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!
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 68•1 year agoI feel obligated to recommend a Steam Deck if you have interest in one and can afford it.
We have 2 and I would get a 3rd if I could lol (with a bulky protective case etc. so I can be less careful)
The most cost efficient way to go is buy the cheapest version and then put something like this in it https://www.westerndigital.com/en-il/products/internal-drives/pc-sn740-ssd#SDDPTQD-256G
IMPORTANT NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU GET A 2230 SIZED NVME DRIVE. 2280 drives will NOT fit.
If you don’t want to do that you can alternatively just get a big micro SD card and save the SSD swap for later For best speeds you want it to say A2 and have a 3 inside a U.
Even besides playing video games it’s an awesome little mini pc. Not perfect but awesome, and an amazing value at $359.
Bumblefumble ( @Bumblefumble@beehaw.org ) 7•1 year agoWait does the 64GB option support M.2 NVMe? I thought it only supports eMMC and that you can’t swap with a different NVMe drive, but maybe I’m wrong?
dan ( @dan@lemm.ee ) 9•1 year agoYes, exactly what I did. You can just buy a 2230 nvme ssd and slap it in. Process is pretty painless (just remember to take any micro SD card out before you take the shell off or there’s a chance you’ll snap it)
The hardest part for me was finding a usb-c to usb-a converter so I could plug in a usb stick to reinstall the OS.
Bumblefumble ( @Bumblefumble@beehaw.org ) 4•1 year agoI just ordered the 64GB version and a 512 GB NVMe drive from Amazon, so now my wallet hates you a lot. But thanks for the recommendation and tips.
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoAyy! Happy for you. I know you’ll love it.
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoLuckily I already had some of that stuff from my switch. I do hope v2 steamdeck has a USB-A port (And I wouldn’t mind a second USB-C on the bottom)
averagedrunk ( @averagedrunk@lemmy.ml ) 1•1 year agoI just loaded it from a MicroSD. It worked. I’ve got a few USB-C docks and a USB-C KVM so it would have been a bigger deal for me to actually find a USB stick around the house.
Seconded on it being painless. I did have to cut the foil and tape it on the new one because the drive is slightly bigger than the one that came with it.
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 5•1 year agoThat’s a good question but no, it will work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSWb6jFlDk4
Yoreo ( @Yoreo@kbin.social ) 4•1 year agoThe 64GB emmc drive in the Deck uses the m.2 expansion slot, so you can pop out the emmc drive and swap in a 2230 form factor nvme drive and be gtg after reinstalling SteamOS.
I myself went from a 256GB drive to a 1TB drive, and this weekend, I’ll be popping in a 2TB drive I just received in the mail.
RaleighEnt ( @RaleighEnt@kbin.social ) 4•1 year agoas someone with a 64gb deck with a 512gb drive swapped in I can confirm it works!
Lugado ( @Lugado@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoYes, you can change the disk, I bought the cheapest and changed the ssd with another better than the mounted in the most expensive and set an antiglare screen saver
youknowthatthing ( @youknowthatthing@lemmy.one ) 2•1 year agoI swapped the 64GB with a 256GB m2 2230 ssd and would definitely recommend just buying the base model and doing the same to save some $.
conciselyverbose ( @conciselyverbose@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoIt would cost more to lock out the capability than not.
Everything but the storage drive, the screen, and the case is identical between the three units.
dan ( @dan@lemm.ee ) 6•1 year agoI second this. Seriously one of the best things I’ve bought in years. 64gb + 1tb+ m2 is such a ridiculous bargain if you can operate a screwdriver.
They’re incredibly good emulation platforms too.
I honestly hope they just sell this model for a few years while dropping the price - something to be said for having a standard hardware platform with a huge install base.
🐝🇭🇪🅻🅻🇪🇧🅴🆁🇹🐝 ( @Hellebert@beehaw.org ) 6•1 year agoYo Valve can you please sell them where I live already so that I don’t have to pay some shitty eBay scalper or overpriced reshipper?
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoDo you know how much it would cost to cost to ship from the US?
🐝🇭🇪🅻🅻🇪🇧🅴🆁🇹🐝 ( @Hellebert@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoLooking at Shipitto it’s about $65 for the cheapest option currently.
Last time I checked they were all over $100.
tVxUHF ( @tVxUHF@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 4•1 year agoI concur. It changed the way I play games, especially last gen and indies.
Terrasque ( @theterrasque@infosec.pub ) 4•1 year agoI’d love to buy one, but they won’t sell to me. “This item is not available for reservation in your country”
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoDo you know around how much it would cost to ship from the US?
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoThat really sucks, I’m sorry.
Xathonn ( @Xathonn@kbin.social ) 3•1 year agoI had heard that swapping the ssd yourself voids warranty, is that true? Or is it only if you swap more stuff
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 8•1 year agoNo that is not true. Also even if you drop it they have a repair center you can ship to that charges fair prices. They have a very positive reputation about this kind of thing (also RMAs, which I went through personally)
TWeaK ( @TWeaK@lemm.ee ) 1•1 year agoDepends where you are. The US ruled a couple years ago that opening cases cannot void warranties, however the rest of the world doesn’t really have that protection.
