Steam Summer Sale 2016: Hidden Gems & Deals

The Blackwell series

You can get the entire series for around USD 10

The Blackwell series are Point n' Click Adventure games from Wadjey Eye and are among the best PnC games you could play. Consisting of 5 games, they follow the adventures of Rosa and Joey who help out ghosts pass onto the afterlife, an act which is easier said than done, as the duo need to convince these spirits that they ARE dead and accept it before they can leave the mortal world.
The games are quite simple, but the writing and characters are quite good, and the graphics are fine for what they are.
The Blackwell series is excellent, some of my favorite point and clicks of recent memory. Could probably blow through them all in a weekend, and it's cool to see the improvements to the look, feel and overall design from game to game. Highly recommended, good price.

I'll also recommend Technobabylon, my other favorite point and click adventure from Wadjet Eye. Compelling sci-fi cyberpunk storytelling that touches on a variety of interesting themes and concepts. Neat puzzles, well paced and memorable.


Technobabylon - $5.99 (60% off)
 
Anyone know HDD requirements for Half Life and Half-Life 2 (I am on a limited data plan) ?

$1.99 each, with the complete bundle at $7.24

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I've looked it up for you in my library: HL1 is 474 MB and HL2 is 3610 MB
 
It has been so long since I played a game on my pc that I went to buy Invisible Inc after seeing it in this thread, then saw that I bought it a year and a half ago.
 
Just a heads up, if you're on Windows 10, Lost Planet 2 may not work properly. It has nothing to do with the game, but instead GFWL, which won't let you sign in. This means that you won't be able to play co-op, online or even save.
 


30% off for $10.

Absolutely fantastic CRPG with some of the most interesting turn based combat you'll find. This game is the closest you'll ever get to a genuine Fallout 3.
 
This'll double as a recommendation!
What's the word on Age of Wonders 3? Can't really figure it out. But it seems cool.



Would like to know this too.
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Age of Wonders 3 is the best fantasy 4X on the market, bar none. Tons of content, lots of variety, and it's just damn cool. The expansions are a great deal, adding new mechanics, campaigns, and factions, and just, in general, rounding out the gameplay.

Extremely recommended. Must play. Game of the Year 2014.
 
This'll double as a recommendation!

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Age of Wonders 3 is the best fantasy 4X on the market, bar none. Tons of content, lots of variety, and it's just damn cool. The expansions are a great deal, adding new mechanics, campaigns, and factions, and just, in general, rounding out the gameplay.

Extremely recommended. Must play. Game of the Year 2014.

Have you played Endless Legend? Curious what your thoughts are on it.
 
Have you played Endless Legend? Curious what your thoughts are on it.

I didn't like it much. Only played pre-expansions, when it wasn't too stable. Overall, I felt it had really cool ideas, but the UI and overall gameplay loop were bad--the battle system in particular was atrocious. I've seen a lot of praise for Endless Legend though, so I suspect I'm in the minority here.

Honestly, the only Endless game I've really enjoyed is Dungeon of the Endless. It's weird and wonderful. A really fun take on tower defense.

Edit: Victrix has a good post. The "Civness" of EL completely slipped my mind.
 
When are you supposed to unlock the Fun Menus in Cook, Serve, Delicious? This is starting to drive me insane since most of the other equipment I got (way before the food and upgrades for those and the cooking stuff) and I still haven't seen it pop-up to purchase.

Also fuck that soup challenge.
 
Endless Legend is to Civ as AoW3 is to XCOM.

Which is to say, if you really prefer empire management, EL is a solid 4x, but the tactical combat is really mediocre. It has very cool races, and very cool and developed lore that's enjoyable to explore, so just 'seeing the world' is a lot of fun in EL.

