Any recommendations from the Steam Spring Sale?
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Kenshi is back on sale for 12$. It's a special kind of special, but someone out there might connect with it. Lots of yt videos to get a feel for gameplay.
Can anyone recommend a good multiplayer shooter with a high player population? (Either 2D or VR is fine.) Or any non-MMO, non-role-playing PvP game that is mostly online and has populated servers? Something my 37-year-old ass can just jump into and play a quick match without having to dedicate my life to it?
Getting sick of all the PUBGs, Counter-Strikes, Call of Duties, and Overwatches/Marvel Rivalses. My best gaming memories were during the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 days. I never had more fun in a shooter than when I was playing Rush. But unfortunately EA never managed to recapture that same magic in the sequels. After the 2042 flop I quit Battlefield for good.
Operation Harsh Doorstop is my favorite fps, it is a semi-realistic vehicle big map shooter.. but it has mod support and mods like Casualfield (which has active multiplayer servers) have much more Call Of Duty like gameplay. It is free, no live service crap. Even if you don't like where the vanilla game is right now, keep your eye on it, it is an easy platform for other shooters to be modded on. Player population isn't huge but there are consistently full servers. I also don't think the realistic nature of the game makes it less accessible than a game like battlebit, since there is such a specific gun meta at certain ranges in arcadey games like battlebit, and everything happens so fast with constantly rushing smg players... it is actually really hard to break into when you are playing on even normal pub servers. Apex Legends is in my opinion the worst game with this. In a game like OHD though, an assault rifle with a scope can do pretty much anything well enough, though you might prefer a more specific kit for a situation, but there isn't this crazy focus on constantly changing weird metas and gun balances to pump up paid skins for a gun that was just added... This is just a free moddable big map vehicle shooter with a server browser and barebones singleplayer, which is awesome.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/736590/Operation_Harsh_Doorstop/
Halo Infinite I grew up with Halo 1-3, I don't have any special love for 343, but Halo Infinite big team battle is the best halo multiplayer has ever been. Capture the flag is amazing with the warthogs the way they are balanced in halo infinite, I can't stand microsoft lol but damn halo infinite is in a nice state now.
Splitgate Ok, player population isn't massive, but this is a realllllly good game, even outside the portal gun mechanic. The gunplay is great and the jetpack is tuned perfectly. Can't recommend it enough!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/677620/Splitgate/
Easy Red 2 Alright now I am just straight up lying, this game never has huge concurrent numbers, but you can give large numbers of forces commands pretty easy in the interface (like you can drive a half track up to an objective and order your squad to dismount and assault). It is another WW2 game... but this game actually strives for historical specificity in lots of areas that aren't usually covered in WW2 games. There is a great diversity of armor, vehicles and fighter planes, the games is a blast and is a steal at around $10. Cross platform tooo!!?!?!?! Great for bot bashing.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1324780/Easy_Red_2/
Xonotic is the best arena fps ever, playerbase is HUGEEEE E
ok but I love it
Next battlefield could turn things around, respawn /Vince zampella was given control of the series
Due Process is a multiplayer competitive shooter similar in vein to Counterstrike or Rainbow Six Siege, but the maps are somewhat procedurally generated (there's tilesets and certain rooms layouts for every map) meaning there's no consistant strategy and sniper points to meta game. You play as defenders guarding a bomb or attackers breaking into the building to disarm the bomb, switching sides after 3 rounds. Rounds last 2 minutes with an extra minute given at the start to plan out the strategy. The economy of weapons works in that all the guns for 3 rounds are all available at the start and only the living players get to bring weapons to the next round. The original devs are no longer working on it I believe, but it is being updated and maintained by volunteers.
BattleBit Remastered is legitimately the tightest battlefield-like fps i’ve ever played, better than name-brand battlefield even. it fills the exact same niche for me.
i play with mic off and still manage serviceable communication with a squad of randies pretty much every game. there’s relatively frequent balance updates, so the meta isn’t focused on any one single playstyle. it’s exactly what i imagine an fps made by fps-junkies to look like.
