David’s Steam Winter Sale 2024 Recommendations

The weather this past summer was obscenely hot in my hometown, so to say I’m glad winter is finally here is one heck of an understatement. No matter how cold it might be outside, there are tons of hot deals to be had on Steam between now and January 2nd, 2025. I’m here once again to recommend a decently long list of discounted games with which I’ll most definitely be curling up under a blanket for the foreseeable future with. Pull up a seat by the hearth, get comfortable, and relax as I begin my traditional Steam Winter Sale recommendation roundup.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous – Enhanced Edition | Discount: 70% | Sale Price (USD): $11.99 (or $39.99 for the Game of the Year Edition with almost all DLC)

Of all the titles I’ve included on this list, I suspect this one might have the most specific niche. In other words, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous might not appeal to you if you’re not into Dungeons & Dragons and video game adaptations of its ilk. However, thanks to the tireless guidance of a very close friend of mine who’s much more knowledgeable about this stuff than I am, I’ve found myself absolutely immersed in Wrath of the Righteous despite knowing virtually nothing about D&D before going in. If I can fall in love with this type of game, I think almost anyone can.

I grew up playing World of Warcraft and have very little experience with (semi-)deep RPGs outside of that, so the many stark contrasts between WoW and D&D are a huge “culture shock” for me, so to speak. I’m still learning to shake off the ideas that “this character class can’t do this in WoW” or “I’d have to pay Blizzard real currency to do this,” but the vast majority of the differences I’ve encountered thus far have been entirely positive. For instance, I’m currently looking into rolling a dual-class Rogue and Monk named Bruce Wayne, for reasons that I hope are obvious.

The Last Worker | Discount: 70% | Sale Price (USD): $5.99 (or $7.18 for the Deluxe Edition with the soundtrack)

I’m not sure how best to explain why I’m comfortably and enthusiastically recommending The Last Worker without overtly stating any of my personal political beliefs or making a tired (if classic) reference to a cutscene from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, but here goes. You play as Kurt, the last human employee of an order fulfillment center for the unfathomably gargantuan e-commerce company Jüngle. Over time, you’ve ingrained such euphemisms as calling yourself a “Jüngle Explorer” (rather than a mere “employee”) and the idea that, “We don’t deliver packages, we deliver dreams.” Well, “dream deliverer,” you’re in for a very rude awakening.

I suppose I can pitch The Last Worker’s plot thusly. Your employer is trying every dirty trick in the book to replace you with one of a vast army of robots, both so they can stop paying you and to eliminate the risk that you’ll learn about (and publicize) the atrocities Jüngle is actively perpetrating for the sake of maximizing profit. It’s up to you to decide whether you’re willing to fight to save your job, your life, and possibly even civilized society as a whole. Either way, you’d best choose quickly – those dreams aren’t going to deliver themselves!

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor | Discount: 30% | Sale Price (USD): $6.99

If you know the words, sing along: “I am a Dwarf and I’m shooting some bugs | Shooty shooty bugs | Shooting some bugs!” The so-called “Vampire Survivors-like” craze is still going strong, and Deep Rock Galactic has found a way of getting in on it. I’ve always been partial to Dwarves as they commonly appear in high fantasy, but even if that makes me unfairly biased in favor of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, I don’t particularly care. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is definitely high on the list of my favorite Vampire Survivors-like titles. That’s why I’m wholeheartedly recommending it here.

As you progress through DRG: Survivor, you can unlock multiple different character classes and new ways to play each one of said classes. Your most common objective is to fight through five stages of increasingly large swarms of alien insects until you eventually lure out and (hopefully) defeat a massive enemy bug called a Dreadnought. In addition to slaying bugs and staying alive, you’ll also be able to roam around each stage completing optional objectives and mining rare resources. Resources to spend on purchasing permanent upgrades between tackling each biome’s challenges. I also quite enjoy DRG: Survivor’s sense of humor, for what that’s worth.

