Steam Summer Sale: what should I get

[Baby Gary]

Hi all, as you know the steam summer sale (SSS) in on but I don't know what games to get. I would like any suggestions about what game to get because I can't think of any. however there are some restrictions because I am not 18 yet and I have a mom, I cannot get any first person shooter games period, but I think I can make an argument for 3rd person shooters. I like most games, there is no price cap, the game I have the most hours in is Skyrim, I would sorta like to get a MMO, and if there are any games that are not on steam but you think I should still get I wouldn't mind you telling me, after all I just really want some new games.

[Ninja_Prawn]

If you haven't already, get FTL: Faster than Light. I reckon it's one of the best games ever written in any genre and on any platform. I believe it is in the sale.

I just bought Portal 2 and Darkest Dungeon this weekend, both in the sale. I had played Portal before but didn't own a copy, and can confirm that it's still very good. Darkest Dungeon is atmospheric, stressful, frustrating and difficult, but you could perhaps make an argument to your mother that it's educational. You know, in the sense of it teaches you never to go poking about in haunted dungeons if you value your sanity about risk and reward. If you've played X-COM: Enemy Unknown, it's kind of similar to that. On a conceptual level, I mean.

Incidentally, I don't know if X-COM is in the sale, but that would be another one to try if you haven't already got it. It might look to your mother like a 3rd person shooter, but it's actually a strategy game so you should be ok.

Don't know much about MMOs and I'm not aware of anything that's a clear upgrade on Skyrim, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. Edit: maybe Witcher 3? I haven't played it, but it's got rave reviews.

Also edit: just found this (http://www.rpgsite.net/news/5717-steam-summer-sale-2017-the-best-games-and-deals-for-rpg-fans), apparently Recettear: an Item Shop's Tale is on sale. So that's worth picking up. Pit People is also very good, though it's a bit early-access-y. Looks like almost all the Final Fantasy games are 50% off, so it's a good time to explore any of those you haven't gotten around to.

[endoperez]

If you don't know what to get, try to think of the experience or emotion or challenge you want from the game.

Do you want to immerse yourself in a vast world? Skyrim and MMOs offer a vast world to explore, and take countless hours until you feel like you're done. I don't know which are for sale, but open-world tag should find most.

Do you want to immerse yourself in a story? With story, I don't just mean the written plot, but the narrative experience, storytelling, etc. In many RPGs, the plot is just an excuse to move you around the world to explore it, with little emotional attachment.

Stardew Valley feels like a story slowly unfurling, despite the game having little actual plot. Ori and the Blind Forest is an excellent metroid-style platformer, but more importantly, a beautiful story with cinematic, puzzle-like escape scenes straight from a catastrophe movie replacing boss fights.

Also consider what sort of challenge you want from the game, and how much time you want to put in. Do you just want to play around in a virtual sandbox? Do you want to really challenge yourself and push your skills? If exploration and exciting action were put on a scale, which one would be the the weightier one? Do you want to properly think things through, rely purely on quick reflexes and adrenaline, or a mix?

Some single-player RPGs like Skyrim focus on the world, others like Divinity series focus on gameplay, some on storytelling (Dragon Age etc).

Some games like Abzu are purely exploration with little to no action or challenge.

RPGs tend to be less about twitch action and take some thinking. I'm not sure if your mom would approve, but something like Far Cry might be better as an open world sandbox toy.

Platformers tend to require precise execution and tight control. Some focus on extreme challenge, others on exploration and slowly expanding set of skills, some on the story.
Rogue Legacy, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, cave Story etc.

And finally, ask your mother what she wants to limit and why. Realistic violence? Gory violence? Showing death and killing as fun and enjoyable? First-person perspective specifically? Dark and miserable themes?

Edit:
Aforementioned XCom is a really nice turn-based combat game, but it has cinematic slow-mo kill shots. If that's not OK, something stylized like Banner Saga, or stealth-themed like Invisible, Inc. would be better.

Darkest Dungeons explores mental illnesses. It's dark more than violent, but that's something you might want to check first.

FTL's challenge is mostly cerebral. You have to manage resources, time your attacks well, but you can pause freely so it requires little twitch action. It takes lots of repetition to learn the different enemies, areas and choices. The exploration is more about the possibilities of what can or could happen, not about the world. I liked it, but it might not be what OP wants.

