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Steam Summer Sale '17 Hidden Gems & Under-The-Radar Recommendations thread

Tizoc

Member
Aight, feel free to post about any games you want to recommend more people to play.

If you posted a list of games, I can link them in this first post:

GAF recomendations from the Autumn Sale:
hooijdonk17, Large Professor, Dusk Golem, Pellaidh, koma, Crab Milk Monkey, Monnuma, Mephla, CecilRusso

===

Mod abuse:

It's that time of year again! Here's the thread to list all those under-the-radar, lesser-known gems that people just need to check out.

You can find the main Summer Sale thread here.

Morphblade - $2.49 (50% off)
A minimalist strategic roguelike where every movement is a tactical choice and abilities can be combined to create new power synergies
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GoNNER - $2.99 (70% off)
A vibrant frenetic roguelite shooter/plaformer, with a colorful surreal aesthetic and punchy fast-paced combat that rewards combos and speed

Hydra Slayer - $2.99 (50% off)
An old school roguelike with a mathematical twist. Fighting multi-headed hydras, you must combine weapons, items, and magic to figure how to behead hydras to counter their regrowing heads. (ie. 3 heads, cutting off one grows back 2, my dagger destroys 2 heads in one strike, ...)

Stories Untold - $4.99 (50% off)
A deceptively creepy mix of horror game and text adventure that wrings all kinds of unsettling possibilites from its premise

Furious Angels - $4.99 (30% off)
Combine the frenetic focus of Devil Daggers with aerial dogfights and you get Furious Angels. Low-poly action, skillful controls, and satisfying combat

Unexplored - $7.99 (20% off)
Take Brogue and give it an expanded action roguelike update, and you get Unexplored. One of the best roguelikes in recent years, with some of the best procedural dungeon generation and a lot of depth

Asura - $7.99 (20% off)
A top down roguelite brawler/hack-n-slash based on Indian mythology

sphereFACE - $9.74 (25% off)
A modern take on Asteriods in spherecial arenas, with physics-based movement and asteriod shattering, enemies to fight, an array of weapons and upgrades to master, and a cool vector aesthetic

Hollow Knight - $9.89 (34% off)
Easily one of the best metroidvanias to arise from the current genre revival. A captivating and otherworldly environment, challenging combat, rewarding exploration and secrets, fascinating lore, and a gorgeous art style.

Rain World - $11.99 (40% off)
Dynamic AI-driven ecosystems, a stealth platformer that rewards cautious prey mindset, a massive sprawling world, intense emergent confrontations, and wonderfully animated and detailed pixel art beasts and environments

The Sexy Brutale - $13.39 (33% off)
Groundhog Day meets surreal murder adventure, as you reset the day and use past knowledge to prevent the gruesome massacres in the titular hotel casino

Brigador: Up-Armored Edition - $13.99 (30% off)
80s cyberpunk, deeply customizable mech builds, beautiful isometric art, strategic yet fast-paced action, and super satisfying destruction

Bokida - Heartfelt Reunion - $14.39 (20% off)
A clever exploration-focused puzzler with dynamic slicing and dicing mechanics and an interesting world to traverse

StarCrawlers - $14.99 (25% off)
Sci-fi dungeon crawler with a focus on party-based combat and the thrill of combining your crews's abilities and attacks

Battle Brothers - $22.49 (25% off)
A dynamic mercenary stategy game, with surprisingly brutal and deep combat and immersive sim-lite aspects
 
Everyone buy Toxikk, I want to frag you like it's 1999.

It's $9 for the full version, free for the taste of this amazing shooter. Please buy it.
 

ModBot

Not a mod, just a bot.
As you know, we normally wait a few days into the sale before posting these threads, and ensure that the OP contains actual information on the games, not just links to random posts in the sale thread. We want informative, useful discussion threads that help people cut through the clutter of the sale to find stuff they might like. I'm going to unlock this on Sunday or Monday and when I unlock it, let's try to edit the OP to really match the standards of previous threads, like: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1327527&highlight=hidden+gems
 

Brashnir

Member
Lords of Xulima

$7.99 (60% off)

One of the best throwback CRPGs of the last half-decade. Heavy Might and Magic influence. Challenging multi-layered approach to testing your party's resources, and a dangerous world filled with a solid mix of encounters.
 