Lil’ Guardsman | Discount: 35% | Sale Price (USD): $12.99

What if I told you there exists a game in the same vein as Papers, Please, but which has a much more lighthearted atmosphere and sense of humor, interesting elements such as time travel, and most importantly, does not have anything that sounds like that accursed dot-matrix printer whose sole purpose is to rub it in your face every time you make a mistake? Okay, I know making a game like Papers, Please with a story that isn’t incredibly depressing is a rather low bar, but hear me out. If that sounds appealing to you, then Lil’ Guardsman might well be up your alley.

You play as Lil, a twelve-year-old girl who finds herself covering her father’s shifts as a gate guard while dear old Dad spends his time trying to quickly secure a comfortable life for you both – by gambling, of course. You’ll meet all sorts of fascinating characters who want to enter your home city, and it’s up to you to use your intuition and some fantastical tools to determine who shall and shall not pass. You’ll also have to keep in mind that your actions can directly harm or benefit your hometown and its residents, even if your deeds seem inconsequential at the moment.

Against the Storm | Discount: 50% | Sale Price (USD): $14.99 (or $31.22 for the Complete Edition with all DLC)

Against the Storm’s Steam Store page describes it as “a dark fantasy city builder where you must rebuild civilization in the face of apocalyptic rains.” What remains of society is led by its Queen, and you serve as one of the Queen’s Viceroys. The Queen will frequently send you orders that tell you what your current settlement should be doing, which you’re expected to follow quickly and efficiently. Doing as the Queen commands in a timely manner will build your reputation with the crown, which in turn will unlock things like new buildings and bonuses to certain aspects of production.

The Queen won’t wait around for you to follow orders forever, though. If you fail to complete your tasks quickly enough, you’ll incur the Queen’s impatience, for which you’ll face increasingly harsh penalties. You’ll have to make the most of what your settlers are best at to construct efficient towns so that the Queen’s domain can continue to thrive and, rather often, you’ll have to make the best of terrible situations. You know, I can’t help but wonder if this precipitation-centered apocalypse might not have happened if the Queen’s subjects had simply blessed the rains more often.

Fallout: New Vegas | Discount: 50% | Sale Price (USD): $4.99 (or $7.99 for the Ultimate Edition with all DLC and the soundtrack)

Considering the facts that I was born in the city whose post-apocalyptic “new” version is the setting of this game, and that the Fallout universe’s “Great War” started and ended on my birthday in 2077, I’m shocked that I only just started seriously playing through Fallout: New Vegas earlier this year. According to Steam, I hadn’t so much as acknowledged New Vegas since 2016 before I picked it up again this past August. Based on the amount of fun I’ve had playing New Vegas so far, though, I’m quite glad indeed that I’m finally working toward rectifying this huge oversight.

Before this year, I only had a passing familiarity with some of the more prominent Internet memes that spawned from New Vegas, namely Craig Boone supposedly never shutting up about his wife and the claim that in-game radio stations seem to play the same few songs on endless loops (which feels accurate to me). I’ve since realized that this Fallout title has tons of content to offer, especially in terms of replayability and highly exploitable console commands. Once I’ve finished writing this list, I’ve got a date with the big iron on my hip and quite a bit of unfinished business to do with it.

Monster Hunter: World | Discount: 67% | Sale Price (USD): $9.89 (or $15.98 with the Iceborne DLC, which I also highly recommend)

I’m not very familiar with the Monster Hunter franchise. The only entry I remember playing in my younger years was the Wii-exclusive Monster Hunter Tri; while I recall liking that well enough, it didn’t exactly compel me to go out of my way to immerse myself in the Monster Hunter series. Now that Monster Hunter: World and its huge expansion Iceborne have come to PC, though, I’ve decided to give the franchise another chance to get in my good graces. I must say, I’m glad I made that call based on what I’ve played of Monster Hunter: World so far.

