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Hidden Gems and Under-The-Radar Recommendations - Steam Winter Sale 2016

fenners

Member
Dungeonmans is a more simple roguelike similar to Tales of Maj'Eyal, with great animations and sense of humor. It has permanent progression for people who like that kind of stuff in the form of the Dungeonmans Academy, which you level up obtaining treasure, making your next characters more powerful.

I'll second this. I'm a big fan of rogue-likes, and this is a definite gem. Great sense of progression, great sense of adventure & the right amount of humour. Great support from the dev too.

The developer's next game is very different, but has the same attitude of taking a genre & building upon it - Demon Truck;



Two button controls, lots of skill based gameplay, Spy Hunter meets Contra with a dash of Devil Daggers/Doom theme, with a bunch of randomized upgrades each game. I dig, and it's cheap in the sale - $1.69.
 

Hubble

Member
I consider myself a fair unbiased gamer and I consider these two games absolute gems and some of the most enjoyable ever. They are on the same level as AAA games.

Super Time Force Ultra
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and

Lone Survivor.
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Both, I couldn't put down until I beat it and were wonderful experiences. Must plays! Buy them!
 
Just remembered this one. It's a really good roguelite space shooter. Also Toma-approved (lengthy detailed impressions)

Starship Rubicon - $3.99 (60% off)
A shmup lives or dies by its gameplay and Starship Rubicon just shines in that aspect. A varied array of ships are available to unlock, each with their own unique starting stats, weapon, special ability, and chassis shape. Swap out your laser for a shotgun, tri-blast, flamethrower, gravity gun. Imbue your ship with the ability to teleport, cloak, unleash a barrage of homing missiles. Equip enhanced shields, damage buffs, auto-targeting protection drones, additional armor, and much more. Thrusting between projectiles, boosting to outrun lasers and missiles, cutting the engine to drift forward while firing at pursuing enemies...the fast-paced combat is reminiscent of Vlambeer's sepia bullet hell Luftrausers. Rubicon isn't as frenetic or fast as that game, but the responsive controls and one-against-many dogfights offers a similar satisfying thrill, especially once environmental hazards like black holes and minefields start appearing.
 

Bluth54

Member
Only 25% off but Kingdom Rush Frontiers is a really good buy imo. You get all the heroes with the Steam version no microtrans.

I second this, the Kingdom Rush games are some of my favorite tower defense games and Frontiers is a great sequel, plus they've added several new levels for free since release.
 

geestack

Member
Guess what ya'll, Deadbolt finally has a sale better than 10%.



It's like Blade II and Hotline Miami smashed together and then gave the Grim Reaper a silenced shotgun.

It's also better than Hotline Miami.

Buy it.

bought this and played through normal, it is a very very good game. thanks for the recommendation. shit can be frustrating as hell though

anyone played dex? looks interesting:
 

Donuts

Member
Odallus: The Dark Call.

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Recent score: 100% Userscore: 94%

$2.92 bundled with Oniken

Criminally under appreciated game, which in my opinion is up there with Shovel Knight regarding the quality and respect to the NES era. If you ever wanted a new classic Castlevania, look no further.

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Also it's Berserk as fuck. Especially the last stage.

Bought and completed in about 4-5 hours. Great game! Thanks for the recommendation!
 
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I can't recommend Valdis Story enough. It's a completely underrated "metroidvania" great combat, great exploration. The combat is smooth and clean with a great combo system. There are 4 playable characters who each have very different fighting styles and on top of that each character has different weapon loadouts that iterate further on those mechanical differences. Add in a great leveling and spell system and you have a true classic!


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A mindblowing first person puzzler. I mean that with no irony. Antichamber is a brilliant way to have you mind opened to some of the under-realized possibilities in gaming.

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Fantastic first person dungeon crawling. Great puzzles and solid strategic combat. I love this game. I bought it day one full price and it was completely worth it.
The Original is also fantastic. I heartily recommend both. If you are not sure about jumping in, the first game is only 3 dollars and it is quite similar to the second, with fewer bells and whistles.

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Cave Story is a great 2d side scroller shooter with branching paths, lots of hidden stuff to find and a high skill cap. The game requires you to be really skilled to conquer its toughest challenges but it's rewarding. If you haven't played Cave Story you are missing out on one of the first (and most important) "indie" classics.

Valdis Story's OST is a delight; a hidden classic.

Antichamber fucks with your head in the best of ways.

Legend of Grimrock 2 is a modern classic, and is literally millimeters from being flawless.

Cave Story's OST is amazing and Weapon X is one of my favorite boss fights of recent memory.
 
but there are also:

Bought and just finished Orwell thanks to your post. I think it may be the first game I've ever finished in one sitting—zero motion sickness or eyestrain probably helped a lot with that. It took me 5 hours and I was totally engrossed the whole time, and I'm planning a second playthrough. Definitely was worth my $7.99.
 

