THQ Nordic's Steam sale makes pun-laden remasters extra cheap
Death and War for under five quid.
It's hard not to feel that publisher THQ Nordic and RPS share a mutual love of terrible puns. Case in point: Their sale this weekend on Steam, running from now until Monday, August 27th. While most of their catalogue is discounted, the best deals are to be found in remasters with terrible pun titles. Darksiders Warmastered Edition, Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition and the recent Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered (you may now groan) are all going cheap, plus a surprising deal on the pen-and-paper Shadowrun 5th Edition rulebook.
My top recommendation in this sale has to be the Darksiders double-pack, currently going for £4.49/€5/$5. Between solid remasters and an overblown comic book art style, these games have aged superbly. The first is a very Zelda 64-inspired action adventure. Delve dungeons, find key items, open up new areas, slay monsters - you know the drill - all wrapped up in an oddly endearing post-apocalyptic world of demons and magic. Darksiders 2 adds some of Prince of Persia's agile platforming to the mix, plus some light RPG elements. The remaster also integrates the DLC better.
Both of those are, of course, required viewing if you're looking forward to Darksiders 3, developed mostly by the original crew from the first two and due out on November 27th. Here's the latest trailer from Gamescom. Darksiders 2 is a lengthy game, so if you're planning on catching up in time, you'd best start now.
While I never liked Red Faction Guerilla quite as much as John did in his recent 'Re-Mars-tered' re-review, its physics engine remains as much a joy to play around with today as it was nearly a decade ago. It's honestly a surprise that more games haven't offered the chance to level massive buildings with a few well-placed demolition charges, or just a big hammer. While those who owned the original version of the game got upgraded to the remaster for free, those fashionably late to the party can pick it up for £7.49/€10/$10. Here's the trailer, featuring tribute song 'Space Asshole'.
For those with more time than money, there's a big THQ Nordic bundle for £14/€16/$18. It includes the first two Darksiders, both Red Faction games (I still say that Armageddon is underrated, even if it does have one of the dumbest stories in videogame history) and Titan Quest Anniversary Edition, recently blessed with a new expansion, also on sale. There's a few more bits in there, including the poorly-aged but fascinating Full Spectrum Warrior games. Not a bad way to spend fourteen quid, if you don't mind a wide mix of genres.
The hidden gem of this sale is an odd one. Among THQ Nordic's library is a recent but lesser-known Shadowrun RPG - Shadowrun Chronicles. While the game itself isn't much to write home about, among its DLC is the complete Shadowrun 5th Edition rulebook in PDF format. Normally that book would be $60, so the Deluxe RPG Package version of the game (£11.24/€15/$15) including the core rules, a Boston Lockdown campaign setting book and a quick-start rules PDF coming isn't half bad.
The THQ Nordic sale will be running until Monday, August 27th, and you can find its official Steam page here.