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoI’m talking about Valve’s company practices, not what they are legally obligated to do
Feel free to research for yourself but Valve is extremely pro customer/‘generous’ about RMAs and repairs.
Or are you talking about Komodo?
conciselyverbose ( @conciselyverbose@kbin.social ) 3•1 year agoIn the US, that’s illegal (Magnuson Moss warranty act). In a lot of the rest of the first world, there are similar laws. But regardless, Valve hasn’t shown any of the patterns some do of ignoring the law and forcing you to jump through hoops to exercise your rights, and there were a decent number of stories on Reddit of them fixing clear customer damage under warranty.
dom ( @dom@lemmy.ca ) 3•1 year agoIs there a most cost effective choice for ssd that’s “known” (or was that the one you linked)
Or is it just get the cheapest 2230 you can find
sandmesomesand ( @sandmesomesand@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoI did a lot of searching myself like 2 weeks ago because I had to swap out both mine and my partner’s and AFAIK, the standard 1TB price for trustworthy 2230’s are about 100 bucks unfortunately. If you still want a recommendation, this is what I bought
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoI was going to do that but I didn’t actually swap my ssd and am not sure what the best options are. I do know that ‘crucial’ brand is very affordable and has good reviews from steamdeckers on reddit.
Ultimately I just didn’t feel comfortable recommending something without first hand experience with it
If you find a deal I’d be happy to give my opinion if you want.
BobVersionFour ( @BobVersionFour@kbin.social ) 3•1 year agoYou could also buy the 64g and get a sd card that what i did no slowing with any game and enough space for 4-5 big game or a lot of small one but i never have more than 2-3 games installed anyway otherwise i just game jump and never finish any l
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoTo add context for people viewing, putting games on a fast micro sd card (A2, 3 in a U) has negligible performance losses compared to putting the game on an internal drive. I was skeptical at first, but other than slightly longer times loading SD cards work beautifully for steamdeck games
BobVersionFour ( @BobVersionFour@kbin.social ) 2•1 year agothanks for adding context ! For added bonus you can use multiple micro sd so you don’t have to download and install games each time just swap the card and ready to go.
Catch42 ( @Catch42@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoYou can swap the ssd! Why are they charging so much to upgrade to only 256gb of Nvme storage?
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 10•1 year agoProbably because they’re losing money on the cheapest one
1993_toyota_camry ( @1993_toyota_camry@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoor at least not making much. it’s a pretty common pattern with anything devices like this.
so long as it’s user-upgradable, I’m happy. I’ll take something apart for a discount any day of the week.
BadlyDrawnRhino ( @BadlyDrawnRhino@aussie.zone ) 2•1 year agoBecause you still need to take the device apart to replace the drive. They’ve always been transparent about the fact that the SSD is easy to swap, but there are options available for people who want more storage who don’t want to or don’t feel comfortable about taking it apart.
TXinTXe ( @TXinTXe@lemmy.ml ) 39•1 year agoOk, not so much as hidden, but also not super known:
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. A tactical stealth game (think commandos saga back in the day) is 90%
Technobabylon. A pixelated point & click adventure with some cyberpunk themes at 70%
Return of the Obra Dinn. Probably the best detective/deduction game that I’ve played, at 40%
Prey. One of the best immersive sims, at 75%
The Case of the Golden Idol. Is not as good as Obra Dinn in my opinion, but it’s super good none the less, at 30%
Antichamber. Super good puzzle game, at 75%
The Age of Decadence. Ultra hardcore RPG set in ancient Rome, 60%
Tametsi. Is like minesweeper but good, 67% (and only 0.77€) SoaringFox ( @SoaringFox@beehaw.org ) 4•1 year agoSeconding Return of the Obra Dinn and The Case of the Golden Idol - agree with both your thoughts. Both are also fun to play with someone else watching and helping, my wife keeps asking me for more games like these!
Sev ( @SevYote@pawb.social ) 3•1 year agoIt’s wild how many people seem to have slept on Prey. It’s an amazing game.
Also +1 on Antichamber. Portal-like but with some very unusual and fun mechanics.
liminis ( @liminis@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoAbsolute gem of a game, shame Bethesda forced them to use the Prey branding; a lot of fans of the original wrote it off because it has nothing to do with the original. One can’t help but wonder if we would’ve had such a disaster as Redfall if Colantonio hadn’t left as a result of all that.
Underrated even among Prey fans is Mooncrash, easily the best roguelite experience from a AAA studio, and just a great experience all around for anyone who wants ‘more Prey’.
nostalgicgamerz ( @nostalgicgamerz@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoI slept on Prey so so long because I was pissed at Pete Hines for basically cancelling Prey 2 (the OG) when the rumors are it was practically finished
Then I saw it dirt cheap on Steam and got it and my god it was the System Shock game that I wanted. Couldn’t stop playing it until I beat it. Sad we’ll never get a sequel
Dodgeit ( @Dodgeit@lemmy.ca ) 3•1 year agoObra Dinn was a really good game. I was initially put off by the art style before playing it, but once you start it’s great
potpie ( @potpie@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoAnd the sound design is brilliant. Truly a masterpiece.