RainForce

Banned
Hey Dusk Golem (or any other horror fans), if you're reading this, any good horror RPGmaker recs? I'm talking on the same level of quality as Corpse Party/Mad Father/Misao/Witch's House.


Ah right, I already have Agarest. Dropped the first one relatively quickly. Will give the others a look, thanks.

Wish pickings weren't so slim, but that's how it is.
 
Any good action platformer suggestions? I'm approaching the end of Pharaoh Rebirth+ now and ready for more. I already have most of the related games I can think of like Momodora, Valdis Story, Cave Story, Ori and the Blind Forest, etc. Rabi Ribi looked interesting, but I'm really not into bullet hell. I'll probably just go for Axoim Verge if I can't find anything else.

castle in the darkness

omg the answer is castle in the darkness

http://store.steampowered.com/app/262960/

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It's $2.49 and absolutely phenomenal. Not quite a "metroidvania," it's more of an open-ended action platformer made of different connected zones, although it does have a backtracking element and (eventually) a warp system. It's got great art, fantastic music, and great boss and level design -- one of the best "retro" style games I've played, certainly out of those trying to hearken back to classic Castlevania and other NES titles.

Kero Blaster. It's by the same person as Cave Story. There's even two free short spinoffs/demos called Pink Hour and Pink Heaven if you want to try the mechanics. Kero Blaster is super, though.

Kero Blaster is also excellent. Both these games made my top 10 lists in their respective years.
 
castle in the darkness

omg the answer is castle in the darkness

http://store.steampowered.com/app/262960/

08.21.14CitD2.gif


It's $2.49 and absolutely phenomenal. Not quite a "metroidvania," it's more of an open-ended action platformer made of different connected zones, although it does have a backtracking element and (eventually) a warp system. It's got great art, fantastic music, and great boss and level design -- one of the best "retro" style games I've played, certainly out of those trying to hearken back to classic Castlevania and other NES titles.



Kero Blaster is also excellent. Both these games made my top 10 lists in their respective years.

I'm sold. Thanks
 

Crayon

Member
BRIGADOR


Isometric mission based mech/tank shooter.


Unlock vehicles crazy destruction machines and mechanical monstrosities to play with.


Warning: This game take sharp eyes and good dexterity. It's pretty unforgiving and chaotic when you're in the shit. You won't memorize levels here. You will have to think on your feet.

This game is some raw ass action. There are strategic elements somewhat like a desert strike game, but much lighter on the strategy and more emphasis on your piloting skill. Some experience with mechwarrior or the like will help here.

This game has flaws but it's so honest and so thorough in what it sets out to do. It feels like out of the nineties and not just with the graphic style but with the way pc games felt so intimate and unique. Simple in concept and pathological in execution. I more highly recommend Brigador to 30+ gamers who fondly remember gaming in the 90s.

Memorable moment: Stray vulcan fire shredding scenery in to showers of smoke and debris. Like a hot knife through butter.
 
Wishmere (http://store.steampowered.com/app/419020/) - An early access beat-em-up with lots of potential. The developers have improved the game drastically despite the criminally small community and reception.
Sample gameplay - https://youtu.be/-zakD8FB614

Streets of Fury EX (http://store.steampowered.com/app/350910/) - The best original beat-em-up on Steam. What it lacks in production values it makes up for in spades with solid, technical gameplay. There's a patch coming soon that will add parrying and two new characters.
Sample gameplay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGsYaVJINH8

The Hurricane of the Varstray - (http://store.steampowered.com/app/416380/) - One of the better cheap shmups on the platform. The scoring/comeback mechanic is fun and it looks quite nice too. I'd consider this an entry level shmup before the patch, but they seem to have made it more difficult in the past few updates. Still not as rough as a Cave shmup, but it's not as accessible as it was when it launched.
 

Hikami

Member
Any story rich games you guys could recommend? Already got a bunch of games with gameplay focus (or no story at all) so now I'm looking for stuff with story.
Got LISA so far from it being recommended in the thread. Also picked up To the Moon.

Not looking for Visual novels though, I already have most of those.
 

low-G

Member
BRIGADOR



Isometric mission based mech/tank shooter.



Unlock vehicles crazy destruction machines and mechanical monstrosities to play with.



Warning: This game take sharp eyes and good dexterity. It's pretty unforgiving and chaotic when you're in the shit. You won't memorize levels here. You will have to think on your feet.

This game is some raw ass action. There are strategic elements somewhat like a desert strike game, but much lighter on the strategy and more emphasis on your piloting skill. Some experience with mechwarrior or the like will help here.

This game has flaws but it's so honest and so thorough in what it sets out to do. It feels like out of the nineties and not just with the graphic style but with the way pc games felt so intimate and unique. Simple in concept and pathological in execution. I more highly recommend Brigador to 30+ gamers who fondly remember gaming in the 90s.