Also playing support actually feels rewarding, and i think that’s proper rare in multiplayer games.
e: fuck hahah just kidding apparently it was abandoned by the devs. last update 15 months ago, rip to my favorite fps :c
Age of Wonders 4 has been a surprise and a delight. I was actually so impressed with it I ended up buying my best friend a copy yesterday.
I also picked this up recently and am enjoying it a lot. Can't speak for the multiplayer, but the singleplayer is very good. There are a lot of meaningful choices and variety that keep things fresh throughout and between runs.
I'm making myself finish Fell Seal before I start it, but I picked up Triangle Strategy at what gg.deals says is the record low price. As an FFT fanboy, it looks great (and so is Fell Seal for that matter).
Ooh thank you for mentioning Triangle Strategy. It's been on my mind because it seems it'll scratch that FFT itch but I didn't have it in my wishlist.
Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Helldivers 2, Broforce
Here is a link to Steam DB showing popular games more than 50% off:
https://steamdb.info/sales/?min_discount=50&min_rating=70&min_reviews=500
I'm enjoying Railway Empire. It's on for 75% off the base game and pretty good deal for the entire DLC & Japan collections.
If you love time-wasters with some challenges, then I'd recommend it.
I liked it until the timed missions kicked in. It was a free game on EGS years ago.
Anno 1800 is 5 bucks. I love it, but you need to deal with Uplay as well
I have over 600 hours in Anno 1800 and highly recommend it buuuut I would advise people consider the more expensive edition that includes all the expansions.
True, but if it annoys you enough, there are tools to help you remove the requirement.
https://github.com/YoteZip/LinuxCrackingBible?tab=readme-ov-file#6-drm-stripping-guides
There are other tools too.
my reccomendation? whatever's on gog
in all seriousness, you can't go very wrong with games made by valve, portal especially.
gog?
Good Old Games.
Lingo ($6.99/$9.99) is an incredible exploration and word puzzle game. It also has a few excellent custom maps such as Duolingo and Liduongo.
A sequel (Lingo 2 $9.99) just released and is also excellent. It changes how puzzle rules are presented, making them playable in either order. It's a more polished experience though, so playing the first game after would probably feel like a step backward.
Borderlands 3, if you somehow missed it, for under £5 is just a good value.
Idk why you got downvoted. Borderlands 3 for $6 is a pretty good deal. And $16 for the complete edition isn't bad either. I already own the full collection on steam so I can't see the price of that, but when I bought it during the last sale I wanna say I spent like maybe $50 on the entire Borderlands series.
There really is a "Lemmy hive mind" starting to form, just like reddit.
I don't think there were downvotes, just me myself removing 1 upvote (as I am a shy person). I bought it at full price myself, and have no regrets.
there's an option to split the updown vote display on Lemmy
I got myself and can recommend:
Returnal (29.99€) (Rogue-like shooter),
Wisper (6.99€) (Open world exploration) and Crossroads OS (3.74€) (Puzzle game).
I can further recommend:
Studio System (8.84€) (Horror),
With My Past (6.59€) (Puzzle),
Signalis (13.99€) (Horror).
I fucking loved Returnal on ps5 and it’s a steal for the sale price right now!!
I just bought Suicide Squad (I know, I know, but it was on sale and I want to experience it at least a little); Pine; and Sniper Elite 2R, 3 and 4.
I'm very excited to get into the Sniper Elite games. I played 5 back when I had Game Pass, but never finished. I figured the others might be just as good.
Talos Principle is $5
Talos Principle 2 is $15
Highly recommend both games!
Both combined is $15.58. That doesn't include the excellent expansions for either game though.
They are the only portal-likes (chamber-based player movement puzzlers) that I'd place on the same level as the Portal games.
