Steam Summer Sale deals

As the summer starts to heat up, Valve is ready to take advantage of all of us gamers who want nothing more than to close the blinds and stay indoors. That’s right, it’s another annual Steam Summer Sale where games both big and small, new and old, are given discounts so steep that it almost feels like a waste of money not to buy them. That’s obviously not true, but the deals are still insane and the perfect time to treat yourself to a new game, catch up on something you missed, or just add one more title to your endless backlog.

Steam sales used to be manageable around 10 years ago, but the storefront has so many games on it now that even a sale on just a small percentage of those games is still more than anyone could reasonably sift through. I’m that unreasonable person who took the bullet to scroll through every page of the Steam Summer Sale to select only the biggest and best discounts to give you a starting point for where to spend your cash. I tried to keep the list diverse, so let’s not waste any more time and get to the hottest sales you need to take advantage of.

1 Left for Dead 2

Zombie co-op bliss for $1

It almost feels like every Steam account comes with a copy of Left 4 Dead 2, but there are still one or two of you out there who somehow haven’t played this amazing co-op zombie game yet. If that’s you, have no fear, because you can set things right for just a single dollar. Despite its age, no other co-op game has managed to quite capture the simple but perfectly addictive formula this game has – not even one made by the original team. The maps are dynamic, the guns satisfying, and the terror of being separated from your companions never dulls no matter how many hours you’ve put into it. This is a game you need to get a group of friends to play with if you somehow haven’t yet.

Related

Upcoming Marvel Games — from Wolverine to Marvel Rivals

Whether on a PS5, Xbox, or PC, Marvel fans have tons of new games to look forward to in the upcoming years.

2 Disco Elysium – The Final Cut

Enthralling storytelling and role-playing for just $4

In a way, Disco Elysium was Baldur’s Gate 3 before Baldur’s Gate 3. The main difference has to be the lack of combat, but that really isn’t a fault. You play as a detective in a strange world trying to both solve a murder case and recover your own lost memories. Everything is determined by dice rolls, but failing is often more entertaining than succeeding. You will invest in the most unique “skills” (if you can even call them that) of any game as well as shape your detective’s personality. As dynamic and interactive as the world is, it’s the characters and stories you encounter that make the game so special. You don’t have the time or skills to do and see everything in a single playthrough, and this is one game where it is absolutely worth it to play again to see how divergent your path can be.

Related

Forget Gears, Star Wars, and CoD, this charming platformer is my most anticipated game from the summer showcases

The summer game showcases were filled with sequels and dire settings, but Astro Bot gave me some much-needed joy.

3 Civilization 6

Grand strategy for a minor $3

I don’t care if you ever played a 4X game before. For $3 it’s almost silly not to at least try Civ 6, especially with 7 just being announced. For those unaware, 4X games are named for the four main ways you can achieve victory: Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate. You play as a ruler looking to expand your empire across the world. However, you’re not the only one and need to decide how you want to work with (or against) the other major players to reach your goal. You start off in primitive times, but progress through the ages all the way to into future technologies. It’s the definition of a “one more turn” game that has sucked countless hours from its fans already, and now you can be one of them.

Related

5 indie horror games that made me sleep with a light on

I love horror games, but these indie titles made me afraid to turn the lights out.

4 Battlefield 2042

It’s finally worth it for $6

Even if 2042 launched at $6, I’m not sure I would have recommended it at the time. The game was riddled with bugs, but even worse, lacked the basic features you expected from a Battlefield game. Now that it’s been a few years, Dice has actually turned the ship around and made 2042 a great entry in the franchise. That’s a relief for fans who love that large-scale battle feeling that no other shooter attempts to emulate. There have been tons of new content updates, patches, maps, and reworks to make the game a genuine blast. It’s obviously a shame it couldn’t be that way at launch, but now you can jump in when it’s at its best and at a huge discount.

Related

5 anime video games better than their shows

I love anime, but hate filler. These anime video games cut out all the fluff and put you right into the action.

5 Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Three amazing sci-fi RPGs for $6

To this day, the Mass Effect trilogy is still one of the most ambitious undertakings in gaming. Considering how development times have ballooned this generation, I doubt we will ever see anything like it attempted again. These three sci-fi epics all feed into one, with choices and consequences from the first game carrying through all the way to the final game. Characters who live or die, people you choose to help or betray, everything comes back around at some point sooner or later. I do have to acknowledge the elephant in the room regarding the ending, which still is a huge bummer, but if you can at least enjoy the experience for the ride, the ending doesn’t have to retroactively ruin the journey you took to get there. Plus, with all the DLC included, you can just play the Citadel DLC and not bother with the “real” ending if you prefer.

Related

8 Android apps for gamers on the go

View your stats, communicate with friends, and enjoy your games on the go with these 8 Android apps