AoW3 has a slightly weaker strategic layer than a Civ style empire builder, but that's mostly because the focus is on the tactical combat, which is really damn good - tactical AI that's worth a damn (which is frankly stunning given the absolutely batshit insane number of units and spells and abilities in AoW3). There's nothing wrong with the strategy side in AoW3, it's enjoyable and decently made, but the real joy is the combat imo. Oh and a grand soundtrack :D

That's actually why I like Warlock 2 so much, it got bashed on release (WL1) as a Civ 5 clone but... it's really not. It's a wargame in a 4x's skin, your cities exist to churn out units to bash other empires with, and it has an absolutely huge number of units/spells/items/heroes etc, and it has something I'm just wildly fond of (exploring multiple planes of existence), plus with the fan mod now, 10 different distinct races all with their own units, build trees, etc. And lots of really powerful spells (this is something AoW3 definitely has as well).

Unlike AoW3 which has a separate tactical combat layer, all the fighting in WL2 takes place on the main strategic map, one unit per tile civ5 style (but way more engaging, due to the huge number of units/abilities/etc). WL 1/2 had really janky AI once you got decent at the game, but that fan mod I linked up above will wreck your face if you up the difficulty and aren't on your game - the AI becomes a serious threat and opponent.

I've put dozens of hours into AoW3 and WL2 both, but not nearly as many into EL. I enjoyed exploring it, but as a pure gameplay experience, definitely not as much.
 
Oh, hey, throw me in for Tales of Zestiria as well, pretty good JRPG. It's no GOTY but honestly it's one of the best JRPG PC ports there is, outside of the vanilla 30FPS lock - But that's fixed with a single mod.

Also Dragon's Dogma... Because it's Dragon's Dogma, son!
 
The Evil Within

This is a huge love it/hate it game. Go to any topic on the game on GAF (or other places, really), and you'll find about a 50/50 split of people who love the game, and people who hate it. If anything, this game often strikes a passionate response from people one way or the other. It's no average game, and a lot of this comes down to what the game gets right or wrong. I'm in the love it crowd, but there is ways the likely sequel could fix itself up a bit, but this game I think is worth trying. It keeps itself varied and introducing new things all the way through to the end, and it's not a short game either, your first run will likely be somewhere between 12-17 hours long, and it introduces new locales, enemies, scenarios, and more all the way to the last chapter.

It is not an easy game. There are one-hit kill moves the bosses can employ, they are telegraphed but you have to be on your toes. The game has traps in its environment, limited supplies (they do a great balancing job, you always seem to have enough to get by, but hardly enough to go willy nilly), some great atmosphere, twisted monsters, and the game can legitimately make you quite tense in a number of scenes. The area it falters in the most is probably its story, but I found it a highly enjoyable ride all the same.
The demo ran very poorly for me and I didn't like it for a couple reasons, but something about this game keeps calling to me. I learned I can go full casual and use console command cheats if things ever become chore-like in difficulty, and I heard they greatly improved performance with a patch. This has increased my interest but I'm still unsure due to performance. Do you have experience with the performance difference between the demo and current full build?
 
Man, every game I've bought has been a home run.

Currently trying out Aquatic Adventures of the Last Human and it's just so...calming and fun. I'm gonna have to scour this thread for more recommendations because I'm seriously debating saying fuck it to the big games I've been looking at and just grabbing every indy game I can get my hands on.

Which is...basically what I do anyways but still.

Next up, Pony Island!
 
I'll put in another recommendation for HuniePop. It's a well done Match 3 puzzle game that's attached to a silly story. The story moves along and helps shows your progression as you find yourself getting better at the game.
 
OMG as someone who is in love with the ocean and ocean life, Aquatic Adventures of the Last Human is making me freak out with how beautiful it is. I saw a whale and mashed the screenshot key until it broke.

I wish there were more ocean adventure games that were like...beautiful like this. And not survivaly or like...full of monsters. Like those ones for the Wii.
 
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Flywrench - Regularly $9.99, 60% off, so the final price is $3.99. It's from the makers of Nidhogg. See More_Badass' write up here for a much better description than mine.

My original description: It's like... Flappy Bird meets Ikaruga's polarity system. It's frantic. It's REALLY, REALLY difficult. I got the achievement for dying 100 times within 10 minutes of installing the game. But it has an awesome visual style/presentation, a cool soundtrack, and it's fun to play in short bursts or for hours at a time. Plus it has a small file size and really low system requirements. Lastly, I highly recommend using a controller over KB/M.
 
