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. 1Fallout 4$0.04/1hr
  2. 2Fallout: New Vegas$0.04/1hr
  3. 3FINAL FANTASY XIV Online$0.06/1hr
  4. 4The Elder Scrolls Online$0.06/1hr
  5. 5Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game$0.07/1hr
  6. 6Mad Max$0.07/1hr
  7. 7The Surge$0.07/1hr
  8. 8Batman: Arkham Knight$0.10/1hr
  9. 9Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen$0.10/1hr
  10. 10The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos$0.12/1hr
  11. 11Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth$0.12/1hr
  12. 12Hogwarts Legacy$0.12/1hr
  13. 13Touhou Mystia's Izakaya$0.12/1hr
  14. 14Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga$0.12/1hr
  15. 15Middle-earth: Shadow of War$0.13/1hr
  16. 16Deponia$0.13/1hr
  17. 17Bean Battles$0.14/1hr
  18. 18GreedFall$0.14/1hr
  19. 19Hacknet$0.14/1hr
  20. 20Red Dead Redemption 2$0.14/1hr
  21. 21The Surge 2$0.15/1hr
  22. 22Cyberpunk 2077$0.15/1hr
  23. 23Mirror$0.15/1hr
  24. 24Mafia III: Definitive Edition$0.15/1hr
  25. 25Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition$0.16/1hr
  26. 26Undertale$0.16/1hr
  27. 27Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor$0.16/1hr
  28. 28觅长生$0.16/1hr
  29. 29FINAL FANTASY VIII$0.16/1hr
  30. 30Monster Sanctuary$0.17/1hr
  31. 31Alan Wake$0.17/1hr
  32. 32The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim$0.17/1hr
  33. 33STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords$0.18/1hr
  34. 34Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition$0.18/1hr
  35. 35Celeste$0.18/1hr
  36. 36Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition$0.19/1hr
  37. 37Coromon$0.19/1hr
  38. 38Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy$0.20/1hr
  39. 39Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions$0.20/1hr
  40. 40Disney Dreamlight Valley$0.20/1hr
  41. 41DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition$0.20/1hr
  42. 42ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game$0.20/1hr
  43. 43Batman: Arkham Origins$0.21/1hr
  44. 44F.E.A.R.$0.21/1hr
  45. 45Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition$0.22/1hr
  46. 46Tainted Grail: Conquest$0.22/1hr
  47. 47Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire$0.22/1hr
  48. 48BioShock 2 Remastered$0.22/1hr
  49. 49CONTROL Ultimate Edition$0.22/1hr
  50. 50Russian Life Simulator$0.23/1hr
  51. 51LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2$0.23/1hr
  52. 52Blasphemous 2$0.23/1hr
  53. 53The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut$0.23/1hr
  54. 54Bendy and the Dark Revival$0.23/1hr
  55. 55Hollow Knight$0.23/1hr
  56. 56Persona 4 Golden$0.24/1hr
  57. 57河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)$0.24/1hr
  58. 58ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN$0.25/1hr
  59. 59STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic$0.25/1hr
  60. 60Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Enhanced Plus Edition$0.25/1hr
  61. 61BioShock 2$0.25/1hr
  62. 62Echoes of the Plum Grove$0.25/1hr
  63. 63Company of Heroes$0.25/1hr
  64. 64Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition$0.26/1hr
  65. 65Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms$0.26/1hr
  66. 66Sally Face - Episode One$0.26/1hr
  67. 67Darkest Dungeon II$0.26/1hr
  68. 68Fallout 3$0.26/1hr
  69. 69The Planet Crafter$0.27/1hr
  70. 70Seen$0.27/1hr
  71. 71Tropico 6$0.27/1hr
  72. 72Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter$0.27/1hr
  73. 73RoboCop: Rogue City$0.28/1hr
  74. 74Mafia$0.28/1hr
  75. 75TEKKEN 8$0.28/1hr
  76. 76Shadowrun Returns$0.28/1hr
  77. 77Gothic II: Gold Edition$0.28/1hr
  78. 78Alan Wake's American Nightmare$0.28/1hr
  79. 79Mortal Kombat 11$0.29/1hr
  80. 80鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal$0.29/1hr
  81. 81Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew$0.29/1hr
  82. 82Black Book$0.29/1hr
  83. 83Resident Evil$0.31/1hr
  84. 84Matchmaking Inc.$0.31/1hr
  85. 85To the Moon$0.31/1hr
  86. 86METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN$0.31/1hr
  87. 87FINAL FANTASY XIII$0.31/1hr
  88. 88Library Of Ruina$0.31/1hr
  89. 89Yakuza: Like a Dragon$0.31/1hr
  90. 90Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation$0.31/1hr
  91. 91LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga$0.32/1hr
  92. 92Nothing$0.32/1hr
  93. 93Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition$0.32/1hr
  94. 94CrossCode$0.33/1hr
  95. 95Tricolour Lovestory$0.33/1hr
  96. 96Vigil: The Longest Night$0.33/1hr
  97. 97TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children$0.33/1hr
  98. 98Sailing Era$0.34/1hr
  99. 99Dawn of Man$0.34/1hr
  100. 100Resident Evil 0$0.34/1hr

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.