[IcarusWulfe]

Just got Prey, I would highly reccomend it. Feels a lot like System Shock 2 in a good way.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Edit:
Aforementioned XCom is a really nice turn-based combat game, but it has cinematic slow-mo kill shots.

D'oh! I had totally forgotten about that. Just goes to show how little they matter within the overall experience. Can they be turned off in the options somewhere?

It's hard to answer the OP based on "I like most games" and "I just really want some new games" isn't it? Like, should we just start listing games we think are good? By hours played on steam, my top games are Infinity Wars, Card Hunter and Baldur's Gate, but... I dunno, I feel like they're probably not what the OP is looking for? But maybe the change of pace would be a life-changing revelation to him?

[Misereor]

I bought Warhammer: Total War + all DLC.
Finally it was at a price level where I didn't feel like a complete chump for buying it.

[Spojaz]

Mount and blade warband is amazing. Trading, raiding, sieges and (light) politics with a surprisingly active arena multiplayer for a game from 2010. I've put in a few hundred hours, and it's five bucks.

Overall I was more impressed with the GOG sale that just finished than any recent steam sales. Better deals, and I got Rebel Galaxy, a pretty good naval-warfare-style spaceship game for free.

[Baby Gary]

first thank you all for your suggestions, I will look into all of them

So about what my mom will not let me get, I am not allowed to play first person shooter because I will be desensitized to guns (however it is fine if it is anything else like swords), and I think she will say no to most games with sex scenes (i'm looking at you mass effect)

I personally don't want any horror games or any games that require a lot of skill/are very hard.

types of games that I would like include, games focused on story, world, or puzzle (of course with some good combat if it is a combat game but not too hard)

[Ninja_Prawn]

So about what my mom will not let me get, I am not allowed to play first person shooter because I will be desensitized to guns (however it is fine if it is anything else like swords)

Honestly, that's not such a bad attitude. FPS games are overrated anyway.


I personally don't want any horror games or any games that require a lot of skill/are very hard.

Then you should probably discount most of what I've said. :smalltongue:


types of games that I would like include, games focused on story, world, or puzzle (of course with some good combat if it is a combat game but not too hard)

Well, Portal is still on the table, and Recettear. What else... maybe an Atelier game? I've only played Sophie, but it's good if you're in the mood for it. OH, Child of Light is 66% off! I love that one! Story-focussed, easy combat, not offensive in any way... well worth a punt.

[gooddragon1]

I bought Warhammer: Total War + all DLC.
Finally it was at a price level where I didn't feel like a complete chump for buying it.

Hate to break it to you, but Humble Bundle had it at 12.99 for their monthly deal a while ago (probably not DLC, so you probably still got a good deal).

Only two games interest me:
Mass Effect 2 (Not sure if I buy the hype about it though)
C&C red alert 3 (In my mind it must be strictly better than command and conquer 2 because it's 1 higher?)

4.99 each at the moment.

[Ninja_Prawn]

C&C red alert 3 (In my mind it must be strictly better than command and conquer 2 because it's 1 higher?)

If it were better than Red Alert 2 we'd all know about it, because people would be debating whether or not it's better than Ocarina of Time... :smalltongue:

Disclaimer: I've never played Red Alert 3; I just really loved 2. Spent most of my childhood playing it, and still listen to the soundtrack on occasion.

[Eldan]

H
Mass Effect 2 (Not sure if I buy the hype about it though)


Mass Effect 2:

Pros:
More time with your favourite ME1 characters
Much more polished gameplay (if you like action shooters)
Slightly nicer graphics
Cool new characters
More stuff to do
No ****ING vehicle exploration
Great side missions
A lot of decent humour
Great dialogue
Reduced RPG elements*

Cons:
Main story much less interesting
Planet scanning superfluous and dull
Shephard is Our Lord and Saviour (annoying hero worship, only person who can do anything about anything)
Reduced RPG elements*


*Interesting weapon cooldown system replaced by ammo, no longer 10'000 guns and armours that are all the same +1% damage, fewer skill choices, classes more interesting and different.

Well worth 5 bucks if you liked ME1.

