Hey all. Always enjoyed reading everyone’s suggestions on more unknown games available during big steam sales.

I’ll start off with one that I have been a fan of for a long time: Death Road to Canada

This game is like a zombie action Oregon Trail like game, where you manage supplies and fight through hordes of zombies on your way to the safe haven of Canada. Only US$3.74 right now and well worth it imo!

  • Pixelologist@beehaw.org
    9·
    1 year ago

    I feel obligated to recommend a Steam Deck if you have interest in one and can afford it.

    We have 2 and I would get a 3rd if I could lol (with a bulky protective case etc. so I can be less careful)

    The most cost efficient way to go is buy the cheapest version and then put something like this in it https://www.westerndigital.com/en-il/products/internal-drives/pc-sn740-ssd#SDDPTQD-256G

    IMPORTANT NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU GET A 2230 SIZED NVME DRIVE. 2280 drives will NOT fit.

    If you don’t want to do that you can alternatively just get a big micro SD card and save the SSD swap for later For best speeds you want it to say A2 and a 3 inside a U.

    Even besides playing video games it’s an awesome little mini pc. Not perfect but awesome, and an amazing value at $359.

    • Bumblefumble@beehaw.org
      2·
      1 year ago

      Wait does the 64GB option support M.2 NVMe? I thought it only supports eMMC and that you can’t swap with a different NVMe drive, but maybe I’m wrong?

      • Yoreo@kbin.social
        2·
        1 year ago

        The 64GB emmc drive in the Deck uses the m.2 expansion slot, so you can pop out the emmc drive and swap in a 2230 form factor nvme drive and be gtg after reinstalling SteamOS.

        I myself went from a 256GB drive to a 1TB drive, and this weekend, I’ll be popping in a 2TB drive I just received in the mail.

      • dan@lemm.ee
        1·
        1 year ago

        Yes, exactly what I did. You can just buy a 2230 nvme ssd and slap it in. Process is pretty painless (just remember to take any micro SD card out before you take the shell off or there’s a chance you’ll snap it)

        The hardest part for me was finding a usb-c to usb-a converter so I could plug in a usb stick to reinstall the OS.

    • Terrasque@infosec.pub
      1·
      1 year ago

      I’d love to buy one, but they won’t sell to me. “This item is not available for reservation in your country”

    • dan@lemm.ee
      1·
      1 year ago

      I second this. Seriously one of the best things I’ve bought in years. 64gb + 1tb+ m2 is such a ridiculous bargain if you can operate a screwdriver.

      They’re incredibly good emulation platforms too.

      I honestly hope they just sell this model for a few years while dropping the price - something to be said for having a standard hardware platform with a huge install base.

    • Xathonn@kbin.social
      0·
      1 year ago

      I had heard that swapping the ssd yourself voids warranty, is that true? Or is it only if you swap more stuff

    • Catch42@kbin.social
      0·
      1 year ago

      You can swap the ssd! Why are they charging so much to upgrade to only 256gb of Nvme storage?

  • somefool@beehaw.org
    9·
    1 year ago

    I fell in love with Submerged when I played it. It’s an exploration game set in a flooded city, where you play a young girl looking for supplies for her injured brother. Lots of navigating between buildings in a little boat, climbing around, and taking in the scenery. Incredibly relaxing to play.

    • TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub
      1·
      1 year ago

      How can it be relaxing if your brother is injured and needs the supplies? I’m just wondering if I wouldn’t feel urged to get him back to health as soon as possible.

      • somefool@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        I’m a heartless monster who forgot about my brother so I could sit in my boat and gawk at my surroundings at sunset. Mileage may vary.

        It does have moments that stressed me out, but since I spent so much time exploring and taking screenshots, they’re not what left the strongest memory.

  • Rin@beehaw.org
    6·
    1 year ago

    for me, I’m really fixated on Cassette Beasts, because Pokemon has been disappointing for me for a long while now. I keep debating on whether I buy it now, or wait until they implement the online multiplayer they just announced.

  • TXinTXe@lemmy.ml
    6·
    1 year ago

    Ok, not so much as hidden, but also not super known:
    Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. A tactical stealth game (think commandos saga back in the day) is 90%
    Technobabylon. A pixelated point & click adventure with some cyberpunk themes at 70%
    Return of the Obra Dinn. Probably the best detective/deduction game that I’ve played, at 40%
    Prey. One of the best immersive sims, at 75%
    The Case of the Golden Idol. Is not as good as Obra Dinn in my opinion, but it’s super good none the less, at 30%
    Antichamber. Super good puzzle game, at 75%
    The Age of Decadence. Ultra hardcore RPG set in ancient Rome, 60%
    Tametsi. Is like minesweeper but good, 67% (and only 0.77€)

    • lotanis@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      Have just bought Shadow Tactics and Tametsi based on this. I used to love Commandos (and even better - Desperados).

