Gold-Plated Games

Steam has gone absolutely nuts with their Weeklong Deals this time, with tons of notable titles discounted. This is definitely the time to pick up a roguelike like Crypt of the Necrodancer or Sproggiwood, or an adventure like Dropsy or Black Mirror. There’s a ton of garbage to go through too, so if you’re down for some deal-hunting you’ll stay plenty busy today.

Speaking of being busy, I have a problem I need some help with. Curator Connect has been big for helping developers connect with reviewers like me, but I’ve had trouble keeping up with the deluge of titles to cover. I’ve gotten a few through the system that are definitely worth a look like Star Traders and Unforgiving – A Northern Hymn, but I’ve also got nearly 40 that may or may not be huge wastes of everyone’s time.

That’s why I need some feedback on how you folks would like me to handle them. I’ve got a few ideas listed out here, so if you’ve got a minute please fill out this one-question survey. Once I see what y’all are interested in I can proceed from there.

GET IN

Crypt of the Necrodancer (Review) – Wickedly difficult and engrossing rhythm roguelike

Caves of Qud (review) – Perhaps the pinnacle of classic roguelike development

Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad (review) – Way more fun than any joke game deserves to be

Dropsy (Review) – Gorgeous, quirky point-and-click adventure about the friendliest clown around

Anodyne (Review) – Excellent Zelda-style adventure through vibrant dreamscapes

Sproggiwood (Review) – Intensely charming classic roguelike, perfect for newcomers

Black Mirror Trilogy (Review 1, 2, 3) – Wonderful slow-burn horror adventures

Screencheat (Review) – Clever multiplayer shooter with a great gimmick and sadly no multiplayer community (but bots!)

Ziggurat (Review) – Fast-paced arena FPS roguelike in the style of Heretic

Ghost Master (review) – Classic puzzle/strategy game about scaring not-Sims out of their homes

Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden (Review) – Fine hidden object adventure heavily inspired by BioShock

Weird Park Trilogy (review) – Solid set of hidden object games that get better as they go

Grand Ages: Rome (Review) – Quality city-building in the Roman empire with some interesting progression systems

Miasmata (Review) – Hardcore walking sim on a beautiful island to explore

Thirty Flights of Loving (Review) – Rough but fascinating first-person adventure

GET OUT

Atom Zombie Smasher (review) – A clever zombie strategy game marred by frustrating mechanics

Hero Siege (Review) – Boring, unbalanced arena slaughter

The Bridge (Review) – M.C. Escher themed puzzles that sadly aren’t as clever as they should be

Firewood (Review) – Poor story and repetitive gameplay, even for side-scrolling horror

Neverending Nightmares (review) – A convincing series of nightmare worlds, but not much game holding them together

Taimumari (Review) – Not a bad attempt at a retro platformer, except for the insane difficulty

Cities in Motion 2 (Review) – Takes everything good about the first Cities in Motion and crumples it into a sad little ball

Vertiginous Golf (Review) – Mini-golf minus all the fun and hilarity

Eleusis (Review) – Neither scary nor interesting, just tedious

Coma: Mortuary (Review) – The quintessential garbage horror walking sim

The Grandfather (Review) – Old man ass

The Emptiness (review) – Jesus Christ there are so many bad games on Steam