The answer — one pick, priced
Get the
HELLDIVERS 2
$40 under your budget
The best squad shooter for exactly four — Eneba rates it 8.5/10, and four-player PvE with friendly fire is the whole design, not a mode.
Fit ledger — need → measured evidence
■ The catch — co-equal billing, always
Friendly fire never turns off. Four players who aren't talking to each other will kill each other more than the bugs do — this game punishes casual, half-attention play. It is also PvE only: there is no competitive mode at all.
Dealbreaker? Runner-up №1 gives you PvP instead ↓
■ Every product has a catch. Verdicts that hide it are how bad buys happen.
Don't buy this if…
- you want console-only FPS games (no PC)
- you want VR shooters specificallyPC VR headset verdict →
- you want gaming hardware recommendations (mice, keyboards, monitors)gaming mice under 100 dossier →
Wrong product for you is still a bad buy. These are the cases where we'd send you somewhere else.
Runners-up — if your needs differ
Adjacent verdicts — other needs, same method
Different budget, different household, different job — each of these is already researched, priced and verified. Take the one that matches your need.
Traps — this verdict avoids
Why the HELLDIVERS 2 is right for you
It avoids every trap below — and for family of 4, under $80, it is the pick because it delivers:
Launch-week pricing
Steam, Epic and key resellers routinely cut shooter prices by 30–70% in sales. Paying $70 the week you feel like playing is the most avoidable overspend in this category.
The wrong storefront
Amazon's PC digital-code catalog is inconsistent: Helldivers 2's PC codes are currently delisted, and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 listing is a boxed edition priced above Steam's ~$63 digital version. Check Steam before you buy a code.
Paying for what's free
The four biggest multiplayer shooters — CS2, Valorant, Apex Legends and Overwatch 2 — are all free-to-play, and CS2's only real cost is $15 Prime Status. A premium multiplayer shooter has to beat free before it earns $70.
Provenance — 8 sources, dated
Winners are picked from the full research dossier at knowledgelib.io. Prices, stock and listings are re-verified monthly.