Tywele ( @Tywele@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 2•1 year agoPrey is also currently available for free with Twitch Prime
TXinTXe ( @TXinTXe@lemmy.ml ) 2•1 year agoDidn’t knew it, thanks!
rjh ( @rjh@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoIf you like Technobabylon, all the Wadget Eye games are on sale and they’re really good point and click/story games. Gemini Rue is another cyberpunk detective game, Primordia is an outstanding and atmospheric alien story, and Unavowed is one of the best point and clicks in recent years. All of them are 70% off.
lotanis ( @lotanis@discuss.tchncs.de ) 1•1 year agoHave just bought Shadow Tactics and Tametsi based on this. I used to love Commandos (and even better - Desperados).
TXinTXe ( @TXinTXe@lemmy.ml ) 4•1 year agoThe same devs have also desperados 3, and it’s also super good (it’s on gamepass also if I recall correctly). It’s at 50% now: Desperados III
ivenoidea ( @ivenoidea@feddit.de ) 1•1 year agoAnd they have a pretty cool looking pirate themed game coming up: Shadow Gambit https://youtu.be/QLFGxiRq3ZM
ANuStart ( @ANuStart@kbin.social ) 31•1 year agoITT: not hidden gems
ISOmorph ( @ISOmorph@feddit.de ) 47•1 year agoDude, you were quick to forget about the reddit threads of “hidden gems”, where the top voted answers were Skyrim, Witcher 3 and RDR2.
This is a gold mine in comparison…
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 11•1 year agoThere’s this sweet rarely known game where you punch trees and build stuff but you’ve probably never heard of it
TheElectroness ( @TheElectroness@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoArk?
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoMinecraft but close enough
Drusas ( @Drusas@kbin.social ) 2•1 year agoIIRC, you punch the trees down in Raft, too. I think it was Raft…
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoDamn, I didn’t even know that. We’re still in the early game, I made a axe like a plebian
Drusas ( @Drusas@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoChrist, I think I actually got triggered by this comment because of some old friend who used to simp so hard for that game, despite it being horribly buggy.
averagedrunk ( @averagedrunk@lemmy.ml ) 4•1 year agoI didn’t think anyone else ever heard of Witcher 3!!!
pulaskiwasright ( @pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml ) 17•1 year agoI really hoped we’d leave this cynical garbage on Reddit. The top comments in this post are mostly listing hidden gems.
Zoidsberg ( @Zoidsberg@lemmy.ca ) 8•1 year agoHave you guys heard of SKYRIM?
Chariotwheel ( @Chariotwheel@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoGo away, Todd!
Haha there’s quite a few that aren’t but I haven’t heard of a ton of these!
TheLongPrice ( @TheLongPrice@lemmy.one ) 4•1 year agoNeeds more celeste
lowleveldata ( @lowleveldata@programming.dev ) 3•1 year agoMy recommendation is Celeste and Hollow Knight
Pixelologist ( @Pixelologist@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoSuch underground classics!
wait I actually love those games, carry on.
It’s strange to think about how the overwhelming majority of video game players have never played the greatest indie games. I can tell when a game is a passion project made with love vs a shitty game at a shitty job with a deadline so call of duty 29 comes out on time.
I don’t mean to degrade people who enjoy those games, but to ignore indie games is missing out on so much.
lukini ( @lukini@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoIt’s hidden gems OR recommendations. People are recommending what they like without saying they’re “hidden gems” and there are plenty actually recommending smaller games.
kartoffelsaft ( @kartoffelsaft@programming.dev ) 1•1 year agoYeah I was really excited to look into this thread and then I see:
My favorite hidden gems!:
- Skyrim
- Witcher 3
- Halo master chief collection
- …
HumbleFlamingo ( @HumbleFlamingo@beehaw.org ) 31•1 year agoIt’s not super niche, or super on sale, but I’m really enjoying Chained Echos so far.
MadSciencePro ( @MadSciencePro@kbin.social ) 7•1 year agoHot take: Chained Echoes is a much better game than Octopath Traveler 2.
phosphorik ( @phosphorik@kbin.social ) 4•1 year agoMan, Octopath Traveler was such a letdown. The total lack of character interactions with other character’s stories made protagonist selection feel pointless and the story felt even more shallow than it was. Just… so meh. I couldn’t talk myself into picking up the second one.
Thaolin ( @Thaolin@kbin.social ) 3•1 year agoI feel this. It felt kind of half thought out. Was so disappointed.
Glide ( @Glide@lemmy.ca ) 2•1 year agoTbh, the worst part was that the advertising for 2 really seemed to suggest they’d heard that complaint about 1 and fixed it. The put so much emphasis on the Cross Paths feature. And then you get the game and discover that it is actually just 4 quests for 4 sets of 2 travelers.
