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!
just grabbed god of war, disco elysium, and hellblade senuas sacrifice...
as far as recommendations go, Mass Effect legendary edition and dragon age are very enjoyable if you like RPG with a focus on lore, story and characters. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a wonder and a steal at $20. Witcher 3 for $12. Horizon Zero Dawn for $16.50
I love GOG and their anti-DRM stance but I just can't bring myself to buy games there when they don't even have a native Linux launcher. Steam, on the other hand, just works.
I'm not sure if some of these are going on sale, but:
Desert Child--Racing game with a cool art style and awesome soundtrack, but tbh I don't think it's worth the price unless it's on sale. Not because it's bad, but it's REALLY short. ~8 hours for $12. IMO that's kinda steep so I recommend waiting for a price drop.
Seasons After Fall--Puzzle-solving sidescrolling platformer with a GORGEOUS art style, adorable animal characters, and sweet story.
Wytchwood--Topdown crafting/exploration game with cool art style and music. Storyline-wise, I've heard it called a little predictable, but I was engaged and didn't see where the plot was going, so take that for what it's worth. It's a cool game either way. And this one is actually on sale atm, so definitely check it out!
Fair warning though, while these are available on Steam, I have only played Desert Child and Seasons After Fall on the PS. So I don't know how fun they are on a Deck/PC. Seasons After Fall should be fine, as it's a sidescroller, but Desert Child might be harder to handle, I dunno.
Edit: if you like puzzle games/room escape games definitely check out The Room series as well
I suppose it depends on what a person considers a hidden gem because everyone's tastes are different. I'll list a few categories and at least 1-2 of my favorites in those categories that I've found on Steam and are currently on sale:
Exploration/Base-Building:
Grounded
Raft
Rimworld
Subnautica/Subnautica: Below Zero
Story based/Farming/Romance:
My Time at Portia*
My Time at Sandrock
Visual Novels:
Basically anything made by PixelFade (Ace Academy, Ethereal Enigma, Crystalline). One of the few English-based VNs that are fully voiced in English and have a pretty decent plot/story. Interactive with different choices affecting different outcomes and even some minigames at least in EE.
Nekop-er, Hush Hush. Ok, listen. I'll admit there IS an 18+ DLC for this but it's not necessary to enjoy the game. It honestly has a pretty interesting story/premise and I did get pretty heavily emotionally invested in the characters.
*Note that MTAP has been fraught with issues. Although these issues don't necessarily make the game unplayable, and it's still enjoyable, be aware that it is was Pathea's (the studio) first such attempt and as such they were still learning. Their second game Sandrock has solved a lot of the issues and it's not necessary to play the first one
I suppose it depends on what a person considers a hidden gem because everyone's tastes are different. I'll list a few categories and at least 1-2 of my favorites in those categories that I've found on Steam and are currently on sale:
Exploration/Base-Building:
Grounded
Raft
Rimworld
Subnautica/Subnautica: Below Zero
Story based/Farming/Romance:
My Time at Portia*
My Time at Sandrock
Visual Novels:
Basically anything made by PixelFade (Ace Academy, Ethereal Enigma, Crystalline). One of the few English-based VNs that are fully voiced in English and have a pretty decent plot/story. Interactive with different choices affecting different outcomes and even some minigames at least in EE.
_Nekop_er Hush Hush. Ok, listen. I'll admit there IS an 18+ DLC for this but it's not necessary to enjoy the game. It honestly has a pretty interesting story/premise and I did get pretty heavily emotionally invested in the characters.
*Note that MTAP has been fraught with issues. Although these issues don't necessarily make the game unplayable, and it's still enjoyable, be aware that it is was Pathea's (the studio) first such attempt and as such they were still learning. Their second game Sandrock has solved a lot of the issues and it's not necessary to play the first one
I've already got a Steam Deck and I really enjoy it, but I've been eyeing the Dock for a while too. It's on sale now for even less than the alternative I was considering so I'm probably going to grab one very soon
the complete edition of Nioh 2 is $30. $30 for like 4000 hours of content depending on how deep you get into it. one of my top 25 games of all time.
FAQ:
I hate soulslikes that aren't dark souls
don't worry, because nioh 2 isn't a soulslike after the first playthrough! once the credits roll, it becomes ninja gaiden crossed with diablo. also, the first playthrough is the tutorial lmao
do i have to care about the loot?
not on the first playthrough, but like i said, it's diablo. you'll be chasing gear and making builds that melt bosses. if that doesn't sound fun, pass on it.
do i have to play as William?
no! nioh 2 has a character creator. an extremely good one, because if Koei Tecmo is good at one thing, it's making pretty characters
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.
No that is not true. Also even if you drop it they have a repair center you can ship to that charges fair prices. They have a very positive reputation about this kind of thing (also RMAs, which I went through personally)
In the US, that's illegal (Magnuson Moss warranty act). In a lot of the rest of the first world, there are similar laws. But regardless, Valve hasn't shown any of the patterns some do of ignoring the law and forcing you to jump through hoops to exercise your rights, and there were a decent number of stories on Reddit of them fixing clear customer damage under warranty.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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