Decado

Member
This post was meant for this thread!

A few indie games have passed my "willing to bite" threshold. Final check before I bite:

Azure Striker Gunvolt
I Am The Hero
Stardust Galaxy Warriors
Xenonauts

Also considering:
Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive
Heart & Slash

I have a lot of games to play, so I'm not really interested in anything below "excellent".
 

Burt

Member
Have to drop a recommendation for Voidspire Tactics, 50% off at $7.50



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It's not a looker, but it is a ton of fun and something I can wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who likes SRPGs and class systems. Above anything else, it has really great tactical combat that gets pretty much everything right. There's a sequel that just came out as well, Alvora Tactics, which is just as good and has randomly generated maps and encounters, but doesn't have a sale because it just came out.

Lords of Xulima

$7.99 (60% off)

One of the best throwback CRPGs of the last half-decade. Heavy Might and Magic influence. Challenging multi-layered approach to testing your party's resources, and a dangerous world filled with a solid mix of encounters.

Yeah, LoX is great.
 

Najaf

Member
Ok, so probably not a hidden gem and more of me living under a rock for 6 months, but how is Shadow Tactics? It came up on my queue and looks awesome.
 

Aikidoka

Member
That first Stories Untold screenshot reminds me a lot of this text adventure that was released for free by a well-known developer in the past few months. Was that one of the tapes?
 
That first Stories Untold screenshot reminds me a lot of this text adventure that was released for free by a well-known developer in the past few months. Was that one of the tapes?
This is the expanded version. That was more of a demo/concept; it's included in Stories Untold with more stories that do different twists on the concept
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
(Prices are in CDN for me, sorry about that - for US gamers it'll be the same or cheaper)

Slain: Back From Hell - $5.59 (60% off)
Gory, old-school hack-and-slash game that's metal as fvck. A metal album cover art come to life. My detailed review here.



NiGHTS Into Dreams - $1.75 (80% off)
The Sega Saturn classic remastered in HD for less than two bucks? A total steal. And that Naofumi Hataya OST...



Valdis Story - $4.24 (75% off)
Excellent Metroidvania action/RPG with solid, fast-paced combat, great bosses and a cool OST.



The Forest of Doom - $2.19 (60% off)
Anyone remembers this classic Fighting Fantasy gamebook by Ian Livingstone? Used to love those as a kid, and Forest of Doom was one of my favourites. This is a direct adaptation of the book, where you must map your way into the forest to find the two missing pieces of the hammer. For $2 it's a no-brainer.



Tembo the Badass Elephant $4.24 (75%)
Fun old-school style platformer with influence from Sonic, Metal Slug and Donkey Kong. And you play an elephant. A badass elephant. And when you run there's bada ba da ba da bada onomatopoeia. Yeah! There's a free demo too.
 

Tizoc

Member
The following is a list of 100+ games I've played on Steam and would recommend them.
Note that it has a combination of hidden gems and obvious titles (Portal for example), I got carried away while writing this list I must say :p

First off here is a list of recently released titles on Steam that I would strongly recommend picking up, if not now, then in the future when they're cheaper.


Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2


Rev 2 is the latest version of the Guilty Gear Xrd series. The game adds in Baiken and Answer as new playable characters, as well as rebalancing the gameplay. The game has good single player content such as Master of Medal mode which combines GG's combat system with RPG elements.
Rev 2 also features an Easy Input Mode that allows you to perform special moves with just one button, a great feature for casual gaming.


Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3


Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 pits various Capcom and Marvel characters against each other in a colorful fighting game extravaganza. The game has Easy Input mode for those that just want to mash their way to victory, leading to hours of casual fun.


