PC gaming has never been easier to get into thanks to Steam. With their frequent sales and massive library, there’s almost always something new to try. Moreover, old favorites are frequently being added all the time. Anyone on even a small budget can feel try something new. There’s surely something that many users can recommend through user reviews and suggestions.
In fact, even for under $6, there are several full games that people wholeheartedly recommend. Steam conveniently lets people view any category based on the positive score of their user reviews. In this category, there are ten games specifically that are currently ranked in this spot. Some of them are great and unexpected options from the popular storefront.
10 Vampires’ Melody
To give an idea of how highly rated the top ten games are, it should be mentioned that 98% of the nearly 800 reviews for Vampires’ Melody are positive. None of the games on this list hit 100% perfection, but it’s clear these games either have enthusiastic fanbases. Or they are doing something spectacular that nothing else on Steam can provide.
For Vampires’ Melody, it’s likely the former as this is a visual novel where players encounter a youthful vampire who’s lived for hundreds of years. Not everyone might enjoy the visual novel format, but this genre has grown massively in popularity on Steam in the past few years. So fans looking for a traditional romantic one will most likely be satisfied with this title.
9 fpsVR
In a completely opposite direction, fpsVR is a game exclusive to those with virtual reality equipment. It is mostly just a simulator to experiment with hardware, but that’s pretty fun, too. People can use it to realistically track the frames per second of hardware, as well as monitor temperature and other specifications during various tests.
It’s hardly a game by most definitions, but it still ranks alongside the other top sellers which means that there’s clearly a fair interest in it. If people wish to use VR regularly and need to keep closer track of the hardware, it’s probably worth picking this up for just over four bucks to troubleshoot or test the limits of different devices.
8 Nekopara Extra
Vampires’ Melody is hardly the only visual novel on Steam, and it’s also not the only one on this list either. Nekopara Extra follows the player as they work and grow their relationships with various cat girls while running a cafe. It is an additional prologue episode as part of the ongoing Nekopara series.
Unlike Vampires’ Melody, this game is probably not going to be as interesting to those who haven’t played the original Nekopara games. But fans of Nekopara are likely going to enjoy this experience. This high ranking is most likely the sign of an extremely satisfied fanbase rather than strangers coming across the genre and series for the first time.
7 Post Void
The first much more traditional game on this list is Post Void, a classic Doom-style first-person shooter with a distinct 2D style. Unlike most narrative shooters, however, this game is actually a roguelike. This means that players will work through the campaign repeatedly in hopes to get to the end and upgrade themselves with each run.
This makes for a very arcade-like experience as the game moves exceptionally fast to keep up with the cartoonish enemies and environments. It can get fairly gory and violent, so those uncomfortable with blood splatter going across the screen frequently might avoid it. It is still is a fairly enjoyable and high-paced entry to the growing roguelike genre.
6 Shapez.io
Shapez.io is a strategy game that functions somewhat like a calm version of a tower defense game. The goal is to create a factory capable of making colored shapes with the main gimmick being an infinitely expanding map that can lead players to create immense automated systems.
It’s an incredibly satisfying game and is a refreshing change of pace from action-heavy or narrative-heavy games. It’s an addictive and low-stress game to easily spend way too much time with. Hardly the worst way to spend five dollars, eh?
5 Zup! F
Zup! F fits in a similar category to Shapez.io being a puzzle game full of colorful blocks. Players must figure out how to get spheres through portals and shift gravity to reach the end of each level. There are tons of games in the Zup series, but this one specifically is given the letter for being intended as the final entry in the series despite Zup! Z being released in 2020.
Unlike a narrative series, being a final version means the game has some of the most challenging and complicated puzzles. It is much more worth checking out if someone has never played another game in the series. Zup! F is another refreshingly calm game for those who spend too much time playing action games. Fans will surely be willing to explore the past and later games in the series afterward.
4 Kind Words (Lo-Fi Child Beats To Write To)
This lengthy title belongs to a game that’s just as relaxing as any lo-fi video typically will be. It’s an artistic game that puts the player in a bedroom to write and receive letters. What sets it apart is that people can send their letters to real people anonymously and with the intent to either get their thoughts out or to comfort others.
Like games running with new RTX Graphics, it’s a beautiful game. But it also provides people with an incredibly positive space – something rarely seen in most online games. With many stickers to collect as players write and receive letters from others, it’s a great way to spend time when anyone feels in a low mood or they want something pleasant to do while enjoying a cup of coffee or tea.
3 One Finger Death Punch
While being visually quite loud, One Finger Death Punch is a surprisingly deep brawler with stick figures. It has a huge emphasis on combos as the developers explicitly mention that it punishes button mashing. Players will need to play extremely carefully to succeed, but the combat is incredibly well-directed and animated for using such simple characters.
This is also the oldest game on this list originally releasing in 2014 on Steam. It’s a great example of a modern arcade game made for at-home enjoyment. The high skill ceiling means that players will be putting a lot more time into it as they try to master its complex and utterly unique fighting system.
2 Wallpaper Engine
Wallpaper Engine is much more similar to fpsVR than other games on this list. It’s essentially a tool that lets people create animated wallpapers on a computer and share them using Steam Workshop. It’s not so much a maintenance tool, but a way to experiment with various player-created images and animated styles to share through the Steam Workshop.
This can do several things such as creating playable desktop games to visualizing music through bars over a screen. The game has tons of customization options for those with a lower-power PC. It feels somewhat odd to call it a game, but it’s also worth a mention that this piece of artistic software still includes achievements and trading cards. By Steam’s standards, it’s not too far off from many AAA titles.
1 Cube Escape Collection
The final game here with the best positive reviews is unlike anything on this list. It is a compilation of several point-and-click adventure games. The Cube Escape Collection leans much more on many horror and suspense elements than many games in the genre. Furthermore, it is full of both creative and logical interactions for players to experience the eerie stories and environments.
This game is also not a Steam original as it originated as a Flash game that was quickly compiled and reformatted before the retirement of the software. It also comes with a hint system to help players enjoy the stories more easily. This makes it a great pickup for those who want an underrated gem from a truly experimental space for games.
