Black Friday deals get messy fast, especially in the games world. Retailers love to hurl half-baked offers around in the run-up to what I like to call "Black Friday proper," the day after Thanksgiving.
While there are some genuinely good deals already available, it can still get a little tricky to work out what is actually worth your time, especially if you're on a limited budget.
That's where I'm here to help. Sure, there are plenty of strong 2025 releases on offer, with big PS5 and Nintendo Switch titles in the mix, but the real gold right now is the slew of games sitting at 20 dollars or less at retailers like Amazon.
That slice of the sale is stacked with some genuine heavy hitters from across the current generation's almost five-year life cycle. If you want actual bargains, this is the bin worth digging through.
Hard to believe it has been more than three years since Elden Ring landed on consoles and PC, and somehow it still lived up to every wild expectation I had for it.
IGN handed it a 10 at launch, quite deservedly, and it's fast become one of my favorite games of all time as well. It is more than worth the $20 Amazon is currently charging for it in the Black Friday sales.
If you'll allow me to immediately skirt around my $20 or less rule, I do highly encourage you to check out the full package if you can. Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree Edition is also discounted, $49.99 on PS5 and $39.99 on Xbox Series X, and is well worth it. Still, if $20 is your limit, the base game has hundreds of hours worth of content already waiting for you.
Once again, slightly overshadowed by Elden Ring (sorry, Guerilla Games). Horizon Forbidden West is another 100-hour plus game that is an absolute bargain for $19.99 on PS5. Yes, it's also on PlayStation Plus if you're signed up. But do you remember the feeling of owning games? Like actual physical copies?
My advice? Pick this up for 20 bucks, and never have to worry about your PS Plus sub lapsing if you want to replay it, or perhaps spend more than a month getting through it (which is likely, this one is big). If you can stretch to $30, the complete edition is also on sale, and includes the games entire DLC collection as well.
Okay, here's one that might take a little more convicing. But, trust me, even a 7/10 game can be worth $20.
It's another fairly sizable entry into this list as well, and I truely think there's a lot of fun to be had with Outlaws. Sure, it's got a bad rep, but for 20 big ones, you're actually getting so much genuinely great Star Wars content, it's no joke.
If anything, I really think it's worth a go for anyone who was ever on the fence about buying it. Dropping this down to just $20 for both PS5 and Xbox is a great deal, and it's also $39.99 for the complete Gold Edition on Switch 2 right now as well (but again I'm breaking the rules by mentioning that, woops).
Hey, look at me, cheating at my own game again. Yeah it's supposed to just be 10 games in this list, but I'm having some fun with it, sue me.
Here's our first picks that are hitting the "or less" part of the article, and no $19.99 doesn't count, that's just $20, so don't start on me.
Three brilliant Resident Evil games for just $14.99 each, now that's hard to argue with. In my opinion, Resident Evil 2's remake on PS5 is the best of the bunch, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the RE3 remake, and Resi 7 as well.
Okay here's where I've got to start admitting when I haven't played some games. Armored Core 6: Fires of My Rubix Cube looks mighty cool, and it's just $19.99 on PS5, PS4, and Xbox right now.
To help me sell it a bit, I'm going to refer to our handy IGN reviewer, Mitchell Saltzman, who awarded AC6 an 8, stating in his review: "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon’s stellar customization options feed into its excellent mecha combat, and the result is challenging combat puzzles that kept my attention all the way through its 15-hour campaign and beyond. It’s let down by a dull story, but lands direct hits where it counts."
Oh no, I haven't played these either. Again, cheating with the entry double ups, but it's Final Fantasy! What, am I just gonna dedicate three slots of Resident Evil, and two more to Final Fantasy, that's half the article? ... and I haven't even played these two either.
Look, look, look, put the pitch forks away. I've never been a Final Fantasy kind of guy, and that's okay, I can still trust in the many, many friends and collegues who tell me these games rock. For $20 each for FF7 and FF16, I definitely think it's worth it, even for how little I know.
Hey, I've played this one! It's great, we all love Red Dead Redemption 2, even if it is still stuck at 30fps. Another banger from Rockstar, and another game you can drop over 100 hours in, no questions asked.
If you're looking for another brilliant game to sink your teeth into while we wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 (which just got delayed again, ouch), then this is a pretty solid pick for just $15. It's discounted at GameStop for a physical copy, or both PlayStation and Xbox have it for the same price digitally.
I loved my time with it, and was even considering a cheeky replay over the holidays as well. IGN's Luke Reilly also awarded it a 10 in his review from 2018... seven years ago! Oh no, I'm getting old.
Okay, so I've played some Mortal Kombat 1, I didn't finish it, but I enjoyed my time with it.
Not as much as the previous two games, if I'm being honest, but it's still a good time, especially if you have a few mates you can crack a few beers with and just mess around with every so often. At $20, that sounds pretty great to me.
Look, not every game in this article has to be certified 10/10 banger like RDR2 or Elden Ring, sometimes it's also nice to spend a reasonable low amount of money on games that are just plain, simple, fun. And Mortal Kombat 1 is exactly that: fun!
I really should've put more games in that I've actually played. What is that, like four now? Yeesh, that's kinda rough. Okay, so at least ign.com's 7/10 review team can back me up again with this one.
Leana Hafer reviewed this one, and awarded it a very respectable 8 in her review back in 2022, stating: "Shin Megami Tensei V's excellent JRPG combat and deeply rewarding customization shine bright, even when it sometimes feels like Persona without the heart."
Sounds pretty good to me, maybe I should actually start checking out some more JRPGs. In any case, this is down to just $17.99 at Amazon for PS5, Xbox, and Switch, and that's a certifiably great deal.
Final game that's worth picking up for $20 or less! It's Tekken 8! No, I haven't played this one, either! Yes, I've heard it's very, very good! Listen, I spend way too much time just playing Darkest Dungeon on my Steam Deck, and maybe I should find more time to play fighting games. Okay look, I promise I'll buy it and give it a go over Christmas. Happy?
Ronny Barrier reviewed this one for IGN, awarding it a fantastic 9/10, and stated: "Tekken 8 is an incredible evolution for the series, with tons of single player content, an excellent suite of training tools, a great online experience, and exciting new mechanics that make Tekken more dynamic than ever."
Some quick honorable mentions for under $20 bangers before I start badgering on about some more spenny games: LEGO 2K Drive is just $15, and so is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and the Mario + Rabbids Dual Pack for Switch.
But, anyway, like I said near the start of the article, there's actually loads more great games in the sales, and plenty I couldn't include (even with me already breaking the rules a few times).
If you're budget is more in the $30-$40 range, then I can recommend plenty of other top titles, like one of my favorites of the year, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 for $30, or 2024's Game of the Year winner, Astro Bot, for $39.99.
One of my other top picks from 2024 is also just $25 in the sales, for both PS5 and Switch 2, Sonic X Shadow Generations. This is well worth it simply for the new Shadow levels alone.
Otherwise, some of the best Nintendo Switch games are also down to just $30 right now as well, such as the all time great, Super Mario Odyssey.
That's all she wrote! Well, apart from this bit. And then this bit as well... and the rest of everything I'm going to write now.
Good job getting to the end of this article and my non-sensicle ramblings about 13 cheap games I may or may not have played (also in an article that's meant to be limited to just 10).
Right, that's me actually done now, if you pick up anything good over Black Friday, or just want to tell me how much of a fool I am, let me know in the comments ASAP. Have a great Thanksgiving, and see you next time.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
