With the prices of AAA games more expensive than ever, it’s getting more and more difficult to justify spending the money to play them, especially when so many of them are pumped out every year. However, while some of these titles are buggy messes that aren’t worth players' money, a lot of them are truly great.
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Furthermore, everyone has a different budget for gaming, and even AA games and larger indie studio titles can be a burden on the pocket for some. Not every game on this list is an alternative to a ridiculously expensive AAA title, but aims to provide drastically cheaper alternatives that offer a similar experience.
While AAA studios may be pushing their prices to the absolute maximum, this article does not in any way aim to insinuate that these games aren’t worth the money, AAA or otherwise; instead, this list aims to provide alternatives to those with a lower budget.
8Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord / Battle Brothers
SinceBattle Brothersis currently more expensive thanMount & Blade: Warband, it’s not worth buyinginsteadof the latter, but if players loved the army building and questing ofMount & Blade: Warband, but want something cheaper and smaller scale to play until they can spare the cash for its large scale sequel, thenBattleBrothersis something worth checking out.
Although the two games are quite different,Battle Brothersprovides a suitable, small scale alternative to the real time RPG ofMount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. The game is turn-based, and players control a squad of 12 rather than an entire army, but the gameplay loop remains relatively the same, just with a smaller scope. Players shouldn’t go intoBattle Brothersexpecting it to be the same asMount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, butBattle Brothersstill offers a similar feeling of overarching strategy, leadership, and sense of fantasy adventure.
7Diablo 4 / Torchlight
After the controversy aroundDiablo Immortal’smonetization and the game’s mixed reception,Diablo 4’spolished and faithful experience came as a pleasant surprise to many fans of the beloved franchise. But althoughDiablo 4doesn’t containthe horrendous monetizationofDiablo Immortal, it’s still worth a pretty penny.
Both the first and secondTorchlightgames make great cheap alternatives to theDiablofranchise as a whole; action-RPG, class-based gameplay, hordes of monsters to take down, plenty of loot, and online co-op.
6Dark Souls Remastered / White Lavender
Dark Soulshas always been a higher budget, ambitious franchise. TheDark Soulsremaster and its sequels can be expensive when not purchased on sale, and considering the polarizing opinions on the franchise andits notorious difficulty, players may not want to take a risk on a game they might not enjoy.
White Lavender, developed by burgeoning indie studio Sokpop Collective, is a beautifully and uniquely rendered souls-like RPG experience at a fraction of the price of any game in the Souls franchise. The game puts players in the shoes of a bug, fighting various critters small and large whilst exploring a variety of small environments.
The game features classicDark Soulstropes like a variation on the Estus Flask, quirky NPC interactions, an RPG progression system, and a bunch of boss fights.
5Darkest Dungeon / Tinyfolks
Darkest Dungeonisn’t the most expensive game in the market, but for players that want to dip their toe a little before taking the plunge, they couldn’t go wrong withTinyfolks. Sportinglovingly crafted 1-bit pixel art, with some really great boss designs,Tinyfolksmanages to capture the essence ofDarkest Dungeongameplay and boil it down to a simpler and more forgiving loop.
Like inDarkest Dungeon,Tinyfolkshas players build out a team of adventurers in a town before sending them out to various locations to beat the boss that lurks there. UnlikeDarkest Dungeon, players only need venture to each location once, provided they can beat the boss straight away. Furthermore, while losing adventurers is certainly painful, it’s a lot easier to level up and equip adventurers inTinyfolksthan inDarkest Dungeon, meaning losing an entire squad of high level adventurers is bad, but not necessarily a game-ender.
4DOOM Eternal / ULTRAKILL
DOOM(2016)completelyrevitalized the franchisewith top of the line graphics, as well as fresh new ideas and gameplay, without compromising the game’s faithfulness to the original games.DOOM Eternaldid much of the same, but with increased difficulty and more variation onDOOM (2016)‘sideas.
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However, for fans ofDOOM (2016)that want more for less,ULTRAKILLis the perfect choice; while it does carve out its own niche in the gaming scene with its combination of skill-based style scoring similar to character-action games likeDevil May Cryand classic boomer shooter action,ULTRAKILLachieves that same feeling of fluid, fast-paced, high-stakes arena action.
3Borderlands 3 / Gunfire Reborn
TheBorderlandsfranchise is well known for its wide variety of guns, elemental effects, and multiplayer looter-shooter FPS action. All of these gameplay elements have been fine-tuned over the course of four games, with the latest at the time of writing beingBorderlands 3.Borderlandsalso features several playable characters with their own unique skills and progression.
Gunfire Reborndoes a lot of the things thatBorderlandsdoes, only with its own unique (yet equally cool) art style, and wrapped up in a rogue-lite package. The game, likeBorderlands, also features intense boss fights and different environments to spice up the gameplay. Although the game comes with multiple playable characters, players can access more through DLC.
2Battlefield 1 (2016) / Battlebit Remastered
Battlefieldas a franchise has come a long way from its origins, now known for its large-scale multiplayer battleswith destructible environmentsand squad-based gameplay.Battlefield: Bad Company 2andBattlefield 3are perhaps the most iconic examples of the franchise’s evolution, butBattlefield 1took the franchise and set it in WW1, a theme that synergized with the gameplay to great success.
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However, if fans don’t mind the blocky aesthetic often associated withRoblox, the recent release ofBattlebit Remasteredmight just be the cheap experience they’re looking for. Especially withBad Company 2’sonline services being retired in December 2023, fans might struggle to find a similar experience elsewhere at a price point that doesn’t break the bank.
1Super Smash Bros. Ultimate / Brawlhalla
It’s hard to find a better fighting game thanSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, but with Nintendo’s prices increasing with the rest of the AAA industry and even their older games not dropping in price, fighting game fans should look no further thanBrawlhalla, afree-to-playfighting game for up to eight players
Brawlhalla, now has a port for the Nintendo Switch, and can be played both online and locally. The game even features cross-play and has alarge roster of charactersto choose from, although these characters need to be unlocked by earning and spending in-game gold.
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