Day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale has rolled on by, and with it the money from my Steam account, but its all for a good cause! I'm sure I'll get the time to play all of these games I've bought within the next decade or so.
Continuing on with the grand tradition set yesterday, here are my recommendations on which games to grab during Day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale. As before, I'm focusing on quality games with deep discounts attached to them, with the order being completely and utterly random:
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (-75%)
The original Dark Souls may have been surpassed in terms of gameplay by both Dark Souls 2 and 3, but to me its forever going to remain as one of the best games ever made. It features an expansive and interconnected world that somehow makes sense despite being inhabited by zombie dragons, a combat system that kicked my ass so hard it eventually managed to instill a good work ethic within me, and a story that never moves beyond the back lines, yet still remains deeply fascinating so many years later.
I would recommend using a controller to play it, but if you can't, make sure to google around for a mod that fixes mouse support, as well as DSFIX that improves the graphics and uncaps the FPS. Its not the best example of a PC port, I'll be the first one to admit that, but once you start playing you'll understand why I'm frothing at the mouth with praise for it.
After Aliens: Colonial Marines was excreted onto the market I doubt anyone expected to ever see a good Alien game within their lifetimes, but out of nowhere Alien: Isolation appeared and offered exactly that. Its tense, its frightening, and it will put the fear of xenomorphs deep within your soul! Its hard to explain this in words alone, but being stuck in a tight, enclosed area with a giant alien roaming around is not something you just casually deal with, especially when the motion tracker is going haywire due to the thing moving all around you through ventilation systems you can't even see! If you're looking for a good survival horror, or just want to get some laxative on the cheap, give Alien: Isolation a try.
Prison Architect is one of the rare few games that actually used Early Access as it was intended. The developers posted frequent updates, reacted to community concerns, and in the end created one of the most unique and interesting simulation games I've played in recent years. It might seem simple on first glance, but with numerous options to fiddle with, and plenty of complex systems such as heating and electricity to deal with, you can make Prison Architect as casual or as hardcore as you wish. If you're a fan of micromanagement games, or simulations in general, give this one a look, its one of the best.
If you ever needed to find out which one of your friends is worthy of joining your post-apocalyptic survival group, Left 4 Dead 2 is an excellent game for just that. Nothing will test the boundaries of friendship better than being stuck in a cornfield in the middle of the night, in pouring rain, and with about 50 million zombies spread across the field. If you're a fan of co-op games, especially ones that involve non-stop action, then by all means, grab Left 4 Dead 2. Its dirt cheap, its incredibly fun, and it has so many custom maps and mods that there's enough content to last you for as long as your attention holds.
The two Metro games aren't the most inspired first person shooters, but what they offer is an unparalleled sense of atmosphere and immersion. Without a HUD to rely on (a gameplay setting I fully recommend) you will need to pay attention to environmental clues, audio effects, and various other minute details in order to tell in what sort of a situation you're in. As your air filter starts to get low your breathing will become shallower and shallower, until eventually you're outright gasping for air, when shooting a gun you will need to visually keep a track of its ammo or end up on the wrong side of an overgrown rat, and so forth. If you're up for truly getting immersed into a world and slowly exploring what once was lost, then Metro is the series for you.
Much like Alien: Isolation, Strider appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and ended up being far better than anyone could've expected. Instead of being a poorly rehashed version of an old classic, it delivered a fresh take on the metroidvania genre with plenty of action, power-ups, and extremely open-ended levels filled with secrets and side paths. If you feel like roleplaying as a ninja-wizard, Strider is your game, especially if you're also a fan of either Metroid or Castlevania styles of gameplay.
And there you have it, these are the recommendations for Day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale. As before, make sure to rummage through the depths of the Steam Store to find even more nifty games that might be on sale but not actually highlighted, I can guarantee you that there's plenty of them out there. Whatever you decide to do, however, I welcome you to come back tomorrow for round 3 of discount hunting.