The Steam Summer Sale is here with the usual wave of discounts across the platform’s entire catalog, but this time Valve has something a little special: a curated selection of 22 “all-time greats” that are getting 90% discounts and a special highlight page.
Steam’s Featured Deep Discounts page highlights “especially great deals on some of the all-time greats,” as Valve puts it. It is, admittedly, a deeply bizarre list. I mean, sure, people seem to like Ghost Recon Wildlands ($4.99) these days, but is it really an all-timer? What about Humankind ($4.99), the 4X strategy game that’s suffered a mixed response from genre fans? And why is Batman: Arkham Knight ($1.99) here rather than the more beloved other entries in the trilogy?
Don’t get me wrong, though, there are some genuine greats among this list. Titles like The Witcher 3 ($3.99), Celeste ($1.99), and Disco Elysium ($3.99) are cornerstones of any good Steam library. You can get a great party game in classic brawler Castle Crashers ($1.49), or a wildly popular take on tower defense with Bloons TD 6 ($1.39). But you don’t need me to sell you on the greatness of games like these.
You might, however, need me to tell you why American Truck Simulator is worth your $1.99. I’ve been singing this game’s praises for years, as it’s a perfectly meditative experience to dive into between rounds of more demanding games. Guiding a big rig down a digital US highway is very zen, and all the truck upgrades, driver management, and load selection options give it just enough strategy to keep things from getting dull. Plus there has never been a more perfect podcast game. (If you prefer driving inarguably uglier trucks through arguably prettier landscapes, Euro Truck Simulator 2 is also $1.99 here.)
Check out our full list of the best PC games if you need a little guidance choosing what to buy in this week’s sale.
