It is that wonderful time of year again. That time when we open up our wallets as offerings to the great Steam gods, throwing money at them as they churn out some of the best deals going for PC games and software. With the beginning of the sale a closely guarded secret until just a day or two before, it is was a pleasant surprise for most gamers to find out that it was happening in June rather than the traditional July, as we’re a notoriously impatient lot and hate waiting for our new toys (hence all the outrage as numerous big budget titles have been pushed back to 2015 over the last few months).

For me, however, the Steam Sale, while something that I usually look forward to with the intensity of a thousand, nerdy suns, could not come at a worse time. Next month I have a very expensive cake-eating ceremony that I am hosting in honour of myself and my girlfriend (I believe most people call it a “wedding” but I would have to look it up), the planning of which has eaten into my gaming budget to the point where only a sliver of my usual Steam Sale allowance remains.

So, like most people who find themselves on a budget, I am going to be biding my time and waiting for the right games to come along and show up on either the Daily, Flash, or Community Choice Sales. I want games that give me the best bang for my buck, which can either be a long playthrough time or replayability for the price or are likely to come in at such a low cost that it would be rude not to take a shot at them. If, like me, you’re trying to find the best deal in the swarm of great deals that is the Steam Summer Sale, here are my top four games to look out for.

Tropico 5

I have already mentioned before my love of simulation/strategy games where my desire for world domination is not just tolerated but encouraged, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I would be looking forward to Tropico 5 showing up on the Steam Sale. The series is known for its tongue in cheek humour and its solid, if maybe slightly too consistent, gameplay. However, this is a fairly new release and is unlikely to get too heavily discounted from its somewhat steep £34.99. That said, if it manages to reach the 60% off mark, which is not unheard of as it is already at the 25% off point as a starting point in the sale, I’d say that it would be well worth it. I’ll probably spend a good fifty to sixty hours playing through various campaigns on it, so £14 would be well worth the money.

Always Sometimes Monsters

This one is more for you guys than me, as I’ve already played and thoroughly enjoyed this game. Without just repeating myself, I’d say that this game is already pretty good value for money and is 15% off its usual £6.99 price tag already. If it hits 30% and slips below £5, you’ll be getting an excellent deal. With each playthrough clocking in around ten hours and healthy replayability available through the numerous choices, you can easily get thirty to forty hours of game for the price.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

This one is a pipe dream. A hope and a prayer. It doesn’t come out until June 25th, just a few days before the sale ends, but I am really hoping for a miracle on this one. An adventure game set against the backdrop of World War I, with a colourful cast of characters all trying desperately to survive in the trenches of one of history’s greatest conflicts, this has the potential to really be an emotional rollercoaster of a story. The gameplay looks to be equal parts puzzler, interactive comic book, and exploration, all of which sounds fantastic to me. Promising love, loyalty, and a faithful dog companion that I am sure is going to survive and not render me to a puddle of tears at the end of the game, the moment this hits below the £7.50 mark I’m swooping in.

Broken Age

I debated whether or not to put this game on here, as it came out right around the time I started saving for the cake ceremony I mentioned above, so I’ve not really had a chance to play around with it too much and I’ve avoided pretty much any information about it to avoid the dreaded spoilers. However, Double Fine has had very few slip ups over their long history of making games. With their name on the label and the beautiful art style and sound that I can see in the trailers along with what reviews are calling great voice acting and storytelling, I can’t really see this being a miss for me. That said, I’m going to hold out till the end of the sale if I have to so I can make sure I get the best possible deal. Right now Broken Age is sitting at 33% off (less than £13) as its base price in the Summer Sale, which I’m hoping will dip down to around 50-60% off in the coming weeks, but if it doesn’t hit the Daily Sale or the Flash Sales, I’ll gladly pay the £13 on the final day for it.

So those are my games to watch for on the Steam Summer Sale. Which ones are you looking forward to? Any gems in the vast vaults of Valve that I missed?

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