Black Friday 2019: Best Steam Game Deals
We're in the thick of Black Friday 2019, and along with the many physical retailers slashing prices on TVs, games, and more, digital storefronts like Steam are discounting their own wares. Valve's PC game store is offering great prices once again as part of what it officially calls its annual Autumn Sale--which effectively double as both its Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale. If you've dealt with any Steam sale before, you know it can be overwhelming to wade through its countless thousands of deals. With that in mind, we've assembled our team to look through the sale, and we've picked out some of our favorite games that have been marked down for the event, which is live now and ends on December 3 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. As usual, Steam's Black Friday sale spans a wide range of genres, from first-person shooters to platformers and story-driven adventures. You'll find some of this year's best games discounted, including the only game to earn a 10/10 from GameSpot this year, Disco Elysium. Other notable deals include Gears 5 (which is a full 50% off), A Plague Tale: Innocence, Ape Out, Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition, Civilization VI, and many, many more. Software wasn't the only thing on sale--the Steam Controller also got a massive price cut for the event, bringing it down to a cool $5. The deal has since sold out, and Steam has confirmed this was the last of its stock of Steam Controllers, as the device has been discontinued. Check out GameSpot editors' picks from Steam's Black Friday sale below and get shopping. Plus, check out more of our Black Friday coverage for deals on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games; console bundles; gaming subscriptions; and more.
Disco Elysium
$32 ($40) ZA/UM's Disco Elysium is a detective game that prefers to keep you in a state of confusion. Following a drunken bender that results in a complete mental breakdown, the central protagonist gets back to work as a detective in the town of Revachol to solve a murder. Meanwhile, his subconscious mind beckons him with clues about his past and self-aware observations about his current predicament. Throughout his investigation, he'll slowly piece together who he is and how he hit rock bottom in the days before his call to action. It's a strange approach to a detective story, to be sure, yet Disco Elysium's witty writing and sophisticated CRPG-style storytelling present one of the most engaging narratives of 2019. The game earned a 10/10 in GameSpot's Disco Elysium review.
A Plague Tale: Innocence
$22.49 ($45) One of the more underrated releases of 2019, A Plague Tale: Innocence follows a young woman named Amicia and her younger brother, Hugo, as they make their way through plague-ridden 14th-century France, avoiding ravenous rats and Inquisition soldiers. While heavy on the stealth elements, A Plague Tale also involves combat using Amicia's sling and various forms of magic. It's a compelling, emotional tale about the complicated relationship between two siblings trying to survive in a dangerous world--and you don't want to miss it. | Jenae Sitzes
Gears 5
$30 ($60) Gears 5 is the latest in the sprawling action series, but it feels like The Coalition coming into its own after taking ownership of the series from Epic. The new direction includes the multiplayer fans have come to expect, but a more open-world design and flexible upgrade systems. | Steve Watts
Grand Theft Auto 5
$15 ($30) GTA V is over five years old at this point, but you know what, a good Rockstar game is always good. If you haven't played it yet, $15 is a small price to pay for one of the best games of the generation. | Peter Brown
Civilization VI
$15 ($60) The latest entry in the popular turned-based strategy 4X franchise, Civilization VI, is on sale for just $15 for Black Friday. Like previous games, your goal is to build a civilization from the ground up, establishing government policies, building structures, assigning tasks for your people, and interacting with other nations, whether that's forming an alliance or declaring war. If you haven't played Civilization in a long time, there's a lot new here to check out, from the addition of city districts with certain bonuses and tile requirements, a new victory condition for religion, unique agendas for different world leaders, and more. I've lost entire days playing Civ VI, so be warned: It's addicting. | Jenae Sitzes
Dead Cells
$17.49 ($25) You have to play Dead Cells, especially if you can get it at a discount. It's one of the best action-platformers in a long time, and though it takes inspiration from numerous games like Castlevania and Diablo, it twists familiar elements into something new, ensuring you're never too far off from something cool and unexpected. | Peter Brown
SoulCalibur VI
$18 ($60) SoulCalibur VI is yet another great entry in Bandai Namco's long-running series. While it's normally a full-priced game on PC, the massive discount during Steam's Black Friday sale makes now the perfect time to pick it up if you're someone who enjoys a good fighting game. | Peter Brown
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Definitive Experience
