Buying a game at the wrong moment is how you end up paying full price the week before a 70% cut. This guide gives you the best time to buy games in plain terms, then lines up the strongest "time" themed titles worth your money, sorted by budget, group size and how you actually play. No hype, just where the value sits.
Last updated: June 7, 2026. Prices checked: June 2026. Sources: Steam, Epic, publisher pages and partner stores. We refresh prices and sale notes regularly.
Best picks at a glance
- Best cheap pick: Hidden Through Time (around $8, lower on sale)
- Best premium pick: FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time (around $50, the splurge that earns it)
- Best for 2 players: 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
- Best couch co-op: Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
- Best for big groups: No Time to Relax (1-8+ players)
- Best online co-op: Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
- Best cross-platform: My Time at Portia (PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch)
- Best solo story: Pentiment
- Best free route: none of these are free-to-play, so watch our giveaways tracker for the occasional time-loop freebie
Quick list
| Game | Best for | Players | Platforms | Entry cost | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime | Couch co-op | 1-4 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$15 | Frantic shared-ship chaos for friends |
| Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide | Online co-op | 1-4 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox | ~$25 | Brutal four-player horde slaying |
| No Time To Explain Remastered | Chaotic co-op | 1-4 | PC, Xbox | ~$10 | Silly physics platforming with mates |
| No Time to Relax | Party groups | 1-8+ | PC | ~$15 | Casual life-sim party game |
| FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time | Cozy co-op RPG | 1-4 | PC, PlayStation, Switch | ~$50 | Crafting and adventure with friends |
| 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel | Two-player brains | 1-2 | PC, Mac | ~$10 | Chess that bends across timelines |
| My Time at Portia | Cozy sim | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$30 | Farm, craft and rebuild a town |
| Mad Games Tycoon 2 | Management sim | 1 | PC, Mac | ~$25 | Run your own game studio |
| Pentiment | Narrative | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$20 | Hand-drawn medieval murder mystery |
| In Stars And Time | Story RPG | 1 | PC, Switch | ~$25 | A tender time-loop tragedy |
| A Hat in Time | 3D platformer | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$30 | Joyful, colourful collectathon |
| Timespinner | Metroidvania | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$20 | Time-bending exploration |
| Timelie | Stealth puzzle | 1 | PC, Switch | ~$18 | Rewind-the-clock tactical escapes |
| Hidden Through Time | Casual puzzle | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$8 | Relaxed seek-and-find across eras |
| Blades of Time | Action | 1 | PC | ~$15 | Hack-and-slash with time rewind |
| Tower of Time | Tactical RPG | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$25 | Pausable real-time party combat |
When is the best time to buy games?
Short version: wait for a named seasonal sale unless you have a reason not to. The four Steam sales (Summer in late June, Autumn around Black Friday in November, Winter in late December, and Spring in March) are when back-catalogue games reach their lowest verified prices of the year. Older co-op titles like Vermintide can fall 80% or more during those windows. A recent release barely moves in its first few months, so anything from a 2025 launch will sit near full price until its first seasonal sale rolls around.
A few rules of thumb keep you from overpaying. Buy at launch only when a multiplayer game needs a healthy player base on day one, or when you genuinely want to support the developer. For everything else, set a target price and let our next Steam sale tracker tell you when the window opens.
Best cheap and casual time games
If you just want something good for the price of a coffee, start here. Hidden Through Time is a gentle hidden-object game across prehistoric, medieval and other eras, and it is cheap enough to grab without a sale. No Time To Explain Remastered is a short, very silly physics platformer that costs almost nothing during seasonal cuts. For something quieter and cleverer, Timelie lets you scrub a timeline forward and back to sneak past enemies, and it is one of the smartest puzzle ideas on this list. All three are perfect Steam Deck fillers.
Best for 2 players
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel is the standout pick for exactly two brains. It takes normal chess and lets pieces travel across time and parallel boards, which sounds absurd and plays even more absurdly. You will lose your first ten games and love every minute. It supports solo puzzles and AI too, but the two-player duel is where it sings.