[Lethologica]

The Stanley Parable, The Binding of Isaac, Ori and the Blind Forest, Psychonauts, and the KOTORs are the games I got off the summer sale (all highly discounted) that I would recommend to someone who's subject to parental restrictions. I also got The Wolf Among Us and Shadow of Mordor, which I do not recommend if parents are an issue, and Life Is Strange, where YMMV.

[Fishybugs]

Looks like almost all the Final Fantasy games are 50% off, so it's a good time to explore any of those you haven't gotten around to.

Hmm. Strangely, with 35+ years of tabletop and video gaming, I haven't played a single Final Fantasy game. Are they still worth getting into? If so, where do you recommend I start?

[dps]

If you want a complex strategy game, get Crusader Kings II.

[Ravian]

I'm a big fan of the Baldur's Gate series. They're very old, but they've produced an enhanced edition available on Steam that's compatible with modern engines.

The games are RPG strategy. Combat is real-time but pausable. Setting is Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten realms with most of the familiar aspects from the game (it is based on 2nd edition though so some elements are likely to be less familiar, biggest mechanical difference is that low AC is good and instead of Attack Modifiers they use THACO (an abreviation for To hit Armor Class 0. This is why low AC is better, since your armor class is added to the enemy's THACO, making it easier for them to hit you unless it's negative)

Anyway, the system is less of the appeal compared to the actual story. Lots of interesting and memorably characters, especially in the sequel, where they traded the sheer number of NPC companions to enhance those the stories behind those that are in the game.

Of course if you really want to go down the amazing story route, I'd recommend Planescape Torment, which also got an enhanced edition recently, and which is commonly praised for having one of the best stories in RPG history.

---

Alternatively, I recently picked up a neat game on steam on the cheap. Steamworld Heist. It's a turn based third-person shooter strategy game like X-com, with the primary difference being that it's also a 2D side-scroller. This means that the fundamental mechanic is that you have to manually aim your shots to get through cover, often by doing cool ricochet trick shots which makes for some satisfying game play.

I understand the reservations about shooters, but it may assuage your mother since the setting is all steam powered robots. Thus there's no blood, and they go for more goofy steampunk weapons than anything realistic. So you just shoot at foes with your snazzy brass gear-covered pistol and they fall apart into a bunch of scraps, not terribly violent. (They even mention in-universe that most of the robots can easily be rebuilt, as this is what happens when your own party members are defeated.)

The story's pretty basic but it serves its purpose for carrying the interesting game-play and is helped by its amusing cartoony steampunk space aesthetic. It's also got some replayability despite the fixed storyline thanks to variable difficulties, a new game plus mode and a couple of cheap DLC missions they put out. Well worth the five dollars I paid for it on sale.

[endoperez]

types of games that I would like include, games focused on story, world, or puzzle (of course with some good combat if it is a combat game but not too hard)

Ori and the Blind Forest might work. I played it on easy. Some of the platforming parts were challenging even with a gamepad though, and could be frustratingly difficult on a keyboard.

Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment are old classics.
BG1+2 is longer, a bit like a top-down Skyrim with a party. Lots of exploration and wide open areas. Planescape: Torment is a good story, but also a bit shorter and much more linear. It's easy to explore everything, although you might miss some hidden areas.
BG: typical fantasy stuff. Orphan, destiny, dead mentor, meeting allies in an inn, adventure, levelling up. Kobolds, goblins, orcs, ogres, giants, dragons and so on, more or less in order. Help some guys make money, help people in trouble, save some people, etc until you're the hero who saved the day. Your allies could be a druid, a warrior, a sorceress, a thief, a wizard etc. With names, with subplots, of course.

P:T - oh boy. You start as a corpse in a mortuary. A flying skull wakes you up. You know nothing. You are in a crazy city of portals to heaven and hell and everything in between. You can level up by discussing philosophy. You are dead and won't stay dead, so you can kill yourself to make a point as part of that philosophical discussion. In the city, you might fight thugs and thieves, or genius rat hive mind, or rogue demons. Your goal is to know what's going on.
Your allies could be a foul-mouthed flying skull, half-demon thief with sass, an intellectual celibate succubus, the burning corpse of a pyromaniac mage, etc.

