Skip to main content

The best Steam Summer Sale deals: VG247's list of the best games on sale

Alex Donaldson avatar
News by Alex Donaldson Assistant Editor
Published on

We trawl the sale so that you don't have to.

steam_monster_summer_sale_2015_encore_day_header

The Steam Summer Sale of 2017 is now on, and wallets everywhere are being emptied by good old Gabe and his video game publisher cohorts on Steam - one imagines they're all cackling, and doing that Doctor Evil thing with their pinkies. Almost certainly.

The 2017 summer sale continues the trend established in earlier steam sales of late, doing away with the flash deals and daily deals. In one sense this is good - there are no more arbitrary smaller ticking clocks, and there's no more waiting to see if that game you really want will get a daily deal at the eleventh hour towards the end of sales. It also works for Valve - dropping those formats of sale helped to bump its sales by 50%.

There is a negative side to all this, however - there are an absolute ton of games out there on sale. Hundreds! It's practically too many to really properly take in, and so that's where we come in. Over on our other Steam Summer Sale page we've got a long list of the games that Valve has chosen to highlight over the course of the sale. Even as Valve removes things from the spotlight, we'll keep that record up.

On this page, meanwhile, we're going to piece together our own staff picks for games you should look up during the summer sale - from all time classics to games with massive discounts, only the best games on sale will be listed here.

We'll be updating this page throughout the sale, so pop back every now and then to see what we've added. You can suggest stuff in the comments too, if you want. Let's get to it. Prepare your wallets...

shadow_of_mordor

Steam Summer Sale 2017: our RPG picks

  • Stardew Valley - $8.99 / £6.59 - 40% off

    One of the top indie darlings of last year, Stardew Valley is a delightful RPG and simulation mash-up that channels the likes of Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon while throwing in more character progression and even dungeon crawling. It remains an absolute must-play.

  • Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - $11.99 / £9.59 - 60% off

    The end result of what happens when Japanese developers take a long, hard look at Western RPGs and try to create their own take on it, Dragon's Dogma is a game that lacked the recognition it deserved on launch - but on PC and at a buttery smooth 60fps, everything seems right. This is one of the better Japanese RPGs of the last decade, and worth every penny even at full price.

  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - Collection - $9.99 - 75% off

    Pretend for a moment you know nothing of the drama surrounding 38 Studios/Big Huge Games and give this rock solid RPG a well-deserved chance. Heck, it's pedigree alone should be enough to tempt you into dropping $10. The lore was created by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane lent his hand to the art direction, and it was headed up by Morrowind and Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston. Seriously. Just buy it if you haven't already.

superhot_vr_e3_7

Steam Summer Sale 2017: our action / shooter picks

  • Arma 3 - $13.59 / £10.93 - 66% off

    While it isn't for the faint of heart thanks to how brutally dedicated it is to realism, Arma wears that seriousness as a badge of honor - and with the right group of allies that can make this one of the best online shooters.

xcom_2_Soldier-Grenadier-EXO-Suit

Steam Summer Sale 2017: our strategy and simulation picks

  • Total War: Warhammer - $20.39 / £13.59 - 66% off

    While they arguably completely cocked this up by not calling it Total Warhammer, this is a great strategy title with a sequel on the way. Warhammer is a perfect fit for Creative Assembly's mad, large-scale brand of combat.

  • Cities Skylines - $7.49 / £5.99 - 75% off

    Ducking out of war strategy for a second, Paradox's Sim City-alike has actually surpassed all but the most classic rivals in the city-building strategy and simulation genre. It's well worth a look. There's a lot of DLC and a deluxe edition on sale, plus a thriving mod community.

  • Prison Architect - $7.49 / £4.99 - 75% off

    Sometimes even dark things can be fun in game form - even something as messed up and troubling as the Prison Industrial Complex. Prison Architect is inspired by the likes of Theme Hospital, Theme Park and Sim City, but it's all about a prison - and it's horrifyingly addictive.

  • Football Manger 2017 - $16.99 / £11.89 - 66% off

    Here's the great secret about Football Manager - you really don't have to like football to enjoy it. Under the hood this is a painfully in-depth strategy game, all about crunching numbers, weighing up risk and deciding a strategy. It's worth a try even for football haters who happen to like a bit of strategy.

hitman

Steam Summer Sale 2017: our other top picks

  • Hitman - $23.73 / £15.89 - 66% off

    Hitman's 2016 outing is a fantastic mix of a stealth game, an action game and a rube goldberg machine. It was episodic, but the complete first 'season' of the absolutely brilliant game can now be had for a bargain price. After the split with Square Enix all this cash goes to now-indie developer IO Interactive, too.

  • Deadly Premonition - $2.49 / £1.99 - 90% off

    Deadly Premonition is like -- what if Hideo Kojima was just as mad and ambitious but had basically no budget? Swery65 is the result, Deadly Premonition the mad, Twin Peaks inspired horror/action/exploration/adventure game spawned from that mind.

  • Ori and the Blind Forest - Definitive Edition - $9.99 - 50% off

    This beautiful game from Moon Studios is a must have if you enjoy action-platformers. The Definitive Edition is perfect for those just hopping on the Ori train. Not only does it contain new abilities, areas, environments, full backtracking support and more it includes the gorgeous soundtrack. This is definitely a title fans of the metroidvania-style genre should add to their Steam library.

Read this next