$12 ($30) I've said it before and I'll say it again: Metal Gear Solid V is the best action game ever made. And you know what? The Ground Zeroes prologue game is more than a demo, standing on its own as a great example of how creative game developers can make the most out of a single location. A bundle including both games and a ton of extra content is a steal at only $12 during Steam's Black Friday sale. | Peter Brown
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
$7.49 ($30) What happens when you let the action-minded devs at Platinum Games work within the odd, exciting world of Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear? You get Metal Gear Rising, a sword-based action game that wound up being far better than many of us expected. | Peter Brown
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
$10.19 ($30) As one of GameSpot's Best of 2017 picks, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice centers around a traumatized Celtic warrior who eventually finds the strength within herself to endure and make peace with her past. What makes Hellblade such a remarkable game is that it manages to put you in the perspective of a character who struggles with mental illness, leading to some harrowing encounters that inspire a strong sense of empathy for her struggle. With the Steam Black Friday sale in full swing, now is the best time to check out Ninja Theory's triumphant game and experience a challenging, heartfelt adventure from a different perspective. | Alessandro Fillari
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
$18 ($30) The latest game from the developers of Until Dawn may not quite live up to its predecessor, but it's a thrilling (and terrifying) ride nonetheless. The interactive tale follows a group of friends on a diving excursion who find themselves stranded on a ghostly ship after a storm--and they're not alone on the vessel. The first installment in Supermassive Games' Dark Pictures anthology, Man of Medan introduces new multiplayer elements that make it easy to play with friends either online or in your living room, but you can also dive into the story alone, if you dare. | Jenae Sitzes
Battletech
$13.59 ($40) Battletech is a turn-based strategy game where you take control of a group of mechs and are in complete control of how you utilize them. Customization is the name of the game, as you can outfit your mechs in numerous ways before taking to the battlefield to blow up your enemies. | Chris Pereira
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
$24.74 ($45) Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the rare games to ever receive a 10 in GameSpot's review, and with good reason: It's a highly replayable RPG that presents you with a huge array of choices and freedom in how to proceed. With so many ways to approach a given situation or combat encounter and high-quality writing, it's a remarkable experience from beginning to end. It also now boasts cross-save support with this year's Nintendo Switch version, letting you take your progress on the go. | Chris Pereira
Doom
$6 ($20) With Doom Eternal delayed until next year, you've got time to catch up with its predecessor. The 2016 reboot features intense combat and clever level design that keeps you on the move--just make sure to play on a harder difficulty to turn this into a truly thrilling experience that borders on horror. | Chris Pereira
Yakuza Kiwami
$13.39 ($20) While I usually recommend starting the Yakuza series with Yakuza 0 (which isn't in this sale), diving into Kiwami--a remake of the original Yakuza--is an equally valid option, letting you see how the franchise began. It's also an essential chapter and will let you see why Yakuza is so beloved, mixing a serious crime drama with quirky side stories that somehow form a cohesive whole. | Chris Pereira
Danganronpa 1/2/V3 Bundle
$33 ($80) The Danganronpa series finds you trapped in a school with other students, and you're told the only way to escape is to get away with murder. What plays out is a mature visual novel where you attempt to solve those inevitable killings during a class trial (yeah, it's weird) while getting to know the eccentric and memorable cast of characters. This bundle costs only a few bucks more than Danganronpa V3 on its own, making it the ideal way to dive into the core entries in the series. | Chris Pereira
Celeste
$10 ($20) Both a brilliant platformer and a moving depiction of mental illness, Celeste is one of the best indie games in recent memory. Scaling Celeste Mountain is a challenge but one that's held together by precise and engaging mechanics that evolve the higher Madeline climbs. Witnessing her confront the struggles is perhaps even more rewarding than reaching the top of the mountain. Perfect for those who love challenging side-scrollers in the vein of Super Meat Boy, Celeste is a steal at $10. | Steven Petite
Ape Out
$7.49 ($15) In Ape Out, you play as a lovably violent gorilla who has been taken into captivity by evil humans. The objective is quite simple: Escape by any means necessary. Played from a top-down perspective with a minimalistic art style, this often means tossing gun-toting guards into walls, using them as meat shields, or simply pummeling them into goop. The jazz soundtrack cleverly keeps in step with your moves, creating a rhythmic and thoroughly engrossing experience. Ape Out is my personal favorite game of 2019, and you can pick it up for 50% off. | Steven Petite
