Well, I decided to splurge a bit this sale after pulling off a couple of big jobs this month. I usually link just the lesser known stuff but for completeness I’ve done the lot:
I ended up going for two games inspired by Vampire Survivors:
Soulstone Survivors
Army of Ruin
Soulstone Survivors is fun but the screen gets very busy, making it more frustrating than it should be. Army of Ruin started out slow, but as soon as I increased my speed through permanent upgrades, the game really clicked for me. So far it’s my second favorite game of this type, behind only Vampire Survivors itself.
wytchwood was sadly a… disappointment ? I was wary of the game’s idea, and it didn’t work for me at all.
Heaven’s vault, on the other side, is incredible and I went by it, not knowing it existed till … dang, I can’t remember Mr. Hornbostel’s nickname right now. Anyway, until he pointed out that this game had been a commercial failure, in another Inkle game thread. what a shame they didn’t manage to market it to prime targets like me !
Having really enjoyed the core gameplay, reasons above, I bought both DLC packs - Elves and Dwarves - since they just add to the total variety, which is “nice”.
They also add campaigns, which are, like the base game campaigns, potentially enjoyable but with the huge caveat that some of the scenarios are things that maybe 1% of players will ever manage. If you do find yourself loving the core game AND you are up for very, very tough challenges, then the campaigns might add a lot of value.
@Left_Empty yeah, I can’t deny gather-y craft-y gameplay loops are generally not for me but the idea of playing a grumpy witch in such a beautifully rendered world, and by the Cryptark devs too, was enough for me to pick it up. Not to mention, my girlfriend has been wanting it on Switch and we have a Deck now!
Yes! I’m really looking forward to Heaven’s Vault. I’ve seen it mentioned in the same breath as Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn and I believe Hypnospace Outlaw (which I still need to play) so I’m very excited :)
Watched someone play through this game and found the premise interesting and mechanics unique. Good pickup!
For my part I’m really bad at this sale thing. My main purchase was Last Epoch, which isn’t even on sale. The only other thing I bought was Melvor Idle + expansion… but separately so I didn’t even get the bundle discount.
I am tempted by this due to the praise, but I don’t know if I can get passed the JRPGness of it - the look, damage numbers being in the 1000s. Do the battles take place on the regular map?
I just picked it up, so my knowledge of it is thin, but as far as i’ve seen, damage is all played out on the main screen and is pretty minimalist (select an ability, click a hex to apply it to), so it lacks the heft of the combat of some of the comparables (AoW or Disciples). I’m still adjusting to all the ‘cuteness’ of it myself, but I suppose if i can get accustomed to the grimdark of disciples, i can adjust to this too :)
If i had to pick though, i’d say you could get over it too - I’m not a big fan of JRPGs, and this hasn’t presented me with any of the animations and powers that bug me about the genre.
Not to temper anyone’s excitement, but I found Heaven’s Vault to be really interesting with some great elements, but ultimately a bit disappointing, and I’ve heard that from others as well. What I’ve also heard from those who love it, though, is that the key is to play through it at least twice. I don’t quite know why…? Maybe to see the way the game changes in later play-throughs? Anyway, that’s my advice for those of you about to jump in. I have put it back in my backlog to try again with this in mind.
The only thing I got during the Steam sale was the DLC for Distant Worlds 2. This has to be the first time I didn’t pick up a handful of games on sale.
Did you try the challenge settings?
I’m just addicted to the rogue-like aspect of it. Especially the Heroes one. Select up to 3 heroes, and slowly add to them, while picking up magical items, spells, and techs.
I liked Heaven’s Vault enough to play it through twice, and if the first playthrough didn’t grab you, I’m not sure that the second will. The major story beats can change, but as far as I know, not that drastically.
(Minor structural spoilers - no plot details) The game is a largely procedural detective game where the mysteries, clues, and solutions are all dynamic and based on your choices. The fun of the second playthrough was being able to choose different clues and mysteries and seeing how the story warps around those different choices. Frodo’s always going to dump the ring in Mount Doom, but what if his path and motivations were entirely different?
Ah interesting. I’m currently playing Kentucky Route Zero for the first time and my friend who adores the game is encouraging me to play through it again to appreciate its themes and the text more but… I’m not great at replaying through games. I’ve even struggled to fire up Betrayal at Club Low again to dig out some of the other endings! Oxenfree expected me to go through it again and I couldn’t motivate myself to do it. Returnal expected more from me and I just moved on. It’s the rare game that gets a replay!
Thanks @thatdudeguy for the info (and particularly the spoiler explanation), it’s much appreciated.