Isotiles


This is a puzzle game where you move a cube in order to clear tiles on the floor. You must clear all tiles by turning them from Red to Blue and then reach the end tile to complete the stage.
More tile types are introduced in later stages leading to some tricky situations.
It's a pretty short game but well worth the asking price.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
 

bomblord1

Banned
Da Capo III R
http://store.steampowered.com/app/542290/Da_Capo_3_R
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Da Capo, a tale of love, romance, and friendship blooming as winter turns to spring

$31.99

Great visual novel that took me completely by surprise. There are 2 major plot twists in the game that really sold me on the game as a whole. The first twist destroys the initial light hearted, slice of life, modern Japan harem setup with a twist involving magic that turns the entire world and cast on its head.

The second twist is after you complete all the main routes. That one gives a narrative justification for multiple playthroughs and the title Da Capo meaning.
 

xequalsy

Member
(Prices are in CDN for me, sorry about that - for US gamers it'll be the same or cheaper)
The Forest of Doom - $2.19 (60% off)

Anyone remembers this classic Fighting Fantasy gamebook by Ian Livingstone? Used to love those as a kid, and Forest of Doom was one of my favourites. This is a direct adaptation of the book, where you must map your way into the forest to find the two missing pieces of the hammer. For $2 it's a no-brainer.
Oooo sold. Didn't realise they were on steam, I knew some of them had made it onto the iOS store.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Xanadu Next is on sale at 50%-off ($9.99). Definitely get this if you want tight-knit dungeon crawling with plenty of combat, interesting places, and a more subtle story than usual for a classic Falcom adventure.
Seconded!

Oooo sold. Didn't realise they were on steam, I knew some of them had made it onto the iOS store.
Yep, there's also all 4 Sorcery! adaptations and the Lonewolf game too.
 
Please play TOXIKK, it's free for a good chunk of modes and maps, and the full version is on sale for $9.

Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is a really nice game with great boss fights and music.
 
Xanadu Next is on sale at 50%-off ($9.99). Definitely get this if you want tight-knit dungeon crawling with plenty of combat, interesting places, and a more subtle story than usual for a classic Falcom adventure.
I'm interested in this, but let me know a few things -- does it play like an RPG? Is there a variety of weaponry (spears ideally)? Is magic necessary to use? And is there a character creator, or are you using a set character?
 
Anyone get any recommendations for something Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley-ish? Doesn't need to be farming focused but kinda in the mood for something with a bit of a 'build a settlement' sorta game with a chilled vibe like Stardew.
 

Tonton

Member
I'm interested in this, but let me know a few things -- does it play like an RPG? Is there a variety of weaponry (spears ideally)? Is magic necessary to use? And is there a character creator, or are you using a set character?
Each weapon basically works the same but each one has a unique skill(there's also magic separate from weapons) you learn permanently after using it for a while
You can allot your points from level up any way you want but it's better to with what you need for the next equipment you want
No character creator, appearance depends on your armor
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Never played any Total War but I loved old RTS campaigns like C&C and Warcraft. Shall I try Total Warhamner?
 
I'll recommend this til the day I die.

Deadly Rooms of Death: Gunthro and the Epic Blunder - $2.50 (75% off)

A top down, turn based puzzle game where you play as a knight for hire. Every enemy has predictable AI, and there are hundreds of hours of puzzles. Even more if you buy the other games as DLC.



Ok, so formatting out of the way, this game looks like butt, sounds like butt, has cheesy voice acting with an even cheesier story, but the puzzles are some of the best I've ever played. Great mechanics, great puzzles, and it will last your forever. Especially as there are thousands of user made "Holds", ranging from one floor to 256, which will last you until you die
 

Thud

Member
Xanadu Next is on sale at 50%-off ($9.99). Definitely get this if you want tight-knit dungeon crawling with plenty of combat, interesting places, and a more subtle story than usual for a classic Falcom adventure.

This was my game of the year last year :p.

I can recommend it to anyone who loves a combination of Ys with Brandish.
 
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