Deal | Absurd indie Soulslike is now under $1 on Steam

The world of Dark PGT is pretty bizarre: The Soviet Union has survived until 2030, while a run-down, cursed village is plagued by mutated residents, street prophets and other grotesque figures. Caught in the middle is an alcoholic military serviceman suffering from mental health issues and hallucinations. Whether the increasingly absurd events are actually happening or merely taking place in his head is deliberately left unclear. Until August 31, the indie Soulslike is 84% off on Steam, bringing the price down from $4.99 to $0.79. According to SteamDB, this matches the game's lowest price to date, last seen in July.

In terms of gameplay, Dark PGT takes clear inspiration from traditional Soulslikes. Armed with a sword and shield, players take on oversized grandmothers, among other enemies, blocking and parrying attacks or avoiding them with dodge rolls. There isn't much variety when it comes to weapons and builds, however. That makes using the limited combat options effectively all the more important. To make matters even more challenging, Dark PGT does away with a traditional leveling system – meaning the player character doesn't grow stronger over the course of the game. If an enemy simply refuses to go down, there's only one solution: Learn its attack patterns, improve your timing and keep trying until you finally succeed. Developer ZERO5GAMES advertises Dark PGT as particularly difficult – and the Steam reviews confirm that this warning should definitely be taken seriously.

Despite its dark atmosphere, however, the game doesn't take itself too seriously. Between psychological horror and brutal violence, there's plenty of room for dark humor, bizarre dialogue and all kinds of absurdity.

Steam players have responded mostly positively to this unusual mix. The bizarre setting, oppressive atmosphere and dark humor receive particular praise. At the same time, given the low price, players shouldn't expect a perfectly polished Soulslike experience: Some users report clunky combat, bugs, performance issues and difficulty spikes that can occasionally feel unfair. The game is also relatively short, with only a few hours of content.

Overall, Dark PGT has an 83% positive rating from 460 user reviews. Its compatibility with the Steam Deck is currently rated as “Unknown.”

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