Both are old. Clunky UI, loading times, perbaps even some technical difficulties before you get them running. Lots of dialogue, all in text.


Bastion might work, if it's on sale. Same with Transistor. Action games viewed from above, quite a bit of storytelling. In Bastion, for example, you get to change weapons and thus tactics so it stays fresh, and every weapon, skill and power up comes with its own little story tidbit.

Have you tried JRPGs? Most of them have turn-based combat, which can sometimes be more of a puzzle. They also tend to focus on the story and world, with pre-written characters and plot, instead of character customisation and blank protagonist more common in Western RPGs.

I don't have enough experience to recommend anything specific, but Final Fantasy games are a staple and at least one of them is an MMO. Valkyrie Chronicles is a war story, but I don't know anything more than that it's supposedly very good.

Disgaea is super grindy comedy JRPG with rather slow combat that has many puzzle elements. Examples of comedy: in one level, power rangers attack you. You attack them before their power-up sequence. One recurring boss hates you because you keep calling him Mid-Boss.
Examples of grinding: every item you loot has a random bonus dungeon, often dozens of levels. Playing this dungeon improves the item. Levelling up characters of one class unlocks new characters of a better class, which unlocks even better class, etc.

I didn't finish it, but enjoyed the parts I did play.

RTS games like Command & Conquer are more about the challenge than the story or world. Even games like StarCraft with praised campaign take a long time in missions, playing, mostly repeating same things. I doubt they're what you're looking for. Shorter, tactical fights work better for story IMO, RTS missions take much longer.

[Baby Gary]

one thing I should add is that ai use a keyboard and a mouse for playing games

[Psyren]

Mighty No.-

*dodges bricks*

[kraftcheese]

one thing I should add is that ai use a keyboard and a mouse for playing games

If you like Skyrim, Oblivion, the game that preceded it is great; a bit ugly by todays standards but there's some great mods that make faces look much less like pudding, levelling issues aside its a great game, loads to do. Morrowind in the game that came before that and it's wonderful too; a different game but incredible to get lost in; plenty of mods to prettify and update certain gameplay aspects. Both half off and you get all the DLC w both of them.

Another series I'd recommend is Legend of Grimrock; they're fantasy dungeon crawlers in the old style, cast spells using runes, you move in a grid in first person, fight monsters, solve puzzles, etc; but they've updated it for the modern gamer. Great fun and you can get both for $12 US apparently!

[DigoDragon]

I might have to consider Dragon Age Origins. Already gonna pick up Portal 2 cause I never owned a copy of my own.

Have to see if I can convince my bro to reinstall his copy so we can coop. I liked coop mode. :3

[Ninja_Prawn]

Hmm. Strangely, with 35+ years of tabletop and video gaming, I haven't played a single Final Fantasy game. Are they still worth getting into? If so, where do you recommend I start?

Well I still think they're good. Of those in the sale:

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD - not played
Final Fantasy III - I only did the first hour or so because I had to borrow my sister's DS to play it. What I saw looked good.
Final Fantasy IV - not played
Final Fantasy V - not played
Final Fantasy VI - not played
Final Fantasy VII - probably the best-rated installment, and deservedly so, but you might find its flaws more difficult to bear now than they were when it first came out. A must-play just so that you can get the references that people make to it. START HERE?!?
Final Fantasy VIII - underrated, in my opinion. Quirky but good.
Final Fantasy IX - not played. I've heard a lot of praise for it though. Probably has the best cover art in the series.
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD - two of my favourite games of all time (say what you like about X-2, I still love it). The PC remaster is a little buggy, but that can be worked around through judicious use of the Esc key, on my machine at least.
Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition - not played
Final Fantasy XIII - not the strongest episode, in my opinion. Probably skip this one.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 - I found it difficult to get into and less fun than 13, which is definitely not a good thing.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - not played
Final Fantasy XIV Online - not played

So I'd say start with 7, or maybe 3 or 10, if you think one of those would appeal more (like, based on the trailers and art and stuff). Others I've played that are probably not on PC but might interest you anyway:

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - if you've got a GBA, I strongly recommend this one. A very good game.
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - also good. I preferred Advance, but this is also worth a punt.
Final Fantasy - really good, but obviously showing its age now. Still worth a go.
Final Fantasy II - like 1, but better in every way.
Final Fantasy XII - I sunk a lot of time into this one, and... I can barely remember a thing about it. The gambit system could have been brilliant, but the rest of the game didn't stand up. Deeply flawed, skip it.
Final Fantasy XV - it's... different. Very different. Honestly I don't think it's very good either, but there might be potential to improve it via DLC.

