My Steam Summer Sale Haul
Some recently acquired games I’m super excited about
Ah yes, it’s around that time of the year, when Valve slashes prices and welcomes the collective opening of wallets for the Steam Summer Sale. By now a staple of its existence as the dominant gaming platform on PC, the Summer Sale has come to represent the best (and worst) of Steam. Of course, by that token, it also represents the collective best and worst of the greater gaming community.
We all become thirsty for those bargains and buy countless games we’re likely to barely look at again. But during a pandemic world right now, it’s actually fortunate that we all have access to such a plethora of gaming options without having to risk leaving out homes and going out to buy that new game.
Every year is filled with regret, speedy refunds and the often broken promises of playing yet another new game with friends (my friends know I’m talking about). Usually, I’m indecisive and twitchy, ultimately deciding to save my money for another day. Yet somehow, this year I ended up with a decent haul.
Right now we probably all have more time (and excuses) to splash out money on new games. So that’s what I did and I’m absolutely rapt about the games I bought in this year’s sale. Here are three bargains I picked up (one of which I’ve already finished — oops) in the recently ended summer sale that I’m really excited about.
theHunter: Call of the Wild
This title I managed to pick up under $6 AUD at around a quarter of its normal retail price on Steam. An open world hunting game where you explore unique and beautiful landscapes, all while tracking and hunting animals? Hell yeah, I thought. I pulled the trigger (pun intended) and decided to add it to my vastly growing library.
Now, keep in mind the price of theHunter is somewhat deceiving as it has a bunch of DLC that also adds up and inflate the total cost if you’re inclined to buy any of it. Luckily I was able to grab some of the DLC packs during the sale. It’s definitely worth doing research on which ones are the best, but I can safely say that generally speaking they’re pretty good value.
The weapon pack ones may help you early on when you haven’t unlocked much weapon progression and the reserve DLCs are especially good as they unlock new locations for you to hunt at. This also means there’s new wildlife unlocked for you to hunt as well, like grizzly bears in the Yukon, or lions in the African savannahs.
The most enjoyable aspect of theHunter so far has easily been loading into multiplayer lobbies with my mates for what turn out to be some ridiculous shenanigans. We’ve had up to five of us roaming the Yukon, yelling over each other on Discord while we try to track down a grizzly bear, commenting with the maturity of three-year-olds on the size of the bear’s droppings.
theHunter also excels in its open world settings. The game is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, whether you’re trekking through snow in a forest or traversing the wide open plains of savannahs. It’s a game that is honestly as dedicated to exploration as it is hunting. You can go vast swathes of time without seeing any animals at all and each separate reserve has a massive area of environment, artefacts and outposts to explore. Dynamic weather and “campaign” missions that are unique to each reserve only add further to the experience.
Already playing over 15 hours of theHunter within two weeks, it’s a relaxing and fun game to play around in that I will certainly return to again and again. Considering I’m stuck inside almost all the time now for the considerable future, it’s great to have a game where I can explore the outside environment across different places in the world. If the devs continue to add content and new reserves progressively as they already have been, it will be a long-term game for me.
The Wolf Among Us
So I have to cheat somewhat when talking about The Wolf Among Us as I’ve actually already finished the game since purchasing it. I had been wanting to play it for years, both because it’s a Telltale title and the fact it’s a prequel to the Fables comic series that I’ve always wanted to get into.
Considering it’s the first Telltale game I’ve ever played, I was amazed by the artistic and narrative direction that TWAU took. With awesome performances by all the characters and an intriguing murder-mystery storyline that pieced itself together along the way while unveiling new twists and turns, it was easily worth the price of admission.
Bigby Wolf is a character that’s hard to root against (especially when you’re playing as him), yet the irony is that your ability to empathise and relate to him is largely contingent on the decisions you make throughout the game. This of course is the modus operandi that Telltale games are well well known to operate with. A decision which you think is right may have unforeseen consequences, so sometimes trying to make the best choice doesn’t always work out.
So, whether you decide to be the big bad wolf or not, TWAU provides an awesome experience, interactive enough to keep you engaged, with a wonderful story that will keep you enthralled. Think fairy tales are for kids only? Think again. TWAU, as part of the Fables comics canon, rewrites and reweaves the stories of the well known fairy tale characters we grew up with and dispenses them into a gritty and mature world known as Fabletown.
After playing the game so quickly and with such pleasure, it’s a foregone surety this won’t be the last Telltale game I play and it certainly won’t be the last interaction I have with the Fables universe. The value of the decision-making gameplay also means my interest is likely to be piqued again down the line when I decide to see how the story goes when I make completely different choices as Sheriff Bigby.
Another ingenious aspect of the game is the way you’re shown how your major choices compared to all other players at the end of each section. It’s a unique and valuable attribute that makes you question and reevaluate the major choices you make.
Yakuza Kiwami
Well, this title I’m unfortunately going to have to predict my enjoyment for, as I haven’t gotten around to playing it yet unlike the other two games. As a rerelease and remaster of the original Yakuza game from PS2 however, I am incredibly excited to start Yakuza Kiwami, especially after my experience with Yakuza 0.
Originally released back in 2016 on PS3 and PS4, Yakuza Kiwami was released on Steam last year in 2019, as part of SEGA’s renewed push to release numerous PC ports of old PlayStation exclusive games (it was also released this year on Xbox One too). To say I am excited to go back and explore the world of the original Yakuza, the game that started the series and first created the legendary characters of Kiryu and Majima, among others is an understatement at best.
That being said, with the original game released back in 2005, I am making sure to temper my expectations, as compared to the much more recent Yakuza 0, I’m guessing it probably won’t quite be as impressive graphically and gameplay-wise. I am incredibly excited all the same! It will also be really interesting to compare my experience to those who have played both the original Yakuza and Yakuza Kiwami, seeing as there quite a few additions and changes made in the remastered version.
Considering I picked up both Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 as a bundle during the Steam Summer Sale, I’ll be enjoying the whackiness of the Yakuza world for some time to come.
These are just three of the games I picked up in the Steam Summer Sale that I was most excited about to play. Already having finished The Wolf Among Us, I can tell you that it is an awesome game with a riveting storyline, gorgeous stylised graphics that still hold up in 2020 and awesome acting performances.
Likewise, my exploration of theHunter: Call of the Wild so far has generated nothing but fun and mania as my friends and I have traversed savannahs, forests and valleys. Finally — I am incredibly excited to be able to sit down and play Yakuza Kiwami, a game I have been ready to play ever since I first finished playing through Yakuza 0.
The Steam Summer Sale has become an iconic event for PC gamers all across the world over the years. I hope for you it also offered endless bounties of fun, excitement and pleasure. After all, it is and should continue to be about the celebration of our love of gaming — something that connects people all over the world, no matter their background.
Get out there and play some games!
