Tired of Black Friday already? How about Steam's Autumn sale instead?
Full Steam ahead
Black Friday-Smiday, this weekend's all about the Steam Autumn sale, don't you know? Yep, it's that time of year again when we all spend way too much on games we'll probably never play, but hey, at least we got a good saving in the process.
On from now until 6pm on November 28th in the UK, Steam's latest discount bonanza is once again a pretty straightforward affair. Apart from being able to nominate games for the annual Steam Awards that take place over Christmas, all deals are fixed for the duration of the sale. I'll hand over to Alice for a few picks.
Alice: Hallo gang! While I'm sure we'll dig deeper into the Steam sale tomorrow, for now I'll point out a few games from this year that you might have been wanting to go on sale:
Prey - $14.99/€19.99/$19.99
The studio behind Dishonored take over the sci-fi FPS series, making a cracking immersive sim with a smack of System Shock. Read John's Prey review for much praise. Or perhaps Adam's thoughts on the start.
Tacoma - £8.99/€11.99/$11.99
Speaking of space stations, hey, it's the next game from the Gone Home gang [disclosure: I'm chums with some of 'em]. Pip declared in her Tacoma review that "it's a masterclass in environmental and gradual storytelling."
Nier: Automata - £23.99/€35.99/$35.99
Sexy robots fight unsexy robots then they fight sexy robots and then your heart breaks over and over. I adore Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising by the same studio, PlatinumGames, yet was still surprised by how much I got into this open-world action-RPG. Read Adam's Nier: Automata review for his praise. But mercy me, you will likely want this mod to fix some of it technojank.
SteamWorld Dig 2 - £11.24/€14.99/$14.99
"It's like some hot soup on a cold day," Brendan said about this deep-digging platformer. "Except you dip your bread with a hookshot, instead of a hand."
What Remains of Edith Finch - £10.04/€13.39/$13.39
"It's a walking simulator for about ten minutes, and then it becomes all manner of other things, including one of my favourite games in years," Adam said in his What Remains of Edith Finch review. Alex Wiltshire had a good look in The Mechanic too. And as a bonus for people who have already played it -- but only those who have, cos spoilers -- here's Pip looking at the creation of one striking section.
Night in the Woods - £11.99/€15.99/$15.99
"It's a visual novel, but it's a platform game, but it's an adventure, but it's something else entirely," John said in his Night in the Woods review. "I'm pretty sure I love it at this point." More importantly than that, me, I think it's great. A fittingly autumnal game too.
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen - £26.24/€29.99/$29.99
"'DLC' desperately undersells War Of The Chosen, this fat and bursting sausage of turn-based splendour," Alec said in his review. "I think I might have found 'XCOM 3' a mite more appropriate." It is a good expansion at the very least.
Stories Untold - £2.37/€3.39/$3.39
John said in his Stories Untold review that the horror anthology "is bleak and disturbing, novel and experimental, and most importantly when doing all that, very clever." Adam has declared it the best horror games too. I saw one of the games at an event, wired into a fake bedroom which reacted to in-game happenings. It was great. More games should offer lamp peripherals.
Deadly Premonition - £1.99/€2.49/$2.49
Not from this year but just you try to stop me recommending this. The daily life RPG survival horror is so good that even the fact it's janky, crashy, and often bad can't ruin it. You will want to download Durante's tool to fix some of it.
And now back to Katharine...
Katharine: We'll be updating this list with more deals as and when we find them - you can also check out our main Black Friday hub for deals from other digital retailers like Green Man Gaming, GOG and Amazon - but if you spot something you think's worth shouting about that isn't on this list, then please do let us know in the comments and we'll add it to the list.
Of course, if you're also in the market for a new graphics card this weekend to make sure your new purchases look in tip-top condition, then why not have a glance at our best graphics cards deals article? We've got all the best deals from both the UK and US, so you're sure to find something to fit your budget. Alternatively, those after a brand-new monitor this Black Friday should head to our best monitor deals hub, where we've once again picked the cream of the current deals crop for both UK and US buyers. We've also got a dedicated best deals hub for SSDs, too, just in case you fancy some faster loading times, too.