7 Rock-Solid PC Gaming Deals In The Steam Autumn Sale

The Steam Autumn Sale has returned, serving up a ton of PC gaming deals for Thanksgiving weekend. The Autumn Sale is a flash in the pan compared to the longer Summer and Winter Sales, lasting only one week instead of two. While the Autumn Sale may not stick around as long, it still has plenty of good PC gaming deals to take advantage of, and we'll go through some of the best we've seen here.

Ever since Mass Effect Legendary Edition launched back in May, we're guessing there have been many waiting for a significant discount on it. With the Autumn Sale, those patient gamers now have an opportunity to strike. Mass Effect Legendary Edition is 42% off in the sale, bringing its price from $60 down to $34.79. Since Mass Effect Legendary Edition packs remasters of the three titles in the original Mass Effect Trilogy into one compilation, there's a lot of value here, and most RPG/sci-fi fans should consider picking it up at this price.

Most of us have played Tetris before, but if you haven't played Tetris Effect yet, you've missed out on what is quite possibly the best version of the classic puzzle game. With beautiful visuals, excellent music, and gameplay that can go from chill to intense in an instant, Tetris Effect is a wonderful experience. This release, Tetris Effect: Connected adds co-op and competitive multiplayer, improving on the original game even more. At its sale price of $26.79 (33% off), it's a no-brainer for anyone even vaguely interested in Tetris.

Occasionally, I'll recommend tower defense games in these lists because I love tower defense as a genre. It's a genre that never gets old for me, and I find that many tower defense games are infinitely replayable. This time around, the tower defense game in question is Element TD 2, a fully-fledged sequel to the tower defense game that started as a custom map for Warcraft III.

Element TD 2 isn't getting a huge discount in the Steam Autumn Sale, as it's on sale for $12.49 (15% off), but even at full price, it still feels like a steal thanks to its campaign and multiplayer modes. If you have some friends interested in tower defense, this is an easy buy, as those late-night cooperative sessions are a ton of fun.

After years of seeing it as a side event at various Super Smash Bros. tournaments, I finally pulled the trigger and picked up Rivals of Aether a little while ago. While I've really only scratched the surface of this game so far, I can already tell that the game is a stellar alternative to Super Smash Bros. for those playing on PC. At 50% off, bringing its price down to $14.99, it's a good buy for anyone in the mood for a platform fighter.

While a lot of PC gamers might be occupied with the free-to-play Halo Infinite at the moment, this is a good time to remind folks that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is on PC as well. It's a particularly good time because the entire compilation, which features ports of the original Halo trilogy, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4, is on sale for $19.99 (50% off). Even if Halo Infinite is your new multiplayer squeeze, being able to play through all of the classic Halo campaigns is well worth the $20 you'll spend on The Master Chief Collection.

Even alongside Mass Effect, Tetris Effect, and Halo, Valheim might just be the most popular game on this list (at least judging by the sheer number of Steam reviews this game has managed to rack up). Chances are many who wanted to play Valheim have already taken the plunge, but if you haven't yet, your patience will save you a few bucks. Valheim was already a safe buy at $20, but at $15.99 (20% off) during the Autumn Sale, it's worth picking up for anyone who likes open-world survival games.

Loop Hero is one of the best indie games to come out this year, and even those who might be growing weary of roguelikes should check it out if they haven't already. Tasked with rebuilding a world thrown into an eternally dark, timeless loop, players will find the central concept of Loot Hero easy to grasp — and then they'll discover there's a lot of complexity to the game. At $8.99 (40% off) during the Autumn Sale, it's priced well within impulse territory and should be on the radar for every roguelike fan.

While the Steam Autumn Sale might be shorter than the Winter and Summer Sales, there's definitely no lack of deals. These discounts will be available for the entire duration of the Autumn Sale, which runs until Wednesday, December 1, 2021, at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST.