CREDIT: KINDERGARTEN PUBLISHED BY SMASHGAMES
Steam is a great platform for students to check out for great cheap video games.

Nowadays, video games are costing a steep price. Add on having to buy consoles, like the Switch and you have a monumental amount of money that no student in the midst of debt can afford.

Here is where Steam comes in.

Steam hosts a wide variety of games, with many types of genres. What is great is that many developers publish games on Steam at cheaper prices then you will find in most game stores. Half of these games are fantastic, but sometimes go unnoticed under the multitude of titles being released constantly.

Here is a list of five hidden gems on Steam, which are both affordable and entertaining. Perfect for students to be able to enjoy between all the stress of projects and exams.

Doki Doki Literature Club!
Cost: Free
This game may sound cute and it may look just like any dating sim (dating simulation) game, but in this case “judging a book by its cover” will cause you a lot of surprises in the end. There is a very good reason the creators have placed a clear warning that children and those easily disturb should not play this game.

The premise of the game is that you play as the male protagonist who has just been convinced to join the literature club. Here you have the potential to woo the hearts of three of your fellow club members. The protagonist's childhood friend with a sunny personality, the cute looking girl with an abrasive tongue and the mysterious shy beauty. As you play everything will seem the same as any other dating sim, you talk to the girls and build a relationship with one. But it is as you progress that you will begin to see the discrepancies from the sweet romantic tale you thought it would be. Under all the romance there lies a hidden shadow in your fellow members' hearts. Things you would never suspect.

Get ready to experience a roller coaster of emotions, dark, disturbing and mind-blowing, as this game will reimagine everything you thought a dating sim game should be like.

Drop Alive
Cost: Free
Help a lost and curious droplet find her way her to her river in this heartwarming adventure side scroller. Using the environment around you, turn the droplet between the three forms of gas, solid and liquid to navigate 12 unique levels. With beautiful hand drawn illustrations, wonderful music, and enough challenge to keep you on your toes, this game creates a warm atmosphere for players to relax in. If you want a short game to lighten the stress from projects and exams Drop Alive will be the perfect game for you.

Pony Island
Cost: $5.49
Before you think it: No, this game is not about ponies. You may play as one, however, I must assure you there is definitely more than ponies to this game. As soon as you start the game things start to mysteriously glitch out until a screen that had just been cheerful and colorful has turned into a dreary monochromatic palette. To advance you must hack the game from within and succeed in passing the programming blocking your way. Did I also mention that the devil created the game your playing? That's right folks, you are currently playing a game created by Satan himself. What's more, this game has been made to trap souls into the machine and you are the next victim-to-be.

Maneuver through a game purposely full of hacks and glitches where it is you versus the devil himself.

Please, Don't Touch Anything
Cost: $5.49
Please, Don't Touch Anything is a point-and-click puzzle game that will stump and amaze you with the sheer amount it can achieve at the simple push of a button.

You play as someone covering for a colleague on a bathroom break. In front of you is a mysterious panel with only a single red button in the middle. You have been clearly instructed to, under no circumstances, press it. Now, the only thing you want to do is push the darn thing. Push it and see what happens, for many things will…

You will be able to see the world explode, get taken over by aliens, and summon the devil. All connected to pushing one button. With complex challenges and puzzles to solve, this game will take the saying “keep your hands to yourself” to a whole new level of what you shouldn't play around with.

Kindergarten
Cost: $5.49
We all experienced kindergarten at one point in time and this game is an embodiment of the happy times we spent there. Or maybe not…

You play as the new student in school that is a bit… off. The janitor is always cleaning up blood, the teacher wants you to help her get rid of problem children, one of your classmates are missing, the principal has been giving out strange devices to the kids, and one of your classmates has even dug a giant hole in the sandbox. These are just a few of the daily occurrences that happen. Your job is to survive all the madness.

Kindergarten is an abstract puzzle game that will have you making deals with bullies, poisoning your enemies for nuggets, and many more crazy scenarios. This game will not fail in cracking you up at its quirky characters and ridiculous situations.