Steam sale gems

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I recently went through my Steam library and found a few interesting games I would not have played (judging book cover syndrome) if they had not been on sale.

Nation Red
A zombie survival game with an isometric view and arcade-style play. Basically horde-mode type playthroughs with XP upgrades you choose on the fly and weapon or support power-up drops random from dead zombies. There are also boss-type zombies that appear with different characteristics. Different game modes offer varied playstyles (Survival, Barricade, Mission or even custom style). Also has a multiplayer mode which I have yet to try out. I actually don't remember even buying this game so I don't know what I paid for it, but I'm sure it was cheap and well worth the money.

War of the Roses: Kingmaker
A multiplayer romp set during the historical period of that name. Take on the role of medieval warriors in 3rd person combat. Fighting is intense and interesting since the swordplay is slightly difficult to master. Directional attacks and physics make this a fun but difficult game, say you're fighting in close quarters, walls will halt your sword making you switch to a smaller weapon. Archery is also present and damn well annoying but fun. Kind of reminds me of Dark Souls/Demons Souls in difficulty curve for controls. Ultimately a decent distraction for a few dollars.

Organ Trail
No that wasn't a typo. A remake of the old school Oregon Trail edutainment game except instead of making your way across the frontier in a wagon, facing the perils of travel in the pioneer days you are faced with the Zombie Apocalypse and must make your way to a safe haven on the west coast in a station wagon. As with the original, you can name the people in your party and do your best to keep everyone alive and uninfected. Defend your wagon from Biker Gangs, escape from infected hordes of zombie deer, even ford your way across a sea of zombies either sneaking through or shooting your way out. Do side quests at in each town to get supplies, parts for your vehicle and upgrades to both vehicle and combat. All in all its a fun time attempting to survive your ordeal and keep your friends alive. Or murder them so you can go it alone.

So fellow escapists, what gems have you found during Steam sales you wouldn't have bought otherwise?

 

[omegaweopon]

Quite possibly my entire steam library of over a 100 games now, is all due to Humble Bundle, and steam sales. Quite possibly my favorite is:

Dungeons Of Dredmore
It's a wonderful roguelike with enabled user mods, and a great sense of humor. The option to turn permadeath on or off is nice, and you get to pick from a decent variety of skills. Each game turns out a bit different than the previous one, and I have yet to find a build that will carry me through the game. (Made quite some distance with a Viking warrior.)

 

[DoPo]

Ghost Master
OK, I did know of the game from before - I remember reading a review in a gaming magazine (which means it was quite a while ago) but somehow it didn't appeal to me then. During the Winter sale it was 80-90% off, so I got it for I think £0.70 or so. I went "Meh, it sounded a bit interesting as I recall, I might as well". And, oh my god, the game was way better than I expected. I might even say, it's one of the best games I've played this year (back in January). Well, not "best", per se, as it has some problems - a bit with the UI, a bit with the AI but nothing serious - the most serious "issue" is that levels are too long - they just drag on past the point where it's clear you'd win. But until then, it's a mightily entertaining experience. Some very cool mechanics, too. I really dig the ghost fetters bit - basically, a ghost can be summoned under specific conitions - some can be summoned inside, others outside, some on water (and tht includes the sink), others on soil and so on, once summoned, they are more or less bound to that area, until summoned elsewhere. Really cool concept, I really dig it. Also, plasma and the commands you can give ghosts are really awesome.