Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter at half price and Chained Echoes for $8.74 were enough to get my attention. Steam’s Party-Based RPG Fest has some tempting discounts for JRPG fans, including those two very different takes on the classic party adventure.
The rest of this selection takes us through mercenary camps, a troubled generation ship, superhero friendships, and an alchemy student’s increasingly busy schedule. There are also a couple of edition details worth checking before buying, especially for Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.
The festival runs September 14–21, 2026, although a few individual promotions continue beyond that date.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
- Developer: Nihon Falcom
- Steam release: September 19, 2025
- Discounted price: $29.99 (50% off), normally $59.99.
For anyone curious about Trails, this is where I’d start. This full remake follows Estelle and Joshua Bright as they begin working for the Bracer Guild, taking on local requests before becoming involved in a conspiracy threatening their homeland.
Turn-based battles are paired with the new action combat, while the journey has been rebuilt with 3D environments and new English and Japanese voice acting. One detail worth appreciating is how townspeople’s conversations change as the story progresses. Checking back with them helps make each stop feel like a place with its own ongoing stories.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition
- Developer: Larian Studios
- Steam release: September 14, 2017
- Discounted price: $11.24 (75% off), normally $44.99.
A patch of oil and a fire spell can change a fight completely. Divinity: Original Sin 2 encourages that kind of planning, with elemental interactions, elevation, and a vast selection of skills giving your party several ways to handle an encounter.
The freedom extends beyond combat because character backgrounds affect conversations, companions have their own interests, and quests can be approached in different ways. You can control the group yourself or share the campaign with up to three other people online.
For me, it’s an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys testing what an RPG will let them get away with. Check the bundle before buying: The Source Saga, containing both Original Sin games, is currently $10.66 for buyers purchasing the full bundle. That is less than Original Sin 2 on its own.
Sea of Stars: Sunset Edition
- Developer: Sabotage Studio
- Steam release: August 28, 2023
- Discounted price: $17.49 (50% off), normally $34.99.
Timing-based mechanics have become increasingly common in turn-based RPGs, and I think Sea of Stars is a good example of how well they can work.
Well-timed button presses strengthen attacks and reduce incoming damage, while the Lock system asks you to hit enemies with specific damage types before they unleash stronger abilities.
Party combos add another way to break those locks and set up more effective turns. Outside combat, climbing, swimming, and jumping make exploration feel active and rewarding. The current Sunset Edition also includes the free Throes of the Watchmaker expansion and supports up to three players in local co-op.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous – Enhanced Edition
- Developer: Owlcat Games
- Steam release: September 2, 2021
- Discounted package: Game of the Year Edition – $9.99 (80% off), normally $49.99.
At just $9.99, getting the Game of the Year Edition of one of the best modern CRPGs, including the Enhanced Edition and all six paid expansions, almost feels like stealing to me.
Wrath of the Righteous puts you in charge of a crusade against a demonic invasion, with character building that goes well beyond choosing a class. Feats, spells, companions, and Mythic Paths let you develop very different parties, and becoming an angel or a lich also changes your role in the story.
Combat can switch between turn-based and real-time with pause. I’d recommend this most strongly to anyone who enjoys learning an extensive ruleset; the low price doesn’t make those character-building decisions any simpler.
Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game
- Developer: Iron Tower Studio
- Steam release: November 9, 2023
- Discounted price: $15.99 (60% off), normally $39.99.
An aging spacecraft has become an entire society, complete with competing factions and generations of people who will never see its destination.
That is the setting for my next recommendation. Colony Ship, a science-fiction CRPG where your party’s skills determine how you get through trouble. Persuasion and impersonation can avoid confrontations, stealth opens other routes, and turn-based gunfights demand attention to cover, equipment, and attack selection.
Building someone who can handle a conversation is therefore just as deliberate a choice as building a capable marksman. The appeal is in making those specialties work together while deciding which factions deserve your support.
Chained Echoes
- Developer: Umami Tiger / Matthias Linda
- Steam release: December 8, 2022
- Discounted price: $8.74 (65% off), normally $24.99.
Another RPG I’d consider essential for anyone who loves the genre is Chained Echoes. I mentioned it a few days ago in my list of RPGs you can finish without much grinding, and at $8.74 it’s even easier to recommend.
The turn-based combat system features the Overdrive system, where most actions move a shared gauge. Keeping it in the green zone improves damage, reduces incoming damage, and lowers skill costs, while pushing too far into the red makes the party more vulnerable.
Defending, switching characters, or using the suggested skill type helps bring the gauge back under control and makes every battle feel more dynamic. Add mechs, airships, a large cast, and a progression system that avoids traditional grinding, and you get one of the standout indie JRPGs of recent years.
Wartales
- Developer: Shiro Games
- Steam release: April 12, 2023
- Discounted price: $9.79 (72% off), normally $34.99.
Your next recruit is another useful fighter, but also another person to equip and support. Wartales revolves around building a mercenary company, traveling between settlements, and taking contracts that keep the group moving.
Turn-based battles let you develop different combat roles, while professions and camp improvements give companions useful work outside a fight. There is no need to rush toward a single heroic destiny: the attraction is watching a small band develop into a company with better equipment, more options, and its own collection of close calls. The campaign also supports four-player online co-op.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister
- Developer: Tactical Adventures
- Steam release: May 27, 2021
- Discounted price: $7.49 (75% off), normally $29.99.