[DigoDragon]

Final Fantasy IV - not played
Final Fantasy V - not played
Final Fantasy VI - not played

Final Fantasy IV - Fairly easy game and pretty linear; the plot is decent, the characters are decent. It's overall enjoyable, but there's not much replay going for it.

Final Fantasy V - This is one of the harder games in the series, which I personally enjoy, and has a wonderful Job System that lets you mix different class abilities together. The story doesn't take itself as seriously as other FF titles do, which I find to be a positive aspect. It also has one of the best music soundtracks among the older FF games.

Final Fantasy VI - This entry has what may be the strongest FF story line, as well as a large cast of interesting characters. This game also has a great soundtrack, it's visually appealing, and is among my top picks for best in the series despite its age. If you only had to pick one among the older sprite-based Final Fantasy games, I recommend this one.

[Knaight]

So about what my mom will not let me get, I am not allowed to play first person shooter because I will be desensitized to guns (however it is fine if it is anything else like swords), and I think she will say no to most games with sex scenes (i'm looking at you mass effect)

X-COM might still be fine - it doesn't really do the whole gun fetish thing (having categories like "Rifle" instead of [Name of actual rifle, paragraph of customization detail]), and the guns that meaningfully resemble real weapons get phased out pretty quickly, it avoids the ubiquitous FPS phenomenon where you're shooting at people intended to represent actual groups of real world people, and it also just generally has a different feel than is common in FPS games (and I say this as someone who tends to really dislike them precisely because of that feel).

As for other recommendations: SpaceChem is something like 80% off, and Infinifactory is 50% off. They're both puzzle games of the system design sort*, where you have a set of tools and an automation procedure for making stuff, one of which is built primarily on two grabbing arms and tracks with orders and one of which is built primarily on conveyor belts and block pushing. The DROD games are mostly 75% off, and are also excellent puzzle games in the same general style*, but instead of automation you've got the aesthetics of a dungeon crawl. I'd recommend DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold and DROD: The City Beneath, unless you're ridiculously good at the genre, in which case DROD: Second Sky is your jam. All of them are absolutely dependent on having a numpad, so if you've got a laptop and no numpad avoid them. This list is also mom-proofed to a much higher standard than "no guns".

*Known rules, predictable behavior, deterministic systems, and known challenges.

[gooddragon1]

If it were better than Red Alert 2 we'd all know about it, because people would be debating whether or not it's better than Ocarina of Time... :smalltongue:

Disclaimer: I've never played Red Alert 3; I just really loved 2. Spent most of my childhood playing it, and still listen to the soundtrack on occasion.

It has the guy who voices Cave Johnson in it. So that's good enough for me.


Mass Effect 2:

Pros:
More time with your favourite ME1 characters
Much more polished gameplay (if you like action shooters)
Slightly nicer graphics
Cool new characters
More stuff to do
No ****ING vehicle exploration
Great side missions
A lot of decent humour
Great dialogue
Reduced RPG elements*

Cons:
Main story much less interesting
Planet scanning superfluous and dull
Shephard is Our Lord and Saviour (annoying hero worship, only person who can do anything about anything)
Reduced RPG elements*


*Interesting weapon cooldown system replaced by ammo, no longer 10'000 guns and armours that are all the same +1% damage, fewer skill choices, classes more interesting and different.

Well worth 5 bucks if you liked ME1.

Well, I've never played either of them. So I got both for 8.74

[Baby Gary]

I might have to consider Dragon Age Origins. Already gonna pick up Portal 2 cause I never owned a copy of my own.

Have to see if I can convince my bro to reinstall his copy so we can coop. I liked coop mode. :3

right now its 90% off o steam so hurry in and get it (im talking about portal)

[dps]

If you like Skyrim, Oblivion, the game that preceded it is great; a bit ugly by todays standards but there's some great mods that make faces look much less like pudding, levelling issues aside its a great game, loads to do. Morrowind in the game that came before that and it's wonderful too; a different game but incredible to get lost in; plenty of mods to prettify and update certain gameplay aspects. Both half off and you get all the DLC w both of them.


