Best Value Story Rich Games Under $40

The Story Rich games on Steam games under $40 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. 1The Vagrant$0.06/1hr
  2. 2FOR HONOR$0.06/1hr
  3. 3Styx: Master of Shadows$0.07/1hr
  4. 4FINAL FANTASY XIV Online$0.08/1hr
  5. 5Bean Battles$0.09/1hr
  6. 6The Surge$0.09/1hr
  7. 7Tricolour Lovestory$0.10/1hr
  8. 8The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos$0.10/1hr
  9. 9Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen$0.10/1hr
  10. 10Deponia$0.11/1hr
  11. 11The Elder Scrolls Online$0.11/1hr
  12. 12GreedFall$0.11/1hr
  13. 13Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition$0.12/1hr
  14. 14Tales of Zestiria$0.12/1hr
  15. 15Company of Heroes$0.12/1hr
  16. 16河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)$0.13/1hr
  17. 17Vampyr$0.14/1hr
  18. 18Beholder$0.14/1hr
  19. 19Fallout: New Vegas$0.15/1hr
  20. 20This War of Mine$0.15/1hr
  21. 21Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition$0.16/1hr
  22. 22Touhou Mystia's Izakaya$0.16/1hr
  23. 23The Surge 2$0.16/1hr
  24. 24Do Not Feed the Monkeys$0.16/1hr
  25. 25觅长生$0.17/1hr
  26. 26Undertale$0.17/1hr
  27. 27Sailing Era$0.17/1hr
  28. 28Super Robot Wars 30$0.18/1hr
  29. 29Children of Morta$0.18/1hr
  30. 30Crashlands$0.19/1hr
  31. 31The Room Three$0.19/1hr
  32. 32The Last Campfire$0.19/1hr
  33. 33The Planet Crafter$0.19/1hr
  34. 34Hades$0.19/1hr
  35. 35Fallout 4$0.20/1hr
  36. 36The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim$0.20/1hr
  37. 37STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords$0.20/1hr
  38. 38Nothing$0.20/1hr
  39. 39Call of Juarez: Gunslinger$0.20/1hr
  40. 40Tainted Grail: Conquest$0.21/1hr
  41. 41Hollow Knight$0.21/1hr
  42. 42Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Enhanced Plus Edition$0.21/1hr
  43. 43EVERSPACE 2$0.21/1hr
  44. 44Wandering Sword$0.21/1hr
  45. 45Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire$0.22/1hr
  46. 46South Park: The Fractured But Whole$0.22/1hr
  47. 47Celeste$0.22/1hr
  48. 48鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal$0.22/1hr
  49. 49Sally Face - Episode One$0.23/1hr
  50. 50Legend of Heroes: Three Kingdoms$0.23/1hr
  51. 51Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy$0.23/1hr
  52. 52Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters$0.23/1hr
  53. 53Laika: Aged Through Blood$0.23/1hr
  54. 54One Piece Pirate Warriors 3$0.23/1hr
  55. 55The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut$0.24/1hr
  56. 56The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles$0.24/1hr
  57. 57Suzerain$0.24/1hr
  58. 58The Talos Principle 2$0.24/1hr
  59. 59Far Cry$0.25/1hr
  60. 60Persona 4 Golden$0.25/1hr
  61. 61The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition$0.26/1hr
  62. 62Resident Evil$0.26/1hr
  63. 63Songs of Conquest$0.26/1hr
  64. 64TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children$0.26/1hr
  65. 65FINAL FANTASY VIII$0.27/1hr
  66. 66Hades II$0.27/1hr
  67. 67Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition$0.27/1hr
  68. 68STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic$0.27/1hr
  69. 69F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch$0.27/1hr
  70. 70Mirror$0.27/1hr
  71. 71Volcano Princess$0.27/1hr
  72. 72Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game$0.28/1hr
  73. 73The Room Two$0.28/1hr
  74. 74Mortal Kombat 11$0.28/1hr
  75. 75A Plague Tale: Innocence$0.28/1hr
  76. 76Resident Evil 4$0.28/1hr
  77. 77Gujian3(古剑奇谭三)$0.29/1hr
  78. 78METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN$0.29/1hr
  79. 79Resident Evil 0$0.30/1hr
  80. 80The Room$0.31/1hr
  81. 81Yakuza: Like a Dragon$0.31/1hr
  82. 82Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition$0.31/1hr
  83. 83Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition$0.31/1hr
  84. 84Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition$0.31/1hr
  85. 85Call of Cthulhu$0.32/1hr
  86. 86Wylde Flowers$0.32/1hr
  87. 87VillageRhapsody$0.32/1hr
  88. 88Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom$0.32/1hr
  89. 89BATTLETECH$0.33/1hr
  90. 90Sands of Salzaar$0.33/1hr
  91. 91Tropico 6$0.33/1hr
  92. 92Path Of Wuxia$0.33/1hr
  93. 93Yakuza 5 Remastered$0.33/1hr
  94. 94CrossCode$0.34/1hr
  95. 95Assassin's Creed Revelations$0.34/1hr
  96. 96The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (2009)$0.34/1hr
  97. 97Resident Evil Revelations 2$0.34/1hr
  98. 98The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition$0.34/1hr
  99. 99DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT$0.35/1hr
  100. 100Axiom Verge$0.35/1hr

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.