My only complaint about the PC version of Monster Hunter: World is that the process of going out monster hunting with your friends via online multiplayer is rather clunky and obtuse, even once you figure out how it works. I’ve heard that Capcom addressed that in Monster Hunter Rise, so you might want to try that instead if you’re looking for a faster-paced Monster Hunter title on Steam. World and its Iceborne DLC are quite appropriately paced for my liking though. Now then, I believe the Horn of Urgency has just been sounded, so I’m off on another monster hunt.

Dave the Diver | Discount: 33% | Sale Price (USD): $13.39

As Ronnie James Dio famously sang it: “Dave the Diver, you’ve been down too long in the midnight sea | Oh, what’s becoming of me?” As you might expect, you play as the titular diver with what I consider to be an excellent name. Your primary goal is to explore as much of the ocean as you can and discover the wonders that lay beneath the waves. As a means of purchasing the upgrades that allow you to do that, though, you’ll have to catch various types of fish that you can then sell at your friend’s local sushi restaurant.

Even though you personally braved the depths and caught all those fish regardless of the potential risks to your health, you’re also expected to wait tables at said sushi restaurant each night. I guess we Daves really can’t catch a break. There are quite a few perks to single-handedly keeping a sushi restaurant supplied and profitable, however. A small list of the things you might uncover while diving are terrifying sea creatures, friendly and particularly helpful dolphins, and perhaps even an entire society of ocean-dwelling people. If that piques your interest, I’d certainly recommend that you “dive” into this title.

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator | Discount: 60% | Sale Price (USD): $7.99

What’s this? I’m including a game I’ve actually reviewed this year on one of my biannual Steam sale recommendation lists? Good heavens, how unexpected! Well, let Potion Craft’s presence on this list serve as a testament to how much I enjoy Alchemist Simulator. The fact that I’ve seemed as of late to have a fascination with potion-centric games notwithstanding, Potion Craft is a delightful title if you’re interested in the simulated alchemical arts and sciences. If you’re anything like me, you’ll really enjoy losing yourself in the process of experimenting with various ingredients to see what sorts of potions you can brew up.

You won’t have to worry about customers walking out of your shop if you take too long to brew the potions they request, which I find quite nice. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to hone your skills at haggling with customers and merchants alike in order to get the best possible deals from each transaction. You can manage your potion shop’s reputation and lean into any fantasy you might have in regards to what sorts of clientèle you prefer. Heck, you might even encounter some eerily familiar faces if you keep a lookout for them. Go forth and experiment, budding alchemists!

Metal: Hellsinger | Discount: 67% | Sale Price (USD): $9.89 (or $21.87 for the Complete Edition with all DLC)

I don’t know how many rhythmically inclined, demon-slaying metal heads we might have in our readership, but if you consider yourself such, Metal: Hellsinger definitely ought to be on your radar provided it isn’t already. In Metal: Hellsinger, you play as a demon whose ultimate goal is to take revenge on the Devil, a process you start by slaying thousands of his underlings in time with the beat of a soundtrack comprised of licensed heavy metal songs. The music becomes increasingly more intense in response to how many attacks you land on the beat without taking damage yourself.

If you’ve always striven to see your name at the top of scoreboards in games like Guitar Hero, then Metal: Hellsinger will gladly scratch that itch for you. Or if you’re like me and you generally suck at rhythm games, but you just want to slay demons, listen to heavy metal, and let Troy Baker tell you stories in a delightfully smooth Southern drawl, the easiest difficulty setting has you covered there, too. I harbor absolutely no shame in being part of the latter of those categories. Grab your weapon(s) of choice and rock out on your journey to overthrow the Devil!

There you have it, folks! It’s almost hard for me to believe another year is nearly behind us at the time of this article’s publication. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my list of recommendations for this Steam Winter Sale, and that this list might be of some use to you. As is tradition, if you’ve got any recommendations to share that I might have missed, feel free to let me know about them in this article’s comments. Afterward, perhaps you’ll join me in manifesting the idea that 2025 will be a better year for games and for us all.