I really expected genuine interaction. Character to be present in cutscenes and have minor comments on what’s occuring. You know, stuff the story can technically progress without, but really flesh out the world and the characters. Bosses acting like they’ve caught out a single character only to initiate a fight against my party of 4 just feels weird as hell.
Chariotwheel ( @Chariotwheel@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoYeah, maybe 8 characters is too many. but now they can’t go back and rename it to Quadropath travellers.
vanquesse ( @vanquesse@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoThey could do a 3 franchise mashup and name it “Bravely Quad Strategy”
corytheboyd ( @corytheboyd@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoThey’re pretty different vibes tbh. I liked both. I finished Chained Echoes, and gave up on Octopath after putting it down for a few weeks and just never getting back into it.
Chained Echoes is great, but not perfect. Some of the mechanics felt a little broken or not well polished. The difficulty was a little too insane, I had to drop it down to actually enjoy them game. But the story is there, the characters are there, and it’s cohesive and interesting and new and familiar all at the same time.
HumbleFlamingo ( @HumbleFlamingo@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoThe fight where you have to kick kick the bomb back and forth was really annoying. Sometimes the turn order just works out so you’re screwed.
Gert ( @Gert@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoTo me, Chained Echoes is a bunch of good parts that come together to make a great game. Nothing is perfect, but I never felt like any one part let me down (although I could probably be convinced that the gem system, or whatever it was, is very weak).
I’m actually the opposite of you where I had to bump the difficulty up, then the combat felt engaging to me and I really enjoyed it.
comicallycluttered ( @comicallycluttered@beehaw.org ) 30•1 year agoHuh. Didn’t realize it started today. Will have to check my wishlist.
Anyway, recs in no particular order:
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a lovely little game. Some great East Asian influences, and a really great art style. Combat is sometimes surprisingly difficult. Some fun puzzles and platforming make up a lot of the game.
- Death and Taxes is a short and darkly humorous game where you take on the role of the Grim Reaper and decide who lives and who dies in an workplace-like fashion. If you’re a fan of the web series, Purgatony, this might remind you of that. It’s got a touch of satire to it as well, but not super pronounced. Mostly in the details and consequences of who you let live and who you let die (and there are consequences, some very significant).
- Heaven’s Vault is a narrative game that takes place in space. Linguistics (or rather translating text) plays a role in the game and it’s got a hand drawn, cel-shaded kind of art style.
- A Story About My Uncle is a first person, narrative driven, and entirely nonviolent game, with a bunch of cool swingy mechanics (so lots of gameplay, just not shooty bang stuff) and a fairly sweet story. You meet all sorts of fantastic, alien creatures on your adventure, platforming through a strange and beautiful world. Art direction is lovely, honestly.
- ABZÛ is just straight up awesome relaxation (with a few less relaxing points every so often) from some of the devs who brought you Journey and Flower. This time, it’s all about diving and swimming through fascinating locations that vary from colorful reefs to areas reminiscent of long forgotten temple ruins (the name comes from the Sumerian and Akkadian word referring to underground aquifers that played an important part in some Babylonian mythology).
- Quantum Conundrum - Do you like Portal but wish it had a little John DeLancie commenting on your actions? Then this is for you! A fun puzzle game heavily inspired by Portal (the lead dev worked on the original Portal, if I recall). It’s aimed at a slightly younger audience, but I think it works for everyone. Good vibes all around.
- Jade Empire is another great East Asian-influenced RPG developed by BioWare back in the day. It’s basically KOTOR, but with real time combat heavily inspired by various martial arts and the odd bit of mythology here and there. If you like movies like Crouching Tiger, you may enjoy this. Actually, if you enjoy RPGs in general, you might like this.
- Blacktail is a game I haven’t finished yet, but it’s an interesting retelling of the old Baba Yaga myths and tales. Main character is voiced by the same actress who voiced Meg in Hades. A lovely, husky voice if ever there was one.
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”.
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is a narrative game that puts you in the shoes of a blind princess. It was made to be a game that blind people can enjoy, and the controls and mechanics are fairly basic (and it’s keyboard only as far as I remember, but there might be controller support, I don’t know), but the audio design is fantastic (for obvious reasons). There’s some very basic combat, and it’s all about timing and listening for cues. I honestly think it’s a fantastic game, but it’s not for everyone. Good news is that it has a demo! Try it out first. Also, WEAR HEADPHONES. It’s actually a necessity here. Binaural recording and object placement is entirely dependent on your ability to hear things (since you can’t see anything, though it’s got some pleasant screensaver-type visuals which do fit the theme of the area you’re in).
- eXperience112 is a bit of a weird game. It’s kind of a point and click adventure, but you don’t control the main character. It takes place on an ocean vessel where something’s gone wrong. You essentially play a camera operator and what seems to be the only survivor speaks to you directly so you can point her in the right direction. Also, she remembers when you last saved. If you don’t play for a while, she’ll comment on the fact that you left her alone for a while. It’s buggy and got some jank, but it’s got some interesting ideas.
