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[GoldandBlue]

I actually saved my money and bought nothing during the steam sale! Own a lot of what I want now so decided it's best to save for upcoming games I want.

Also got the Gamepump and Humble Monthly on Friday so no point in dropping more cash on games I might not play.

EDIT: top of the page, time for anime

 

[maty]

Wait, Humble Monthly and GamePump are only coming to use... at the END OF THE WEEK BOYS!!!

And Boi: Afterbirth+ tomorrow!!!

I'm PUMPED!!

 

[yuraya]

Happy New Years SteamGAF

Let 2017 shower you all with great games and lots of shitty anime.


Also MRORANGE is wrong in calling RE6 a disaster. Its a good game with lots of fun stuff in it. Everyone should play it.

 

[Wok]

Quoting for new page. My resolution for the new year is to try to stick to the following games for my purchases outside of Humble Monthly and GAMEPUMP.

Here are 9 games, which are to be released this year, and which you could add to your wishlist:

 

[bloke]

My first beaten game in 2017

Loved everything about it especially all the surreal and mysterious lore and pixel art direction is second to none, but before I started playing I was totally unaware that game can be quite challenging at times, think I'd enjoy the game even more if it was slightly easier, but that's just me.
9/10

 

[Hero Prinny]

no the 90's one

Oh ok, ill give you that.

 

[MadGear]

I can't say that I'm happy with my haul during this sale: one gift copy of DOOM and Shovel Knight (played it before tho), Pony Island and Steamworld Heist (which is amazing so far) for myself. It feels odd coming out of a winter sale without exceeding my (arbitrary) limit.
But I guess from now on I can safely spend my steam wallet money during weekend or publisher sales since the discounts for the games I observed didn't change at all. Buying games when I'm able to play them instead of hoarding a bunch of them and then usually not playing them for months is better anyway ... but why doesn't it feel better?

The Legend of Dark Witch 2 - Tizoc
Sequel to the Megaman-like cute'em-up that originally released on the Nintendo 3DS. The sequel keeps and improves on its upgrade system that is inspired by Konami's Gradius series.

Wow, I have actually never heard that term before but this game certainly does it justice.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Hey everybody new thread just in time for me to return to school tomorrow.

 

[kulapik]

RIP gaming side dream

 

[sixteen-bit]

Happy New Year, Steam-GAF.

Need that release date.

 

[Platy]

survived with just 3 games this sale

I feel proud of myself.

 

[Aaron D.]

Voting is now open for the fourth annual NeoGAF Steam GOTY Awards.

Thanks for putting this together, jshackles!

................

In other news, why didn't anyone tell me how cool Darkest Dungeon is?

Favorite Steam Sale get thus far.

 

[Amzin]

My first beaten game in 2017
Loved everything about it especially all the surreal and mysterious lore and pixel art direction is second to none, but before I started playing I was totally unaware that game can be quite challenging at times, think I'd enjoy the game even more if it was slightly easier, but that's just me.
9/10

To me, the difficulty was just right - the checkpoints and load/animation times were forgiving enough where even when failing, it didn't feel tedious. Which I can't say for a lot of "difficult" games I played last year.

Furi, for example, comes to mind as a comparison. There are some legitimately hard parts but it's all muddled by the tedium of having to redo 5-10 minutes of not-hard parts to retry them, amplified by pointlessly slow walking segments and "reset" animations when the life bars cycle down. Having to redo something easy to get to the hard part doesn't make something harder, it makes it less fun. At least to me.

Edit: Spoiler/caveat though, HLD is my 2016 GOTY so a smidge biased but it really does exemplify to me what "challenging" should be design-wise.

 

[Erekiddo]

I've finished 3 games in 3 days.

Have I caught something?

 

[shockdude]

it's the new year whoo

Didn't buy any games this sale; spent my money on hardware instead. Got a DDR mat and a DJ Hero turntable, fun stuff.

 

[Knurek]

Since jshackles' post didn't mention anything about not posting here as well:

GOTY:
(5 Points) - The House in Fata Morgana
(4 Points) - Umineko: When They Cry
(3 Points) - Steins;Gate
(2 Points) - Root Double -Before Crime * After Days-
(1 Point) - DROD: Gunthro and the Epic Blunder

I think Fata Morgana should win GOTY because... it beat Umineko. And just look at my avatar if you want to know what I think of Umineko. Fata is just a touching tale of murder, greed, incest, hate and all those other positive aspects of life.

