2024 Steam Winter Sale Recommendations
So the steam winter sale just happened so I've decided to draw the cute steam sale girl. There was an attempt of the drawing during the autumn sale but I was busy back then and did not make it, but I've decide to salvage the drawing of her for this winter sale post. Along with the drawing I would also like to take this opportunity to recommend some steam games that I've played this year that you'll likely never heard of. While we get some great releases like Balatro and all, there are many other smaller indie games that did not get a lot of traction that I think these games do deserve some of your attention. Do note that this list consists of games that I've played in 2024, not necessarily released this in 2024 So in no particular order, here are my recommendations:
Witching Stone:
An elegant mix between match 3 puzzle and a roguelike. In combat, you cast spells based on the gem sequence you've input. Each spell requires their own input so each turn you will be strategizing ahead which gems you should include in your sequence to cast the spell you want. While it is not strictly a deck builder, there is enough customization and variety in the spell mechanic to allow you to make unique devastating builds.
2. Minishoot Adventures:
Imagine Zelda 1 but replace links sword combat with bullet hell combat, that's this game. There are not many non roguelike/ shmup bullet hell games and honestly there should be more of it. If you like bullet hell then definitely give this game a try. While the boss fights can be challenging overall I'd say this game is quite friendly for beginners as well (trust me, I am not very good at bullet hells and I mainly play touhou on easy mode). But do keep in mind that this game is inspired by Zelda 1 on the NES in particular, which means this game does not tell you where to go so it's up to you to explore and figure things out yourself. (There is also hardly any text in the game like in Hyper Light Drifter)
3. WitchHand
A card based colony management game similar to Stacklands, but it does a lot of unique things with the witch theme. In this game you can do all things from management games like building buildings, command familiars to fight for you, craft resources and more, but all in a easy to grasp card format where everything is a tangible card. Two things I really like about this game, one is that there is no card limit like in stacklands which really kills the pacing for me, secondly, this game has automation mechanics where you will eventually build supply chains to automate a lot of the complex crafting for you. Overall playing this is a very addicting and satisfying experience, just keep in mind that you will be managing, a lot, and I mean a lot of cards.
4. Rusted Moss
A grappling hook focused metroidvania with bullet hell combat. While most games have grappling hooks, this games stands out where the hook is actually elastic like rubber, in which you can stretch and contract it to fling yourself wherever you need. While it takes some time to get used to, it is indeed pretty fun to master this movement mechanics (schmovement as they called it). The level designs does make use of this as well, for example in most metroidvanias if you see a ledge you can't reach it usually means you'll need another upgrade to reach there later on, but in this game it's likely just skill issue. it also has a good number of optional challenge ares to test your mastery on the movement mechanics. Combine this and some well crafted gun play, you get some fun and engaging gameplay throughout your adventure. While I'd say this game is pretty challenging in terms of the platforming skill it demands, there are accessibility options that let you tweak the game's challenge to whatever fit your needs. Also this game has some interesting lore that is based on Fairy Tales with some pretty interesting character interactions if that is your thing. (Also this game has another content update coming soon.)
5. Transiruby
An cute little metroidvania where you play as a cute robot girl. While this game is pretty simple and arcady in terms of it's collectathon gameplay (you just collect chips in areas which are the equivalent of Mario coins) I do find it quite charming, and sometimes that's all you need for a fun experience. Also one of the upgrades allows your cute robot girl transform into a motorcycle if that interests you.
6. Touhou Endless Dream
It's your standard bullet hell top down shooter roguelike with a touhou theme. While the game can be janky and lackluster at times, but if you can look past that the gameplay is thrilling with enemies all over the place shooting unique bullet patterns which you'll need to observe and dodge carefully. I honestly enjoyed my playtime with the game and would love to see the devs expand on this as this game has a lot of potential. Do check this game out if you are looking for some fun and intense bullet hell combat out of the box.
7. Touhou lensed Night Sky
A Touhou fan game that is a roguelike. Unlike games like touhou 18 and 18.5 this game goes all in with it's roguelike aspect with randomly generated enemy encounters and game changing Bind of Issac style item systems on top your familiar shmup gameplay from Touhou. I really like this game because it does many unique things that you usually don't see from a standard Touhou shmup and there is a lot of variety from the item effect. There is a good blend of stat based upgrade and upgrades that heavily alters the game mechanics, great for making unique builds which makes this game very replayable. (It also has a challenge based difficulty system similar to Slay the Spire's accession system if that is your thing). I would recommend you to at least give this game's demo a shot although do keep in mind that this is still an early access game with quite a number of bugs to be expected. (The devs are working hard squashing the bugs so do report them if you found any.) But if you can look past that, this is a game worth trying for yourself.
8. Archvale
Another bullet hell adventure game but unlike Minishoot Adventures this one takes inspiration from Terraria with it's many unique weapons for you to decide on your playstyle. What I really like this game is it has a lot of polish into making sure the combat feels very satisfying. Similar to Vlambeer's games like Nuclear Throne, every moment of gameplay is a treat for the senses. If your like nuclear throne or what you've seen from gameplay footages then you should get this game.
9. Maiden and Spell
A bullet hell PvP fighting game. Imagine Touhou 9 or 19 but both players are in a single arena shooting directly at each other, that's this game. This is Mino's previous game and while it's not a replayable roguelike like Rabbit and Steel, I still think this game is worth a look at if you like bullet hell combat. While it is a fighting game, it also has a pretty fun single player campaign to play with. This game also supports online play with online netcode and from my experience the online gameplay is pretty solid with minimal network issues encountered. Do give this game a shot and like rabbit and steel, recommend this to a friend as well so they can play with you. And one more thing, like Rabbit and Steel, the soundtrack of this game is also remarkable as well so do give it a listen.
Alright that's all I got. Thanks for listening to ramble about niche games. I really like small indie games made by small teams that most of them had little to no recognition, usually these games are overshadowed by super successful titles like Balatro and Hades and I do wish that they get the recognition they deserve. While I can't exactly convince you to get these games from the winter sale, I do hope you find all these titles interesting. Do let me know if you had more indie game recommendations as well, I always like to learn more about indie hidden gems. Anyways I am done here and I hope you had a good year. See ya again in a future post.