Imo they're better. Portal was more groundbreaking because of when the first one came out, what valve was doing at the time, because everybody played it, and because of its connection with other games at the time.
But now, it's just a very good game that (re)introduced portals as a concept into pop culture and repopulatized and proved that AAA puzzle games were possible.
Talos, on the other hand, is a philosophical indie sleeper, and more of a social experiment. I don't like comparing it to portal, because most people see portal as an insurmountable peak with an impenetrable meme forcefield. And yeah, portal is great. But the Talos games are something very different and stands all on its own.
Celeste is 75% off and is a near-masterpiece of a game.
Portal 1 and Portal 2 are on sale again of course on the chance you haven't yet hit these absolutely classic legendary games.
Persona 4 Golden is 40% off and is awesome, and Persona 5 Royal is 60% and is even more awesome.
Metal: Hellsinger is 70% off and while it isn't a GOTY type game, it's a hell of a lot of fun if you're a contemporary metal music fan.
but my biggest recommendation is probably gonna be
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale at 80% for only $3.99 (US) which is an completely underrated hidden gem of a game and a huge recommendation for anyone who likes quirky cozy-hybrid games or who, like me, spent way too long on the shopkeeper segments in RPGs like Torneko Taloon's chapter in DQIV.
edit: why in the world would anyone ever downvote a personal recommendation comment? Weird behavior, fam
If you like Recettear you should check out Final Profit:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1705140/Final_Profit_A_Shop_RPG/
Will do! I just started playing Moonlighter recently which is currently scratching that itch a bit
Metal: Hellsinger is 70% off and while it isn’t a GOTY type game, it’s a hell of a lot of fun if you’re a contemporary metal music fan.
Have you played BPM: Bullets Per Minute? If so, how would you say it compares? I like metal and I like shooting demons, but that one never really grabbed me, I'm not sure why.
I haven't ever played BPM, I'm sorry.
Recettear
This game rocks. 'Nuff said.
I picked up civilization VI (for my PC), hades and outer wilds for my deck.
Here’s what I picked up during the Steam Spring Sale:
DOOM - $1.99 (90% off)
Stray - $18.99 (40% off)
Undertale - $0.99 (90% off)
Celeste - $4.99 (75% off)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - $4.99 (90% off)
Red Dead Redemption 2 - $14.99 (75% off)
NieR: Automata - $15.99 (60% off)
Hades - $9.99 (60% off)
Devil May Cry 5 - $19.79 (67% off)
That's...weird. When I checked the price yesterday Fallen Order was 18.99? Did they do a deeper discount?
The Mafia Trilogy is $15 for the whole shebang, or $7.50 for any one of the individual games. I grabbed Mafia 3.
Mafia 2 is the only one worth playing.
I'm liking that 3 feels more like Shaft than a stereotypical mobster movie game, so I could see how it might not be what you're looking for if you want the good ol' Italian mob themes.
Caves of Qud has a small discount. I’ve been playing it a lot lately on the Steam Deck.
Mass Effect legendary edition (all 3 games + all DLCs) is on for 6 Euro.
That's a great deal IMO
On the third game myself, I can't believe I didn't play these sooner. I understand the hype this series generated now.
They may not have lived up to the hype when initially released, which was understandable as there were a lot of promises that weren't keeps, but they are undoubtedly still absolutely amazing games.
I like this indie game critic, he has a recommendation video for sale
Thanks for the recommendation! Just watched a couple of his vids and ended up adding like ten games to my wishlist.
Noita is currently 60% off and is hands down the best game I have ever played (kind of). It is ridiculously brutal and you will die very often but you have the potential to get ludicrously powerful as well. The game will cheese you so don't be afraid to cheese it back. In has so much content that beating the final boss for the first time is considered beating the tutorial.
Also if the some aspects are too bullshit for you there is a variety of mods to fix these, and there is absolutely no shame in using them.