- Republique is pretty similar to the above game in that you take the role of a camera operator helping out the main character by being her eyes. Instead of it being more of an adventure game, it leans heavily into stealth and takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk type setting. Also, it’s FREE, which I only just discovered. Apparently they just straight up made it free last year, so no need to worry about wasting your money if you don’t like it. And no need to rush before it goes off sale either.
- The Occupation is kind of the middle ground between a walking sim and immersive sim, which sounds like a weird description. It has narrative and some gameplay elements that you’d find in immersive sims (open-ish levels, multiple characters to speak to and ways to complete a level, some stealth, etc.), and every level takes place in real time, which is important because you’ll have scheduled appointments for interviews and you’ll be gathering evidence before that time is up, so you’ll be looking at your in-game watch often. That watch is the reason I find it gets into walking sim territory, because you’re kind of restricted by it and it sometimes makes things feel a little “on-rails”. The whole thing takes place after some terrorist event killed someone close to the main character, set in a kind of dystopian London, but with a very '70s/'80s vibe in aesthetics. It has a demo, so try that first. If you don’t like it at all, you won’t like the game. If you find it intriguing, later levels get more intense, so you might be interested in buying the full game. If you like the demo, then yeah, maybe buy it. It’s not too long to complete.
- (Note: I initially had this up in the regular recommendations, but thinking it over, this is pretty hit or miss for various reasons.) Not a hidden gem exactly, but if you like space, No Man’s Sky isn’t the disappointing game it was on release. I’d urge anyone who likes space and exploration to at least give it a shot. You can turn on creative mode and not worry about any survival elements as well. It’s got a bit of a plot to get you used to the galaxy (and also explain some of the lore), but you can just do whatever you want and ignore that. There are three major alien races and you can learn words from their language by interacting with them or interacting with pillars on various planets that will teach you a word. I like this part of the game a lot for some reason. There’s some other lore hidden around as well, but it’s really up to you if you want to discover it or not. The reason I’m putting it down here instead of with the others at the top is that they’ve actually added so much content that it may be a bit overwhelming. I’d focus on a few aspects you like and ignore the rest if you do end up playing 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.
sodiumbromley ( @sodiumbromley@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) 6•1 year agoI 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.
Natori ( @natori@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoYeah. 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.
hotchurkey ( @hotchurkey@beehaw.org ) 6•1 year ago+1 for Heaven’s Vault. Really excellent indie gem, and a fun spin on the detective game.
rjh ( @rjh@beehaw.org ) 5•1 year agoI 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.
TheLongPrice ( @TheLongPrice@lemmy.one ) 3•1 year agoAnother +1 for heavens vault. I usually hate narrative games, but I found it very well written and interactive.
Natori ( @natori@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoStrong 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.
Rho ( @freakrho@programming.dev ) 2•1 year agoOMG 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.
somefool ( @somefool@beehaw.org ) 29•1 year agoI fell in love with Submerged when I played it. It’s an exploration game set in a flooded city, where you play a young girl looking for supplies for her injured brother. Lots of navigating between buildings in a little boat, climbing around, and taking in the scenery. Incredibly relaxing to play.
nlm ( @nlm@beehaw.org ) 4•1 year agoThose games has been on my radar for a while! Have you played both of them?
somefool ( @somefool@beehaw.org ) 4•1 year agoNot yet! I just grabbed the second one, actually, can’t wait to play it!
PositiveNoise ( @PositiveNoise@kbin.social ) 1•1 year ago90% off! I just bought it for 3$. Should be quite a nice little game for the price
Xeelee ( @Xeelee@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoIt was €2 here. Guess i can fit that into the budget
nlm ( @nlm@beehaw.org ) 0•1 year agoI’ve heard it’s even better than the first!
TeamAssimilation ( @TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub ) 3•1 year agoHow can it be relaxing if your brother is injured and needs the supplies? I’m just wondering if I wouldn’t feel urged to get him back to health as soon as possible.
somefool ( @somefool@beehaw.org ) 7•1 year agoI’m a heartless monster who forgot about my brother so I could sit in my boat and gawk at my surroundings at sunset. Mileage may vary.
It does have moments that stressed me out, but since I spent so much time exploring and taking screenshots, they’re not what left the strongest memory.
Erk ( @Erk@cdda.social ) 2•1 year agoman for two bucks that looks so much my jam, thanks! Can’t wait to abandon my brother to the elements.
An actual proper summer sale price too. Only $2. Thanks for the recommend!
Rin ( @DreamyRin@beehaw.org ) 26•1 year agofor me, I’m really fixated on Cassette Beasts, because Pokemon has been disappointing for me for a long while now. I keep debating on whether I buy it now, or wait until they implement the online multiplayer they just announced.
EDIT: y’all convinced me and I bought it, having a fucking blast with it. love the music, love the writing so far, and the monster designs are chef’s kiss.
mint ( @mint@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoI need to get back to this. I loved my time with it but my save got corrupted and I lost like 2 hours of progress, including getting lucky recording a powerful glass beast, so it took the wind out of my sales.