Building all four adventurers yourself is a big part of Solasta’s appeal. You choose their classes, backgrounds, and abilities, then take that group through a campaign based on the Dungeons & Dragons SRD 5.1 rules.
The battlefields make good use of height and lighting: flying over an obstacle, illuminating a dark area, or pushing an enemy off a ledge can change your options considerably. This would be my pick for someone more interested in assembling a complementary tabletop-style party and working through encounters than following a cast of predetermined companions. Online co-op and the Dungeon Maker extend those possibilities further.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- Developer: Firaxis Games
- Steam release: December 2, 2022
- Discounted price: $8.99 (85% off), normally $59.99.
The cards in Midnight Suns represent your heroes’ abilities, and choosing which ones to bring is an important part of building the team.
Missions draw from the abilities of up to three selected heroes. Attacks and support skills generate Heroism for stronger moves, while knockbacks let you slam enemies into objects or one another for extra damage. You can therefore get considerably more out of a turn by setting up the right sequence.
Back at the Abbey, conversations and hangouts develop friendships that unlock combat benefits. Those social sections are a substantial part of the game, so expect more than a continuous run of tactical missions.
Phantom Brigade
- Developer: Brace Yourself Games
- Steam release: February 28, 2023
- Discounted price: $11.99 (60% off), normally $29.99.
One of the best recent mech-based strategy games is definitely Phantom Brigade. Here, you can see enemy attacks coming, giving you time to take the necessary steps to counter them and get the best possible result.
Phantom Brigade lets you arrange movement and weapon orders on a timeline, then watch both sides execute their actions together. Changing when a mech moves or fires can help it avoid an attack or catch an opponent in the open.
Equipment customization also gives you plenty to experiment with between missions; it is also worth mentioning that the current game includes the free 2.0 update, which reworked the campaign and overworld while expanding pilot recruitment, progression, and specialization.
Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch Remastered
- Developers: LEVEL-5 and QLOC
- Steam release: September 19, 2019
- Discounted price: $7.49 (85% off), normally $49.99.
Studio Ghibli’s animated sequences and Joe Hisaishi’s music give Oliver’s adventure much of its storybook character. His search for a way to bring back his mother leads him through another world, with companions and familiars joining the journey.
Battles let you switch between those characters and creatures, choosing commands while the action continues around them. This is not a strictly turn-based RPG: its mixture of real-time movement and command selection is worth understanding before buying. It provides a colorful, creature-focused adventure with a very different pace from the more methodical tactical games on this list.
King Arthur: Knight’s Tale
- Developer: NeocoreGames
- Steam release: April 26, 2022
- Discounted price: $13.49 (70% off), normally $44.99.
Sir Mordred is the protagonist and King Arthur is the bad guy in King Artur: Knight’s Tale. Resurrected to hunt down the corrupted king, Mordred rebuilds Camelot and recruits knights for a campaign of turn-based battles.
The game throws injuries, curses, and diseases at your knights, and each of them takes time to recover from, so you’ll need to develop a balanced group of characters, rotating them between missions so the others have enough time to heal and get back into fighting shape.
Your decisions also affect loyalty, and not every knight will approve of the ruler you become. The combination of a challenging combat system and a light strategy layer makes it a great game to consider.
Expeditions: Rome
- Developer: Logic Artists
- Steam release: January 20, 2022
- Discounted price: $11.24 (75% off), normally $44.99.
Expeditions: Rome mixes turn-based tactical battles with a light management layer built around your legion. Between missions, you can recruit soldiers, improve your war camp, and secure new territories, while the grid-based combat puts the focus back on your main character and companions.
Each character can be developed through different skills and weapon-based abilities, giving you plenty to experiment with when building the party. Conversations and political decisions also play an important role in the story and can influence your relationships with the people around you.
The combination of tactical battles, party management, and a historical Roman setting makes it a great RPG to consider if you want something different from the usual fantasy adventure.
Monster Hunter Stories
- Developer: Capcom
- Steam release: June 13, 2024
- Discounted price: $9.89 (67% off), normally $29.99.
Monster Hunter Stories is a great choice if you like turn-based RPGs focused on collecting and developing creatures. You explore the world looking for eggs, hatch new Monsties, raise them, and then bring them into battle as your allies.
Combat uses a Power, Speed, and Technical system, with each type strong against another. Learning how enemies usually attack helps you choose the right move and win head-to-head clashes. You can also customize your Monsties with different abilities.
This remastered version of the first Monster Hunter Stories includes full English and Japanese voice acting, along with monsters and content added through updates to the original release.
Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg
- Developer: Koei Tecmo Games
- Steam release: July 12, 2023
- Discounted price: $19.99 (60% off), normally $49.99. This promotion runs through September 28.
Marie’s biggest problem is passing her alchemy exam. Given a workshop and five years to prove herself, she needs to gather ingredients, improve her recipes, and earn enough money to hire adventurers and buy supplies.
Turn-based battles fit into those gathering trips, while crafting and requests determine much of the daily routine. This remake revisits the beginning of Atelier with updated presentation, clearer guidance, and additional character events.
There is also an Unlimited Mode for taking things at a more relaxed pace. After all the invasions and military campaigns elsewhere on this list, working toward a successful graduation makes a welcome change.
