Steam Complete

I recently did, what I call, “The Steam Exploration Challenge”. The point of which was to use the front page carousel of Steam and it’s Explore section everyday, perhaps several times a day, to go through and mark down every game and piece of software on Steam. With the addition of the Discovery Queue and the “Not Interested” button, I could make it so an app page appeared to me only once and never showed up again.

Currently I have 4,500 apps under my belt. Which is but a fraction of the 8000+ games, software and DLCs on Steam but I do think I covered more than 90% of the Games + Software section. This gave me three distinct things: (1) A great sense of accomplishment, (2) A very clean Steam frontpage; and (3) an almost immediate knowledge of games that are added to Steam.

This is how my Steam frontpage looks now. Please find all the differences with yours.

Now, let’s discuss the 3rd thing I mentioned. Since I have a clean Steam frontpage, every new thing that is added or unblocked, I notice almost immediately. So, why not use my powers for good and share in the bounty that I see, as long as it’s interesting and not a fan servicy boob simulator (The link is just for reference. Please, do not click it). Let’s start with some backlog.

  1. Fractured Space – Is a massive ship to ship combat simulator, akin to Juggernaut if you’re familiar. I have seen it blocked in my discovery queue for a while but it has finally been unblocked in our region. It looks like a multiplayer only arena game that might be interesting but I have low tolerances for those. It looks good if you’re into that sort of thing.
  2. VoidExpanse – Is a top down ActionRPG-looking game except it’s in space. With spaceships. Basically, it looks like Drox Operative but better looking and with more potential. It will be released in “Early 2015” so we’ll have to wait and see.
  3. Homeworld Remastered Collection – Is what I’ve been waiting for for ages. If you haven’t played the original, you’ve missed on one of the best strategy games ever made and probably the only good full 3D one. Going to be released on February 25th and going to the top of my wishlist now.
  4. Magnetic: Cage Closed – Looks like another first person puzzler in the wake of Portal (And Quantum Conundrum and Q.U.B.E. and Antichamber and I’m going to shut about this now) but now a mad scientist has taken you prisoner but gave you a magnetic gun to try and escape with. There’s potential but I’m waiting for opinions. Available in March of this year.
  5. Ronin – Is a from a newcomer developer and has already been described as Gunpoint but with less hacking and more ninjas and it seems accurate. This looks cute and I hope the stealth is done well. No release date available.
  6. 868-Hack – Is a port of the iOS game by Michael Brough, the guy who makes ugly games that win design awards. I know almost nothing about this but lots of people fawned over it so I should probably try. Unlocks tonight.
  7. Archon Classic – Looks like a remastered version of the wonderful “Chess-Variant” original. If you haven’t tried it yet, you probably should. Available for 10$.
  8. Darkest Dungeon – Is a roguelike dungeon-crawling turn-based RPG with a dark gothic feel to it. It boasts a mental stress mechanism and an interesting atmosphere so it’s on my list. But not too high. Coming February 3rd.
  9. Cities Skylines – Looks like a Simcity-killer. And in a genre that, in my opinion, has gone a bit stagnant and with the latest Simcity being formidable but boring, a pretty new game might be the thing to look for. Coming in the first quarter of this year.
  10. Infinifactory – Are you familiar with Infiniminer? The game that inspired Minecraft and started all this sandbox digging and crafting craze? Well, the guy that made it – and then went on to make SpaceChem and Ironclad Tactics, is now revamping the original idea. And it looks interesting. Now in Early Access.
  11. Call to Arms – Is a 3rd person action strategy game that claims to bring modern combat into the real zone. It looks good. It looks detailed. And I hope they do the tanks justice. In Early Access this quarter.
  12. Magicka 2 – I loved the original Magicka, an action game about combining magical elements, casting dangerous spells and setting your buddies on fire. If this is half as good as the original (and I expect it to be at least twice as good) then it should be awesome. No release date yet.
  13. Grey Goo – Is a new real-time strategy game from that guys that used to be Westwood Studios. It looks good, the design looks amazing, and the guys that made my favourite strategy games are behind it. I’m going to buy it. Available now for 50$.
  14. There Came an Echo – The long awaited voice-activated tactical action game (Voiced by Wil Wheaton, Ashly Burch, Laura Bailey and Yuri Lowenthal) is finally coming to market. I can’t wait to see this thing in action. Available on February 24th.
  15. Storm – Looks from the start like a tranquil experience like Flower or Journey (And I kind of dislike those) but it boasts puzzly elements and seems very interesting. On my wishlist. Available for 10$.
  16. Disorder – A puzzle platformer that claims to represent and discuss depression, anxiety and despair. It seems simplistic but the mechanic is interesting enough so it’s on my list. Available for 13$.
  17. Mushroom 11 – This interesting puzzler from Israeli developers has finally shown up on Steam. It features a very interesting mechanic and all the previews I’ve seen so far are very positive. Coming in the middle of this year.
  18. Toxikk – Claims to be a return to form on first person shooters, giving us the simple joy of shooting as it was in the 90s but with a modern flare. So, no classes, no levels, no regenerating health, no cover systems, no down sights aiming, no reloading(!), no loadouts and it’s meant for PCs. I think I drooled a bit. Currently in Early Access.

These are the big things as of late. But one final note before we part. I’ve recently found out that GOG.com removed some games from their catalog. Games I had wishlisted and now have disappeared. Apparently, they do that all the time and it might behoove everyone to take note.
So, here is my list of “Games that I wanted, counted on them being on GOG – because I prefer to buy DRM-Free – and now had to wishlist them on Steam”: Crimsonland, MDK, MDK2, Painkiller: Black Edition, Penumbra Overture, Penumbra: Black Plague, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Full Spectrum Warrior, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, Aquanox, Aquanox 2: Revelation, , Spellforce, Spellforce 2, Red Faction, and Red Faction II.

See you in future updates. :)


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