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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world to c/games@lemmy.world

Initial scrolling of the Steam Summer Sale seems pretty lackluster, but digging through the comments sections in other threads, a few gems have stood out, and it doesn't appear we have a thread dedicated to this yet, so post what you think are the best deals here!

Not mandatory ofc, but it'd be helpful if...

  • One game per top level post, so comments stemming from it are focused on on just it.

  • Hyperlink the game title to its Store Page

  • Include both the normal and sale price / %off

  • Include a short blurb about the game - if it's one you've played before, what did you like about it? If you're diving in blind, what grabbed your attention?

Good hunt'n!

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[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 80 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt ~~$39.99~~ $3.99 (90% off)

If you've somehow managed to avoid Witcher until now, it's a dark medieval fantasy, 3rd person, open world RPG based on ~~Norse~~ Slavic mythology. Lots of political intrigue, choices that actually impact outcomes in game. Fantastic voice acting, story, soundtrack, and combat/gameplay mechanics. This is one of the best games on the market - if you don't already have it, now's the time! There are also two DLCs that are each the size and scope of an entire standalone game - don't miss those!

Also available DRM free on GOG for the same price.

(shoutout to @Klystron@sh.itjust.works for GOG intel)

[-] WhyAUsername_1@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

Good fish! I will download it right away.

Just one question, I have never played any of The Witcher series game. Would I be okay in jumping directly into the 3rd part?

[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

Witcher 2's controls are a bit janky, but it's a solid game in and of itself for the story alone; if you can stomach some pretty bad mechanics to enjoy an otherwise decent product, I'd say start at #2.

Witcher 1 is... so bad it's kinda comical. I'd just pull up a story summary of Witcher 1 on youtube and call it a day. If you're a masochist, go ahead and give the actual game a whirl; but I'd recommend modding the snot out of it to at least make your character OP as fuck, allowing you to mostly skip the god-awful combat. But even then, the only selling point is the story, which again you can just pull up on YouTube.

That said, you can dive into 3 with zero knowledge of the previous two and be just fine. There are things that will go over your head, but nothing significant.

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[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 64 points 5 months ago

Subnautica ~~$29.99~~ $9.89 (67% off)

Sci-fi survival builder: you're on a massive spacecraft that ends up crash landing on an ocean planet; your goal is to figure out wtf happened and find a way off the planet. This game is 80% feel-good tropical diving simulator; and 20% thalasaphobic deepsea horror. This has become one of my go-to "idk what to play" games that I keep returning to for a nice digital tropical vacation... with a dash of fleeing in terror from, uh... spoilers. No really though, if you don't already know this game's story, DO NOT start looking up videos and posts etc about it - just buy it and dive in.

[-] lowleveldata@programming.dev 15 points 5 months ago

20% thalasaphobic deepsea horror

I'm not sure about that percentage

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Never mind the depths I was already on edge when I met the fucking crashfish

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[-] jazzup@lemm.ee 9 points 5 months ago

This is one of my personal favorites and the one that introduced me to the crafting/survival genre. I highly recommend it.

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[-] AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

The audio in this game really seals the deal. You're just swimming along collecting resources and hear a terrifying roar. But you look around and can't see where it came from... Do you keep going or nope the fuck outta there and go take a breather in your life pod for 20 mins while your heart rate comes back down?

[-] falkerie71@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 months ago

Should I also get the Below Zero bundle?

[-] GoodEye8@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago

Depends on what you want. If you want more of Subnautica story then get it. If you want more Subnautica style going into the depths, Below Zero doesn't go that deep and about half the game is actually above water. While I loved Subnautica I felt pretty disappointed by Below Zero.

[-] philpo@feddit.de 4 points 5 months ago

Absolutely. Below zero is more story oriented but still great.

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[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 52 points 5 months ago

Satisfactory ~~$29.99~~ $14.99 (50% off)

Sci-fi, you're dropped down to a lush alien planet to do what humans do best: strip all of its natural resources! Combat is limited, but boils down to fighting off wild animals - the main gist of the game is building and optimizing things like miners/conveyor belts/smeltors/assemblers/etc to automate the pillaging of the environment with increasing efficiency... which admittedly sounds more like work than play, but this title caught me a bit off guard with how fun and - true to its name - satisfying it is play.

[-] PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee 14 points 5 months ago

They're also planning on raising the full price shortly to $40, most likely with the launch of 1.0 the next update coming soon. Amazing game!

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[-] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 5 months ago

How is this different from Factorio?

[-] jaycifer@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

It's a 3D first person game instead of a 2D isometric, and most of the differences stem from that. More manual building (they added blueprints but I don't know how good they are), infinite resource sources which means setting up a mining outpost is permanent. Much less focus on fighting wildlife, though that is present.

Overall, it's a much more relaxing, slower paced game than Factorio. Both are good at different aspects of the same thing.

[-] AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Being able to build vertically makes it a very different experience. Using a hyper tube chain to yeet yourself all the way across the map is chef's kiss.

