Spoiler Warning: Beware of minor spoilers for some of the titles below.
Important: All prices mentioned in this article were correct at time of writing in December 2025. Holiday sale deals end in January 2026, after which time the prices below will no longer be accurate. All deals and prices are subject to change and may vary by region.
It’s that time of year again, everyone: the time of year that makes PC gaming earn its keep! Getting started with a gaming PC is expensive, especially in 2025, when prices for RAM and other components are rising without end. But if you can get a PC – or if, like me, you were lucky enough to build one a couple of years ago – then this is the moment to cash in and make some big savings!
Steam, Epic Games, GOG, and other PC platforms are currently running their big holiday sales, and there are some steep discounts to be had, even on some pretty new releases. Compared to buying games on console, where sales are less frequent and less generous, PC gaming can – if you play your cards right and wait for these big annual sales – work out more cost-effective in the long run. Or at least that’s what I try to convince myself of as I desperately attempt to justify the money I spent on building my PC!
As always, a couple of important caveats. Firstly, all prices listed below were correct at time of publication, and are listed in GBP/pounds sterling. Discounts and prices may vary by currency and region. I’m not affiliated with Steam or any of the other shops; I’m just one person with a small website sharing a few games that I want to recommend while they’re on sale. And finally, if you hate all of my selections, or if I miss a title that you think should’ve been included, please just keep in mind that this entire piece is the *subjective, not objective* opinion of just one person.
This year, I’m mainly focusing on games from the last ten years or so. I’ll talk a little about each title, what I liked, what I didn’t, and why it might be of interest. For obvious reasons, I’m not going to be talking about any free-to-play titles!
I hope this article helps you find a game or two to pick up!
Discount #1:
Alien: Isolation
Epic Games: 75% off, £8.74
Earlier in the year, I started playing Alien: Isolation. And it’s no exaggeration to say that this is the scariest, most atmospheric game I’ve played in a *long* time! I’ve been taking my time with Alien: Isolation, not because I’m not enjoying myself… but because it’s so intense, I genuinely can’t play it for long sessions. This is a true first-person survival horror experience, with an unstoppable Xenomorph on the loose.
I love 1979’s Alien. And in my opinion, most of its sequels went in too much of an action-heavy direction, sacrificing some or all of the fear factor that Ridley Scott’s original created so masterfully. Alien: Isolation genuinely recaptures that sense of sheer terror – and puts you right in the middle of it. It’s intense, frightening, and well worth playing if you missed it when it was new. And with Alien: Earth gracing our TV screens in 2025, it could be a great next step for anyone who enjoyed that show.
Discount #2:
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Steam/Epic: 20% off, £33.59
I had intended to try out Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 this year, but I didn’t get around to it. But maybe that’s a good thing, since now I can pick it up at a discount! For a game which has been winning multiple “game of the year” awards this month, it’s very generous of Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive to put the game on sale *at all*, even more so considering that Clair Obscur is not a full-priced, £70 game to begin with.
I like the look of Clair Obscur, with its turn-based combat system. And from what I’ve heard of its setting and story – inspired by French history and developed by a French team – I’m intrigued. Obviously I can’t officially “recommend” a game I haven’t played… but this one’s been on my wishlist and I’m probably going to pick it up before the sale ends.
Discount #3:
Civilization VII
Steam: 35% off, £38.99
Civilization VII is my most-played game of 2025 (by quite a long way, actually). That probably says more about me and the relative lack of other games I’ve played this year, because compared to its predecessor… well, there’s work to do still to get Civ VII to where it ought to have been on day one! But, despite that, I see the potential in this game – and there’s still fun to be had. Firaxis has been adding new content since launch, and the most recent update added Blackbeard the pirate and a new playable civ, too.
If you liked previous Civilization titles, I think there’s a lot to appreciate in Civ VII – even if the game is still being held back by some of its maps and new mechanics. If Firaxis sticks with it, and implements promised changes and additions, in a year’s time you might be thrilled to have picked up the game at a discount! I recently went back to play a few more rounds, and I had a pretty good time. There’s still work to do, but there’s a good game hiding beneath the surface.
Discount #4:
South of Midnight
Steam: 25% off, £26.24
Spoiler alert for later in the month, but South of Midnight is a strong contender for my personal “game of the year” award. Check back to see if it wins! The game is fantastic; a beautiful blend of gameplay and narrative, with a dark “Southern Gothic” style. South of Midnight draws on legends of the Deep South and Mississippi Delta regions, as well as African American folklore, to tell a totally unique and compelling story of a young woman trying to reunite with her mother.
South of Midnight was a heck of a ride for me earlier in the year, and I was in love with its world-building, its creature design, its soundtrack, and its gameplay. Hazel made for a wonderfully relatable protagonist, and kept the story grounded – even amidst otherworldly chaos and giant monsters! The game’s stop-motion style was a big selling point, too, and was particularly noticeable in cut-scenes.