I use the mod that respawns you at the last checkpoint. It's SOO nice to have.
More capitalism, huh? I hope steam is paying you for that free advertising.
Too true. I'm getting my games from the communist on the corner from now on.
Critiquing capitalism while participating in it and name dropping a brand huh? 🤔
This is literally a community for recommencing cheap games to buy...
Armchair Activist
Lmao
Lol
Outer Wilds is on sale. Great game if you like space, puzzles or platforming!
I have just picked it up!
My personal greatest game of all time. Do go on blind tho.
I went in blind and gave up after about 3 hours. I have no idea what the fuck is going on, which makes it too easy to die to the same thing over and over again, because I can't remember which paths lead to progress and which ones lead to death.
Outer Wilds is a game for normies with a good memory and proper motor skills.
Absolutely, what i would give to play again with no knowledge
I’ve still never beaten it. I’m near the end I’m pretty sure. Great game.
You're always near the end.
We picked up Journey and Star Traders Frontier. I've wanted to play Journey since it came out but I didn't have the proper console. Well, I forgot I put it on the wishlist, and that's a real good price so.
I've (sung? musically yelled at?) another person already.
If you are the simmy type or like space, Elite Dangerous is insanely good, but has a learning curve up front. It's the only game I've put over 1,100 hours in and still haven't explored everything.
Subnautica is another game I can highly recommend.
If you wanna play games with friends (Elite is also MP), The Forest is a great game to bond over.
Black mesa is another banger.
X4 is on sale as well, if you want something similar to Elite
x4 has much more depth.
i would say x4 is more like EVE but single player
How does Elite Dangerous compared to starfield? I'm 20 hours into starfield but finding it quite fun.
Starfield has a focus on running around with your legs (or wheels), while ED is more about flying around with your spaceship (or wheels).
I have 1000 hours in Elite and it's nowhere near as on rails or limited. It's set in a full scale Milky Way where you can pick up missions from a station's bulletin board, hunt pirates, or just pick a direction and jump to make discoveries, spending months alone scanning systems. The game has well developed lore that regularly updates through an in game feed, but it's mostly background fluff unless you want to strengthen your faction or if there's a major community event. It's also a good time to jump in since new ships have been added and the galaxy is rebuilding after the last war event.
o7 #KRAITKREW
Different genres. Starfield is mostly you running around on foot, having shootouts, and interacting with people and human-sized environments. The space combat is basically an elaborate mini-game.
Elite Dangerous is mostly about flying space ships around.
Personally, I liked Starfield, though I think that it's weaker than most prior Bethesda offerings. I stopped playing Elite Dangerous, though I have enjoyed some past space-combat-and-trading games, like Escape Velocity. Just never really hooked me. I didn't like the Elite Dangerous "faux online multiplayer" thing at all --- multiplayer breaking immersion in crafted environments is one thing that I'm not a fan of, and unnecessarily adding that just seemed obnoxious to me. The cockpit UI felt like it was more-oriented towards VR use to me, which may be good if you have a VR headset.
Elite Is a space flight economics simulator.
Fly around buy here sell there look at stuff for fun and get into battles
Great game but you will want a hotas set up if you really get into it
I keep trying to get into Elite but it never clicks for me. I was flying around earlier trying to dock into a station but everyone was refusing me so I closed the game. I’ll probably look up a new players guide before giving it another attempt later.
Hotas?
Like el_psd said flight sim gear.
Ideally one with rotation in the stick too.
I have the A10 Warthog set up but have to screw around for side thrusters because they're replicas of the A10 warthog controls which obviously doesn't have side thrusters.
You can play without it all but it does make flying more fun and imersive and afterall thats what it's all about
"Hands On Throttle And Stick;" i.e. flight sim gear
I've heard great things about steam world heist 2 and just picked it up.