 

[Parsnip]

Trying to think of DLC for the awards and I'm blanking hard. I guess I didn't play a ton of DLC in 2016. Baba Yaga and Ashes of Ariandel are the only two I can think of.

I need like a yearly list of DLC that came out for games I own.

 

[Vazra]

Maybe in the next one add OST and everyone give votes to Fata Morgana.

 

[Leafhopper]

Maybe in the next one add OST and everyone give votes to Fata Morgana.

Not even close.

 

[More_Badass]

Quoting for new page. My resolution for the new year is to try to stick to the following games for my purchases outside of Humble Monthly and GAMEPUMP.

Rain World is slated for this year. And hopefully Miegakure.

 

[Vazra]

Not even close.

I know nothing gets close to Fata OST but good for letting em know

 

[Kifimbo]

Short analysis of the sales for high-profile Steam games launched in December. We have a new indie darling.

Great/Good
Astroneer - 364,663 ± 15,803
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - 91,884 ±7,935
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - 66,580 ±6,755
Steep - 60,299 ± 6,429
Arizona Sunshine VR - 30,149 ± 4,546

Decent
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - 32,662 ±4,731
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist - 29,431 ± 4,491
GUILTY GEAR Xrd -REVELATOR- - 19,202 ± 3,628
OneShot - 16,151 ± 3,327
Maize - 11,844 ± 2,849

Bad/Bomba
Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter - 5,922 ±2,014
Lara Croft GO - 5,922 ±2,014
Eagle Flight - 3,589 ±1,568

Let me know if I missed any.

 

[bloke]

To me, the difficulty was just right - the checkpoints and load/animation times were forgiving enough where even when failing, it didn't feel tedious. Which I can't say for a lot of "difficult" games I played last year.

Furi, for example, comes to mind as a comparison. There are some legitimately hard parts but it's all muddled by the tedium of having to redo 5-10 minutes of not-hard parts to retry them, amplified by pointlessly slow walking segments and "reset" animations when the life bars cycle down. Having to redo something easy to get to the hard part doesn't make something harder, it makes it less fun. At least to me.

Edit: Spoiler/caveat though, HLD is my 2016 GOTY so a smidge biased but it really does exemplify to me what "challenging" should be design-wise.

Not gonna argue you there, it's probably case of me not being skillful enough these days lol. But anyway, great game nonetheless.
Furi is on my list-to-play this month aswell so we'll see how that one goes.

 

[fantomena]

Finished Dishonored 2 with Emily this time. Amazing game.

 

[Phawx]

Hey guys, not going to modbot these keys, they are literally worthless. If you've grabbed enough bundles through your time, you'll most likely have these.

6XHQC-AFWLH-TGEYE
79252-FH6XH-0EXR0
77IZD-6NQ97-5XVC3
6ZDYM-JF5JR-J6T3B
LM8CD-FYMXX-KJ9DA

 

[mikezilla2]

is there any sites that list everythnig on sale at any given time with a way of defining things for future refrence ?

 

[Teggy]

Put a couple of hours in Tormentum. I think it's funny that I can't tell if the decisions I am making are evil or good.

 

[fantomena]

Is there a winter sale haul thread?

 

[Durante]

Bad/Bomba
Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter - 5,922 ±2,014

I don't think that's terrible to be honest.

It's a game with no new assets or levels over the existing HD release, so it very likely only needs programmer time. It uses their own engine, which was already adapted for VR and which they don't need to pay any licensing on. And it's not priced too cheaply, so they probably made around €20 per unit.

If 6k is somewhat accurate, then that means they made around 120k€ with it so far. I'd imagine that this pays for at least 12 man-months of programming work in Croatia. And the game was just released, so it is sure to continue selling (it was at the top of the VR bestseller list last time I looked in fact).

 

[jshackles]

Since jshackles' post didn't mention anything about not posting here as well:

I would actually encourage people posting their GOTY picks but specifically WHY they think their choice should be GOTY here. Not only will it help people remember some games that came out last year so they can decide for their own vote, but it will also potentially help others find a new game to play which is really why we do this.

 

[JaseC]

is there any sites that list everythnig on sale at any given time with a way of defining things for future refrence ?

https://steamdb.info/sales/

Is there a winter sale haul thread?

Nope.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Just checking, but is Umineko eligible for the GOTY ballot?