Discount #5:
Indika
Steam: 45% off, £11.54/Epic Games: 40% off, £12.59
Indika was released last year, but I only got around to it in 2025. I had a wonderful time with the game, though, despite a relatively short four-hour runtime. Indika is an intense narrative experience – but there are so many different gameplay styles included, thanks to some incredibly creative pixel art sections. The game has a really complex story set in Tsarist Russia, and the titular protagonist is an incredibly well-written character.
If I’d played Indika last year, it would’ve certainly been a “game of the year” contender for me. Not every game has to be a massive, endless open world thing; there’s room for smaller, shorter experiences. And for me, Indika was perfectly-paced. This is an indie game, too, made by a Russian team.
Discount #6:
Shenmue I & II
Steam: 80% off, £4.99
Shenmue recently marked its landmark 25th anniversary – click or tap here for more on that! This legendary game also recently won the BAFTA for “most influential game of all time,” partly thanks to a fan community campaign. This bundle includes both the original Shenmue and its sequel, both of which were originally released on the Dreamcast. Shenmue was an early pioneer of what we’d come to call the open world genre, with a living, breathing world populated by people who all felt real. To this day, many games still can’t build a world as engaging or interactive as Shenmue.
Earlier this month, there was a bit of controversy in the Shenmue fandom, thanks to an ill-judged fan-made fake “trailer” for a fourth game. But that goes to show how passionate Shenmue fans can still be in 2025, I guess! If you missed these two fantastic titles when they were new, and want to see what all the fuss is about… pick up Shenmue I & II. It’s literally the price of a coffee for two incredible, in-depth narrative adventure/martial arts games.
Discount #7:
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Steam: 30% off, £45.49
Didn’t buy an overpriced Switch 2 but still on the hunt for a new “Mario Kart” game? Try Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed! This is the best kart racer – and racing game of any kind, come to that – that I played in 2025. It’s fast-paced, frantic, and just plain *fun*, with a new mechanic that mixes up every single race to keep things interesting.
I’ve been having a blast playing CrossWorlds – my first ever Sonic Racing title. And at first, I really was just checking it out because I was sulking about not being able to afford Mario Kart World! But writing off Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as “we’ve got Mario Kart at home” would be totally unfair, and in many ways, I’d argue this game is more fun and certainly different from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – a game I’ve played over and over again. Mario Kart World went in a new direction with an open world… and I think it’s not unfair to say that opinions vary on how it’s been implemented. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, in contrast, sticks to a more familiar game design with a focus on racetracks – but with the titular mechanic shaking things up.
Discount #8:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Steam: 70% off, £9.59
Kena: Bridge of Spirits was my pick for “game of the year” in 2021. It’s a game with a wonderfully old-school feel, harkening back to 3D platformers and adventure games of the late ’90s in a way that just… spoke to me. Kena’s environments are beyond beautiful, too. At one point, I quite literally stopped playing just to take in the incredible view that the game was showing me. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is one of those games that I’ll just never stop recommending to people!
I’m very curious to see what developer Ember Lab is up to. At time of writing, they haven’t posted anything on their website, blog, or social media pages in several years, since Kena was ported to Xbox. But I hope the developers are working on something quietly, because I’ll be there on day one for whatever their next title may be. Kena: Bridge of Spirits was just… *that good*.
Discount #9:
Dynasty Warriors: Origins
Steam: 25% off, £48.74
Earlier in 2025, Dynasty Warriors: Origins hadn’t been on my radar at all. In fact, I hadn’t played any game in this long-running series since Dynasty Warriors 2 almost a quarter of a century ago! But something about the game just… called out to me, I suppose, and I decided to give it a shot. And I’m so very glad I did, because this was precisely the kind of old-school hack-and-slash game that I didn’t even know I needed to play!
Dynasty Warriors: Origins has a great soundtrack, a story that’s basic but serviceable, a cast of characters who feel like throwbacks to the turn of the millennium (in the best way possible), and above all, some absolutely *epic* large-scale battles. There’s something about swinging a sword or spear, tearing through legions of enemies, and finally defeating a difficult boss that… well, it’s just a feeling I haven’t felt in any game for a long time. And I loved it.
Discount #10:
No Man’s Sky
Steam: 60% off, £19.99
It’s official: No Man’s Sky is now everything I wanted Starfield to be… and then some! This is definitely a “hot take,” but in 2016, when it launched, I felt that No Man’s Sky was decent for what it was, and I enjoyed my time with the game. But in the nine-plus years since then, Hello Games has added free update after free update to No Man’s Sky, utterly transforming it into one of the very best space games on the market.
Updates in 2025 added a brand-new ship-building mechanic that goes toe-to-toe with Starfield, as well as the ability to jump out of your ship in space and explore it from all angles – inside and out. There are new quests, new factions, new aliens, and so much more… and I really can’t wait to spend more time with No Man’s Sky next year. Hello Games has begun to pivot to Light No Fire, their upcoming fantasy title, and after almost a decade I can’t really blame them! No Man’s Sky may have been controversial once upon a time, but today? It’s one of the absolute exemplars of the space game genre.
