Best Value Difficult Games Under $5

The Difficult games on Steam games under $5 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 $40
Median reviewer playtime divided by price. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Don't Starve Together62 h/$
  2. 2Soccer Online: Ball 3D19 h/$
  3. 3Geometry Dash16 h/$
  4. 4Wall World14 h/$
  5. 5Don't Starve14 h/$
  6. 6Enter the Gungeon13 h/$
  7. 7Bean Battles12 h/$
  8. 8Rock 'N' Roll Defense12 h/$
  9. 9Dungeon of the ENDLESS11 h/$
  10. 10Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen11 h/$
  11. 11Blasphemous10 h/$
  12. 12Hotline Miami10 h/$
  13. 13Serious Sam II10 h/$
  14. 14Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number9.7 h/$
  15. 15The Binding of Isaac9.5 h/$
  16. 16Monster Sanctuary8.4 h/$
  17. 17UBERMOSH8.3 h/$
  18. 18Downwell7.8 h/$
  19. 19Hacknet7.7 h/$
  20. 20Hitman: Absolution7.1 h/$
  21. 21Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun6.7 h/$
  22. 22Celeste6.7 h/$
  23. 23Reigns6.4 h/$
  24. 24FlatOut6.3 h/$
  25. 25CONTROL Ultimate Edition6.3 h/$
  26. 26Planes, Bullets and Vodka5.7 h/$
  27. 27SKYHILL5.6 h/$
  28. 28Golf With Your Friends5.6 h/$
  29. 29The Talos Principle5.6 h/$
  30. 30Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta)5.3 h/$
  31. 31Gato Roboto5.1 h/$
  32. 32Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition4.8 h/$
  33. 33Muse Dash4.7 h/$
  34. 34The Messenger4.7 h/$
  35. 35Overcooked4.7 h/$
  36. 36Crypt of the NecroDancer4.6 h/$
  37. 37Party Hard4.1 h/$
  38. 38Voidigo4.1 h/$
  39. 39Resident Evil 4 (2005)4.1 h/$
  40. 40Hot Lava3.8 h/$
  41. 41RUINER3.7 h/$
  42. 42LIMBO3.7 h/$
  43. 43Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition3.6 h/$
  44. 44Resident Evil3.6 h/$
  45. 45Serious Sam 3: BFE3.6 h/$
  46. 46Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition3.4 h/$
  47. 47X-Morph: Defense3.3 h/$
  48. 48Gold Mining Simulator3.2 h/$
  49. 49Souldiers3.2 h/$
  50. 50Super Hexagon3.1 h/$
  51. 51Mafia3.0 h/$
  52. 52Ultra Street Fighter IV2.8 h/$
  53. 53Resident Evil 02.8 h/$
  54. 54The Escapists 22.7 h/$
  55. 55Titan Souls2.4 h/$
  56. 56Surgeon Simulator2.2 h/$
  57. 57Exit the Gungeon2.1 h/$
  58. 58The Escapists2.1 h/$
  59. 59Changed1.9 h/$
  60. 60Hand Simulator1.9 h/$
  61. 61Nothing1.8 h/$
  62. 62Clustertruck1.6 h/$
  63. 63Kindergarten1.5 h/$
  64. 64Insaniquarium Deluxe1.4 h/$
  65. 65Zup! S1.3 h/$
  66. 66Peggle Deluxe1.3 h/$
  67. 67Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon1.1 h/$
  68. 68PICO PARK1.0 h/$
  69. 69Wolfenstein 3D0.9 h/$
  70. 70Superflight0.9 h/$
  71. 71Ultimate Zombie Defense0.8 h/$
  72. 72VVVVVV0.8 h/$
  73. 73Post Void0.8 h/$
  74. 74Five Nights at Freddy's0.6 h/$
  75. 75LIZARDS MUST DIE0.5 h/$
  76. 76DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION0.3 h/$

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.