As strictly speaking it's not finished yet on Steam, but it's not a typical episodic release either =/

 

[jshackles]

Just checking, but is Umineko eligible for the GOTY ballot?

As strictly speaking it's not finished yet on Steam, but it's not a typical episodic release either =/

Yes we've discussed it here previously, it is eligible.

 

[zkylon]

ended up not buying much during the sale, probably a wise idea

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Yes we've discussed it here previously, it is eligible.

Ah cool thanks

 

[zkylon]

Trying to think of DLC for the awards and I'm blanking hard. I guess I didn't play a ton of DLC in 2016. Baba Yaga and Ashes of Ariandel are the only two I can think of.

I need like a yearly list of DLC that came out for games I own.

yeah idk about dlc of the year

like i'd say witcha if heart of stone was this year, but i think it's only blood and wine and blood and wine is trash

 

[Tizoc]

Crom
awaits ModBot's response.

So Ass Creed Rogue was weird, it started out stuttery but after a while ti started to run smooth and fine.

 

[Cosmic Schwung]

If anyone feels they didn't get enough games during the sale, have at it.

Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 62 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.
Want to make your own ModBot giveaway? Click here for a quick tutorial thread. Please give generously.

ModBot Basics:
- This giveaway has a manual blocklist. The giver has identified members who abuse giveaways and restricted them from participating.
- No need to thank me. Please don't post thank you messages in thread or in PM.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two.

Rules for this Giveaway:
- If you are a lurker you are not eligible for this giveaway. You need five or more posts in either the current Steam thread or the previous one to be eligible
- This is a free for all! You can enter for multiple games on the list below. Send an individual PM for each game you'd like to win.
- This giveaway is a raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 24 hours after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.

Lost Planet 3 -- MB-EFA1310E37A14559 - Taken by T-Rex.. 11 entrants total.

Mafia II -- MB-323B36FF56A2BF14 - Taken by data. 9 entrants total.

Murdered: Soul Suspect -- MB-83513261515BE973 - Taken by crimsonheadGCN. 11 entrants total.

