 2023 Steam Summer Sale that you can get for two bucks or less, which feels illegal. 

  • Don't Starve - 75% off at $2.49: The survival crafting game so good and successful that it's quietly pushed the already successful Klei Entertainment to rare heights.  
  • Dishonored - 75% off at $2.49: The first-person stealth-action triumph that set the stage for one of the best series in the sizable Bethesda stable. If you want to splurge for the (largely great) DLC, you can get the Definitive Edition for $5.  
  • Fallout: New Vegas - 75% off at $2.49: A Steam Sale staple, Fallout: New Vegas is still writing circles around many RPGs to this day, and it's even harder to beat at two bucks.
  • To The Moon - 80% off at $1.99: An emotional narrative adventure that you will never truly get over.  
  • Inside - 90% off at $1.99: Limbo developer Playdead returns to small-child-creepy-world territory with an unmissable and twisted puzzle platformer.  
  • Psychonauts - 75% off at $2.49: One of the finest platformers from the PS2 era holds up well on PC today. In fact, it's even better now since you can go straight into the sequel after that infamous cliffhanger ending.  
  • Downwell - 67% off at $0.98: Every Steam Sale is really just an excuse for me to recommend Downwell, a hard-to-put-down roguelike about using gun boots to survive a treacherous, never-ending fall.  
  • Deadbolt - 75% off at $2.49: The 2D stealth-action game that put eyes on Hopoo Games before it became the Risk of Rain studio. 
  • Risk of Rain - 80% off at $1.99: The fiendish 2D roguelike that made Hopoo Games the Risk of Rain studio and eventually spawned an amazing 3D sequel – and, soon, a Gearbox-backed remake.  
  • One Finger Death Punch 2 - 75% off at $1.99: A minimalist action game that retains the razor focus of the original game and simultaneously refines it into something even more gratifying.  
  • Super Kiwi 64 - 33% off at $2.00: You could send this 3D platformer back in time to the Nintendo 64 era and nobody would bat an eye. It's as authentic as retro games come.  

Florence

(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
  • FTL: Faster Than Light - 75% off at $2.49: Arguably still the gold standard for spaceship roguelikes, FTL makes navigating randomly generated galaxies feel harrowing and heart-pumping.  
  • Florence - 67% off at $1.97: A heartfelt narrative adventure which proves yet again that mobile games can slay on PC.  
  • Steamworld Heist - 90% off at $1.49: The turn-based RPG of the stellar SteamWorld series feels like 2D XCOM from another universe.  
  • Muse Dash - 85% off at $0.44: I don't even want to know how many hours diehard players have put into this iconic rhythm game.  
  • Valve's Orange Box - 90% off at $1.99: Get Half-Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 for two bucks. What more do I need to say?  
  • Portal 2 - 90% off at $0.99: I figured out what more I need to say. Portal 2 is a buck, and also one of Valve's finest.  
  • Botanicula - 85% off at $2.24: One of Amanita's cutest and cleverest point-and-clicks, and that's saying something.  
  • Gato Roboto - 75% off at $1.99: This snacky Metroidvania can be beaten in a few hours, but it's just as satisfying as its massive search-action brethren.  
  • Akane - 75% off at $1.24: Soaked in neon and slick with rain, Akane is a stylish arena hack-and-slash set in Mega-Tokyo where everything dies in one hit.  
  • Hexologic - 80% off at $0.59: One of my all-time favorite puzzle games, with the huge disclaimer that I am an arithmetic nerd.  
  • The Swapper - 85% off at $2.24: Not enough people played this 2D puzzle game set in the bowels of space. A lot of people did, but not enough.  
  • Dwarf Journey - 75% off at $1.74: A slept-on roguelite platformer with a lovely aesthetic and engrossing upgrade system.  

Here are the overall best PC games to play right now, many of which are also on sale.  

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.