If you like the setting, I'd actually recommend you go further back and get Daggerfall; I think it's a much better game than Oblivion (I haven't played Skyrim yet), though it definitely is much worse graphically, plus it has some bugs (save often, especially before getting a quest!). The game environment is huge, the game is essentially open-ended, and the main quest line can be resolved in several different ways (definitely an advantage over Oblivion, which has only 1 successful way to resolve the main plot, and that way is unfortunately lame).

EDIT: Oh, and Daggerfall is available for free IIRC.

[Eldan]

It has the guy who voices Cave Johnson in it. So that's good enough for me.



Well, I've never played either of them. So I got both for 8.74

The first one is a really well written Space Opera with some good action sections, terrible vehicle driving over mostly empty maps to find side missions and occasionally repetitive cover shooting.

[endoperez]

Dragon Age: Origins has a PEGI rating of 18 ( Extreme violence - Multiple, motiveless killing - Violence towards defenceless people - Sexual violence ) and ESRB rating of M ( Blood, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content ).
XCOM: Enemy Unknown also has ratings of 18 and M. XCOM 2 only has ratings of 16 and T, it looks like they downscaled from "extreme violence" (PEGI) / "blood and gore" (ESRB) to "realistic looking violence" and "blood" respectively. I think one of the biggest changes was that when you see your researchers cut open alien bodies, the first one shows the buzzsaw, the second one hides it just outside your view. However, XCOM 2 still has close-up killshots, shows war as a brutal thing from the loser's side, etc. Definitely not something I'd recommend to someone who wants to enjoy a game in the summer, at least not without knowing their tastes.

So that's a no.


If you like the setting, I'd actually recommend you go further back and get Daggerfall; I think it's a much better game than Oblivion (I haven't played Skyrim yet), though it definitely is much worse graphically, plus it has some bugs (save often, especially before getting a quest!). The game environment is huge, the game is essentially open-ended, and the main quest line can be resolved in several different ways (definitely an advantage over Oblivion, which has only 1 successful way to resolve the main plot, and that way is unfortunately lame).

EDIT: Oh, and Daggerfall is available for free IIRC.

Sorry, but no. Daggerfall is extremely difficult to get into, too much of its content is random-generated by early 90s algorithms that suck, the random generation causes all sorts of headaches such as not having enough time to actually complete quests, it's ugly by today's standards, by Oblivion's standards, by year 2000s standards, and arguably even by 1996's standards because the early 3D / pseudo-3D is less aesthetically pleasing than the sprite-based graphics that had already been largely perfected at the time. Baldur's Gate has aged much more gracefully, for example and so have Chrono Trigger, sprite based Final Fantasy games, etc.

I'm not saying that Daggerfall is a bad game for 1996, or a bad game today. However, even putting graphics aside, it's a MS-Dos era game with all the baggage than entails, including problems with installation, getting it to run, getting it to run at modern resolutions, clunky interface, UI wasting way too much of the screen space, etc.

Daggerfall may be an interesting game to try, but for a person looking for an experience similar to Skyrim, Oblivion is hands down the better choice. Even if Daggerfall were objectively a better game than Oblivion (and I personally didn't like Daggerfall), I'd still recommend Oblivion, because it's a better experience for anyone who isn't already familiar with 90s games.



Sorry for being a party pooper, but I just can't agree with these recommendations for someone underage who wants something like Skyrim.

[tsj]

I agree....Oblivion and Skyrim are both great games still and both have a lot of very nice mods as well...

They can both get a little x rated though, by using certain sets of mods that I Will not mention here

[DigoDragon]

right now its 90% off of steam so hurry in and get it (I'm talking about portal)

Aye, gonna pick that up. Also considering Stardew Valley. Heard that's a good relaxing kind of game. Not too challenging. Would be a nice change of pace from Skyrim and Fallout New Vegas, and Master of Orion CtS.