Devil May Cry 5
19.79 ($60) Relentlessly stylish and wonderfully varied, Devil May Cry 5 is one of my favorite action games of all time. Picking up five years after the events of Devil May Cry 4, you get to play as three wildly different characters throughout the refreshingly linear campaign. Nero, Dante, and V each have unique fighting styles with an inordinate amount of depth to employ when hacking away at demons big and small. Linear action games used to be a dime a dozen, but Devil May Cry 5 stands out in 2019. It's one of the best entries in the storied Capcom franchise. You'll also get 100,000 Red Orbs (in-game currency) to spend on character upgrades with your purchase. | Steven Petite
Far Cry New Dawn
$16 ($40) Set 17 years after the events of Far Cry 5, Hope County is trying to rebuild after a nuclear apocalypse. The setup makes Far Cry New Dawn a more stripped-down take on the familiar open-world shooter franchise. With an increased emphasis on crafting, New Dawn's side content, of which there is plenty, feels more consequential. New Dawn doesn't radically change the Far Cry formula, but it's a solid open-world shooter that's well worth picking up for $16. | Steven Petite
Wargroove
$14 ($20) A spiritual successor to the Advance Wars franchise, Wargroove is a delightful and surprisingly robust turn-based tactics game. Brimming with content, Wargroove has a wide variety of mission types to complete across its lengthy campaign. The pixel art is gorgeous and the animated cutscenes, especially the ones with the good doggo, are quite charming. You can even create your own campaigns with the intuitive map editor. | Steven Petite
Life is Strange - Complete First Season
$4 ($20) If you're a fan of narrative-driven games and have somehow missed out on Life is Strange, there's no better time to dive into this critically acclaimed story. The first season of Life is Strange, which is just $4 on Steam right now, is about a high-school girl named Max who discovers she has the ability to rewind time. Life is Strange is perhaps one of the best games out there when it comes to giving the player huge choices that lead to branching storylines and alternate endings, and it has an intensely memorable cast and setting that'll stay with you long after you finish the final episode. The first episode is also free to play right now, so check that out before you buy. | Jenae Sitzes
Mothergunship
$6.24 ($25) Mothergunship very much embraces the inherent ridiculousness of its conceit as a roguelike FPS. As something of a spiritual successor to developer Grip Digital's Tower of Guns, the roguelike forgoes complex character builds in favor of letting you craft all manner of guns and arrange them on your arms as you see fit. While you'll start with the basics, you'll eventually wield sophisticated weapons and arrange them in ways that can clear rooms in single bursts. It's an incredibly bizarre action game that runs with this weird concept, and if you're looking for something offering ridiculous, self-aware fun, then Mothergunship is just for you. | Alessandro Fillari
Eliza
$11.24 ($15) Eliza is a fully voice-acted visual novel that puts you into the role of Evelyn, a young woman who left a job in the high-tech industry in Seattle after burning out. As Evelyn, you work as the human proxy for a virtual intelligence that counsels a wide assortment of clients--forced to stick to a script that dictates the logical steps that someone suffering from emotional or mental stress must take. The game is incredibly well-written and allows you to influence Evelyn's actions to change her relationship with different people and see a wide variety of endings. | Jordan Ramée
Elsinore
$14 ($20) Do you like time loop games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and Outer Wilds? Are you fascinated by the works of Shakespeare? Then Elsinore is the game for you. This choice-driven, point-and-click adventure game has you play as Ophelia, who's stuck in a time-loop during the events of Hamlet. For those who don't know, Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedies--pretty much everyone dies, including Ophelia. To break the time loop (and save yourself), you'll have to lie, steal, kill, save, barter, flirt, and manipulate your way through ever-changing variations of Shakespeare's play. | Jordan Ramée
Forgotten Anne
$8 ($20) Forgotton Anne is a beautiful game, both in terms of visuals and its soundtrack. You play as the titular Anne, who lives in the world of forgotten things as the enforcer that polices the populace. When a bombing occurs, you're tasked with snooping out the terrorists, but your investigations dig up terrifying conspiracies. If you're smart and compassionate enough, you can discover the truth without bloodshed, but--if all else fails--you possess the power to kill pretty much anyone who gets in your way. | Jordan Ramée
Unheard
$4.54 ($7) In Unheard, you can't trust your eyes--only your ears. You play as a detective who's trusted to solve a series of strange cases where the only pieces of evidence are separate audio recordings of each witness, victim, and perpetrator leading up to the crime. It's up to you to use the recordings to figure out what happened--where was each person standing, who were they talking to, and how did each murder occur. And all the while, you have to figure out how all of these ever-more complex riddles fit together, and why you were the one tasked with solving them. | Jordan Ramée