The Darkness II -- MB-FC4E4931E41CA374 - Taken by PAUonePUNCH. 5 entrants total.
140 -- MB-30C8F6DF2DCF6E21 - Taken by Dangerblade. 4 entrants total.
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAA!!! for the Awesome -- MB-F1785385351885F9 - Taken by Mengy. 4 entrants total.
Beatbuddy -- MB-FF5E1772A002F061 - Taken by T-Rex.. 3 entrants total.
Before The Echo -- MB-D75A556E02E44075 - Taken by Endruen. 2 entrants total.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed -- MB-42913AC3670FE48B - Taken by sixteen-bit. 1 entrants total.
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger -- MB-7992414FFE7D49A1 - Taken by Polishin8r. 6 entrants total.
Commando Jack -- MB-CB55DD87F2E168F4
Deep Dungeons of Doom -- MB-4CD0AC9F02CEE464
Deponia -- MB-518F68CFAF4A37CA
Fly'n -- MB-4BDF3B431CBA01FD - Taken by bloke. 3 entrants total.
Gone Home with soundtrack -- MB-0B4407523421EB21
Grim Legends: Song of the Dark Swan -- MB-50F6A4CA6BCCAA70 - Taken by Vuze. 1 entrants total.
Grim Legends: The Forsake Bride -- MB-602E64E2FE342EC1 - Taken by Genki. 1 entrants total.
Knights of Pen & Paper Plus1 Edition -- MB-818CDF8A36F1DE92 - Taken by Platy. 2 entrants total.
Limbo -- MB-66FE06FA0A8F492C
Lost Civilization -- MB-D2113C875B4DC2A9
Lumino City -- MB-03192056F94EAC21
Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart -- MB-335A340EFC79F739 - Taken by Orgen. 2 entrants total.
Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren's Call -- MB-B17167A2B89A7ECB - Taken by Purkake4. 4 entrants total.
Oil Rush -- MB-6A5D4D36EA44DD9F
One Way Heroics -- MB-C219A4CEC3AEF278 - Taken by T-Rex.. 3 entrants total.
Organ Trail -- MB-3146D849D542B147 - Taken by Tall4Life. 6 entrants total.
Outlast -- MB-114CCC3A9076AEF0 - Taken by Benedict. 4 entrants total.
PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX Plus All You Can Eat -- MB-8CF05BABCCBE0484 - Taken by AHA-Lambda. 13 entrants total.
Paper Sorcerer -- MB-C5903D7A0FC7E4EF - Taken by Baron_Calamity. 2 entrants total.
Pid -- MB-A774DC82B0B4A90E - Taken by Dessart. 4 entrants total.
Pier Solar -- MB-3ECAA200849EDBDF - Taken by Card Boy. 6 entrants total.
Psychonauts -- MB-D9E754B0AEB5AB87
Q.U.B.E. -- MB-C9A9BE0F1111CAB3 - Taken by ThirtyFour. 3 entrants total.
Q.U.B.E. Director's Cut -- MB-D0D692467337EECE - Taken by Polishin8r. 3 entrants total. - Taken by PaulSane. 4 entrants total.
Realms of the Haunting -- MB-18A06AE219B6870C
Runaway: A Road Adventure -- MB-AD92A595BD29D6BD
Runaway: A Twist of Fate -- MB-FB4A8C3E093053C5 - Taken by neonglow. 1 entrants total.
Runaway: The Dream of The Turtle -- MB-238C57314D193027 - Taken by dave is ok. 2 entrants total.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl -- MB-7D2063B0AC8AED8A - Taken by Kudo. 9 entrants total.
Saints Row 2 -- MB-0C3F55A414540683 - Taken by Gunblade47. 2 entrants total.
Samorost 2 -- MB-CEE77998DBB77798 - Taken by Stumpokapow. 3 entrants total.
Savant: Ascent -- MB-F9E787C53210F36F - Taken by Vuze. 3 entrants total.
Septerra Core -- MB-4A9A276BC81D4EC0
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury -- MB-FBDEAF1316301BF8 - Taken by Nzyme32. 2 entrants total.
Skulls of the Shogun -- MB-011CDCEABA9B6A1C - Taken by Regginator. 6 entrants total.
Slave Zero -- MB-9EC75F40A10B8762
Solar 2 -- MB-4DE043B20AF0865F
Space Quest Collection -- MB-EA5E6707248C5779 - Taken by Parsnip. 4 entrants total.
Speedrunners -- MB-78243B32AE0D4B9F - Taken by Naked Snake. 3 entrants total.
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified -- MB-42873D89F09C91BC - Taken by Zeknurn. 11 entrants total.
The Last Remnant -- MB-5F85AB227756B4C5 - Taken by Cels. 4 entrants total.
Time Mysteries: Inheritance -- MB-3419370A8EF7793E

Timeshift -- MB-537120C4AFD489D0 - Taken by GAMEPROFF. 14 entrants total.
Titan Souls -- MB-7526FB431A759C28 - Taken by Abomination. 13 entrants total.
To The Moon -- MB-C54543E74C40CBC8 - Taken by Giant Panda. 2 entrants total.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary -- MB-D558927A891C72FC - Taken by hooijdonk17. 15 entrants total.
Tomb Raider: Legend -- MB-424419A3A8BAAB4D - Taken by Valxal. 11 entrants total.
Tomb Raider: Underworld -- MB-10E682B8DA736B72 - Taken by pantsattack. 7 entrants total.
Unholy Heights -- MB-5010F40704A746F2 - Taken by Madn. 4 entrants total.
Unmechanical -- MB-B1C7FFDB8D536BBA - Taken by longlivegaming. 2 entrants total.
Warhammer Quest -- MB-4D67C71E3234DCD4 - Taken by Volimar. 6 entrants total.

I apolgise in advance if any of them don't work. I've become rather lax when it comes to keeping track of all this bundle filler. Contact me and I'll try to find the correct key.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Thanks for putting this together, jshackles!

................

In other news, why didn't anyone tell me how cool Darkest Dungeon is?

Favorite Steam Sale get thus far.

The expansion is coming out soon, too.

 

[MadGear]

Bad/Bomba
Lara Croft GO - 5,922 ±2,014

Why are they even charging 10€ for this? I'm sure there is some reasoning behind the different way of pricing games for mobile (currently at 1€, 5€ at release, no ads or in-app purchases) and Steam but that seems like a bit too much.

 

[More_Badass]

Thanks for putting this together, jshackles!

................

In other news, why didn't anyone tell me how cool Darkest Dungeon is?

Favorite Steam Sale get thus far.