[kraftcheese]

Aye, gonna pick that up. Also considering Stardew Valley. Heard that's a good relaxing kind of game. Not too challenging. Would be a nice change of pace from Skyrim and Fallout New Vegas, and Master of Orion CtS.
Stardew Valley is INCREDIBLY relaxing I can confirm.

Also to the OP; if you like Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 are on sale; they're a few years old now, and to get the most out of 2 you'll have to install the The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (it's just dropping files into a folder), but they're both great games; great stories, great characters, all round good.

KOTOR is traditional Star Wars, a love letter to the movies I guess? But KOTOR II is a subversion of a bunch of Star Wars ideas and a better game for it; great writing and interesting quests too, Obsidian made it.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Daggerfall may be an interesting game to try, but for a person looking for an experience similar to Skyrim, Oblivion is hands down the better choice.


I haven't played Daggerfall, but I suspect you're right. I know Oblivion catches a lot of flak for its speechcraft thing, but I actually kind of liked that part. The faces aren't that weird.

Overall, I had much more fun playing Oblivion than I did with Skyrim, and I've logged a lot more hours in it. For me, Skyrim was too easy - and it got easier as you leveled up - whereas Oblivion frequently left me scrabbling to survive or afraid to push forward (at least until invisibility magic came into play). Also I liked the brighter colour palette, especially in the Shivering Isles expansion. To the OP, I'd definitely say that Oblivion gives you a similar experience to Skyrim.

[Grimmnist]

My picks have to be:
Psychonauts, a completely unique story focused platformer/adventure for $0.99.
Portal 1 & 2, great platformers with fascinating mechanics if you don't yet, get it $0.99 for 1, $1.99 for 2.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall, a tactical rpg with a great setting both magic and sci-fi for $2.99. This one has guns, though it is all done from a overhead tactical view, still it might be a no go for you.

I also picked up Transistor this year ($2.99), but I haven't played it yet.

In terms of the Elder Scrolls games, I think if you started with Skyrim the old games will feel super clunky. Morrowind is my favorite game but it has some frustrating gameplay. Oblivion ($9.99) is still probably worth a shot for you.

[AMX]

FWIW, I've been having fun playing Stars in Shadow lately.

[Ranxerox]

Well, Portal is still on the table, and Recettear. What else... maybe an Atelier game? I've only played Sophie, but it's good if you're in the mood for it. OH, Child of Light is 66% off! I love that one! Story-focussed, easy combat, not offensive in any way... well worth a punt.

I looked into a number of games recommended in this thread and eventually wound up buying Child of Light. It's enchanting! I have already sunk more than 10 hours into it. So, thanks for the recommendation. :smallsmile:

[Leon]

Shadowrun Complete Collection. All three are great games, the first is a bit lacking compared to the other two but still good.

Windward. Simple to play and good looking ship game. Exploration, trade and combat are all options to do.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Homeworld Remastered.

[DigoDragon]

After watching a "Two Sisters Play" video for Fallout 4 I picked that game up, as well as KotOR from a friend's recommendation and Castlevania Lord of Shadows from a random jumble of recommends by Steam.

The icing on the sale cake was the Amex gift card I found while cleaning up my desk that still had money on it. Ha! ^^;

[Gaelbert]

If you like the setting, I'd actually recommend you go further back and get Daggerfall; I think it's a much better game than Oblivion (I haven't played Skyrim yet), though it definitely is much worse graphically, plus it has some bugs (save often, especially before getting a quest!). The game environment is huge, the game is essentially open-ended, and the main quest line can be resolved in several different ways (definitely an advantage over Oblivion, which has only 1 successful way to resolve the main plot, and that way is unfortunately lame).

EDIT: Oh, and Daggerfall is available for free IIRC.

Daggerfall's probably my favourite of the Elder Scrolls games but I'm not sure it's a good fit for OP. Neither Skyrim nor Oblivion put much of an emphasis on dungeoncrawling whereas that's a huge part of Daggerfall. The main issue though is the age rating thing, if OP's can't get FPS titles then there's no way the constant flood of breasts in Daggerfall is going to be fine.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I looked into a number of games recommended in this thread and eventually wound up buying Child of Light. It's enchanting! I have already sunk more than 10 hours into it. So, thanks for the recommendation. :smallsmile:

You're welcome; I'm glad you're enjoying it!