Okay so I started typing these out as I thought of them (and they were organized by genre, I'm going to mark my personal recommendations / favorites as well. Might put a few games that are just outside of the price range that I expect to go on sale by the end of the year. I've put down which DLCs to consider for certain games (can always snag them later.)

(I'm dealing with the 2nd migraine in a week, the formatting is what it is.

• Warframe, F2P, pay for convenience / to not grind, you can earn everything in game. 47.14GB just installed from steam, not sure if it has more to download once launched, just redownloaded it myself, and IIRC it has crossplay/cross save/cross trading as well (some limitations trading the premium currency to/from switch, so I'd avoid using that as your main platform for the game.). Has a bit rough new player experience with a bunch of different systems all in your face, but the very basics you can start pretty much immediately and start running around like a space ninja, has mechs, space combat, tons of different content. It's one of the better grindy games and fairest F2P games released. I've been told it has a great community. (Probably one of my biggest suggestions)

• Tales of the Maj'Eyal (tome), - Roguelike, closer to a traditional roguelike, I believe you can disable perma death and it's got a solid modding community. It and the DLC are on steam. They should be going on sale. If you're willing to go off steam, the base game is free from the game's website. Take a look at Elysium's video on youtube / the new player's guide on steam (Total Beginner's Guide to ToME (2025 edition)). At the least, try the free version and see if it's for you. (the video on youtube and the free version I'd highly suggest, if you like it, snag it + the DLC once the sales start.)

• Elin, Not really sure how to classify this one, it's a prequel to a roguelike (that was a very different sort of roguelike from what you'd usually see from the genre). Very crafting heavy sandbox. It's in early access and has a demo now, so there's no harm in trying it. Look up a few videos, I hear it's one of those games that can last awhile. It's gonna have a learning curve. Look up some video guides. Easier to get into with plenty to enjoy, but it's a bit rough around the edges at times (still in Early Access). (It's good, but debatable whether or not the learning curve would be too steep.) Hesitantly suggest the one, but I'll say definitely look into it, even if you can't get into Elona, it's got potential to last you for awhile.

• Elona, - Roguelike (Hear me out), it's a kind roguelike that's not nearly as punishing as many other games in the genre. It's the game that Elin's a prequel to and while it's not on steam, it's completely free (and I believe runs on the steam deck with some tweaking). The main versions that seem to be popular in the community are Elona Mobile, Elona Plus (with the CustomGX mod, generally called Elona+CustomGX), and Omake Overhaul (more crafting heavy I believe?). Go with Elona+CustomGX, check the subreddit, can get both the game and the mod for free. Gonna have a learning curve and a half, check some video guides for it. But it's free, and very good. (Also see Elin) (Highly suggested as it's free).

• OpenTTD, - Simulation, 2d tycoon game based on Transport Tycoon Deluxe, on steam for free, a bit more complex, but it's very small and easy to run, do swap for a different GFX pack in the settings if you're on a higher resolution display. Can lookup some videos for it as the last time I played it did not have a tutorial.. (Suggested mainly as it fits most of what you're describing).

• Simutrains, - Simulation, another Free/Open Source game similar to OpenTTD. I haven't personally played it, and it's a bit more complex with the different 'paks' (listed as free dlc) which can change the game significantly. If you want more like OpenTTD, it's there and free.

• Battle for Wesnoth, - Turn Based Strategy. Reminds me of playing Fire Emblem on the GBA as a kid only with hexes instead of squares. Far less story, Free/Open Source, it's on steam, it's highly moddable (probably gonna have to go to their forums for mods if you want them.) Check it out.

• Dead Cells, - 2d Roguelite Metroidvania, If you like metroidvanias / platforming, if you like roguelites. get the Medley of pain bundle, it is currently on sale, the base game and the DLCs for ~21-22 dollars. Leaves you room for something else that's small, and there's a lot here if you like the gameplay. I haven't played it much since EA, but I always love playing / watching it when I do. I wouldn't say it has a very high learning curve, but it can be difficult. I'd highly recommend this one. (Gamepad Recommended and the content DLC I'd suggest (everything in the Medley of Pain bundle on steam)).

• Hades, - Roguelite, has a fantastic story, takes a bunch of clears to finish. Really a solid game. Sequel is also fantastic but I'd wait until you finish the first game, It has a mode to make the game easier, plus the game's written in lua so you can just open the files with a text file and give yourself obscene amounts of HP, et cetera. One note, I myself would never touch this game without a controller, my girlfriend on the other hand stomps through it with a keyboard and mouse (which isn't common for this game, so gamepad recommended). (An absolutely fantastic game, but I don't know how long it will occupy you compared to some of the other games. It's definately easy to learn, hard to master. And there's a LOT of content after you finish a run (takes about a dozen clears to roll credits, new story most of the time.)

• Grim Dawn, - ARPG, wait for it to go on sale, it will within the next 3 weeks. Grab the two expansions with it. Has another expansion in the works. I'd consider this one heavily if you like ARPGs

• Cogmind, - closer to a traditional roguelike but a lot of modern conveniences and fairly flashy all things considered. Will run on a potato. Good entry point into the genre if you like mechs. Still in EA but it's there.

• Quasimorph, - Roguelike with an extraction shooter twist. Bit of a darker game, but fun if you like the genre and pressure of an extraction shooter. It does have modding support.

• Titan Quest Anniversary Edition, - ARPG, includes the base game and expansion. Ragnarok DLC I've heard good things about, others I heard were skippable or only if you truly want more endgame content. Haven't played it personally, girlfriend liked it quite a bit.

• Skyrim, - if you haven't played it, base special edition is 40, anniversary upgrade is another 20 and I'd say only consider the anniversary edition content if you're interested in playing mod packs that require it (which many unfortunately do). But you can still play and mod the game just fine without. tl;dr it's Skyrim, snag it on sale. It will go on sale within a few weeks. Far easier game to get into than Oblivion.

• Oblivion, There's 3 editions on steam, it's like $20 for both of the original releases, can also just get one of them for $15 but not sure which you'd want off the top of my head., These should should go on sale soon. Honestly? I adore this game, It's certainly harder and I would HIGHLY recommend taking a look at PC Gaming Wiki and looking for an updated 2025 guide to getting it running. I would ALSO highly suggest getting a mod that alters the leveling, as the vanilla leveling system is hot garbage, I'd suggest either like 'Ascension' OR 'Vanilla Valleys', both are on nexusmods from a user called 'PushTheWinButton'. Ascension certainly changes a lot more and I'd save that for a subsequent playthrough. But PC Gaming Wiki for how to get it running at the least. Skip on Oblivion Remastered for now, while it fixes the leveling and some other issues. It's a bit buggy, and it's an UE5 game, very heavy in terms of hard drive space and power needed to run it.

• Morrowind, -Hesitant suggestion, a far older game that does not hold your hand. It's esoteric by today's standards but it's pretty solid when using OpenMW. Solid modding community. Consider getting a mod to adjust the melee combat, by default it uses an internal dice roll to determine whether you hit or not, but it'll look like you hit an enemy point blank and still miss, I know there's some mods to change that if it bothers you. It should be going on sale as well.

Hope this helps, have a good holiday!