The end of the Steam Summer Sale is nearly upon us, and with only two more days to go I would suggest you pick up the games you were interested in before you lose the chance to do so for the next couple of months. Until the sale ends, however, I am going to stick around and offer you a few more intriguing games to check out.
As before, here are my recommendations on which games to grab during today's Summer Sale. I've chosen every single one of them based around two simple criteria, their quality and the depth of their discounts, while the actual order in which the games will appear is still completely random:
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition (-40%)
While Fallout: New Vegas is only on a 40% discount, its one of my favorite RPGs of all time and something I believe everyone that loves a good story should experience. The characters are unique and complex, the various factions are presented in a realistic and believable way (even the supposed villains), and the DLC bundled with the Ultimate Edition represents some of the best quest design I've seen in many years. If you're a fan of the Fallout series, or just RPGs in general, then I fully recommend you give New Vegas a try, but do be aware that once you start you're going to be stuck with it for at least another 50-60 hours.
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (-75%)
The Assassin's Creed series has never been bad, but ever since AC2 I had the feeling that Ubisoft is afraid of changing the formula because its essentially a money-printing machine at this point. What this resulted in was a series with completely derivative sequels, empty "open worlds", and a quest design that somehow always falls back to "follow the guy for 10 minutes". While all of that is still present in Black Flag, its one of the rare few Assassin's Creed games to innovate its gameplay to such a degree that I can call it completely unique. And unique it is, because sailing the high seas with your band of merry crewmen represents some of the most memorable experiences I've had in gaming. If you're a fan of the Assassin's Creed series, or just want an open world game to lose yourself in, then by all means make it Black Flag. To me it is the best in the series.
Valkyria Chronicles, despite its anime art style and use of bright colors, is a semi-serious tactics game set in "totally not World War 2". One of its best features is that every single one of your foot-soldiers has a unique voice actor and a backstory, which gives a surprisingly personal touch to all of the atrocities that are constantly happening around you. The actual story is unfortunately the standard anime nonsense, but it does have its touching moments and some of the characters are quite endearing. More importantly, the actual tactical combat offers you plenty of choices and is a genuine joy to play, with a special shoutout going towards missions that allow you to complete them in multiple ways. If you're a fan of tactics games, and especially if you're a fan of anime tropes, then you are highly likely to enjoy Valkyria Chronicle as well.
Continuing on with the war theme we have This War of Mine. Unlike Valkyria Chronicles, This War of Mine is a much more depressing game that focuses less on the glory on combat, and more on the poor civilians that are left starving in its wake. All of your gameplay will be spent making difficult decisions, foraging for supplies in nearly suicidal conditions, and somehow attempting to keep everyone within your tight-knit group from going insane due to the horrors of reality. Its not a game for everyone, but if you are looking to cleanse your pallet from all of the usual bloodshed in games and try something a bit... different, then by all means, give This War of Mine a spin.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (-80%)
I am a massive wuss when it comes to horror games, and while I can usually power my way through Dead Spaces and Resident Evils, Amnesia ended up being something I had to go do in multiple attempts. Rather than rely on jump scares and cheap tricks, Amnesia simply allows you to wallow in the atmosphere and imagine monsters at every corner, even though its usually nothing more than a plain old rat... until it isn't! If you're looking for an experience that will shake you to your very core, then turn off the lights, put on your headphones, and see how far you can get in Amnesia before the stress gets to you.
And there you have it, these are all of my recommendations for Day 10 of the Steam Summer Sale. If you're looking for even more recommendations, I will be back tomorrow for one final round with a new batch of discounted games.