Discount #11:
Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
GOG: 25% off, £7.49
This year marks Star Trek: Voyager’s landmark thirtieth anniversary! And what better way to celebrate than by checking out Elite Force? It’s one of the very few Star Trek games to ever cross over to a more mainstream audience; Elite Force was pretty popular around the turn of the millennium, just as LAN parties and online matchmaking were becoming popular. But it also has a great single-player story, too.
I had fun playing Elite Force’s campaign back in the day, and I even dabbled in multiplayer, too. Voyager is a fun show, and Elite Force recaptured the look and feel pretty well. Most of the show’s main cast reprised their roles, and there’s a great recreation of the interior of the USS Voyager to play through, too.
Discount #12:
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Steam: 30% off, £26.59
I bought Tainted Grail earlier this year, and I’ve started a playthrough that I haven’t finished yet. Tainted Grail is a game which has been, in my view, incorrectly compared to games like Bethesda’s Skyrim, and I worry that some players may have gone into it with the wrong expectations. Tainted Grail is fun, if a bit “edgy,” perhaps, with some aspects of its dark fantasy setting. Skulls and pools of blood are tropes of the genre, for sure!
I need to resume my playthrough soon, though! It was a game I planned to review, but I didn’t get around to finishing the game in 2025. That shouldn’t count against it; it says more about me than it does about Tainted Grail. And I genuinely enjoyed the game’s take on the legendary King Arthur – a story I’ve always had a soft spot for. A new update and DLC have recently been released for the game, too, so this could be a great moment to get started with it.
Discount #13:
Tchia
Steam: 75% off, £6.24/Epic: 67% off, £8.24
Tchia is an adorable indie title inspired by the island of New Caledonia, created by a New Caledonian team. I played it shortly after it launched, and I had a really fun time with its open world, playful interactivity, and world-building. You can interact with animals in the game’s environment and even play a ukulele! What more could you want?
Tchia’s world is genuinely beautiful, with palm trees, white sand beaches, and blue seas that really feel like a vision of paradise. When the sun sets, the world is lit up in stunning colours, too, and there’s just a lot of fun to be had running around, exploring the world, and seeing what’s out there.
Discount #14:
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
Steam: 92% off, £3.99
Ace Combat 8 was recently announced, and when Ace Combat 7 is available at such a steep discount, it could be a great time to get started with this interesting combat flight game. This isn’t a “flight simulator;” it’s much more arcadey in the way its planes control. It feels more like an old-school video game than a modern flight sim, but I mean that in a good way! There’s a time and place for realistic controls and full-blown simulators, but there’s also room for games like Ace Combat 7 that take a less realistic approach.
The game is set in a fictional world, with different countries, and I’ve always felt it had kind of an “anime-style” presentation to at least some aspects of its story. Despite not being set in the real world, Ace Combat 7 features recreations of some real-world aircraft – though, as noted, it’s not a flight sim title. Still, there’s fun to be had here if you get into it, and there’s a sequel coming in the near future.
Discount #15:
Baldur’s Gate 3
Steam/GOG: 25% off, £37.49
Another of my picks for “game of the year,” this time from 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a masterpiece. It’s one of the best role-playing games that I’ve ever played, with a fantasy setting based on the world of Dungeons and Dragons. I went on a wild adventure with an incredible cast of characters, following a compelling story from a monstrous airship through a cursed, shadowy land to a big city – and beyond. And yes, I save-scummed all the way there and back!
It’s impossible to do Baldur’s Gate 3 justice in just a couple of paragraphs. But there are so many customisation options for your character – including new ones thanks to an active modding scene – and a storyline that feels like it genuinely reacts to your choices, and your mistakes. Developers Larian Studios thought of *everything*, and the game basically lets you do anything you can think of to defeat enemies and achieve your goals. Player choice and freedom is the name of the game – and I absolutely adored the end result.
So that’s it!
We’ve picked fifteen PC games that are worth considering while they’re on sale.
I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for where to look now that the annual holiday/winter sales are underway! As I like to say, if I’ve helped even one person find one new game to play, then I reckon I’ve done a reasonable job!
If you found this interesting or informative, I hope you’ll stick around here on the website, as I discuss gaming and the games industry quite a lot, as well as publish occasional game reviews depending on what titles take my fancy. At the end of the month, I’ll be handing out my annual End-of-Year Awards, including my pick for “game of the year,” so I hope you’ll join me for that. And until then… happy gaming!
All titles discussed above are the copyright of their respective developer and/or publisher. Deals and discounts discussed above were correct at time of publication in December 2025. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Check out some of my reviews/retrospectives of the titles on this list:
Trekking with Dennis 