Doom 2016 for 2$, Titanfall 2 for 3$ and battlefield games from BF3 through BF1 also go for 2$
I've never played any BF games. Do they have good single player campaigns?
BF3's campaign was average. It had an interesting story and had some memorable parts but other than that it felt short and generic.
BF4's is worse though. It was just as short and generic as BF3's in terms of gameplay, but so was the story and the general presentation this time around. Not to mention that it's really damn buggy, the bugs that were present during the game's launch were never patched for the campaign. For instance, the FOV slider doesn't work at all.
I haven't played any of the other camaigns so I can't proprerly judge them.
Undertale is at a new all time love at $0.99. It's not really my jam but it's the time to pick it up if you always wanted to play it but never did.
The inability to resize the Undertale window without using a third-party program like Sizer continues to be INFURIATING to me.
Undertale is a good game, but it just makes me so goddamn angry every time I open it to not have control over the sizing on my own goddamn monitor that I haven't been able to finish it.
Sounds like they should have called it Underscale
I’ll see myself out
It's not really my jam
I watched someone's entire playthrough of it on YouTube, which I find to be a decent middle ground. In fact, someone else I know doesn't even game any more and just watches playthroughs; better to see an expert do it with insightful or fun commentary than to get frustrated from not knowing what to do, etc. when we have such limited time in our lives anyway. Maybe that's why I generally prioritize roguelites nowadays; if I'm gonna play something, I wanna ensure it's a unique challenge that possibly not even the devs have ever exactly seen, and not simply be treated like a rat in a fixed maze to figure out precisely or struggle otherwise when other people have done it.
Anyway, I digress; Infested Planet is $1.94 USD for another recommendation, and it's awesome. The trailer undersells it if anything.
Never heard of it and I can swing $1.94 – thanks.
I think I missed the window on Undertale. Who knows, if I played it when I was 17 I might have a different opinion but the whole "I'm so quirky and random" schtick doesn't really land with me.
Solasta Crown of the Magister for $8.99.
For me it's the best game ever to capture the D&D feeling. The custom Warlock subclass, Timekeeper, is ridiculously fun.
I don’t see it mentioned elsewhere - but if we’re going down the CRPG route and enjoying it I’d recommend to others Divinity Original Sin 1&2.
I’d also recommend Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. But it’s age might scare some people away – so I typically don’t lead with that.
The entire Creeper World series is on sale- Creeper World 1 and 2 are $2.49, Creeper World 3 is $4.94, and Creeper World 4 is $9.99. Personally, I don't like Creeper World 2 so I would suggest any of them but that one. CW2 is side on and I'm not a fan. CW1 and 3 are top down, and CW4 is properly 3D.
The first couple of Creeper World games used to be flash games you could play in browser, but after the age of Java games they ported them to Steam and kept making more and better games.
The basic concept is that it's a cross between a very simplified RTS and a tower defense game, with the added curveball that the enemy is just a liquid that won't stop showing up everywhere.
CW2 was my favorite!
He also recently released IXE which is a bit like 2, but with mobile units instead.
Yep. I wish I liked the side-on games. I'm not sure what it is about them exactly that doesn't click like the rest.
Are these like a Minecraft game?
Not even vaguely!
Like I said, it's a RTS/Tower defense.
Very much no.
They're more like those pixel physics sandboxes combined with a real-time strategy game. The enemy faction is a simulated liquid.
No Man’s Sky is down to $23.99. I remember the launch was poor but they kept working on it and improving it. I picked it up a couple years ago on Xbox and have enjoyed it
NMS was such a mixed bag for me. I spent over a hundred hours on it yet still walked away wondering what there was to do in the game.
It is way more of an enjoyable experience now than it was on launch. I just still find it sort of flawed on a core level. The exploration is clearly supposed to be a primary focus of the game, but I just find it incredibly bland after a bit. After I finished with that, I don't really know what to do with the game aside from.. keep flying around trying to find something worth finding.
