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!
Huh. Didn’t realize it started today. Will have to check my wishlist.
Anyway, recs in no particular order:
These next few are very hit or miss and some may find them either unpolished or just not that enjoyable. I’m listing them because they’ve got either an interesting story, or interesting mechanics. You’ll notice that two have a “mixed” rating, so this is more about “if you like the idea, maybe try it”.
Most of the games I listed aren’t too long or time-consuming. The only significant exceptions are Kena, Jade Empire, and No Man’s Sky. The rest can be generally completed in a few hours or a couple of days. Kena isn’t super long either, but it does require a bit more of a commitment than the others.
Edit: I somehow managed to accidentally delete this comment and wasn’t quick enough to restore it in its original form, but managed to have most of it all in my clipboard, thankfully.
Should mostly be fixed.
I feel like over time No Man’s Sky feels increasingly like I have too many mods installed. Every update felt like it had its own hub and NPCs and progress track that didn’t interact with any of the others. The game is still huge and it has turned into the game everyone was disappointed it wasn’t at launch, but I felt overwhelmed on which things were part of the core story I needed to complete and which parts were rabbit holes that wouldn’t connect to that.
Yeah. I think the issue in NMS is that they keep adding new systems (good) that do the same things as other systems (hmm) and can’t interface with those systems (bad). Like, why is town building not at all like base building? Why does base building have its own rudimentary town building part, but it kinda just stops? Why do they have beautifully realized frigates in space, and crashed frigates ont he ground, but no relationship between the two?
I really want to love it, it contains essentially everything I like in a game, but it just constantly falls short on depth each time. I’m due to go back and sink another few hours into it but I also feel pretty confident that I’ll finish off again feeling the ache of missed opportunity.
All that, and also I just think the writing in the game is phenomenally bland. It’s not bad at all, it just never captures my interest in the slightest. I’d love to get my hands on the basic framework of the story and totally rewrite it.
Oh, shit. I forgot about settlements. That whole mechanic suuuuuuucks to me. I had to just ignore it.
And yeah, plot’s paper thin. Mainly there to just edge you in the right direction with learning mechanics and whatnot, but I still find some of it interesting, mostly in theory. Maybe because I just fill in the gaps with my own headcanon, I guess.
Not that there’s much canon to be had, but there is at least some lore to be discovered relating to how certain races came to be and the whole Atlas and “Traveler” concept essentially being the quick explanation for why literally everyone’s experience is “canon”.
Still, do agree for the most part. Also, I must admit that my recommendation was based on my time with it a few updates ago. Played it recently and there’s definitely a lot more, some interesting, some “too much” (like settlements).
Might move it down into my “maybe” category because it probably fits better there.
Yeah, I do agree with that. It can be overwhelming, and I also think you need to be in the right headspace to play it. Like, in a mood for experimentation and exploration.
It’s just strange for me as someone who really dislikes survival and crafting and base building and all that, that I enjoyed this for some reason.
Honestly, I think it’s because of the language/translation aspect and the kind of weird almost-but-not-quite-Lovecraftian lore with Atlas. And also those weird Dead Space-lite freighters. Thought those were kind of cool.
There’s a lot of shit that does feel unnecessary, though, but I think it’s because it’s trying to appeal to such a wide audience at this point. Most people, me included, will only really engage in two or three aspects of the game, but what aspects people go for are very much based on subjective preferences.
Kind of ironic, actually. Had almost nothing at launch. Now it maybe has too much. Still, I think it’s a decent time sink if you just want to fly around and explore weird planets.
+1 for Heaven’s Vault. Really excellent indie gem, and a fun spin on the detective game.
I loved Heaven’s Vault, it hit all the things I love: detective/mystery novel, rich dialogue trees, languages. The only problem is when it’s over there aren’t any other games like it.
Strong agree on your summaries of both Abzu (which I loved but did not finish) and Kena (which I loved but did. Both are great “hidden gem” games. I’ll have to look at the rest of your list since you clearly have good taste.
Hah, I appreciate that, but my taste often also leads to “this is trash and I love it and I don’t know why” sometimes. Or rather, “Why do other people hate this so much? It’s awesome!”
That said, glad you might check out some of the things I listed. Hopefully at least one grabs your attention. I particularly enjoyed Quantum Conundrum because it’s just good vibes (though it does get challenging later on, but never too stressful, as far as I remember), but with a similar snark to it as Portal.
Not the very darkly humorous stuff (although there’s a bit of that), but John DeLancie’s voicework is always engaging and has a fair amount of that sighing, “no, no, you’re doing it wrong” kind of attitude. Also, I just love his voice in general.
Another +1 for heavens vault. I usually hate narrative games, but I found it very well written and interactive.
OMG I played eXperience112 like 15 years ago and couldn’t find it again because I forgot the name, I’m buying it right now, thank you!
No prob! It’s still got a lot of jank to it, but I find the concept interesting enough to hold my attention.
Actually, if you like that, there’s a very similar game that was initially only on mobile, but made its way to PC a few years back called Republique, which I’m now learning is just straight up a free game.
More of a stealth game, but similar element of you being a camera operator and helping out someone relying on your eyes to guide them. Got dystopian cyberpunk feel to it, actually.