LudoNarraCon celebrates games that shine above all for their moving stories and unique narrative styles. Here are our recommendations for under $14.
From May 1 to 5, 2025, Steam will be dedicated to a very special kind of game. As part of LudoNarraCon, you can not only watch livestreams of upcoming titles and play demos, but also grab truckloads of really good story games for very little money.
All of the games featured focus on telling gripping stories. So make sure you have tissues, stress balls, and comfort food handy when you embark on your adventure.
We’ve picked out five recommendations for you, ranging from fantasy horror to cyberpunk flair to British humor. And best of all, none of the titles cost more than 14 euros.
Slay the Princess
(Release: October 2023 – Language: English audio, German text – Price: 13 euros (25 percent discount)
Normally, you’re the one who has to save the princess. In Slay the Princess, however, your only task is exactly the opposite. In a gloomy setting, you make your way through a forest to a hut where the maiden in question is located.
No matter what she does, you must kill her If you let her beat you into submission, you will seal the fate of the world. If you’re thinking, “That’s it? Easy peasy!”, don’t rejoice too soon. Because the unassuming lady is cunning and pulls out all the stops to torment you and your psyche.
With a rating of 97 percentfrom nearly 22,000 reviews, Slay the Princess is a real gem among story games.
The Red Strings Club
(Release: January 2018 – Language: German text – Price: 3 euros (80 percent discount)
Life in a cyberpunk world can be pretty exhausting. How nice that the cities are filled with bars and cafés where you can relax. In just such an establishment, you stand behind the bar in The Red Strings Club and let your guests talk your ear off.
You exploit this trust to uncover a huge corporate conspiracy. The powerful people of this world want to launch a program that supposedly eliminates depression, anger, and fear. However, you, your hacker friend, and a stranded empathic android suspect that there is a sinister brainwashing program behind it.
So you discreetly mix your drinks, read the feelings and thoughts of your guests, and manipulate anyone who can help you on your mission. But who is really the villain in the end?
With more than 11,000 reviews, The Red Strings Club has a rating of 93 percent That’s three euros really well spent.
Killer Frequency
(Release: June 2023 – Language: English audio, German text – Price: 8.50 euros (66 percent discount)
Who hasn’t dreamed of hosting a radio show? In Killer Frequency, this dream becomes reality, but there’s a catch. Instead of playing the best hits of the 80s, 90s, and today on the radio, you have to deal with a whistling serial killer.
As a fallen radio star, you take over a little-noticed late-night show in a sleepy town. However, due to adverse circumstances, you are suddenly given the task of running an emergency call center. The police chief is dead and a mysterious killer is on the loose in town. So you have to keep answering calls from his potential victims and guide them to safety.
With a synthwave soundtrack in your ears and a healthy dose of humor, you use this night to find out what’s really going on. You solve puzzles, make decisions, and interview a series of eccentric characters.
Killer Frequency has received more than 3,500 reviews and a strong rating of 93 percent
Neo Cab
(Release: October 2019 – Language: German text – Price: 2 euros (85 percent discount)
We’re sticking with neon lights and swapping the radio microphone for a steering wheel. In the distant cyberpunk future of Neo Cab, almost everything runs automatically – except your trusty taxi.
As the last “real” taxi driver, you drive rich passengers through the night to make ends meet. Like in an episode of Black Mirror, you fight for good ratings, but there’s something else on your mind. Your girlfriend and roommate has disappeared without a trace, and you have to find her.
During your shift, you encounter a wide variety of characters whose favor you depend on. However, you must always keep your emotions in check, because… after all, you’re not a machine – you’re a flesh-and-blood human being (sorry, catchy tune).
For two euros, you get a profound game with a rating of 81 percent based on nearly 2,000 reviews.
Not For Broadcast
(Release: January 2022 – Language: English audio, German text – Price: 6 euros (75 percent discount)
You’ve already been a knight, a bartender, a radio presenter, and a taxi driver – what else is left? Of course, live director of a news program! In Not For Broadcast, you swing yourself into the director’s chair of National Nightly News and take control of everything that is broadcast.
You cut to the right camera angles to keep the audience entertained and beep out obscene expressions in real time. Because the guests on your show are often quite idiosyncratic characters. But be aware that you have a lot of power in your hands. What you put on the country’s television sets can have a major impact on world events.
What starts out as a stressful directing simulation quickly turns into a moral test, where British humor and hard-hitting social commentary form an inseparable whole.
With more than 9,000 reviews, Not For Broadcast has achieved a rating of 94 percent on Steam. Unfortunately, there is only an English voiceover with German text. It is particularly advisable to be familiar with the English language, as you will often not have time to read the subtitles.
So if you have a few euros to spare, you can pick up some real storytelling masterpieces right now. Incidentally, LudoNarraCon has been celebrating “smaller” games that stand out for their story and narrative style every year since 2019. These titles are mostly developed by smaller studios, which doesn’t make them any less valuable in terms of quality, but in many cases makes them quite affordable.