    • Sev@pawb.social
      0·
      1 year ago

      It’s wild how many people seem to have slept on Prey. It’s an amazing game.

      Also +1 on Antichamber. Portal-like but with some very unusual and fun mechanics.

      • liminis@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        Absolute gem of a game, shame Bethesda forced them to use the Prey branding; a lot of fans of the original wrote it off because it has nothing to do with the original. One can’t help but wonder if we would’ve had such a disaster as Redfall if Colantonio hadn’t left as a result of all that.

        Underrated even among Prey fans is Mooncrash, easily the best roguelite experience from a AAA studio, and just a great experience all around for anyone who wants ‘more Prey’.

  • comicallycluttered@beehaw.org
    5·
    1 year ago

    Huh. Didn’t realize it started today. Will have to check my wishlist.

    Anyway, recs in no particular order:

    • Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a lovely little game. Some great East Asian influences, and a really great art style. Combat is sometimes surprisingly difficult. Some fun puzzles and platforming make up a lot of the game.
    • Death and Taxes is a short and darkly humorous game where you take on the role of the Grim Reaper and decide who lives and who dies in a workplace-like fashion. If you’re a fan of the web series, Purgatony, this might remind you of that. It’s got a touch of satire to it as well, but not super pronounced. You’ll find that mostly in the details and consequences of who you let live and who you let die (and there are consequences, some very significant).
    • Heaven’s Vault is a narrative game that takes place in space. Linguistics (or rather translating text) plays a role in the game and it’s got a hand drawn, cel-shaded kind of art style.
    • A Story About My Uncle is a first person, narrative driven, and entirely nonviolent game, with a bunch of cool swingy mechanics (so lots of gameplay, just not shooty bang stuff) and a fairly sweet story. You meet all sorts of fantastic, alien creatures on your adventure, platforming through a strange and beautiful world. Art direction is lovely, honestly.
    • ABZÛ is just straight up awesome relaxation (with a few less relaxing points every so often) from some of the devs who brought you Journey and Flower. This time, it’s all about diving and swimming through fascinating locations that vary from colorful reefs to areas reminiscent of long forgotten temple ruins (the name comes from the Sumerian and Akkadian word referring to underground aquifers that played an important part in some Babylonian mythology).
    • Quantum Conundrum - Do you like Portal but wish it had a little John DeLancie commenting on your actions? Then this is for you! A fun puzzle game heavily inspired by Portal (the lead dev worked on the original Portal, if I recall). It’s aimed at a slightly younger audience, but I think it works for everyone. Good vibes all around.
    • Okay, not a hidden gem exactly, but if you like space, No Man’s Sky isn’t the disappointing game it was on release. I’d urge anyone who likes space and exploration to at least give it a shot. You can turn on creative mode and not worry about any survival elements as well. It’s got a bit of a plot to get you used to the galaxy (and also explain some of the lore), but you can just do whatever you want and ignore that. Three alien races and you can learn words from their language by interacting with them or interacting with pillars on various planets that will teach you a word. I like this part of the game a lot for some reason. There’s some other lore hidden around as well, but it’s really up to you if you want to discover it or not.

    Edit: I forgot about Blacktail. I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s a new take on the Baba Yaga myth and stars the voice actress who played Meg in Hades. That lovely, husky voice.

    These next three are very hit or miss and some may find them either unpolished or just not that enjoyable. I’m listing them because they’ve got either an interesting story, or interesting mechanics. You’ll notice the last two have a “mixed” rating, so this is more about “if you like the idea, maybe try it”.

