Steam’s annual winter sale is here — these are the best games to get

If you’re lucky enough to have some free time over the holidays, we have some great news: Steam’s annual Winter Sale kicked off today and will run through Monday, January 5 at 1 p.m. ET. Now’s the perfect time to stock up on some of the best games of 2025 at a deep discount, or add a few classics to your backlog if you have a gap in your library. There are thousands of games on sale, but we’ve picked out a few highlights to get you started.

We were surprised to see Hollow Knight: Song of Silk for $15.99 ($4 off) given its modest price and recent release. You can also recover Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33 for $39.99 ($10 off), Silent Hill for $41.99 ($28 off), and Shadows of Assassin’s Creed for $34.99 ($35 off). These games are all on sale just a few months after their release.

Some of 2025’s most notable remakes and remasters have also been cut. You can hang Final Fantasy Tactics – The Chronicles of Ivalice for $39.99 ($10 off), Trails in the Sky 1st chapter for $44.99 ($15 off), Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3 + 4 for $29.99 ($20 off), Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake for $35.99 ($24 off), and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Eat Snaker for $41.99 ($28 off). These titles are worth trying even if you know the originals.

Steam sales are a timely opportunity to pick up older titles that have stood the test of time, some of which can be had for less than a few dollars. Too many great games fall into this category, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t call out your chance to grab Valley of Stars for $8.99 ($6 off), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition for $9.99 ($30 off), Kill the arrow for $2.49 ($22.50 off), Resident Evil 4 for $15.99 ($24 off), Castle breakers for $1.49 ($13.50 off), Bastion for $2.99 ​​($12 off), And Towards the Moon for $1.99 ($8 off).

You can go even further back into gaming history and recover collections of 8 and 16-bit games, including the ability to recover Mega Man X Legacy Collection for $7.99 ($12 off), Castlevania Anniversary Collection for $7.99 ($12 off), and Counter-Anniversary Collection for $7.99 ($12 off). There’s something for everyone in the sale, and we encourage you to mix and match contemporary and classic games to avoid getting bored.

Hollow Knight: Song of Silk is a tough Metroidvania whose boss fights and platforming sequences reward your tenacity as you slowly improve. As Hornet, you’ll carefully climb to the top of the world, using weapons and traps to take down over 200 enemies and over 40 bosses. Remember, letting your guard down can be deadly. If you haven’t played the original yet Hollow Knight, you can grab it for $7.49 ($7.49 off) during the sale. Read our hands-on impressions.

Silent Hill is an exceptional survival horror game set in 1960s Japan. Protagonist Hinako Shimizu is a high school student who must defeat real monsters with whatever weapons she can find while battling inner turmoil caused by family trauma. Its personal growth, excellent storyline, and terrific score may compel you to replay the game to see its five possible endings. Read our review.

If you prefer a good dose of action in your horror games, the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 is an excellent choice. Federal agent Leon Kennedy is sent to retrieve the president’s daughter from a remote Spanish village and ends up discovering a murderous cult and many horrifying monsters. The story of the original game has been expanded and its scenario has been reworked without losing all of its campiness. Read our review.

Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG with an engaging combat system that rewards you for mastering its dodging and parrying system. By making the right parry, which takes time to learn, you can turn the tide of a battle. The game has an atmospheric soundtrack as well as a story that our reviewer found heartbreaking, moving, and humorous. It also won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025. Read our review.

Shadows of Assassin’s Creed has two big strengths: Its setting (medieval Japan) and its two main characters, Naoe and Yasuke. Each character has a unique playstyle, giving you multiple ways to approach each situation from stealth to using brute force. Shadows’ open world is huge, and the little activities we found on our way to the big quests, as well as codex entries offering exhaustive details about the game’s setting, made navigating fun. Read our review.