Get Them While You Can: What to Buy at the Steam Sale
If you’re like us, you had a plan for this summer: you were going to spend the summer exploring the endless universe that No Man’s Sky was going to provide you. Last year, we got the excellent Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which brought enough content to fill a summer easily (and the two DLC followups have been excellent, too); this year, it was time for space exploration. But then the bad news: No Man’s Sky is delayed until August. Fortunately, to help us fill our summer schedule, Steam has drastically discounted an amazing amount of titles. Here’s our guide to what you should buy in the Steam Summer Sale before this deal runs out today (hurry!).
No Man’s Sky: very-probably, almost certainly (cross your fingers!) coming this August!
Check Out the Modern Classics
The titles getting marked down are really great and you can get some modern classics pretty cheap. We noticed that Life is Strange, for example, is marked down to $2 for the first episode and $10 for the full season. We loved this award-winning, time-traveling point-and-click adventure last year and highly recommend it still. Keep in mind that the game gets better as it progresses from the startling twist in Act 3 (where you try to use your powers for good and discover no good deed goes unpunished) to the absolutely bananas final chapter (as your powers start tearing apart reality). If you prefer more action-oriented titles, Tomb Raider may be worth your time. Tomb Raider is a game you might have missed when it premiered three years ago and it’s only five bucks right now on Steam ($7.50 for the GOTY edition). The recent followup was a good game, but the original reboot was really something special, with terrific action and memorable levels. Finally, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a moving puzzle game which lets you control two brothers on an epic journey to save their father. It’s beautiful and moving and offers some memorable puzzles; check out our review here.
Finally, if you’re looking for true modern classics, then note that all of The Witcher titles are steeply discounted as well. The Witcher 3 was my favorite game in 2015 and it was the perfect summer title. It offers a beautiful world with tons to explore, great stories and characters to interact with, and one of the best heroes in games in one of the best stories games have to offer. If the $25 price point is a little high for you, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is marked down to $3. The gameplay is similar and the story is similarly compelling; it may not have the scope of the third title, but it has the same mechanics and terrific protagonist.
If you haven’t seen the night the witchers in drag try to drunk dial some witches, you have some homework to do.
Games That Are Funny As Hell
Many games provide great gameplay without much of a sense of humor while other games are truly hilarious while not very fun to play. Stick It To The Man is a very funny title that truly is as funny as it is fun to play. The gameplay involves some basic platforming and puzzle solving that never gets too tasking. Check our full review and then go pick it up for a few bucks on Steam. Also, The Stanley Parable is also an incredible game for just $3. If you haven’t had the Stanley Parable experience, you absolutely must give this game 20 minutes of your time. It’s smart and funny and very easy to pick up; this is a great game to show to your friends who aren’t gamers just to show them how smart games are getting. The follow up title The Beginner’s Guide is also a fascinating and unique experience, but perhaps not as accessible (or hilarious) as the first. Both games are worth your time but The Stanley Parable is really a must-play title.
In terms of hilarious AAA titles, nothing has ever topped Stick of Truth, a game we loved last year. Keep in mind, though, that pre-ordering the next South Park title (The Fractured But Whole) can also get you a copy of Stick of Truth. Stick of Truth still plays like a truly excellent episode of South Park and led the wave of terrific licensed titles we saw a couple of years ago. If you like South Park or solid RPGs, you definitely should consider it (or pick up the sequel this fall).
Well written, beautiful, hilarious and fun, everyone should play Stick It To the Man.
Games That Are Adorably Cute
Botanicula is the cutest game I’ve played in a long time (and I really enjoy cute games). This game is the perfect antidote to the exceedingly dark Inside (which I also recently completed); this point-and-click adventure puts you in control of five forest friends trying to rescue their dying tree from some invading spiders. The puzzles are solid, the graphics are truly original, and the happiness that permeates almost every second of this game is impossible to resist. Botanicula’s predecessor Machinarium is also marked down to $3 and is also worth your time. The two games make an interesting pair, Machinarium has a stark and bleak vision of a post-apocalyptic future and Botanicula is a joyous, beautiful little adventure. I’d heartily recommend them both (our review of Botanicula is coming, but read our take on Machinarium here).
Undertale at $7 is a great deal (heck it’s a great deal at its regular ten dollar price tag). The game uses classic graphics to tell a compelling story and offers a great RPG experience (and a truly unique pacifist option). Undertale is a truly must-play title of 2015 and is well worth your time. Another great title to look at is Little Inferno, a game that makes a sport out of burning your possessions in a fireplace. It’s a game we loved last year and it’s perfect for non-gamers as well. Little Inferno is down to $5
In Botanicula, you take control of these five heroes as they try to save their home from an invading army of spiders and….IT’S SO CUTE YOU MUST PLAY IT RIGHT NOW!
Catch Up With Some Awesome Classics
There are a lot of great Grand Theft Auto deals out there too, but we were excited to see Bully marked down to just $3. Bully is one of those classic games we still find ourselves returning to from time to time. The game lets you spend a year at Bullworth Academy, taking classes, making girl-and-boy friends, and exploring a well-realized school and nearby city. As much fun as it is to see some classic titles like Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle marked down considerably, we’d actually recommend the Monkey Island series. Both games offer top notch puzzles and are hilarious to boot; each are currently marked down to $3.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we ignored the super cheap Halflife 2 (just $2 on Steam). If you’ve somehow missed this game, it’s still one of the best FPS shooters of all time. The smarter buy, though, is the near-perfect Orange Box, which tells the entire Halflife saga and also includes the incredible title Portal (note that Portal 2 is also on sale for $2). If somehow any of these titles have slipped past you in the past decade or so, this is the time to experience some of the best games ever made.
If you somehow missed Halflife 2 growing up, we are so jealous of you. You still haven’t experienced the best FPS game ever designed. Believe us, buying The Orange Box is the safest purchase you’ll ever make.