The blueprints are helpful for mid to late game when you need to set up dozens of the same thing. It's not a perfect system, but can definitely be a time saver.

The combat is totally different. There's no raid/defense mechanism. The mobs have a fixed spawn point. They'll stop respawning once you start building around that point. Once you learn the appropriate attack/dodge maneuver for each type, they're barely even a nuisance to kill.

[-] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

There's also a new 3D factory game called Foundry. Having bounced off of Satisfactory, that one seems more promising as a fan of Factorio.

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[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 47 points 5 months ago

Celeste $1.99 (90% off, new all-time low)

Hard but fair precision platformer by an expert of platformer design. Excellent controls, deep platforming mechanics, and a cathartic story about internal and external struggles.

[-] june@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 5 months ago
[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 8 points 5 months ago
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[-] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 44 points 5 months ago

Disco Elysium is 90% off. ~~$54.49~~ $4.54 (that's in Canadian, not sure about the US price exactly.)

I honestly couldn't even tell you what it's about, but it's one of my favourite games ever. You can die from reading a book that's too sad and if you do it right, you can smell communism.

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 81 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Disco Elysium is always free, the devs got fucked and won't get a cent from sales, everyone should pirate the game.

[-] paddirn@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Incredible game that can be a little jarring for people who are probably expecting something like Baldur’s Gate 1&2, Fallout 1&2, or some other kind of isometric killfest RPG. It essentially turns the dialogue into 90% of the game, but the dialogue is so damn good that it doesn’t matter.

It also takes getting used to damage, as sometimes you can “die” in seemingly random ways. I was on a rooftop, I think trying to reach for a scarf or something, and failed my roll. That caused me to apparently get so depressed that I lost the game. I can’t remember which stat/trait it was but I think there’s a morale or mental trait you have to watch out for too.

Pirate this game if you wanna give it a try, don’t ever buy it. This is what the developers have advocated for and it actually fits right in with parts of the game itself.

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[-] danciestlobster@lemm.ee 5 points 5 months ago

DE is fantastically well written, equal parts emotional and hilarious depending how you play and one of my all time favorite games. Big recommend

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[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 37 points 5 months ago

Valheim ~~$19.99~~ $9.99 (50% off)

You're a viking that died and you find yourself in a purgatory called "Valheim" to prove you're worthy of Valhalla. Another survival builder - with a somehow charming combination of really bad graphics paired with really good lighting. The combat is kinda clunky, but the other elements of this game make up for it. Well worth $10!! Don't forget to turn your music on before summoning a boss.

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[-] mox@lemmy.sdf.org 33 points 5 months ago

Wildermyth is a lovely combination of storytelling and xcom-style combat, with a genealogy system and chances for your heroes (and their descendants) to reappear in future games.

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[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 31 points 5 months ago

Tunic $14.99 (50% off, new all-time low)

A little guy in a green tunic picks up a sword and goes on an adventure, but the game is in an unknown language and you only have a few pages of the manual. It's like a metroidvania but your progress is based on knowledge.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 5 points 5 months ago

It's a great little game, but don't be afraid to drop the difficulty down later on. It really does detract from what makes the game special.

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[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 30 points 5 months ago

Inscryption $7.99 (60% off, new all-time low)

You find an old, abandoned video game and load it up. It's an atmospheric, spooky card game, hiding layers of secrets for you to discover. The less you know before starting the game, the better your experience will be.

[-] june@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 5 months ago

Indeed, if you like creepy games and card games just buy it without looking closer - it is an incredible experience that shouldn't be spoiled.

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[-] B0NK3RS@lemmy.world 29 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This War of Mine: Complete Edition ~~£26.93~~ £3.91 (85% off)

In my opinion one of the greatest games but also one of the saddest. If you already own the game then I highly recommend all the DLC as they all bring some interesting scenarios to the game.

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[-] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 25 points 5 months ago

hackmud ~~$19.99~~ $14.99 (25% off)

If you're into scripting or hacking you should check this game out. It's an interesting twist on the Multi-User Dungeon genre. The game presents mostly as a command-line interface where your goal is to seek out targets to pwn for money/points. NPC targets will have vulnerabilities you need to find and exploit in order to expose a hackable part. Once found you engage hackermode where you'll have a timelimit to break the target's security (mostly through bruteforce cracking). The game allows you to write short scripts in JavaScript to automate searching for vulnerabilities and cracking security.

Being Multi-User, there are other users online doing what you're doing and you're free to chat with them and exchange scripts. You're also free to write malicious scripts that will steal money/points from others who don't check scripts before running them!

The part I found cool was that the game mirrors IRL hacking much closer than other hacking games. You'll often need to submit incorrect data to NPC targets to get an error message that will contain hints about where to go next. Ex. A webpage has "News" and "About Us" sections. You can request a section that doesn't exist to get an error message that shows all acceptable sections: "News", "About Us", or "Employees". You've found a hidden section! Using scripts to send a bunch of mal-formed data at a target and then analyzing which ones generate an exploitable error is part of real-life security testing.