What Remains of Edith Finch
$10 ($20) What Remains of Edith Finch is reminiscent of Gone Home--you're entering a family's home and exploring room after room from a first-person perspective, and it's slightly eerie. But like Gone Home, What Remains of Edith Finch isn't a horror game in the least; instead, it's a series of stories about a family whose members have all died in tragic ways--you'll actually relive each of their final moments as Edith, the last remaining family member, struggles to understand why she's the only one still alive. Beautiful, emotional, and utterly engrossing, What Remains of Edith Finch was one of the best games of 2017 and absolutely worth grabbing while it's on sale. | Jenae Sitzes
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
$4.49 ($29.99) It may not live up to the legendary status of the original, but Deus Ex: Mankind Divided still comes through as a solid first-person action game where you make choices that affect the story's outcome. You also choose how you navigate hostile encounters using several augmentations and powers, though you can slip past most conflicts with a stealthy approach. Mankind Divided can certainly fill that Cyberpunk 2077 void, too--Deus Ex hits the themes of body augmentation, transhumanism, living in a dystopian society, class struggle, and oppressive corporations. You'll get a pretty dense game for less than $5. | Michael Higham
Undertale
$4 ($10) It's best to go into Undertale without knowing anything about it, so don't read anything other than what's right here. Undertale is one of the most impactful, creative, hilarious, and harrowing RPGs in recent memory, and it's only $4 in Steam's Black Friday sale. And don't be fooled by the retro-style visuals; Undertale manages to paint a vivid world and express emotion through clever use of its art style. If that's not enough, creator Toby Fox delivers an unforgettable soundtrack that captures each moment perfectly. Your choices matter, and the consequences may reflect in unexpected ways. If you already know too much about Undertale and haven't played, do it anyway. But if you're still in the dark, I'm excited for you. | Michael Higham
Void Bastards
$22.49 ($30) Just when you get a major win in Void Bastards, your space-faring convict will likely encounter a ship filled with quirky robots and space ghosts that can quickly put an end to that character's travels. That's usually how things go in roguelikes. You'll no doubt experience many setbacks in Void Bastards, yet seeing how quickly your space trek can go off the rails is all part of the fun in this action-RPG. With such an incredibly humorous style that emulates classic sci-fi comics, it makes going for another run with a different character all the more compelling. | Alessandro Fillari
Dishonored 2
$10 ($40) When it comes to the modern immersive sim, Dishonored 2 stands out as the best in the genre. Arkane Studios has the pedigree with devs from the immersive sim lineage, who proved they still had it with the first Dishonored, but the sequel refined the formula in many ways. After Emily and Corvo are unjustly ousted, they travel to the vibrant city of Karnaca, where most of the game takes place. Levels are elegantly laid out with a sense of verticality that lets you use your powers in creative ways. But the game truly shines in the Clockwork Mansion and Crack in the Slab missions, which are some of the best levels of recent memory. For just $10, you're getting a top-tier game. | Michael Higham
Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition
$25 ($50) Embrace the power of anime in Valkyria Chronicles 4, a tactical-strategy RPG that features a clever mix of real-time and turn-based elements. It's a brilliant strategy game that's accessible to those who might shy away from the genre but one that also presents challenging scenarios for you galaxy-brain generals. It may be the fourth game in the series, but there's no need to have played the previous games (although they're great) since this is a standalone story with new characters; Valkyria Chronicles 4 essentially shows a different front of the same war. Anime tropes abound, but I'm not saying that as a bad thing--the power of friendship materializes on the battlefield, and you're bound to find a squad of your favorite characters along the way. With this being the Complete Edition, you get all the DLC as well. | Michael Higham
Fallout: New Vegas
$3 ($10) With all the talk about The Outer Worlds and Obsidian Entertainment's history of creating some of the best RPGs, you probably heard a lot about one of its previous games, Fallout: New Vegas. As Bethesda games, the modern Fallouts (and Elder Scrolls) have spawned a tried-and-true formula for open-world RPGs. However, New Vegas used that formula to great effect by going all-in on the role-playing aspects. Narrative threads can spin off in all sorts of directions by giving you choices that meaningfully affect the game with sometimes unpredictable consequences. It may be dated in some aspects, but its sharp post-apocalyptic Western atmosphere and witty writing transcend its shortcomings. | Michael Higham
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