Iqunlimited ( @Iqunlimited@kbin.social ) 2•1 year agoCassette Beasts is most excellent. If you really like pokemon or the monster battler genre you’re doing yourself a disservice by not picking it up and playing it. Basically every mechanic of the genre has been touched upon and improved in some way. And the music is very good as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK2QwWwgFhc
Ethereal87 ( @Ethereal87@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoI put near 60h into that game and loved every minute of it 100%ing everything. The only thing that stops me from diving in with v1.2 is I just want to play other things right now. Absolutely worth it and probably the only game I’ve considered going out of my way to purchase the soundtrack!
Oswald_Buzzbald ( @Oswald_Buzzbald@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoDude this game is too good. Get it now because the game is 100% worth the full price as it is today.
Zebrazilla ( @Zebrazilla@kbin.social ) 25•1 year ago- Shakedown: Hawaii - 80% off at 3,99€ - Think GTA for the 16-bit era.
- 2Dark - 90% off at 2,49€ - Think Alone in the Dark but top-down and in retro/voxel style, from the original creator of Alone in the Dark.
- UnderRail - 60% off at 5,67€ - Hidden or not, this one can’t be recommended enough to fans of the original Fallout (1 & 2, isometric) games.
- Space Haven - 60% off at 8,79€ - In-depth colony/spaceship building & management sim with cozy graphics.
- Crystal Caves HD - 60% off at 2,63€ - A true testament to how to faithfully bring an old platformer into HD, while also innovating on the original. Also contains a lot of hidden gems.
- Supraland Complete Edition - 54% off at 15,71€ - First-Person-Metroidvania in a literal sandbox, lots of freedom, lots of puzzles and exploring. Contains the DLC. Get this to gear up for the eventual release of the sequel Supraworld. The standalone Supraland Six Inches Under is also worth getting, but is “only” at 45% off, which is still great.
Matte ( @Matte@feddit.it ) 1•1 year agooooohh shakedown hawaii looks really interesting!!
- ∟⊔⊤∦∣≶ ( @luthis@lemmy.nz ) 23•1 year ago
Inscryption is REALLY GOOD. If you enjoyed MTG / strategy / board games. DO NOT READ ABOUT IT. Spoilers will ruin it. tl;dr it’s a horror-based card game.
Bayonetta I am also really really enjoying. I actually feel betrayed that no one recommended this to me before. It’s perfect so far. Super fun fast paced skill based combat with a badass chick. It’s just 11/10 over the top all the time.
thumbtack ( @thumbtack@beehaw.org ) 4•1 year agothough i’m not sure if i’d consider it a hidden gem, i 100% will second inscyption as a total masterpiece. i also don’t know if i’d exactly say horror based, it’s a bit creepy or unsettling but not scary imo, and i’m a total crybaby when it comes to horror ;) i played it because a youtuber i like did a top games of 2021 video, and it was the ONLY game he didn’t give any information on other than “just play it” haha. totally worth it to avoid knowing anything at all about!
shapesandstuff ( @shapesandstuff@feddit.de ) 22•1 year agoRisk of Rain 2 - 50% 12.49€ 96% positive
Action rogue lite hero 3rd person shooter thingy - My absolute favourite game in recent memory.
Not sure if this counts as hidden but many fans of the genre don’t know it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Insanely good soundtrack, cool artstyle, creative characters with very diverse abilities and gameplay, plenty of enemies and bosses, hidden features, locations, items, bosses,c̴͕͎͚̗̥̀̃̓h̴̘̯̎͗ȧ̶͕̤̪̦̺̂̕r̷͚͑̔͒̃͝a̵̖̩̣̍̂̈́̎̿c̷̱͓̪͖̈́ṫ̵̯̈͂̚e̷̺͓̙̥͆̓ŗ̷̢̻̺̞͠s̸̩̍̍̀?̴̼̘̱̗̯̈̋̄
You know how some rogue lites make sure items stop stacking so they don’t break the run?
Yeah that’s not one of these. Go nuts, break the game, fly through the map, just to get too cocky and lose it all in the blink of an eye.
The original Risk of Rain is also a banger, currently 80% off at 1.99€. Same concept but 2D sidescroller with pixel graphics. Incredibly sweet game.Art of Rally - 45% 13.74€ 92% positive
Challenging game with arcadey look and sim-ish feel.
Beautiful visuals and a chill soundtrack. Great for white knuckled time attack or hours of zen drifting in freeroam.Devil Daggers - 50% 3.99€ 96% positive
Highscore based retro arena shooter bullet hell kinda deal. PSX era 3D look, one weapon with two modes, surprisingly interesting movement (think b-hops, rocket jumps).
Every run is mostly identical. Enemies always spawn at specific times, but in random locations of the claustrophobic empty map. The longer you survive, the higher the score.
