Late Christmas gifts
Steam’sWinter Saleis still ongoing, with thousands of sales on games big and small. You only have ~24 hours left to nab yourself some good savings, so get at it! I’ve put down a handful of my own recommendations below, but I’m sure you can find other gems if you scroll for long enough. And of course, other giants likeElden Ringand the LEGO games are also heavily discounted.
Hitman 3is about to be renamedHitman World Of Assassination, giving you access to all the base levels from the rebooted trilogy. So, there’s never been a better time to invest in the stealth series as you’re essentially getting three games for the price of one.The new Hitmen are all great, giving you huge sandboxes to decode and disguise your way through.
I’ve recommended Playdead’s surreal, grotesque puzzle platformer more times than I can count, but I’ve never talked about it on this site, so: I recommend you playInside.Try to play it in one sitting, with the lights down low and no distractions. Even if you don’t have any theories by the end, your first playthrough is just a sensory force of nature. Subsequent playthroughs are when things get interesting when small details begin to connect, and all your synapses snap. If you’ve already played it,Limbois also on sale.
Bayonetta’ssequels have been relegated to Nintendo’s consoles, but the original is still here in all of its glory. From the very opening scene, you know what you’re in for. A camp, acrobatic action game with a killer soundtrack and one of the most iconic heroines in gaming. Where else can you spank a demon to death?
I was only 7 whenSpore,the evolution simulator, was initially released, but my siblings made sure I knew about it. My nerdy brother and Sims-obsessed sister downloaded Spore on launch day, and I couldn’t help but mesmerised by it. Eyes full, I remember thinking: “this is the best game of all time.” Then I grew up and found out everyone hated it. But for the same price of gum (or less in this economy), Spore is an interesting experiment and a charming game regardless.
Yes, yes, I know. Not many people likedFinal Fantasy13 when it launched, so I imagine even fewer people bothered to pick up its direct sequelFF 13-2, which is a shame because it’s much better. The dry politics and religious melodrama of its predecessor are replaced by an awesome time-travel story that remixes locations and characters from the first game in fun ways. Plus, you can capture almost any enemy to fill up the third slot in your party, kinda like Enchanted Arms.
That’s just a couple of things that caught my eye, but lemme know if there’s anything special that I missed.
