Image via Complex Original
Do you waste a lot of time on the internet? Of course you do—and you might as well pack it in right now because we're about to introduce you to a brand new obsession.
Steampowered.com is arguably the most popular video game digital distributor on the net. Known for huge discounts during its Summer and Winter sales, it's a way for poor gamers to stock up on cheap games. It also has this crazy thing called "Free-to-Play" games where players can enjoy most of the content for free, but can purchase premium features if they like. In this format, destitute gamers can enjoy hundreds of hours of free entertainment by mooching off the players who actually do pay for premium content in those games. But if you missed Steam's latest sale (it sadly, ended yesterday), and you've got next to nothing in your Steam wallet, you can still buy several games for virtually nothing, while rewarding the developers with a hard-earned pittance. Let's start playing and stop talking—here are ten of the best games on Steam that can be bought for less than a dollar year-round.
Make It Indie
Make It Indie (Developed by Sometimes You) is an artsy game. In its meta story, players control an indie game developer who is procrastinating while making a game. Each day, you can make the designer work on his game, or you can make him waste time by reading comic books, playing with his cat, or doing several other non-productive activities. It also has a feature to skip over any part that you find boring, so the entire thing can be played in a matter of seconds. Many players will hate this little exercise in self-aware storytelling, but it does have a message about the hard work and drudgery that goes into bringing a product to completion.
Space Drifters 2D
Space Drifters 2D (Matthew Coyle) is a new take on Asteroids. It's still in beta, but it definitely has promise as an enhanced version of a classic game. Some new features are a shotgun blast that can clear out several asteroids at once, and an overheat feature that causes the ship's firing speed to slow down if the player just hammers the fire button (sorry, button-mashers). There are several different modes for local multiplayer that include co-op, a race around an obstacle course, and a form of Capture The Flag.
Retention
Retention (Sometimes You) is another highly experimental and astonishingly short game from the same team that made Make It Indie. Players look through a virtual photo album and choose one of three photos from each page. After eighty such choices, they are given an ending based on their choices. It can be replayed multiple times to decipher the developer's intent behind this experience, but this game will infuriate players who Just Don't Get It, or can't be bothered with the process of unraveling metaphors about the importance of mementos in the digital age.
After All
After All (JAMgames) is one of the many cheapie games that were made with the RPG Maker development tools. In a very self-aware comedy game that deconstructs Japanese RPG tropes, our heroes begin their journey, and almost immediately defeat the Big Bad (who doesn't even bother with his first few transformations, and goes right to his ULTIMATE FORM). The remainder of this hour-long game deals with the humorous aftermath of a heroic victory.
Mountain
Mountain (David O'Reilly) isn't so much a game as it is a pet mountain that hovers serenely in a little window on the desktop. The player has a god-like view, and can observe the mountain and surrounding sky, but not affect it in any way. Mountain has its own weather patterns, a day/night cycle, and trees that grow on it. In time, random objects like giant dice, or airplanes will fly in and embed themselves in the mountain, eventually creating a surreal landscape. Mountain has gained an unlikely cult following, and anyone can join this cult for .99 cents and countless hours of their life.
in Space
in Space (Ysty Games) is a sidescrolling space shoot 'em up, but it also strips the genre down to its most basic elements. There are no fancy graphics, cut scenes, or animations, and it barely reaches 8-Bit quality graphics. A ship moves up and down on the left side of the screen while targets of different shapes and colors zoom in from the right, and you have to blast them before they reach a barrier in the middle of the screen. Each shot the player fires causes this barrier to move slightly to the right, but shooting three targets of the same color in a row will cause it to move back to the left. You have to be fast, smart, and precise, rather than the normal "Buller Hell" non-stop blasting.
9.03m
9.03m (Space Budgie) is part of the new breed of "Empathy Games" that try to evoke an emotional experience—it also happens to be a short tribute to the victims of the 2011 tsunami. Players explore a beach and are tasked with finding objects scattered around the sands. Finding one will reveal a bit of information about the person who once owned that object, and provide a haunting flash of animation and music. The whole thing can be played in about 20 minutes, yet it is an experience that is not quantified by its length, but rather by its emotional weight.
Squishy The Suicidal Pig
Squishy The Suicidal Pig (Panic Art Studios) has much in common with Mario and Sonic—it is a retro-style platformer that also has a heaping dose of puzzle solving. Though it is a little darker than Mario. As the title implies, Squishy's goal is not to survive each level, but rather to find some way to kill himself on every one. There are buttons, boxes and platforms scattered around the levels, and early missions simply involve reaching the end where a convenient pit of spikes awaits. However, it quickly becomes quite challenging and requires counterintuitive thinking to find ways to help Squishy end his life.
Fortix
Fortix (Nemesys Games) is a strategy game that casts players as a knight trying to capture territory around a series of medieval forts. Players need to quickly carve out sections of the battlefield, while avoiding enemies and projectiles. The battlefields have power-ups and strategic resources scattered around, and it requires a mixture of speed and forethought to succeed. Fortix was so successful that it got a sequel, although Fortix 2 is only for high-rollers at a whopping $1.99!
Orion: Prelude
Most of the games at .99 cents or less are short, simple, and experimental. Orion: Prelude (Spiral Game Studios) holds the distinction of being an elaborate, multiplayer first-person shooter that aims for a mainstream audience. It was originally released as Orion: Dino Beatdown, a game that even its own creators call "One of the worst games ever." Yet, after three years of updates it has evolved into a very impressive sci-fi dino shooter that is worth far more than the mere .99 cents it costs on Steam. Poverty-stricken gamers who want to scream "Wow" will be delighted by the return on investment for this thing.