    • The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is a narrative game that puts you in the shoes of a blind princess. It was made to be a game that blind people can enjoy, and the controls and mechanics are fairly basic (and it’s keyboard only as far as I remember, but there might be controller support, I don’t know), but the audio design is fantastic (for obvious reasons). There’s some combat, and it’s all about timing and listening for cues. I honestly think it’s a fantastic game, but it’s not for everyone. Good news is that it has a demo! Try it out first. Also, WEAR HEADPHONES. It’s actually a necessity here. Binaural recording and object placement is entirely dependent on your ability to hear things (since you can’t see anything, though it’s got some pleasant screensaver-type visuals which do fit the theme of the area you’re in).
    • eXperience112 is a bit of a weird game. It’s kind of a point and click adventure, but you don’t control the main character. It takes place on an ocean vessel where something’s gone wrong. You essentially play a camera operator and what seems to be the only survivor speaks to you directly so you can point her in the right direction. Also, she remembers when you last saved. If you don’t play for a while, she’ll comment on the fact that you left her alone for a while. It’s buggy, but interesting.
    • The Occupation is kind of the middle ground between a walking sim and immersive sim, which sounds like a weird description. It has narrative and some gameplay elements that you’d find in immersive sims (open-ish levels, multiple characters to speak to and ways to complete a level, some stealth, etc.), and every level takes place in real time, which is important because you’ll have scheduled appointments for interviews and you’ll be gathering evidence before that time is up, so you’ll be looking at your in-game watch often. That watch is the reason I find it gets into walking sim territory, because you’re kind of restricted by it and it sometimes makes things feel a little “on-rails”. The whole thing takes place after some terrorist event killed someone close to the main character, set in a kind of dystopian London, but with a very '70s/'80s vibe in aesthetics. It has a demo, so try that first. If you don’t like it at all, you won’t like the game. If you find it intriguing, later levels get more intense, so you might be interested in buying the full game. If you like the demo, then yeah, maybe buy it. It’s not too long to complete.

    Most of the games I listed aren’t too long or time-consuming. The only significant exceptions are Kena and No Man’s Sky. The rest can be generally completed in a few hours or a couple of days. Kena isn’t super long either, but it does require a bit more of a commitment than the others.

    • TheLongPrice@lemmy.one
      1·
      1 year ago

      Another +1 for heavens vault. I usually hate narrative games, but I found it very well written and interactive.

    • sodiumbromley@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      1·
      1 year ago

      I feel like over time No Man’s Sky feels increasingly like I have too many mods installed. Every update felt like it had its own hub and NPCs and progress track that didn’t interact with any of the others. The game is still huge and it has turned into the game everyone was disappointed it wasn’t at launch, but I felt overwhelmed on which things were part of the core story I needed to complete and which parts were rabbit holes that wouldn’t connect to that.

      • Natori@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        Yeah. I think the issue in NMS is that they keep adding new systems (good) that do the same things as other systems (hmm) and can’t interface with those systems (bad). Like, why is town building not at all like base building? Why does base building have its own rudimentary town building part, but it kinda just stops? Why do they have beautifully realized frigates in space, and crashed frigates ont he ground, but no relationship between the two?

        I really want to love it, it contains essentially everything I like in a game, but it just constantly falls short on depth each time. I’m due to go back and sink another few hours into it but I also feel pretty confident that I’ll finish off again feeling the ache of missed opportunity.

        All that, and also I just think the writing in the game is phenomenally bland. It’s not bad at all, it just never captures my interest in the slightest. I’d love to get my hands on the basic framework of the story and totally rewrite it.

    • rjh@beehaw.org
      1·
      1 year ago

      I loved Heaven’s Vault, it hit all the things I love: detective/mystery novel, rich dialogue trees, languages. The only problem is when it’s over there aren’t any other games like it.

  • eldrichhydralisk@lemmy.sdf.org
    4·
    1 year ago

    Donut County is only $3.89. It’s a short, funny, cute puzzle game where you make everything fall in a hole. Really good.

    Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is $12.49 and a much better 80hr RPG then it has any right to be. And I never even touched the second game in the collection!

  • CyanPurple@kbin.social
    4·
    1 year ago

    1. Roadwarden($7.36) - A text based RPG wherein you play as a roadwarden and influence the future of the land with a 3 day time limit. Good story

    2. Fear and Hunger 1 & 2($5.59 & $9.59) -The dark souls of rpgmaker games. Loot is randomized for each playthrough. There’s a dismemberment system that also applies to you. You lose your legs, it’s gone for good the entire playthrough.

    3. Frostpunk($5.99) - You manage the last city on earth in the middle of the eternal frost.

    4. FTL: Faster than light($2.49) - 2d Spaceship simulation rougelike with randomized map. Your goal is to reach the last star sector and defeat the mother ship.

    5. Fran Bow ($3.74) - 2d Point and click psychological horror where you play a young girl with an unfair destiny

    • Phoenix [she/they]@beehaw.org
      1·
      1 year ago

      From the same people as FTL, Into The Breach is one of the only games I consider a “perfect game” — there is almost nothing about it that could be improved without it just being a different game. I 100%'ed that game 1.5 times and it’s absolutely amazing.

      It’s a turn-based tactics game with absolutely perfect interface (the way they went about its design is a whole interesting thing in itself); like chess but you only need to think 1.5 moves into the future.

      • phosphorik@kbin.social
        2·
        1 year ago

        Man, Octopath Traveler was such a letdown. The total lack of character interactions with other character’s stories made protagonist selection feel pointless and the story felt even more shallow than it was. Just… so meh. I couldn’t talk myself into picking up the second one.