Also fantastic sound design!Hyper Demon - 33% 8.36€ 95% positive
Sequel to Devil Daggers. Turns everything to 11. Complete fever dream. Adds an absolutely psychotic rear view mechanic, where close enemies outside your FOV appear mirrored in red colour on your screen.
Adds several movement and combat mechanics, while still keeping the weapon very simple.
Different score system while keeping the timed spawns. Killing in rapid succession increases your score, just scraping by drops it over time.Lethal League Blaze - 35% 12.99€ 97% positive
Projectile Fighting Game with saturday morning cartoon style 3D visuals. There’s a ball in the middle, whoever touched it last “owns” it. If you get hit by the ball, you take damage. If you hit it back, you own it and it speeds up. And you build special meter for absurd special moves.
Turns into a mind melting firework of on screen effects the faster the ball gets.
Has a decent campaign to learn the game and fight bots. Bangin soundtrack
Up to 4 players, local and online play.
The original, Lethal League is also on sale for like 5.99€. Fully 2D visuals, also very charming. iirc slightly lower health and no campaign.Nidhogg - 60% 3.99€ 90% positive
If you don’t know Nidhogg go play Nidhogg. Bring a friend.
Low-Fi 2D fighting game.
You can run, you can jump, you can duck, you can stab. 4 Maps to utterly cover in pixel blodd.
That’s about it.
It opens up more the better you get, but just go play it, folks.
Win against your buddies by getting through 3 screens in a tug-o-war kind of system and prove your worth by sacrificing yourself to the Nidhogg.
Tournament mode available.
Nidhogg 2 is also on sale for 5.99€ 81% positive at like 800 reviews.
They got budget for graphics that time which… they used.
Different weapons add a rock paper scissors dynamic to the game, everything else is mostly the same! Good stuff.Post Void - 20% 2.39€ 97% positive
A wild ride of a psychedelci action rogue like? No meta progression from what I could tell, which is why I’d be hesitant to call it a rogue lite.
Basically run based randomly generated doom while your ego melts away after a heroic dose of psychoactives.
Health literally runs out (of the head you carry) over time. Kill to heal, don’t get hit.
DO NOT TOUCH IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED PHOTOSENSITIVE EPILEPSY BEFORE.Redout - 75% 4.99€ 87% positive
The quintessential zero-G racer for PC.
Very similar to the classics like Wipeout, but innovating on the formula. You’ll need a controller!
Left stick steers as you’d expect, right stick points the nose of your racer to compensate for tight turns and to prevent blackout / redout during high-G maneuvers.
A classic campaign mode lets you unlock several classes of racers, two handsfull of upgrades let you adjust how you play.
Sweet thumpin soundtrack Online play supports up to 12 players though I’d be a bit surprised if you find that many on the servers :D
Split Screen mode available!
The Sequel Redout 2 is also on sale at 14.99€ but it has even fewer reviews, fans of the games seem to favour it for longer tracks, deeper customization and improved gameplay. I haven’t tried it yet though.Heat Signature - 50% 6.49€ 94% positive
If Hotline Miami was set in space. And a rogue lite.
Pull off crazy heists aboard enemy ships to liberate the galaxy from authoritarian empires, each faction generally having some specializations when it comes to gadgets and tech which you get to unlock for your runs.
Can be frustrating at times but on the flipside a close save get so much more intense. Also you usually get several chances to save your skin - if you’re captured you get thrown out an airlock and take control of your escape pod to fish your body out of hard vacuum.
Generally there are so many cool mechanics, I’m having a hard time to pick highlights. oranwolf ( @oranwolf@pawb.social ) 6•1 year agoI wanted to chime in and say that no one should sleep on Risk of Rain 2, it’s a fantastic game and easily worth the $12.49. Nice list you put together!
MuffinMangler ( @MuffinMangler@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoI was initially put off by the art style of Risk of Rain 2, but once I started playing I found that it gelled really well with the game. I’m really happy my friend convinced me to play it.
Andto parrot everyone else, the soundtrack is killer.
shapesandstuff ( @shapesandstuff@feddit.de ) 2•1 year ago100%, if nothing else everyone should give the soundtrack a listen. Chris Christodoulou is crazy good.
And thanks, I really tried to dig into my lesser known faves
evilgiraffe666 ( @evilgiraffe666@ttrpg.network ) 1•1 year agoHeat signature is fantastic, contender for my GOTY in whichever year I discovered it.
The ability to pause and look around sometimes turns it into a puzzle game, either to save your skin or just reach the objective. Throw everything.
🐝🇭🇪🅻🅻🇪🇧🅴🆁🇹🐝 ( @Hellebert@beehaw.org ) 21•1 year agoI don’t have any games to recommend but I wanted to thank people here for some actually good suggestions. I feel like I’ve been taken for a bit of a ride at that other place by shills in similar threads compared to this.
salarua ( @salarua@sopuli.xyz ) 21•1 year agoi’m sure you all have heard of Outer Wilds (which i highly recommend and is 40% off right now) but a lesser-known game is Rain World. it’s an absolutely brutal survival platformer where you play as a little slugcat trying to find their way home in a dying world. it’s not for everyone, but if you like exploration, ancient mysteries, action, a bleak atmosphere, and you don’t mind dying a hundred times, absolutely give it a go
Yessss both great games. Outer wilds in particular might be my absolute favorite
sokath ( @sokath@lemmy.fmhy.ml ) 18•1 year agoI don’t hear much about Kenshi except for within folks who already play and let’s players on YouTube, but it’s one of my all time favorites. Can be hard to get into but watching a beginner video or reading some wiki will let you get into this massive, strange world. Currently only 13.50, which I think works out to like 2 cents an hour for me.
