I say: go ahead and buy a deliberately bad game, because it will strengthen one thing above all else: your laugh muscles!
Hey, what’s up with Sören? Too much Christmas punch? Was the roast not done? Where’s the typical “X great games for so many euros” headline? The reason for my absurd sales pitch is serious: Buy bad games sometimes to have a lot of fun.
For years, I’ve been pursuing the questionable hobby of deliberately adding duds to my Steam shopping cart from time to time when they cost next to nothing in a sale. What I expect: bad graphics, miserable gameplay, and tons of bugs. I’ve never been disappointed.
The reason for my pursuit of badness is simple: laughter! I laugh heartily at the debacle unfolding before my eyes and celebrate how awful it all is.
This brings us full circle to this article: In the current Steam Winter Sale, you can try out my weird vice for yourself without having to worry about throwing your money out the window afterwards. Because the following masterpieces
often cost less than a euro.
Laughter is known to be healthy. So you can do something good for your health at a low price. Have fun!
FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction
- Price:$1
- Genre:Racing game
Of course, no list of bad games would be complete without Flatout 3. The third installment of the once-popular chaotic racing game series disappointed our editor-in-chief Kevin so much at the time that his review video above still enjoys cult status among our readers today.
Graphics? Bad. Gameplay? A mess. Bugs? Don’t ask! Nothing about this game is right, and Flatout 3 is rightly one of the worst-rated games on Steam. So if you’ve had enough of fun, glossy racers like Gran Turismo 7 or Forza Horizon 5, then get Flatout 3 and… suffer.
Apewar
- Price: 50 cents
- Genre: Online shooter
Monkeys are strong together
—we learned that from Planet of the Apes. This animalistic motto also comes into play in Apewar, only not quite as well as on the big screen.
The gameplay: Monkeys shoot wildly around the area. To do this, they run through unsightly, chaotically jumbled levels that could have come from a fever dream.
The primates’ hilariously funny animations are particularly impressive. If you’re looking for another shooter hit in 2025 after Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7, you won’t find it here.
$100
- Price: 50 cents
- Genre: Puzzle game
100 euros for 50 cents? Great! Too bad the title of the game doesn’t live up to its promise. Classic clickbait! But oh well, we’ll just let the official game description speak for itself:
Casual puzzle game featuring new adventures of a magical purse in search of untold riches! Help a poor woman fulfill her long-cherished dream. Travel to parallel worlds to collect hundreds of euros!
If, after playing, you say, “That was great!”, we have some good news for you. The Steam Winter Sale also includes a bundle with the sequel, 100$, for just one euro. Oh, it’s all so confusing…
Trash Story
- Price: 50 cents
- Genre: No idea!
At least the developer doesn’t bother giving his game a misleading name. In Trash Story, you get what the title promises!
Incidentally, Trash Story is also proof that the entire graphics of a game can be created with MS Paint. For that alone, the creator of this … work of art deserves a pinch of respect. According to some Steam reviews, the Trash Story in Trash Story is shorter than this paragraph.
BOO! ARE YOU SCARED?
- Price: 50 cents
- Genre: Horror… I think.
GlobalESportNews can’t do without cat content, and this time is no exception. In BOO! ARE YOU SCARED?, a kitty plays the leading role. But this velvet-pawed creature doesn’t want to play with you—it wants to eat you for a snack. Your goal is to run away and survive.
At first glance, that might not sound so bad, you might think. But just take a look at the picture above and you’ll know what to expect. BOO! ARE YOU SCARED? is indeed creepy, but mainly because of its gruesome visuals.
So, you’ve made it through. Did you enjoy this little excursion into the dregs of Steam? What bad games have you deliberately played for fun? Feel free to tell me your favorite trash gems so I can consider them on my next shopping trip. I’m curious to see what you have in store!
