Like most, or maybe all, of us I tend to buy more games than I'm capable of playing and usually send them to my ever-growing backlog. I challenged myself to finish all the games I bought on Steam in the previous 2 big sales (winter and chinese new year) before the next big sale and now I can finally say that I was successful in achieving it. It's not many games (14) and I'm not counting the others I got from bundles and other random sales throughout this year but it's still something I'm proud of.
For what it matters these were the games in question:
Valiant Hearts: The Great War - I liked it a lot and found it personally better than the more recent WW1 game (
11-11 Memories Retold). It's a shame Ubisoft no longer greenlights these types of smaller scale arty games and solely focus on the same tired open-world formula and franchises. Give me more Rayman you bastards!!!
Republique - Another interesting game and a different take on the point & click formula. Although not entirely original it's one of the best implementations of the invisible-guiding-hand/assistance mechanic in games I've ever experienced. It's a kickstarted title so don't expect huge production values but what is there is very polished and well optimized. The story is also quite interesting and a good representation of Orwell's 1984 dystopian vision. Recommended to everyone bummed about the Observation exclusivity deal with Epic.
Bastard Bonds - I had high hopes about this game but sadly it ended up not being a very good game. It has a lot of original and interesting ideas but the execution isn't on par with them. The rpg system is overly complex but ultimately shallow, the character customization and progression is very basic and the story is practically non-existent. But what really kills the game is the aggressive rng nature of the combat which means you can get insta-killed by some lucky random crit from a basic enemy (which isn't a rare occurrence) or can take an obscene amount of turns to kill something that should die instantly.
Haydee - I'm guessing a lot of people insta-reject the game simply because of the way the playable character looks which is a shame. This is an excellent game and it deserves all the love it can get. Technically and mechanically it's very similar to Resident Evil 4 but it manages to keep a constant sense of dread throughout the game while RE4 gets lost halfway through in it's own silliness. Absolutely recommended.
The Turing Test - This is probably a well-known game so I'll keep it short. Better than
Quantum Conundrum but a lot worse than
Portal. I got it for <5$ so I can't complain.
Environmental Station Alpha - Good metroidvania but in a genre with so many good games I'm not sure if it's even in the top 50%.
Book of Demons - I only got this because it costed 5$ and it was brand new (had released 1 week ago or so). It's an ok game but I'm not the best person to judge it because I'm not a big fan of looter rpgs (like diablo or this one), although the card gimmick for skills & equipment is interesting.
Remember Me - When it released, I remember reading it wasn't very good but after playing it I quite enjoyed it. Maybe it was genre fatigue at the time or something else but I enjoyed the audio-visual presentation (it doesn't look like a 6yo game) and the story and even though the combat was a bit lackluster I feel the whole package is worth playing through.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - I already posted about it before. Some interesting ideas, some questionable design decisions and a story that I personally found predictable and never surprised me. Overall, a 'meh' package.
Song of the Deep - Another good metroidvania that usually can be bought at a very low price. It's worth it but there are some infuriating desing decisions like the speed at which enemies respawn.
The Magic Circle - Meta commentary walking simulator with some scripted interactions. It's ok for what it is but only worth it if you can get it cheap.
Apotheon - Contrary to what the tags say this isn't a metroidvania game, it's a 2D rpg where the character progression is done via equipment. It's janky and a bit unpolished but entertaining.
OVIVO - Weird platformer about "polarity" manipulation. It's a short and relaxing game that's worth it if you like experimental games.
Cosmic Express - Mean puzzle game with a cute aesthetic. Loved it, although the portal galaxy puzzles and the later levels are a pain to figure out.
This Strange Realm Of Mine - Surreal and existential horror mixed with 90s fps game design. It's ok but maybe a little bit too weird for my personal taste.
Hopefully, I managed to draw your attention to something that you might actually like that otherwise you wouldn't notice. Meanwhile I intend to try to finish anything I get during this sale before the winter one, here's hoping I'm successful
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