The narrator is amazing. Every Lovecraftian game should have him

 

[The Dear Leader]

nice thread btw

 

[Leafhopper]

I know nothing gets close to Fata OST but good for letting em know

I meant it doesn't come close to 2016 OST of the year for me.

 

[Valxal]

Happy New Year Gaf!

Spent over $120 on the sale this year but that is counting my Berseria preorder.

 

[fantomena]

Made a haul thread cuz why not.

 

[More_Badass]

Is Arma 3 on an older engine? Or just really well optimized? I am shocked that it runs so well on my laptop. Low to mid settings, but still, I also got Squad since I needed to scratch that tactical shooter itch and Squad could barely run for my specs. Probably because it's UE4.

But yeah Arma 3 is really cool. Finally got a headset for Christmas so I can actually do proper multiplayer in games now

 

[Kifimbo]

I don't think that's terrible to be honest.

It's a game with no new assets or levels over the existing HD release, so it very likely only needs programmer time. It uses their own engine, which was already adapted for VR and which they don't need to pay any licensing on. And it's not priced too cheaply, so they probably made around €20 per unit.

Oh, I thought it had new stuff/assets.

 

[someguyinahat]

Here we go with some impressions for King's Quest (The Odd Gentlemen one

The story: For most of the game, you play King Graham of Daventry - although he's not originally from Daventry now - at various stages of his life. It's told as flashbacks from an elderly Graham telling stories to his granddaughter Gwendolyn - the daughter of Alexander and Cassima from KQ3 and 6 - and sometimes his grandson Gartholomew - son of Rosella and Edgar from KQ4 and 7. For all you hardcore Sierra fans, there is a bit of retconning going on in this series, but it's not too terribly bad. There are plenty of callbacks to the previous games to keep fans happy, and a few new characters to keep things fresh.

Do choices matter? As with most episodic Telltale-style games, not really. Some choices add flavour to the game - you choose between three main paths of bravery, wisdom and compassion, and these will affect not just your dialogues, but who you can speak to in later chapters, and will also affect Gwendolyn's actions in her cutscenes as she absorbs the lessons in the stories. You also get a choice between two wives, but apart from a scant few dialogue changes and a different tiara, they act identically in later chapters. I replayed one chapter to see how both wives ask you to check on your kids, and they both did the exact same thing, which really disappointed me. But it's a good story overall, with a bittersweet ending that should satisfy you.

The graphics: The graphics look very similar to Telltale's, but also have their own flourishes: the fire, water and magical effects look very much like Dragon's Lair/Don Bluth effects. The environments are great, the characters have lots of exaggerated features (don't expect realism here,) and Graham was given a lot of attention, giving him several different running animations based on his age and health. Nothing to complain about here.

The dialogue and voices: Christopher Lloyd! Wallace Shawn! Tom Kenny! Zelda Williams! Josh Keaton (um...if you know who that is!) They didn't skimp on good voice actors in the least. It's a feast for the ears.

The gameplay and puzzles: It's a mix of QTEs, minigame-style puzzles and random inventory puzzles...and it lampshades all three with characters who show preferences for a particular style. Some are better than others, and some are downright tedious but I think they were intended to be based on the plot. You won't need a guide for any of the puzzles as they're a fair challenge but not impossible, but if you want all the achievements, you'll probably want a guide because this has the unfortunate mix of missable achievements and autosaving. Miss your chance? You'll have to restart the chapter.

There were a few points where the game slowed down for no discernible reason. That was the only technical issue I noticed.

The length: Episode 1 is twice as long as any of the other episodes...maybe even three times as long. I did replay several of the chapters to get achievements and also to see what changes in other paths. (I also left it idle for long stretches.) My play time says 28 hours, but I didn't play it for that long. The whole thing should take you 15-18 hours for one playthrough. Still a decent length.

The verdict: While you'll get more out of it if you're familiar with the King's Quest series, this is a fine episodic adventure game that could be played by anyone. The first episode is free, and I heartily recommend playing it. The following episodes aren't as long or as good, but they're definitely worth playing. Still, you'll know that for yourself after playing episode 1.

 

[Grief.exe]

One of the sleeper hits of 2017

 

[illusionary]

I've started off 2017 by finally finishing up Oceanhorn, with a little concerted effort yesterday. Fun little game, fairly lightweight and clearly a mobile port, but entertaining if you enjoy the Zelda style.