Best Value Action Games Under $40
The Action 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
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.
- 1YoloMouse - Cursor Changer$0.01/1hr779h86.18%92.50%
- 2Black Desert$0.02/1hr62h74.62%73.50%
- 3Crosshair X$0.02/1hr309h91.89%93.36%
- 4Geometry Dash$0.02/1hr118h92.89%92.97%
- 5Left 4 Dead 2$0.02/1hr81h97.43%97.52%
- 6The Elder Scrolls Online$0.03/1hr183h81.30%80.88%
- 7Dead by Daylight$0.03/1hr289h78.39%78.28%
- 8Dungeon Defenders$0.03/1hr96h90.57%93.09%
- 9Total War: WARHAMMER III$0.03/1hr271h72.54%71.69%
- 10Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition$0.03/1hr27h91.09%94.86%
- 11SpiritVale$0.03/1hr290h72.56%50.35%
- 12SCUM$0.03/1hr526h74.83%74.01%
- 13The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut$0.03/1hr43h89.00%89.43%
- 14Muse Dash$0.04/1hr14h91.02%91.49%
- 15Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition$0.04/1hr107h83.79%83.47%
- 16Hunt: Showdown 1896$0.04/1hr321h74.20%73.70%
- 17FOR HONOR$0.04/1hr80h69.80%68.69%
- 18Terraria$0.04/1hr130h97.31%97.37%
- 19GemCraft - Chasing Shadows$0.04/1hr50h88.16%94.90%
- 20Elite Dangerous$0.04/1hr146h77.96%77.29%
- 21Grim Dawn$0.04/1hr86h92.75%93.44%
- 22The Outlast Trials$0.05/1hr88h91.77%92.36%
- 23Avorion$0.05/1hr177h87.67%90.01%
- 24Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion$0.05/1hr123h90.14%93.17%
- 25Don't Starve Together$0.05/1hr102h94.78%94.90%
- 26Company of Heroes$0.05/1hr60h91.08%94.22%
- 27Mortal Online 2$0.05/1hr315h70.42%59.82%
- 28Town of Salem$0.05/1hr48h87.28%87.86%
- 29Mount & Blade: Warband$0.05/1hr95h97.19%97.71%
- 30MONSTER HUNTER RISE$0.06/1hr70h83.60%83.47%
- 31PlateUp!$0.06/1hr35h92.18%94.75%
- 32ARC Raiders$0.06/1hr343h81.88%81.80%
- 33God Of Weapons$0.06/1hr46h84.78%84.02%
- 34The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth$0.06/1hr191h96.63%96.81%
- 35Jagged Alliance 3$0.06/1hr76h87.49%89.04%
- 36Tom Clancy’s The Division 2$0.06/1hr50h80.06%78.65%
- 37X4: Foundations$0.06/1hr164h81.23%79.92%
- 38Brotato$0.06/1hr47h95.09%95.92%
- 39Rust$0.06/1hr311h86.70%86.69%
- 40Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut$0.06/1hr31h90.26%91.95%
- 41CrossCode$0.07/1hr61h89.73%92.37%
- 42Hero Siege$0.07/1hr122h70.26%67.14%
- 43Enter the Gungeon$0.07/1hr46h94.10%95.10%
- 44Just Cause 2$0.07/1hr23h89.68%90.55%
- 45Styx: Master of Shadows$0.07/1hr29h83.73%83.28%
- 46Bean Battles$0.07/1hr7h89.53%93.83%
- 47Space Engineers$0.07/1hr145h88.56%88.81%
- 48Mad Max$0.07/1hr43h91.64%92.35%
- 49Dying Light$0.07/1hr36h95.09%95.23%
- 50MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries$0.07/1hr107h84.59%84.80%
- 51DSX$0.07/1hr57h77.31%69.45%
- 52Gothic II: Gold Edition$0.07/1hr71h90.41%93.84%
- 53POSTAL 2$0.07/1hr14h96.15%96.95%
- 54Warhammer 40,000: Darktide$0.07/1hr141h72.53%71.62%
- 55The Surge$0.07/1hr27h79.58%74.54%
- 56Drug Dealer Simulator$0.07/1hr27h85.54%86.15%
- 57Atomicrops$0.07/1hr41h87.85%92.05%
- 58Fallout: New Vegas$0.07/1hr69h95.69%95.98%
- 59People Playground$0.07/1hr137h97.40%97.69%
- 60Kingdom Come: Deliverance$0.07/1hr61h84.62%84.43%
- 61The Talos Principle 2$0.08/1hr40h90.37%94.92%
- 62Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront$0.08/1hr116h85.21%85.22%
- 63Death Road to Canada$0.08/1hr30h89.06%92.74%
- 64Saints Row 2$0.08/1hr19h78.51%75.88%
- 65Beyond: Two Souls$0.08/1hr12h86.99%87.61%
- 66Wall World$0.08/1hr13h88.19%90.56%
- 67ARK: Survival Evolved$0.08/1hr123h83.40%83.34%
- 68Rising Storm 2: Vietnam$0.08/1hr31h86.77%87.04%
- 69Just Cause 3$0.08/1hr37h84.47%84.42%
- 70ORION: Prelude$0.08/1hr12h78.01%75.47%
- 71HITMAN World of Assassination$0.08/1hr36h87.04%87.31%
- 72Vampire Survivors$0.08/1hr45h97.94%98.31%
- 73Spelunky 2$0.08/1hr84h90.42%92.81%
- 74Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem$0.08/1hr36h59.62%55.86%
- 75Warhammer: Vermintide 2$0.08/1hr36h85.05%85.04%
- 76Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok$0.08/1hr65h86.35%88.20%
- 77Counter-Strike: Source$0.08/1hr24h95.89%96.29%
- 78Hitman: Blood Money$0.08/1hr12h90.65%94.04%
- 79Monster Hunter: World$0.08/1hr92h88.80%88.81%
- 80Starbound$0.08/1hr71h89.79%89.93%
- 81The Binding of Isaac$0.09/1hr19h93.32%94.61%
- 82Mechabellum$0.09/1hr103h84.20%83.70%
- 83BATTLETECH$0.09/1hr114h84.23%83.94%
- 84Dishonored$0.09/1hr28h96.37%97.63%
- 85Blasphemous$0.09/1hr28h89.24%89.85%
- 86Heavy Rain$0.09/1hr11h85.33%85.67%
- 87Deus Ex: Mankind Divided$0.09/1hr34h78.13%76.47%
- 88Rock 'N' Roll Defense$0.09/1hr6h85.72%87.07%
- 89Souldiers$0.09/1hr33h81.82%69.29%
- 90Darkwood$0.09/1hr22h92.11%94.89%
- 91Half-Life 2$0.09/1hr21h97.27%97.60%
- 92Watch_Dogs$0.09/1hr21h80.51%79.63%
- 93Warhammer: Chaosbane$0.09/1hr16h74.63%58.41%
- 94Subsistence$0.09/1hr104h77.22%72.12%
- 95Sniper Ghost Warrior 3$0.09/1hr21h73.27%66.92%
- 96Batman: Arkham Knight$0.10/1hr42h89.45%89.72%
- 977 Days to Die$0.10/1hr257h87.01%86.98%
- 98Deep Rock Galactic$0.10/1hr93h96.88%97.10%
- 99Rogue Legacy$0.10/1hr15h89.86%92.34%
- 100Arma 3$0.10/1hr77h90.34%90.41%
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.