Gaming

EXAPUNK - 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.

Death's Door 19.5€ → 7.8€ It's a very cozy game but still fun mechanics and adventurous. Kinda similar to Hyperpixel in feels. Spent 3 days while sick playing from the sofa, enjoyed every bit.

I bought Orc must die 2. 1 was a very fun game where you place traps to kill orcs. It gets challenging in later levels too.

I'll just go through my library and pick out the ones that I don't think are very well-known or might have been missed by anyone who got into gaming more recently.

Demon Truck is a devilishly arcadey game, and at 90% off it is fifty cents so you are legally required to buy it right now. Once you play it for a few minutes, you'll want the BANGER soundtrack too, which was done by Zircon, costs $3, and is worth every penny. Here's a sample on YouTube if Bandcamp doesn't work for you. Game is a 40 megabyte download. What are you waiting for?

Approaching Infinity - What if No Man's Sky was a turn-based roguelike with retro tile-based sprite graphics? If that appeals to you, give it a look. The developer also has a more fantasy-oriented game called The Curse of Yendor.

Devil Daggers is worth trying if you enjoy fiendishly hard FPS games with pixel graphics.

Bots Are Stupid - it's a tight platformer where you control the character by writing a script to control its actions down to the individual frame if necessary. It has a level creator as well. If you've ever seen tool-assisted speedruns (TAS), this game is basically creating a TAS for something like Super Meat Boy.

If you have PCVR, give Ancient Dungeon a look. It's early access, but it already has that particular spark that tends to (and did) hook me, and it does a number of things phenomenally well, such as knife-throwing. In lists of top VR games, however, I rarely see it get a mention.

Distance is a racing game with where your car can jump, do flips, fly, stick to walls or the ceiling, and potentially get cut in half by the road hazards. It's by the same developers and is the successor to the equally fun and completely free Nitronic Rush.

It's not on sale, but at $5, Noitu Love 2: Devolution doesn't need a sale to be well-worth the price.

Lastly, Timespinner is a pixel-art metroidvania with time travel. I thought it was pretty fun.

If you're a fan of co-op survival and adventure games, Grounded is great. There's also Raft which is a more chill style adventure game.

Personally I'm probably picking up in this sale:

• System Shock
• Outer Wilds
• Aquatico
• Pummel Party
• The Long Dark: Survival Edition
• A Way Out
• Phasmophobia
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Voidtrain

I've already got a Steam Deck and I really enjoy it, but I've been eyeing the Dock for a while too. It's on sale now for even less than the alternative I was considering so I'm probably going to grab one very soon

thought of another: Eastward.

this is a flawed game, make no mistake. the pacing is, at times, abysmal. but man if it didn't punch me in the gut by the end of it.

also I dunno if everhood is on sale but that game is also strange and fun but flawed. perfect games to get on sale imo

I'm not sure if some of these are going on sale, but:

Desert Child--Racing game with a cool art style and awesome soundtrack, but tbh I don't think it's worth the price unless it's on sale. Not because it's bad, but it's REALLY short. ~8 hours for $12. IMO that's kinda steep so I recommend waiting for a price drop.

Seasons After Fall--Puzzle-solving sidescrolling platformer with a GORGEOUS art style, adorable animal characters, and sweet story.

Wytchwood--Topdown crafting/exploration game with cool art style and music. Storyline-wise, I've heard it called a little predictable, but I was engaged and didn't see where the plot was going, so take that for what it's worth. It's a cool game either way. And this one is actually on sale atm, so definitely check it out!

Fair warning though, while these are available on Steam, I have only played Desert Child and Seasons After Fall on the PS. So I don't know how fun they are on a Deck/PC. Seasons After Fall should be fine, as it's a sidescroller, but Desert Child might be harder to handle, I dunno.

Edit: if you like puzzle games/room escape games definitely check out The Room series as well

Wytchwood is a fun crafting adventure game with a lot of fetching. Not too long of a game either and I finished it in a few days.

SpiderHeck!

It's sorta like Stick Fight but you're Spiders that can shoot web, shoot guns and swing lightsabers. It's so much fun running through wave survival with a friend. Once you get used to the controls you will find yourself doing some of the craziest shit in it. Clutching waves is super satisfying. I think I've gotten to wave 82 so far.

A few to add in:

Solasta: Crown of the Magister - Old school D&D and tactics RPG. It’s indie so has rough edges here and there, but it’s so fun, and there aren’t a ton of games that fill the void.

Dungeon of the Endless - It’s a tower defense / tactical game with great pixel art and one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar - Excellent RPG that will remind you of old school Final Fantasy.

Tower of Time - Excellent tactical RPG

Detroit: Become Human - Cinematic narrative game about androids becoming self aware.

The Dark Anthology: Man of Medan - Cinematic narrative horror game, the first in a series of several, therefore if you enjoy there’s a lot more where that came from. (Made by the same studio that created Until Dawn.)