Memorable moment: Stray vulcan fire shredding scenery in to showers of smoke and debris. Like a hot knife through butter.

Of all the titles I want to re-recommend this one the most.

Also: Amazing soundtrack (think John Carpenter / vaporwave for you kiddos).
Really great visuals. Not sure if they're using 2D art or voxels or what because I've never seen such a detailed combination of lighting + sprites.

But yeah it's a difficult game with an even steeper learning curve than its difficulty.
 

LegendX48

Member
bought this and played through normal, it is a very very good game. thanks for the recommendation. shit can be frustrating as hell though

anyone played dex? looks interesting:
Played a little bit of Dex (only played about 2 hours). A fun side scrolling RPG and it can get fairly tough pretty quickly (that or I suck).
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
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I can't recommend Valdis Story enough. It's a completely underrated "metroidvania" great combat, great exploration. The combat is smooth and clean with a great combo system. There are 4 playable characters who each have very different fighting styles and on top of that each character has different weapon loadouts that iterate further on those mechanical differences. Add in a great leveling and spell system and you have a true classic!

I really like the look of Valdis Story, but I should point out that it's not actually part of the sale, and shouldn't be in this thread. Sorry.
 

Xeroblade

Member
Crawl - $7.99

Still in early access but dont let that steer you away, I played this last night via steam link, and its just fun as hell to play, simple 2 button controls, a rogue like with up to 4 players humans/bots, going from room to room a la Binding of Issac, the first room you are forced to fight each other,1 will live and the other players become ghosts/wraiths, each room has different objects you can posses or a summoning circle that will transform you into one of 3 monsters who can be upgraded/evolved in between rounds. You then try to kill the main player who is alive, if you kill him you gain your humanity back and become human. There are spells, weapons, and artifacts to buy, you level up as well, all while trying to get to the boss to win the game. Super fun if you have friends, I played it with one other person and had a hell of a time!
 

Ladekabel

Member
I would recommend Marlow Briggs but it isn't on sale. Everythign else I could recommend is already mentioned.

Maybe it's obvious but... Xanadu Next practically IS open world Ys, same developers and everything.

I have Xanadu Next and I am eagerly awaiting to try it. Have to finish Abzu first though.

Is there really no Enter the Gungeon but with Swords?
 
Kudos to all your recommendations. I think I'm done after this haul.

The Sea Will Claim Everything
Why Am I Dead At Sea
Refunct
Downwell
Outcast 1.1
Hand of Fate
Pharaoh Rebirth+
Master Spy
SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition
The Age of Decadence
The Cat Lady
Castle In The Darkness
Risk of Rain
Zeno Clash
TRANSFORMERS: Devastation
INSIDE
 

jimboton

Member
Feel like putting forth another recommendation.

Toki Tori 2+. It's about exploring a cutesy fantasy land as a chicken with the ability to stomp and whistle. It's the best puzzle based metroidvania I've ever played (I've played FEZ and La-Mulana), and perhaps the most cruelly underrated game in all of Steam. If you enjoy stuff like FEZ, The Witness, Legend of Grimrock 2 or Antichamber (is there someone like that in the thread? I wonder..) you need to check this out (70% off)
 

Nete

Member
IIRC is not the first time it has been this cheap (under 3 €/$), but Door Kickers (aka Rainbow Six Pre-Misson Planner: The Game) needs to be mentioned. Brilliant game, no matter if you just create the plan and let the AI rock it or if you decide to play in pausable real time.

https://a.pomf.cat/zrytkm.webm

 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
I hated castle in the darkness. Well, specifically, how it played. Was really disapointed since im a metroidvani fanboy :/
 
How does one unlock him/her? But I've not really enjoyed Enter the Gungeon that much sadly. Looks amazing but I'm more of a sword/close combat guy than a gun guy.

At some point bullet kins with capes will start to appear. They will not fight you and you need to give them time to escape. After 10 or 20 of these guys the bullet is unlocked.
 

Grief.exe

Member

It should have been: they are on the same level as indie games.

There's likely multiple copies concurent misinterpretations.

What the original poster is likely implying is he derives as much, or more, enjoyment from these indie games as AAA releases.

My point was comparing the depth and compelling nature of many of these games to modern AAA releases is a travesty.
 

DashReindeer

Lead Community Manager, Outpost Games
Thanks to this thread (and the Blade Runner aesthetic thread), I've found a good amount of stuff to fill my Steam Cart during this sale and am about to seal the deal. Anything else y'all think I am missing? I think you can get a pretty good feel for what I like simply from what's in there. I'm still on the fence about VA-11 HALL-A and Trillion, but besides those, I added a lot of the stuff that seemed interesting from this thread.

 

dr_mario

Member
Sooo, would you guys mind giving me a list of metroid-likes and torchlight likes for <5€? If its the best one in its genre it's okay if it's around 15.
 
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