My Recommendations for Best Value in 2017 Steam Sale
I’m changing up the release day for posts back to Tuesdays. That’s when I get the heaviest traffic to the site, so it just makes sense. As you may or may not know, the Steam summer sale is in full swing. I had 26 games from my wishlist on sale, which is about half. I’m honestly surprised it isn’t more. I decided to take a look back over the past couple of years, and go through the games I already owned to see what was on sale. I picked out the best games with the best discounts that I simply can’t recommend enough. There were quite a few surprises considering the age and heavy discounts of some of these games.
Battlefleet Gothic Armada: $13.59
Probably the biggest surprise because of the HUGE discount having only been out for a year. This is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played. A strategy game of capital ship combat in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The campaign part of the game gets lots of praise, but I really enjoyed the skirmishes versus AI. The multiplayer queues are a bit slow, and imbalanced, due to the small population. That might change with this sale though.
Fortified: $4.94
This is probably the surprise hit of the sale for me. I’ve been playing a lot of Foxhole lately, so when I started checking out the developer I found this game. This is a third person shooter style game where you build up your defenses to defend from an alien invasion. A different style of tower defense game. It all takes place with vintage 1950s science fiction stylized graphics. It has a hint of humor in it too. While you can play solo, I really recommend you have a friend along for the ride. The devs have been pretty quiet for almost a year so the game may be ‘finished’, but it is a lot of fun for less than five dollars.
Helldivers: $9.99
I wasn’t much for top down shooters, aka twin stick shooters, until I found Helldivers. It’s heavily influenced by the movie version of Starship Troopers. You fight bugs, cyborgs, and robots alongside up to four friends. All your missions take place on procedurally generated planets. This is another of those must-have-friends games to get the most out of it.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3: $24.99
While I don’t normally play singleplayer games, this one really surprised me. It’s an open world stealth shooter, meaning 90% of what you do is going to be sneaking and sniping. Taking place in modern day eastern Europe, it’s a great story about an American sniper and his brother. The game has great graphics and great sniping kill cam effects. A huge discount too considering it just came out this year.
Total War Warhammer: $20.39
If you missed the Humble monthly sale, this is the next best thing. A Warhammer fantasy strategy game done by the Total War team. There is tons to do in this game if you enjoy battling with the available factions, even without the DLC. It will also add to your campaign world if you purchase the upcoming Total War: Warhammer II. All of the DLC is on sale as well if you want to pick up a little something extra.
Space Hulk Deathwing: $23.99
This game is a Warhammer 40,000 first person shooter. A colossal failure when it first launched, but 6 updates later this game is amazing. The dark and gothic environment visuals are on point, as well as the weapon effects. If you enjoy horde-mode style games, blasting away at waves of enemies with your friends brothers, this game is for you.
Company of Heroes 2: $4.99
This is probably the best deal on Steam right now or ever. World War 2 era RTS with no base building. This is my favorite strategy game, and for this price you won’t find anything better. This game has a campaign, multiplayer, and even a mod community for all kinds of new maps. The devs outlined an 8 year lifespan for this game when it launched, and there’s a good 4 years left to go.
DOOM: $14.99
Yet another game that has just plummeted in price being just barely a year old. It dropped to $16 during the Black Friday sales, but now the legendary first person shooter is even cheaper. A great Sci Fi experience, battling demons with the baddest weapons mankind has to offer. There’s plenty of player created maps as well thanks to the easy to use SnapMap editor. While it is a reboot of sorts, this is a great addition to the DOOM series.