The Best Cheap PC Games Under $20

Mortal Kombat X Historically, fighting games haven't been particularly strong in the story department. Sure, there are crazy moments in the Tekkens and Soul Caliburs of the world, but NetherRealm Studios has pushed the genre into a legitimately fascinating place in their single-player story modes. Not only does this tenth major installment in the Mortal Kombat series offer a flood of nostalgia, but a whole new generation of fighters have been introduced in a very clever way. (Buy on Steam)

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor In 2014, Monolith Productions wowed audiences by combining gameplay elements of Assassin's Creed and the Arkham games with the ingenious "Nemesis System" for populating and re-populating the orc ranks. The sequel is more expansive, but the significantly discounted price of the original game makes it the superior option for newcomers. (Buy on Amazon)

What Remains of Edith Finch Developed by Giant Sparrow, the team behind The Unfinished Swan, this "walking simulator" puts you in the shoes of Edith Finch – one of the last surviving members of her family. As Edith adventures through her family's home, the player is thrown head-first into vignettes exploring both the lives and deaths of her family members. It's only a few hours long, but the mechanical twists and incredible characterizations are worth the price of admission. (Buy on Amazon)

StarCraft Remastered Blizzard's wildly popular sci-fi RTS franchise turns 20 this year, so the original audiovisual experience doesn't quite hold up as well as the incredible core gameplay. Thankfully, Blizzard released an HD remaster last year, and it's only $15. And for those looking for a full-strength nostalgia bomb, the low-res original is free for everyone. (Buy on Battle.net)

Mass Effect Trilogy In spite of all of the drama surrounding this series, the original trilogy is still absolutely worth playing. From start to finish, this bundle tells the entirety of Commander Shepard's story. And since Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is still up and running, there's a ton of repeatable content available here as well. (Buy on Amazon)

Day of the Tentacle Remastered This classic game from the minds of Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman is one of the very best LucasArts adventures ever made, but it collected dust for years as Lucas pretended Star Wars was the only franchise that mattered. Thankfully, Double Fine (Tim Schafer's company) was able to convince the right corporate overlords to allow for the development of a high-res update in 2016. You can swap between the classic and high-quality assets at any time, and there's tons of behind the scenes material for super-dorks like us. (Buy on Steam)

Tomb Raider After the success of the Tomb Raider franchise in the days of the PS1, there was a bit of a struggle to find the right narrative voice for Lara Croft. With this 2013 reboot, Crystal Dynamics was able to tell a fresh story and truly revitalize the franchise. And for years, this title served as the showpiece for the impressive TressFX hair simulation. While the tech isn't as shiny as it used to be, it's very cheap, and a great setup for the excellent sequel: Rise of the Tomb Raider. (Buy on Amazon)

Stardew Valley Stardew Valley is an incredible little farming sim that we've put hundreds of hours into. With art, music, design, and code being handled mostly by a single person, the scope of this heartfelt Harvest Moon-inspired title boggles the mind. And thanks to the folks at Chucklefish, a multiplayer mode is being added in the next few months. (Buy on Steam)

Dragon Age: Inquisition The first Dragon Age game served as a throwback to the CRPGs of BioWare's early days, but the second installment took a much more action-oriented path that put off some of the classic fans. Dragon Age: Inquisition largely splits the difference as BioWare went after the Skyrim market. Keyboard and mouse pause-and-play combat is still an option for strategy fans, but it can be played just as easily in real time with a controller in your lap. (Buy on Amazon)

TrackMania 2 Stadium TrackMania has always been a fast, chaotic, wonderful mess, and TrackMania 2 Stadium serves as the home of the best and worst the community has to give. This environment will only cost you $10 to buy-in, and you'll have access to the pure madness that is custom multiplayer servers. If you're dying to race against dozens of other people on wild custom tracks as phat euro beats fill the air, you'll fit right in. (Buy on Steam)

Dishonored Definitive Edition PC Arkane Studios, the developer behind Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, brought the Dishonored franchise to life all the way back in 2012. In this first game, you play as an accused queen-slayer, and your actions drastically change the world around you. If you play as a stealthy goody two-shoes, you'll serve as a calming presence. If you're a murderous psychopath, the chaos begins ratcheting up severely. And with four additional pieces of DLC included for free, this first installment is definitely worth playing before you get around to the sequels. (Buy on Steam)

Borderlands 2 What happens when you throw a loot treadmill, a first person shooter, and an insane cartoon into a blender? You'll either end up with a delicious milkshake or the incredibly sytlish Borderlands series. Join up with friends to play the entirety of Borderlands 2 in co-op, and you'll have dozens of hours of loot-grinding fun without stretching your purse strings. (Buy on Amazon)

Saints Row IV Starting out as little more than a GTA-alike, Volition turned Saints Row into something much more whacky and interesting as the sequels progressed. Saints Row The Third took the comedic ball and ran with it, and IV blows the doors off with an alien invasion and a fully simulated world within the game's reality. Now your main character runs up buildings, soars for miles over the city, and collects hundreds of orbs à la Crackdown. If you're up for pure insanity, and don't mind straying wildly from the GTA roots, IV is a ton of fun. (Buy on Amazon)

Doom When it comes to PC gaming franchises, it doesn't get more iconic than Doom. And while it took over a decade for id Software to follow up Doom 3, it was worth the wait. Diehards of the flat-out speed of the early games will love this updated interpretation, and yet it remains entirely approachable for the uninitiated. Factor in the clever snapmap modding tool, and there's countless levels to play through at no additional cost. (Buy on Amazon)