We’re only halfway through the year, but amid the ever-changing landscape of video game prices, one thing is clear: $50-and-under games are some of the best and highest-rated games of 2025.
The $80 and $90 game talk is going to get resistance from two angles — one being audiences unwilling to buy a messy base game for $80, and the second is the rise of games priced $50 and under, often from studios putting fun and innovation before profit.
Amid current and widespread economic problems, gaming is becoming less of a hobby and more of a luxury. Instead of being all doom-and-gloom about it, I’m asking you to look away from the mainstream.
While those AAA gaming franchises have characters you hold dear and hold some of your favorite memories, the smaller titles could offer that, too, if you give them a chance.
Look at Metacritic’s Top 10 — it is full of budget-friendly games. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is leading with a 92 out of 100, the highest score this year. Right on its tail is Blue Prince with a 92, and Split Fiction with a 91. Not only are these games highly rated, but they’re also front-runners in many “Game of the Year” conversations.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is what you get when a team’s love for a genre and experience in the industry blend to create an authentic game that big studios seem incapable of making. The art style, amazing music, performances, writing, and gameplay mechanics make Expedition 33 feel like the next step in evolution for the genre. The combat is so active, you can barely call it turn-based. Developers at Sandfall Interactive let us know how special this game was when it was first announced, and they delivered on all fronts.
Dogubomb’s Blue Prince was a sleeper hit that came out of nowhere, shocking many people, like me, who aren’t really into puzzle games or roguelites. The deeply mysterious Manor, the way you unlock story tidbits through laying out and exploring rooms while solving puzzles — it just felt addictive. Add in the gorgeous comic book-inspired graphics, and the game was firing on all cylinders. Still, even if you don’t enjoy it, you can see why Blue Prince fans hold such high opinions.
Split Fiction seems like just another decent co-op game at first. The further you progress in the game, however, the more you begin to see what makes Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios so special. They take their own formula and completely flip it on its head. The story feels something like a movie, its unique, imaginative gameplay makes you wonder how the team even thought of it.
I see people praising this game, but I don’t see nearly enough praising all the innovation stuffed into Split Fiction.
Larian Studios’ Swen Vincke’s speech at last year’s The Game Awards is ringing true. Before announcing the latest Game of the Year winner, Vincke said:
“The Oracle told me that the Game of the Year 2025 was going to be made by a studio who found the formula to make it up here on stage. It’s stupidly simple, but somehow, it keeps on getting lost. Studio made their game because they wanted to make a game that they wanted to play themselves. They created it because it hadn’t been created before. They didn’t make it to increase market share. They didn’t make it to serve as a brand. They didn’t have to meet arbitrary sales targets or fear being laid off if they didn’t meet those targets. And furthermore, the people in charge forbade them from cramming the game with anything whose only purpose was to increase revenue and didn’t serve the game design.”
To those reading this: I hope you’re not afraid of a future with $80 games, because they’re coming. There are small teams, even individual devs, working hard on something they believe is worth playing. Those same people are able to release games at consumer-friendly price points.
All this to say, indie games are more important now than ever before. Don’t let graphics or a little bit of jank deter you from missing out on great games. Broaden your horizons, and you’ll find incredible games that just might be tailor-made for you.
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