The Best Games of 2025 That You Can Snag for Under $20

If rising hardware prices and $80 software weren’t enough proof that gaming’s getting pricier, the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Mario Kart World price tags should seal it. But you don’t need a high-end console or premium release to have a good time. Dig into the indie scene, and you’ll find a stack of great games that cost next to nothing. Every title here costs $20 or less, and many drop even lower during sales. Better yet, they run on just about anything; some barely need a GPU at all, and those that do only ask for hardware from nearly a decade ago. Editor's note: All of the games on this list are traditional "Web2" games without crypto or blockchain integrations. But you might enjoy 'em anyway! Ball x Pit ($15 on Steam, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox) Ball x Pit is a peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate type of situation, combining two flavors we never would have guessed could work so well together: Vampire Survivors and Arkanoid. In this game, you select one of a number of characters-there are quite a few-to venture down into the titular pit to gather resources and defeat bosses. Your character takes the place of the paddle that would typically bounce back balls and instead launches those balls at the wall of enemies. There are a number of different enchantments to score, and you can fuse two enchantments into something bigger, or evolve them into some pretty wild final forms. You'll then take the resources back to your town at the top of the pit and add new buildings to give you buffs and unlock new characters. Hollow Knight: Silksong ($20 on Steam, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox) Hollow Knight doesn't require much introduction. Silksong hit in September and immediately started gathering game-of-the-year buzz-despite a long seven-year wait that can often leave impatient fans looking elsewhere for their kicks. Silksong is, at its most basic, more Hollow Knight. As Hornet, you'll be traversing caverns, unlocking abilities, and beating bosses. But you'll be doing it with top-tier background and character art, excellent music, and great level and boss design. Despelote ($15 on Steam, PS5, PS4, Xbox) Where the first two games on this list are addictive timesinks, Despelote wants just a few hours of your time to tell you a memorable story. In 2001, Ecuador had qualified for the World Cup for the first time, and football (or soccer, if you prefer) took the nation by storm. In Despelote, you're Julian, an eight-year-old boy, kicking his ball around and exploring your town through his young perspective through a semi-autobiographical story from the game's developer. Luto ($20 on Steam, PS5, Xbox) In this psychological horror game, you're stuck in your own home, and the more you explore it, the less it looks like your home. Luto picks up the reins from Hideo Kojima's P.T. demo and does its own thing with it, exploring themes of loss and depression through strange, beautiful, and frightening environments. Megabonk ($10 on Steam) Megabonk...

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