Oh No, Everything is On Sale on Steam. How Do You Know What to Buy? By Reading This Guide, That’s How.

I know, Steam sales are scary. The Summer Steam Sale is no exception. There’s a ton of games on sale, and you’re going to need some help picking out a few cool ones. That’s okay, I got your back, and I got your games. There’s some good things available on Steam, so here’s a guide to the Summer Sale and what’s totally worth buying. Or at least checking out.

Killer 7

I know we mostly keep to indie projects here at Dread XP, but I need you to play the weirdness that is Killer 7. This super weird cult classic hit Steam at the end of 2018 and it’s still as bizarre and wild as ever. After all, any game that mashes together on-rails shooters, cartoony graphics, horror elements, and surreal plot points deserves at least a little respect. If nothing else, I promise you won’t play any game as strangely awesome as Killer 7 in a while.

The basic idea is that you play as Harman Smith, an assassin who has a split personality that manifests into different killers. These killers make up an organization of assassins known as Killer 7. Their job is to take down a mysterious organization known as Heaven’s Smile. Of course, this means that you’ll have to switch between these seven characters to investigate and do battle with the monsters. It helps that the game is wrapped up in an absolutely gorgeous art style with fantastic designs. Trust me, grab it.

Killer 7 was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, who is also behind the No More Heroes series, Let It Die, Killer is Dead, and more. You can get the game on Steam here.

Party Hard

Everyone loves a good slasher movie. Even better, everyone loves a good slasher movie where the villain is totally justified. You know what’s the worst? Noisy neighbors who have parties at the dumbest times of day. Party Hard puts you in the role of a killer who’s mad that his neighbors won’t keep their music down. So what does he do? He heads over there and he starts killing. Yep, it’s that simple. So now you need to make sure people die for being rude neighbors.

With five playable killers and nineteen levels, there should be plenty of fun for you to enjoy. You can find ways to sneak around and lure unsuspecting party goers into traps. There’s several ways you can end the party, and even forcing the party to end by getting the cops involved and using that to your advantage. No matter what you do, there’s plenty of ways to be the slasher you always wanted to be.

You can get Party Hard on Steam here. The game is developed by Pinokl Games, who also developed a sequel named Party Hard 2, and a party building spin-off called Party Tycoon.

Paint the Town Red

Sometimes you just want to go wild and murder an entire town with hilarious physics. If you need a bloody good time at a bar fight, then you need Paint the Town Red. I’m not going to lie to you and say that this is some deep game with an interesting story and insane set ups. To be totally honest, it’s still in Early Access and is much closer to a tech demo at the current time. It is set to come out in full before the end of this year though.

However, ignore all that for a moment. This is a game where you can literally kick someone through a wooden fence, watch tables explode into wooden splinters under them, and then knock off a chunk of their face with the first object you pick up. Every single thing in this game, including character models, can be broken apart. Sure you can smash tables and chairs, but you can also tear off chunks of people’s faces, remove limbs, and even make entire heads explode. It’s hilarious.

Paint the Town Red was developed by South East Games, and can be nabbed on Steam here.

Gloom and The Treehouse Man

I’m cheating here slightly, but I’m bundling Gloom and The Treehouse Man into one entry because they’re both made by the same developer, and they’re only $1.50 each so grab both.

On one hand, you have Gloom. A 2D rougelike where you dive into horrifying twisted dreams in an effort to find figure out your memories, Gloom just absolutely oozes style. The game can best be compared to a 2D version of the infamous Dark Souls, but that’s selling it short. It has lovely enemies, fast-paced and brutal combat, and permadeath. Yeah, you really don’t want to die while you’re diving through these dreams, as that doesn’t quite end well for you.

As for The Treehouse Man, the game combines elements of action platformers and jRPGs. You’ll be taking a trip downriver on a boat, into what can best be described as the creepiest forest known to man. Worse, it’s full of monsters. They’ll attack you and you’ll need to jump around your boat to avoid their shots. Do so well enough, and you can fight back, getting to play out your own attacks. You may even survive long enough to kill a monster or two. That’d be a win.

Both The Treehouse Man and Gloom were developed by Hunchback Studio, who’s currently developing a sequel to Gloom called After Gloom. You can buy Gloom here, and The Treehouse Man here.

The Godbeast

I just want to say that The Godbeast is honestly one of the best titles I’ve seen for a video game. Like just say it out loud once or twice. The way it rolls off your tongue? Perfect. It helps that just looking at the game is also perfect. Look at that style! With just the right use of colors and cel shading the game immediately manages to have such an impressive look without even trying. Or rather, by trying very had, which I’m certain it did.

You play as a guy who lives in the City of Eternal Night, and is on a quest to kill the Council of the Hunt. Those are both awesome names for things you need to murder. The fact that you look like the angriest vampire in the world helps. Take your trust harpoon and motorcycle and wander the city until you find your targets, then murder them in thrilling combat. Can you drink their blood? I suppose it’s time to pop the game on and find out.

The Godbeast was developed by DascuMaru, who’s currently working on the upcoming The Tower on the Borderland. You can get the game here.

Die Young

One of the best ways to set up a horror movie is to abandon someone on a killer island. That’s how you get them dead the fastest. This is the basic idea behind Die Young, a survival horror game about a woman who finds herself, well… stranded on an island with people who want nothing more than to murder her. So the best you can hope to do is survive the open world and escape before you end up as their next victim.

If you want some open world crafting and survival to go with your horror game, this may be the one for you. While it may not be a full survival game, like The Forest, you do need to keep an eye on your hunger and make sure you don’t become dehydrated. You’ll also need to build tools and weapons to fight enemies, and explore the island for all its hidden goodies. All of this to simply survive, something you won’t manage if you die young.

haha. Puns.

Die Young was developed by IndieGala. You can get it here.

Unlucky Seven

I’ve said “I’m not going to lie to you” a few times now. And again, I am going to say it. I can’t lie to you. Unlucky Seven is… I wouldn’t call it a good game. I’d certainly call it a unique one though. Just hear me out on it, okay? Yeah, it’s not good. But where else are you going to see the absurd joy of super poorly voice acted furries in space trying to murder each other and eat humans? Nowhere else.

It’s a point and click puzzle adventure where you follow a crew of seven characters as they try not to die horribly. Sure that may not be a huge novel concept, but something about the entire game is just so strange. It’s like a train wreck you can’t look away from. The game is super poorly translated, and it’s clear they probably needed another sweep. Yet watching seven alcoholics blow off an alcoholic anonymous meeting to be drunk in a motel while avoiding a horrible death? In the gaming equivalent of a bad B-movie horror game? Worth it.

You can pick up Unlucky Seven on Steam here.