Games I secondly recommend:

Black Mesa (7.99 USD, 70% off).
The Evil Within (9.99 USD, 50% off).
Space Rangers HD: A War Apart (3.74 USD, 75% off).
Wolfenstein The New Order (13.24 CAD, 50% off).
Wolfenstein The Old Blood (9.99 USD, 50% off).
Resident Evil HD Remaster (11.99 USD, 40% off).
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (4.99 USD, 75% off).
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of Earth (3.24 CAD, 50% off).
 


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$7.49

The indie lovechild of Fire Emblem and Disgaea, Telepath Tactics is a strategy RPG with destructible battlefields, bridge- and barricade-building, and the ability to fling enemies off cliffs and into lava.

“I played the battles like fantastical chess, agonising about every move and every decision, hitting End Turn with that sweet mix of excitement about what I’d achieved and terror about what would happen due to my oversights or recklessness. It’s good stuff, and *tight* despite having so very many moving parts.”
Rock Paper Shotgun




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$11.24

Overfall is a fantasy role-playing game of rough diplomacy and tough action. Explore, negotiate, and fight your way across the high seas!
 
Mini Metro is amazing. It distills the concept of a tycoon like game down so far it becomes a puzzle game.
Taken for what it is it's great fun. I just wanted so much more. It's such a tantalising little game. Makes you want more. I wanted a real goal. A real objective that the building would lead to. Mastery of the system wasn't enough. (Also, this is a wholehearted recommendation of that wasn't apparent.)
 
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller

Currently going for USD 2.99

This may not be the most visually pleasing Adventure game, but it has a good story and voice acting.

Contradiction

SteamGAF's #10 GotY 2015 title. This FMV Adventure game follows Detective Inspector Jenks, aka the man with many reaction faces, as he investigates a murder in a rural British town. The acting and characters are good, but Jenks steals the show with his vigorous performance.
As the game isn't discounted ATM, it is worth wishlisting at least.

I liked Cognition so much I wrote a complete achievement guide for it on steam.
Contradiction was also thoroughly enjoyable. A definitive proof that FMV games could safely start making a comeback.
 
Ladra

Ladra can be yours for the low low price of USD 0.51

Ladra is a stealth game designed using RPG Maker. It's uncommon to see RPG Maker be used for making a game that isn't an RPG, and this is one that interestingly stands out. While the save and checkpoint system could be better, it's a game worth checking out for the cheap price it is going for.

Letter Quest Remastered

Currently on sale for USD 2.39

Take the idea of Scrabble and toss in a turn based combat system and you get this game. There are upgrades which you can unlock to make the battles less tedious, but the later stages do wrack up the difficulty.

Life is Strange

Grab the full season pass for USD 9.99, shaka brah!

An Adventure game with simple puzzles, a watercolor inspired visual presentation and a good combination of story and characters. While it may not appeal to everyone it's simple enough for players of all skill levels to play and enjoy.

Lost Planet 3

Currently on sale for USD 6.24

Lost Planet 3's gameplay doesn't really have much that stands out; it's pretty standard and gets the job done. Where it does shine is in its characters and voice acting. The plot is rather straight but the setting, concept and characters make it worth playing through. In the words of Mark of Classic Game Room 'This game is more Aliens than Aliens Colonial Marines'.
If what you're looking for in a TPS is gameplay, you may not find it here, but it's other elements work out fine.

Lovely Planet

Currently on sale for USD 1.49

This FPS game has colorful graphics and a whimsical dream-like setting. Giant Bomb's QL gives a good idea of what to expect in this game
 

This looks like just the list I've been looking for. Honestly think I'll grabbing almost everything from it.

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Stasis is $9.99 (60% off)

Genre : Point and Click , Adventure, Horror, Sci-fi, Isometric

Highly recommended for horror and sci-fi fans!
*2 recs for Stasis

Had my eye on this one for a while. Think i'll definitely be snapping it up this sale.



Thanks to everyone in this thread for posting up detailed recommendations, and thanks Dusk Golem for managing it all. Threads like this are why i love NeoGaf =D

Planning to post a few more of my own later tonight, or tomorrow.
 
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