Nilz ( @Nilz@sopuli.xyz ) 1•1 year agoI really want to try and get back into this game. I’ve tried a few times but it might be a bit too open world for me. I watched a few LPs of it, including one that started as a guy without any limbs stranded in the desert who then found a friend to carry him around in search of prosthetics. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sequence lol.
whysofurious ( @whysofurious@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoI can second Kenshi even if I’ve never been able to go too far into the game. However it is really a gem and I hope I’ll find the time to get back to it
eldrichhydralisk ( @eldrichhydralisk@lemmy.sdf.org ) 17•1 year agoDonut County is only $3.89. It’s a short, funny, cute puzzle game where you make everything fall in a hole. Really good.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is $12.49 and a much better 80hr RPG then it has any right to be. And I never even touched the second game in the collection!
iAmTheTot ( @iAmTheTot@kbin.social ) 5•1 year agoDonut County was so quirky and fun.
Erk ( @Erk@cdda.social ) 5•1 year agoDonut County is a great little game. Not as good as Katamari quite, but scratched that same itch very satisfyingly
LegendofDragoon ( @LegendofDragoon@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoHackers memory is better than cyber sleuth in just about every conceivable way in my opinion, definitely worth the try.
Matthias720 ( @Matthias720@kbin.social ) 1•1 year agoI believe that the Steam version comes with both Cyber Sleuth and Hacker’s Memory, or at least the version I have does.
Phoenix [she/they] ( @phoenixes@beehaw.org ) 1•11 months agoJust played through Donut County in a couple evenings. An absolute delight! I love these little trash gremlins.
altz3r0 ( @altz3r0@beehaw.org ) 17•1 year agoEXAPUNK - 50% - 96% Positive
If you like old time puzzle games, and have a pinch for programming, then you will love this. In this game you control bots by creating algorithms to extract data and other challenges. The cool part is you must study the game language and learn the lore from manuals and magazines that the game provides.
SHENZHEN I/O - 50% - 93% Positive
From the same creator of EXAPUNK, only the thematic here is electronics.
Road 96 - 50% 91% Positive
Summer 1996, Today is the day! You hit the road. Adventure. Freedom. Escape. Run. Flee the Regime. Try to survive.
On this risky road trip to the border, you’ll meet incredible characters, and discover their intertwined stories and secrets in an ever-evolving adventure. But every mile opens up a choice to make. Your decisions will change your adventure, change the people you meet, maybe even change the world.
scarecrw ( @scarecrw@kbin.social ) 8•1 year agoShenzhen I/O is one of my favorite games, along with TIS-100. I think it’s time to just dive in and go through the rest of the zacktronic games.
Karzyn ( @Karzyn@beehaw.org ) 5•1 year agoIt’s worth noting that EXAPUNKS is substantially easier than Shenzhen I/O. I actually preferred it though because experimenting with different strategies to increase speed was more fun to me than, say, beating my head against kelp harvesting robot.
altz3r0 ( @altz3r0@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoI got into Zachtronics games thanks to BitBurner, believe it or not. They definetly share the same vibe!
gabal ( @gabal@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoOpis Magnum is the most accessible one of all Zachtronics games. I really enjoyed it.
shapesandstuff ( @shapesandstuff@feddit.de ) 4•1 year agoNot quite the same thing as Exapunk/Shenzhen but Duskers gives me those vibes too. Maybe worth a look if you don’t know it already.
Phoenix [she/they] ( @phoenixes@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoI really really love duskers. Just beware that there…
spoiler
basically just isn’t an ending.
altz3r0 ( @altz3r0@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoNice! Thanks for the share, will add it to my library (which one day I may hopefully get to play)
liminis ( @liminis@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year agoZachtronics games are great. ^Especially their solitaires…^
brsrklf ( @brsrklf@compuverse.uk ) 2•1 year agoThey are. I was hooked on SpaceChem long ago and since then I’ve bought all of them (even Infinifactory
despite the lack of solitaire)I’d recommend Silicon Zeroes too, not by Zach Barth but in very much the same genre and well made too.
averagedrunk ( @averagedrunk@lemmy.ml ) 3•1 year agoRoad 96 was so much fun! Definitely worth it at that price.
altz3r0 ( @altz3r0@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year agoI’m itching to play it again, as soon as I have some time. A shame the prequel wasn’t as good, though.
evistre@beehaw.org ( @evistre@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year agoRoad 96 was great, seconding that recommendation!