I put 40hrs into it. I don't regret that, but I also have zero interest in continuing to play it past that.
I dont know if I can recommend them yet, but I picked up Enter the Gungeon, Heavy Rain, Undertale, Doom, and Pillars of Eternity.
I added Cyberpunk to the cart. We’ll see if I actually purchase it.
The gameplay is boring and the story is confusing; don't bother unless you just want some eye candy to show off what your 4090/5090 can do. The game is a heavily polished turd.
This game is fun with all the different mission choices it's good for atleast 2 or 3 full play through.
I've added hell divers 2 and Chivalry 2 to the cart so far haven't purchased.
The game is amazing. It's not the same game it was at launch, it's now up there with CDPR's best.
I was thinking about this one too. Not sure if I'll buy it, but it's the only one I'm considering at the moment.
I’m in the same boat. Got it in the cart, unsure if I’ll hit buy
I bought it a couple of months ago and oh boy this game is amazing. The story is really well written. I am not much of a first person shooter guy but this game is definitely worth it. The story is great, the atmosphere is amazing, it is a really well made game and especially now with the overall international state of affairs and the rise of AI, its depressively dystopian story feels even more relatable and even the fighting is fun and versatile.
Do it!
Dead cells bundle
Rain World and its DLC Downpour are 50% off (just above 11 bucks)
Rain World is very, very niche in its appeal, but it's perhaps the best argument for games as art that I've ever come across. I've never had to rethink what a game even is in order to engage with something before.
I went to check it out and it's already in my library. Must have snagged it in the last sale.
Going to vouch for this game. I’ve been really enjoying it.
Best experienced without spoilers. Don’t even look up the creatures if you can resist.
You are not a hero, you’re are a small animal in a living ecosystem.
Love this game conceptually but I'm going to have to try again when I have mental bandwidth to get absorbed into it
This is my son's favorite game. Seems to have decent replay value.
Well i enjoy snowrunner on my steamdeck quite well... Think i will get the year one pass
That will get me through till the next sale xD
also check out
offroad mania
-much more focused and bitesized
motortown behind the wheel
-the everything but advanced mud mechanics driving simulator king (and I mean everything )
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1369670/Motor_Town_Behind_The_Wheel/
ok, there is beamng too...
Dark souls in mud
There's a truly great indie beat-em-up RPG with Brian David Gilbert that just released called: INK INSIDE and it's on sale for $15.
He's from Pink Floyd, right?
From polygon, and now on Dropout. He's the new fact checker on Um, Actually.
If it's your thing btd6 is on sale for $3
Bang the donkey 6? Didn't know they continued after 3
They expanded to include alpacas
btd6
I believe it's "Bloons Tower Defense 6".
Just a reminder that while we all love Steam, they run an underage gambling ring in the form of CS skins, which they refuse to address.
Can someone explain videogames sales to me? How can a game be 12$ and 8.99$ the day after?
Can you elaborate where your confusion lies? It's a digital good, there is no marginal cost. So they can pretty much price a game however they want. So pricing is mostly about maximising revenue, i.e. get as many sales as you can at the highest possible price.
A sale is a relatively straightforward strategy where you first sell the game at a high price to all the people who are fine with paying a lot, then you lower the price to sell more copies to the people who weren't willing to pay the higher price. The result is more total profit. There is a time limit too to create a sense of urgency ("I better buy now so I don't miss the opportunity").
Can you elaborate where your confusion lies?
Real goods have a limited lifespan, they usually go on sales when they are about to reach the end of their life or when you physically have to get rid of them. Software doesn't expire.
A price is usually set to cover the initial costs and to make a reasonable profit not to squeeze how much money you can from people.
Its for the people that only buy when its a "good deal". Its usually for old games that are well liked or for newer games that are maybe a year old now. The non sale price is for people who can't wait for the discount. Sorta like waiting for a movie to go to video/streaming rather than go to the theater.