Saturday Morning Gaming: What to do with that gift card

I’ve realized that I mostly use my Steam Wishlist for keeping track of games that haven’t been released yet. The joys of seeing “Release Date: TBD” turn into “Release Date: (season) 2023” or, even better, “Release Date: (Month) 2023” lets me know when I need to get ready to get ready for a new obsession. Terra Nil? Still “Coming Soon”. Book of Hours? “June 2023”. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2? “TBC”. Wait, what does the C mean? Is that a typo?

After that are the games in “early access”. I’ve been bit by a handful of those games in the past where either the game petered out without ever getting finished (Towns) or the game went from version 0.3.28 to 1.0 overnight with a “we’re done, don’t talk to us” (Spacebase DF-9). It’s nice to see when one switches from “Early Access” to “Released” and also keep track of the overall reviews and see whether they creep from “mixed” to “mostly positive” or in the other direction.

And, on top of that, it’s also a good gauge for whether I really want a game. When any given Steam Sale kicks in and I see that a game is 66% or 75% off and I think “nah”, I know that it probably doesn’t belong on the wishlist at all.

All that said, I always enjoy opening my wishlist when the Winter Sale kicks in and seeing what’s going on. I recently pared the wishlist down to 36 and that includes 13 unreleased/Early Access games so out of the 23 finished games on the list, 22 were on sale. Granted, most of those are south of 50% but there are two that I’m excited to pick up:

Salt and Sanctuary has been hailed as a 2D Dark Souls and it’s got “very positive” reviews. Elden Ring has changed my opinion on Soulslikes and I’m interested in seeing whether a 2D version would appeal to me now… and 75% off makes that a lot less risky.

Observation is the other 75% off game but this one has more of a horror vibe and tells a completely different story. In this one, you’re playing “SAM”, the AI of an Observation Ship over the hexagon on Saturn and you’re exploring the story of What Happened (But It Was Awful, You Know That Much). As the game’s copy says: You’re not on the station, you are the station. So it’s a HAL sim.

I never knew I wanted one of those.

The usual suspects make their appearance for the big sales: games set in the Star Wars universe, games set in the Fallout universe, Warhammer, Resident Evil, and Tom Clancy’s stuff.

If you’re not looking for games where “guns” get explicitly used, EA is having big sales for last season’s sports, Sid Myer’s games (not just Civ VI!) are available for cheap, and the Need for Speed games will scratch your racing itch.

When it comes to games that I am personally recommending enthusiastically without qualification?

Hades is an absolutely amazing ARPG with hours of enjoyment playable in little 20 minute chunks and it’s 50% off.

Gremlins Inc. is an absolutely sociopathic board game that will have you cackling when you stab someone else in the back and sputtering when it happens to you. 75% off!

Pentiment is “only” 25% off but it came out last month. Narrative-driven, multiple branches, deep research into the era, fun characters, and amazing visual style.

Little Inferno is a relaxing game that feels like it was made for a tablet instead of a desktop. Purchase fun items from a catalog and then set them on fire.

And GOG.com has XCom 2 on sale for 95% off. Three bucks. One of the best strategy games I’ve ever played and it’s three dollars!

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is on sale for 75% off. A murder mystery where the biggest questions are stuff like “Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of life?”

Oh, yeah. And Elden Ring. Friggin’ Elden Ring. It’s only 30% off but it’s probably my game of the year.

Each and every one of those games has given me hours of enjoyment (well, not Pentiment yet, but I’m already in love with it and can’t wait to get back to it).

I hope you find something you like in there and, hey, if you stumble across something that you think we should know about, tell us about it! A lot of us are going to get gift cards tomorrow and we’ll want a nudge in the right direction.

So… what are you playing?

(Featured image is Steam’s “Winter Sale” graphic. Screenshot taken by the author.)