Best Value Difficult Games Under $5

The Difficult games on Steam games under $5 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG

By price

Any priceUnder $5Under $10Under $20Under $40
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Outward Definitive Edition$0.04/1hr
  2. 2GemCraft - Chasing Shadows$0.04/1hr
  3. 3Geometry Dash$0.05/1hr
  4. 4Enter the Gungeon$0.07/1hr
  5. 5Darkest Dungeon$0.07/1hr
  6. 6The Surge$0.07/1hr
  7. 7Roguebook$0.09/1hr
  8. 8Rock 'N' Roll Defense$0.09/1hr
  9. 9Souldiers$0.09/1hr
  10. 10Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game$0.10/1hr
  11. 11Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen$0.10/1hr
  12. 12UBERMOSH$0.11/1hr
  13. 13Super Hexagon$0.11/1hr
  14. 14Soccer Online: Ball 3D$0.11/1hr
  15. 15SKYHILL$0.13/1hr
  16. 16Super Meat Boy$0.13/1hr
  17. 17Bean Battles$0.14/1hr
  18. 18Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun$0.14/1hr
  19. 19Hacknet$0.14/1hr
  20. 20Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number$0.14/1hr
  21. 21ScourgeBringer$0.15/1hr
  22. 22FlatOut$0.15/1hr
  23. 23The Surge 2$0.15/1hr
  24. 24Crazy Machines 3$0.15/1hr
  25. 25Voidigo$0.17/1hr
  26. 26Hotline Miami$0.18/1hr
  27. 27Celeste$0.18/1hr
  28. 28Endzone - A World Apart$0.19/1hr
  29. 29Coromon$0.19/1hr
  30. 30Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy$0.20/1hr
  31. 31Iratus: Lord of the Dead$0.20/1hr
  32. 32Risk of Rain (2013)$0.21/1hr
  33. 33Resident Evil 4 (2005)$0.21/1hr
  34. 34The Escapists$0.21/1hr
  35. 35Muse Dash$0.21/1hr
  36. 36The Messenger$0.22/1hr
  37. 37VVVVVV$0.24/1hr
  38. 38Gato Roboto$0.24/1hr
  39. 39Dead Estate$0.24/1hr
  40. 40Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition$0.25/1hr
  41. 41The Binding of Isaac$0.26/1hr
  42. 42Mafia$0.28/1hr
  43. 43Lonely Mountains: Downhill$0.30/1hr
  44. 44Resident Evil$0.31/1hr
  45. 45PAYDAY The Heist$0.31/1hr
  46. 46Nothing$0.32/1hr
  47. 47Game Dev Tycoon$0.33/1hr
  48. 48Guacamelee! 2$0.34/1hr
  49. 49Resident Evil 0$0.34/1hr
  50. 50DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION$0.35/1hr
  51. 51Chivalry: Medieval Warfare$0.38/1hr
  52. 52Axiom Verge$0.40/1hr
  53. 53Going Under$0.45/1hr
  54. 54Amnesia: The Bunker$0.45/1hr
  55. 55Downwell$0.47/1hr
  56. 56Superflight$0.49/1hr
  57. 57Injustice 2$0.51/1hr
  58. 58LIZARDS MUST DIE$0.52/1hr
  59. 59HYPER DEMON$0.59/1hr
  60. 60Wolfenstein 3D$0.62/1hr
  61. 61Changed$0.63/1hr
  62. 62Peggle Deluxe$0.65/1hr
  63. 63Kindergarten$0.80/1hr
  64. 64Post Void$0.80/1hr
  65. 65Insaniquarium Deluxe$0.83/1hr
  66. 66Zup! S$1.09/1hr
  67. 67Ultimate Zombie Defense$1.12/1hr
  68. 68Hand Simulator$1.40/1hr
  69. 69PICO PARK$1.41/1hr
  70. 70Five Nights at Freddy's$1.55/1hr

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.