Half Magic, Half Terror

One of the few magical times of year is finally here!  Not only is it summer (the most magical time for teachers!) but it's also time for the excitement and wallet-burning fervor that is the Steam Summer Sale.  I always go into Steam Sale week with the mentality that I will be a cautious buyer and not start clicking away like mad.  The sad part is that I always fail--even with the new, much less pressuring format of the modern Steam Sale (the old school countdown timers were my ultimate downfall).

I am enjoying the very cute-sy picnic theme for the sale...happy little popcorn and hot dogs enjoying a multitude of summer activities.  But who cares about stupid cartoon popcorn...we all know it's really the slashed prices on games that matter.  I've picked up a veritable menagerie of games that really don't seem to have any rhyme or reason to them.  The good news is that the most I've spent on one game is $15.  There are some AAA titles on sale, but not discounted enough for my tastes (...plus, there really aren't any triple A games that I'm interested in right now).  The bad news is that I went into this sale feeling like I needed something new to play--a feeling akin to going to the grocery store when you're hungry...everything looks delicious and you wind up buying way more than you intended to.

Here are my purchases so far...(and hopefully for the rest of the sale!  God willing...)

1.) The Banner Saga Bundle (Store Page)....I greatly enjoy turn-based RPG's and have heard that this is a fun one.  Plus, I like vikings and the art style looks awesome.  I've read that it's kind of flawed....but VIKINGS!  The bundle included both the first game and the fairly-newish second game.

2.) The Walking Dead:  Michonne (Store Page)--As a fan of TWD (who is still peeved about the ending of the TV series--but also of the comics) I felt inclined to pick this one up.  I generally try to get TellTale games during sales.  They aren't the kind of thing that you're going to replay for hundreds of hours and not really worth paying full price.  Sure, their formula is pretty tried and true (and some would argue stale) but I enjoy a good story and Michonne is one of the more interesting characters in TWD universe.

Soon to be cruising the roads o' Europe.

3.)  European Truck Simulator Bundle (Store Page)--I don't secretly yearn to drive a big-rig or anything like that, but I've read a lot of good things about the truck simulator games.  There's something peaceful in the thought of hitting the virtual open roads and cruising Europe....and creating a trucking monolith that dominates trade!  Unbeknownst to me (I didn't read the whole description for the bundle) it included the original game too...plus a bunch of other spinoffs...there's a bus game, a tractor-trailer one, and enough DLC paint job packs to keep your trucks looking spiffy.

4.) American Truck Simulator (Store Page)--So, I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to virtually drive trucks in the United States.  Really hoping that I like these games......

5.) Undertale (Store Page)--This one has sat on my wishlist for a long time.  I had heard very good things about it from students, but was hesitant to dive into something that seemed so....trendy.  I'm hoping it's as quirky and fun as I've been told.

6.) Subnautica (Store Page)--I generally give early access games a very wide berth, but I can't help but be intrigued by this game.  It looks really cool...you dive, build things, explore, and probably get eaten by a multitude of sea creatures.  I don't think I've ever played a game that has been set completely underwater.

Yeaaaah....so I've just greatly increased my backlog and have several other regretful purchases reminding me of bad choices in past sales.  As a final note...explore your discovery queue every day and cash in those 3 free trading cards.  The few cents you get for each card can add up over the course of the sale and you might save enough to buy a cheap game.  (On a side note:  My discovery queue is really weird.  There are some RPG's, but I also seem to be getting a lot of anime games--including the weird, boob punching ones.  C'mon Steam...the only anime game I played was Chronicles of Valkyria and it was totally G-rated family fun.  I think they need to adjust their algorithm).

Happy purchasing (and then later, the buyers remorse :P)!