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[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 24 points 5 months ago

Grounded ~~$39.99~~ $19.99 (50% off)

This is basically "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" as a survival builder. Set in the 80s, you and up to three others are teens that miniaturized by... well you gotta figure out the how and why, and how to return to normal size by navigating the back yard of a scientist with some knowledge on the tech. TBH, I didn't really expect much from this game, but found myself having a ridiculous amount of fun with it. It is REALLY well made - the attention to detail is insane, from the yard design to build pieces. I wish I had this game when I was a kid, but still enjoyed the hell out of it in my 30s.

[-] Lilly1509@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Shattered Pixel Dungeon, ~~9.99 USD~~ 6.69 USD

It's a turn-based traditional roguelike + dungeon crawler, i.e. there are no in-game permanent upgrades to make the characters stronger, and only you the player get "stronger" as you become more knowledgeable. If you are into that kind of game, this is absolutely one of the best I've played!

The developer Evan has been continuously updating the game for the past decade, with a new, sixth playable hero scheduled to release later this year. The game is also free and open source, so you can even play the full game for free. I bought the Steam version (and has sunk 100+ hrs into it) because it's so rare for me nowadays to find a game I don't get tired of after a handful of hours. (Not saying short games are necessarily bad though, some of my faves are very short too.)

Also, check out the official pixeldungeon@lemmy.world!

[-] flicker@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

I play this on my android phone. It's free, ad-free, and you can pay to support.

The updates have been awesome. It's extremely difficult, and it's not unusual to die a buncha times before your first success.

[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 21 points 5 months ago

Ultimate Chicken Horse $5.24 (65% off, matching the all-time low)

Design platformer levels with your friends, then race them to the end, locally or online. Points are only awarded if someone died, so make the level extra dangerous!

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[-] ceilingcelery@lemmy.world 21 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Trombone Champ 60% off

Trombone Champ is the world's first trombone-based rhythm music game. Unlike most music games, you can freely play any note at any time. You're not just following along with the music, you're actually playing the music!

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[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Orcs Must Die! ~~$9.99~~ $2.99 (70% off)

Hybrid tower defense and 3rd person shooter/slasher. This game is... fucking stupid! Like by design - your character is a moron, and says some of the dumbest shit you'll hear come out of a protagonist's mouth. So with this game, you get a high dose of face-palmy humor paired with orc arms/heads/bones/etc flying across your screen after they get blended up by all your traps. Gameplay is surprisingly solid; you'll get some time to think and plan where to place traps and obstacles; then you'll get hit with a wave of orcs and other fantasy critters and try to manually pick off any that make it through the traps. There are a couple more games in this series - imo #1 is the best, but if you like this one, keep the others on your radar too.

[-] awesome_lowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 5 months ago

Just picked up Bloons 6, (~$1, 90% off) for those who like tower defense games. Lots of unlockable content and metaprogression, if that's your jam.

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[-] Dremor@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

Well now there is a dedicated post. Yours. 😄

[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 14 points 5 months ago

Hypnospace Outlaw $4.79 (a bizarre 76% off, new all-time low)

Explore a remarkably authentic simulation of the 1999 World Wide Web as a moderator of a Geocities-like website hub. Rather than just being a joke about the corny retro graphics, it's a heartfelt funeral for that era of the internet.

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[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 14 points 5 months ago

Gato Roboto $1.99 (75% off, matching the all-time low)

Polished metroidvania with great monochrome pixel art. You are a cat piloting a robot suit. It only lasts a few hours, but they're hours well spent.

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[-] B0NK3RS@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

GRIP: Combat Racing ~~£24.99~~ £2.49 (90% off)

Spiritual successor to Rollcage with a great soundtrack.

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[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 8 points 5 months ago

Overcooked! 2 $6.24 (75% off, matching the all-time low)

Chaotic co-op cooking, local or online. Complete restaurant orders quickly in increasingly absurd scenarios. Cook in a haunted kitchen, above a mineshaft, in the middle of the highway, or on a burning hot air balloon that crashes into another restaurant! This is the kind of game that people joke will ruin friendships.

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[-] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 7 points 5 months ago

Assault Android Cactus $4.99 (75% off, matching the all-time low)

Slick arcade-style twin-stick shooter with a pumpin' soundtrack. Clear out arenas full of robots, build up combos, and go for a high score. A large roster of characters offer a wide variety of playstyles. There's also 4-player local co-op.

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[-] turmacar@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Minishoot' Adventures $11.99 (20% off)

Isometric Zelda / Metroidvania / bullet hell with a lot of accessibility features and neat art where you're a lil spaceship guy. Has a demo to see if it's your jam. Already beat it twice, would really love for them to make DLC or a sequel.

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this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2024
238 points (98.4% liked)

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