Best for 3-4 players (co-op)
This is the sweet spot for a regular group. Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide is a tense, melee-heavy four-player survival crawl through rat-infested cities, and it is dirt cheap outside of launch windows. FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time is the cozy alternative, a crafting and life-sim RPG with online co-op for up to four, ideal if your group prefers building over bleeding. For pure chaos, No Time To Explain Remastered supports up to four players falling over themselves through a wonky time-travel story.
Best couch co-op
If everyone is on one sofa, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is the easy recommendation. Two to four players share a single neon spaceship, sprinting between the wheel, the guns and the shields while the whole thing falls apart around you. It scales down to solo with an AI pet, but it is built for shoulder-to-shoulder shouting, and it runs on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
Best for big groups (5+)
When the room gets crowded, No Time to Relax is the pick. It is a casual life-sim party game for 1-8+ players, light enough that non-gamers can join and competitive enough that they will not want to leave. It is the rare title on this list designed for a full living room rather than a tight squad.
Best cross-platform
Mixed-hardware households should prioritise games that exist everywhere. My Time at Portia, Timespinner, Tower of Time, A Hat in Time and Hidden Through Time all run on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, so you can buy on whichever store is cheapest the week you shop. That flexibility matters: the same game can be 40% cheaper on one platform during a sale the others skip.
Best single-player time-benders
Plenty of the best "time" games are solo experiences, and they belong in their own bucket rather than padding a co-op section.
- Pentiment: a hand-drawn medieval murder mystery where your choices ripple across decades. One of the finest narrative games of recent years and a steal on sale. See more in our RPG hub.
- In Stars And Time: a time-loop RPG about a party facing the end, heavy on heart and clever combat.
- Timespinner: a tight metroidvania that lets you freeze time to cross gaps and outmanoeuvre enemies. A great fit for the indie hub.
- A Hat in Time: a bright, generous 3D platformer that holds up beautifully.
- Mad Games Tycoon 2: a deep studio-management sim for people who want to micro-manage every release schedule.
- Tower of Time: a tactical RPG with pausable real-time battles and a strong story, often overlooked.
For more in this lane, our action hub has further picks.
Honourable / adjacent picks
- Blades of Time: a fun action romp with a rewind mechanic, but it shows its age in animation and combat polish. Worth it only when deeply discounted, which is why it sits here rather than among the core action picks.
- A Hat in Time co-op: the online co-op is a bolt-on add-on to a single-player game, so treat it as a solo platformer first. It earns a mention near the co-op crowd, not a spot inside it.
FAQ
When is the best time to buy games on Steam? During the four seasonal sales (Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring). Older co-op and indie games like Vermintide and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime tend to hit their yearly lows in those windows, often 50-90% off.
Is it better to wait for a sale or buy at launch? Wait, unless the game is multiplayer and needs a busy player base early, or you specifically want to support the developer. Most single-player games drop noticeably within a few months of release.
Are key resellers like Eneba and Kinguin cheaper and safe? They are frequently cheaper, especially on back-catalogue titles. Check the seller rating and any region lock before buying, and compare against Steam, GOG and Epic on our deals page so you know the real saving.
Do any of these time-themed games ever go free? None of the ones here are free-to-play, but indie titles rotate through free promotions regularly. Keep our giveaways tracker open and you will catch a few each year.
What is the cheapest time-themed co-op game? No Time To Explain Remastered is the cheapest proper co-op option, often only a couple of dollars on sale. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is the best value if you want something with more depth.
Which of these run well on Steam Deck? The lighter picks shine here. Timelie, Hidden Through Time, Timespinner and A Hat in Time all suit handheld play. Check our Steam Deck list for verified status.
Should I buy on Epic or GOG instead of Steam? Epic occasionally offers coupons that beat a sale price outright, and GOG sells DRM-free installers you keep forever. For multiplayer games, buy where your friends play so you stay on the same servers.
How much can I actually save by waiting? On an older game, plenty. A title like Vermintide can fall from around $25 to under $5 during a big sale. Across a few purchases a year, patient buying easily saves more than the price of a new release.
The bottom line
The best time to buy games is almost never "right now at full price". Pick the title that fits your group, set a target, and let a seasonal sale come to you. When you are ready, browse the full price-comparison catalog to see every store side by side, or jump straight to today's deals to grab one of these time-benders at its real low.
Alex, Scout Team