        • Glide@lemmy.ca
          0·
          1 year ago

          Tbh, the worst part was that the advertising for 2 really seemed to suggest they’d heard that complaint about 1 and fixed it. The put so much emphasis on the Cross Paths feature. And then you get the game and discover that it is actually just 4 quests for 4 sets of 2 travelers.

          I really expected genuine interaction. Character to be present in cutscenes and have minor comments on what’s occuring. You know, stuff the story can technically progress without, but really flesh out the world and the characters. Bosses acting like they’ve caught out a single character only to initiate a fight against my party of 4 just feels weird as hell.

  • sokath@lemmy.fmhy.ml
    3·
    1 year ago

    I don’t hear much about Kenshi except for within folks who already play and let’s players on YouTube, but it’s one of my all time favorites. Can be hard to get into but watching a beginner video or reading some wiki will let you get into this massive, strange world. Currently only 13.50, which I think works out to like 2 cents an hour for me.

    • whysofurious@beehaw.org
      1·
      1 year ago

      I can second Kenshi even if I’ve never been able to go too far into the game. However it is really a gem and I hope I’ll find the time to get back to it

  • Krafty@fedia.io
    3·
    1 year ago

    @chloyster

    Here’s a list of my favorite games on Steam. I highly recommend the Steam Deck as well. Most games run well on it.

    • Satisfactory
    • My Time At Portia
    • My Time At Sandrock
    • Vampire Survivors
    • Titan Quest
    • Grim Dawn
    • Skyrim
    • Graveyard Keeper
    • Coral Island
    • Terra Nil
    • Core Keeper
    • Sun Haven
    • Monster Sanctuary
    • Travellers Rest
    • Forager
    • Stray
    • Exiled Kingdoms
    • Dungeonmans
    • Roots of Pacha
    • Monster Crown
    • Streets of Rage 4
    • Disaster Band
    • Halls of Torment
    • Trombone Champ
    • Katamari Damacy REROLL
    • We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie
  • MooMix@beehaw.org
    3·
    1 year ago

    Timespinner: A really solid Metroidvania - very similar to older Castlevania games. It’s on sale for just under $6 USD. Great deal. I got a solid 28 hours out of the game and loved it (tho, if you race to the end it isn’t super long but still good for the price). Don’t sleep on it for that price if you like the genre, and are itching for that old school Castlevania feel. An actual hidden gem IMO.

    Broforce: Not a hidden gem, but a hilariously fun side scrolling shooter like Contra that you could play with a few friends (and levels going up and down, not just running to the right, plus destructible environments that you can use to kill your friends for laughs). $3 USD, hard to pass up even if you only play it for one drunken night with your friends. We all had a lot of fun with this. Maybe too much fun.

    Toukiden 2: This game has been sitting at full price for years. I could never understand why. It’s a Monster Hunter style game with a full open world for single player, but multiplayer gameplay for boss battles similar to MH. I had fun with it for a bit but I have been waiting for it to go on sale so I can play it with some friends. Significant sale at $23.99 USD compared to the usual $60 USD and it doesn’t happen often. It’s worth looking at. I enjoyed the few hours I played a lot, but I couldn’t tell you how good it is overall. Reviews seem good.

    Grim Dawn: Others have already mentioned this one. It’s the successor to Titans Quest, and perhaps the spiritual successor to Diablo 2. Supports mods, which is great! Stash enhancements, character editors, etc. It’s an ARPG game similar to Path of Exile and Diablo. Story is decent, there’s some cool mechanics and choices matter type stuff, but even with those you can still play with your friends. You can get the game with expansions (totally worth getting) for around $21-$25 USD. Great deal and you’ll be supporting a great company, Crate Entertainment takes care of their fans and keep supporting the game.

  • jemikwa@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    2·
    1 year ago

    I have to recommend my favorite game of the last few years - CrossCode
    It has everything. Snappy combat, build diversity, varying enemies, incredible story and characters, beautiful pixel art, and unique puzzles.

    The combat is fantastic. It’s very responsive and has so much diversity in each element you obtain. The gear has so much variety to augment your builds.
    I love a great story in games. I adore the story in this game. Lea is a compelling main character while being one of few words (literally). Her friends she makes along the way are charming and frustrating but in a redeeming way. The universe has so much lore to discover in every facet, and the real-life MMO setting is captivating to explore. If you aren’t a fan of puzzles, you can reduce the timing of elements of those puzzles to make them easier to solve/execute. A good handful are time-based execution ones, so this feature is very helpful if you’re ever having a hard time pulling off one or two puzzles.