Don’t miss these hidden gems in the Steam Autumn Sale
We’ve already covered the best deals in the 2022 Steam Autumn Sale, with all the discounts on big games from this year as well as bargains on classics you don’t want to miss. What about the deep cuts though—the games that aren’t already on your wishlist and probably aren’t even on your radar?
Steam sales are a great time to try something different without having to fork out too much cash. Before this year’s Steam Autumn Sale ends on November 29, have a look at these overlooked and under-rated games. One of them might be your next favorite.
Based on Ryan North’s book based on William Shakespeare’s play, To Be or Not To Be is Hamlet transformed into a choose-your-own-tragedy that’s actually a comedy. In this version of the story the further you diverge from actual events the funnier it gets, and considering you can end up traveling through time or fighting secret ghost wars, it gets pretty far from your English teacher’s version.
Objects in Space (opens in new tab) | $4.99/£3.89 (80% off)
A complicated spaceship sim where you’re captain of a rustbucket junker and have to fly it by staring at banks of monitors and flipping toggles. You can take on contracts, be a trader, bounty hunter, smuggler, or pirate, and either interact with other ships or hit the emission control button and run silent whenever you see one. It’s halfway between Elite and a realistic submarine sim.
A digital card game based on a physical one, in Sentinels of the Multiverse each deck represents the powers and equipment of a superhero. You pit them against supervillain decks in singleplayer or co-op. Think comic-book battles reimagined as Magic: The Gathering matches.
Regalia is a Polish RPG that isn’t grim and inspired by folklore, but kooky and inspired by anime. It’s the kind of game where you spend time between turn-based challenge battles deciding which NPC to hang with so you can unlock more of their story. Those stories turn out to be as gleefully ridiculous as the characters, and given that one of the characters is a vampire hairdresser ice wizard, that’s pretty ridiculous.
Assault Android Cactus (opens in new tab) | $4.99/£3.87 (75% off)
Before they became “the studio that made Unpacking”, Witch Beam was the indie studio that made a twin-stick shooter called Assault Android Cactus. It’s an arcade action game where you fight through a spaceship full of robots gone rogue, every level shifting and reconfiguring itself as you play and the music builds in intensity. It’s like a disco full of lasers.
Akane (opens in new tab) | $1.24/£0.99 (75% off)
Akane combines simple controls with hyper difficult action. Surrounded by cyberpunk yakuza who can kill you with a single hit, you have a gun and a katana that you use by extending a line with your mouse and dashing along it. In Akane your lifespan will be measured in minutes, if you’re lucky. The kind of game where you die and immediately try again, and again.
A top-down stealth game where you control a robotic Roomba out for revenge. Imagine Shadow Tactics or Commandos, only you have a powerful vacuum attachment that lets you suck up all the blood and bones left behind by your messy dismemberment of each guard. Also, sometimes a cat climbs on top of you for a ride.
Tokyo Dark (opens in new tab) | $4.49/£3.30 (75% off)
An adventure game where you’re a Tokyo detective searching for her missing partner. You get to explore famous locations like Akihabara and Shinjuku, as well as the city’s dark underworld, solving puzzles and balancing your stats of Sanity, Professionalism, Investigation, and Neurosis.
Neon Struct (opens in new tab) | $1.79/£1.19 (90% off)
A low-fi cyberpunk stealth game for lovers of games like Deus Ex and Thief. You’re an ex-spy on the run and since this is the dystopian future there are cameras everywhere. Fortunately there are also vents everywhere, perfectly sized for you to crawl through, and you’ve got plenty of espionage gadgets to play with too.
Dead in Vinland (opens in new tab) | $4.99/£3.87 (75% off)
A ship full of Vikings is wrecked on a mysterious island, possibly a magical one, and it’s up to you to keep them alive. Imagine a survival game that plays like a management sim, where you need to assign tasks and hand out food each day to insure your settlement clinging to the rocks makes it another day. Also, turn-based tactical combat breaks out whenever you encounter enemies.
Bonus round! Check these out as well.
