Gaben, lord of discounts

After a few weeks of teasers, rumors, and wild theories the Steam Summer Sale has now finally arrived, bringing with it a ridiculous amount of discounted games. However, while that is certainly a good thing, it is not exactly easy to choose only a couple of games when you have thousands upon thousands strewn before you.

In an effort to help out with this little 'problem', and also showcase some great games you might not have otherwise even looked at, I have devised a brief list consisting of five games you should consider grabbing on Day 1 of the Steam Summer Sale. Without further ado, let's begin:

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition (-88%)

Shadow of Mordor screenshot of our hero touching an Orc

On first glance Shadow of Mordor appears to be just another generic open-world game where you have to cleave through hordes upon hordes of boring enemies. To be perfectly honest, that is partly true, but Shadow of Mordor does all of the standard open-world things so well its very hard to not have a blast playing through it. The combat is fast-flowing and exciting, the Nemesis system is great at creating compelling warlords for you to fight, and even though it does overstay its welcome by the end Shadow of Mordor manages to create a rather interesting world for you to explore. If you're looking to waste a dozen hours terrorizing Orcs and roleplaying as the Tasmanian Devil in combat, then Shadow of Mordor is the game for you, but just don't go in expecting to see a well written story as you certainly won't find one.

Doom (-50%)

screenshot of Doom guy loading his weapon

Even though the odds were heavily stacked against it Doom managed to perfectly recreate the oldschool FPS formula. Its all about extremely fast movement, constant explosions, and hordes upon hordes of demons coming at you from all directions. But most importantly of all, the new Doom is fun! Its fun to round around at ridiculous speeds, its fun to turn demons into blood sprinklers, and its even more fun to do all of that with a kickass soundtrack playing over it. To put it simply, if you want to have a bit of fun with a singleplayer shooter you really can't do wrong with Doom.

Transistor (-85%)

Transistor screenshot

You might know Transistor as the second game from Supergiant, the folks behind Bastion. Much like Bastion itself Transistor features a beautifully stylized world, a gravely-voiced narrator that makes all of your actions feel twice as important, an intriguing combat system, and a story that is both confusing and enticing at the same time. Transistor is definitely not a game for everyone given that the combat is a weird mix between turn-based and real-time action, but if that's something that doesn't bother you I would definitely suggest you give it a look as it really is a beautiful game to experience.

Total War: Warhammer (-66%)

Total War: Warhammer artwork for Acheaon the Everchosen

Total War: Warhammer is a combination of two things I have always enjoyed, the Total War series of games and the ridiculously in-depth Warhammer universe, and I am glad to say it does both of those justice. Each of the races has their own unique playstyle, there are plenty of different tactics to employ on the field of battle, and the whole thing is so drenched in Warhammer lore that its incredibly easy to get absorbed into the world. But most importantly of all, Total War: Warhammer might just be the easiest Total War game to start off with, purely because all of the units and their abilities are obvious from the moment you first see them. So if you're up for a strategy game with a Warhammer flare I would heartily recommend you give Total War: Warhammer a look as it has devoured well over 300 hours of my life so far.

Hitman: The Complete Season (-66%)

Hitman Marakesh screenshot

After the incredibly disappointing Hitman: Absolution the latest Hitman game has come as a complete breath of fresh air. Like the oldschool classic Blood Money the newest Hitman features plenty of avenues you can approach your target through, large and expansive levels filled with secrets and paths to explore, tons and tons of replay value due to the various challenges, as well as some of the most fun stealth gameplay around. If you're into stealth games and you haven't already grabbed Hitman I would recommend you correct that 'mistake' as soon as possible - it really is a great game!

And there you have it, these are all of my recommendations for Day 1 of the 2017 Steam Summer Sale. I'll be back tomorrow with a new batch of games, but until then I would definitely suggest you browse through the store yourself as you're bound to come across a couple of hidden gems I might have completely missed. 

If you're interested in some more suggestions from your's truly, however, you'll find links to all of the other days right below:

 Recommendations for Day 2

 Recommendations for Day 3

 Recommendations for Day 4

 Recommendations for Day 5

 Recommendations for Day 6

 Recommendations for Day 7

 Recommendations for Day 8

 Recommendations for Day 9

 Recommendations for Day 10

 Recommendations for Day 11

 Recommendations for Day 12