[0:00] [music]
[0:05] >> What's going on everybody? Mortem here,
[0:08] this time bringing you the highlights
[0:09] from Steam's summer sale 2026, which
[0:12] kicked off just yesterday from the time
[0:14] of this video, that is to say June 25th,
[0:17] and it will be running for 2 weeks
[0:18] ending on July 9th. And as with
[0:21] basically every year, this sale, along
[0:23] with the winter sale, tend to be some of
[0:25] the best deals you're going to get. And
[0:27] so, as somebody who reviews games, often
[0:29] talking about the price and whether or
[0:30] not you should buy something on sale,
[0:32] etc., it makes sense for me, at least,
[0:34] to cover these things, which is what
[0:35] we're doing here. But as But like I like
[0:38] to mention at the start of every one of
[0:39] these videos, I am mainly focused on
[0:41] games that have released and are going
[0:43] on sale for the first time that I've
[0:45] reviewed, as well as games that are
[0:47] relevant to upcoming releases, and some
[0:49] of, of course, the bigger deals overall.
[0:51] But that is realistically only a tiny
[0:54] fraction of the thousands of games that
[0:56] ultimately wind up participating in
[0:58] these sales. And so, if there's a good
[0:59] deal you want to mention down in the
[1:01] comments, certainly feel free to do so.
[1:03] So, hopefully, people can take advantage
[1:05] of it and play a cool game for cheap.
[1:07] And last but not least, I am based in
[1:09] the US, so I am pretty much just talking
[1:11] US dollars here, not exactly sure what
[1:12] that translates to every individual
[1:14] title for all the regions of people who
[1:16] might actually be watching this video.
[1:18] But otherwise, let's go ahead and dive
[1:20] into it. So, with Control Resonance
[1:22] upcoming later in September, I've been
[1:25] very interested in playing through Alan
[1:26] Wake 1 and 2, which I've already
[1:28] finished with 1. And in fact, you can
[1:30] pick up Alan Wake 1 and its standalone
[1:33] game American Nightmare together in a
[1:35] little bundle for 85% off, bringing that
[1:38] down to $3.75.
[1:41] That said, uh if you want to play Alan
[1:42] Wake 2 specifically, that is an Epic
[1:45] Store exclusive still, and that does not
[1:46] appear to be on sale at the moment, so
[1:48] keep that in mind. However, you can also
[1:50] get Control, which is also part of that
[1:52] universe, for 85% off as well, which is
[1:55] $6 and includes the DLC. All of those
[1:58] games were a lot of fun to play through.
[2:00] I played through Control first
[2:01] personally, really enjoyed that game.
[2:03] Alan Wake 1 I had a blast with just
[2:05] earlier this year, and I plan on
[2:06] reviewing Alan Wake 2 very soon. So,
[2:08] figured I would shout those out. Next
[2:11] up, I want to talk about a smaller title
[2:12] that I really enjoyed from earlier this
[2:14] year, and that is Banquet for Fools.
[2:16] This game is at 22% off, bringing it
[2:19] down to $15.50 roughly, and it is a
[2:22] wonderfully unique CRPG that I think is
[2:25] doing a lot of really cool and
[2:26] interesting thing. But, if you want more
[2:28] information, you'll probably want to
[2:29] watch the review on that one. But, in
[2:30] addition to being discounted, it also
[2:32] just very recently got its 1.1 update,
[2:35] which brought some new game plus game
[2:37] modes alongside some other interesting
[2:39] changes, which is very cool overall. The
[2:42] third title I want to talk about is
[2:43] Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, a remake of
[2:47] Dragon Quest 7, which is, despite the
[2:49] series entry, a relatively standalone
[2:52] title. You can jump into it on its own
[2:54] just fine, and it is 25% off, bringing
[2:56] it down to $45 US. If you like JRPGs, I
[2:59] had a lot of fun with that one earlier
[3:01] this year. And in fact, with the
[3:03] relatively recent announcement that
[3:04] they're working on Dragon Quest 12, uh
[3:06] Dragon Quest 11 is actually a game I
[3:09] will be picking up during this sale,
[3:10] which is itself half off, bringing the
[3:12] definitive edition down to like $20. I
[3:15] won't be reviewing that soon, but I'll
[3:16] get around to it eventually. Next up,
[3:18] another one of my favorite games so far
[3:20] this year, we've got Esoteric Eb. This
[3:22] is a narrative CRPG kind of Metroidvania
[3:25] something like Disco Elysium, just so
[3:27] you're aware, but it is 20% off,
[3:29] bringing it down to $20 US. And while it
[3:31] was never a terribly expensive game,
[3:33] Esoteric Eb is a really great game if
[3:36] you are into uh D&D, and of course
[3:38] narrative type games. That one will
[3:40] probably wind up ranking pretty high on
[3:43] my end-of-the-year rankings, as it were.
[3:45] Now, this next title I gave a buy on
[3:47] sale when I reviewed it because it ran
[3:49] pretty poorly, and that is High on Life
[3:51] 2. Well, since this game's initial
[3:54] release, which was a few months back,
[3:56] they have dropped several patches
[3:58] focused on fixing some of those
[3:59] technical problems and you can find it
[4:01] now for 33% off bringing it down to $40
[4:05] US. And if you like a certain type of
[4:07] crass humor that those particular games
[4:09] happen to have, which I personally find
[4:11] pretty funny, then High on Life 2 is
[4:13] potentially a pretty good time. And it
[4:16] looks like it's running better these
[4:18] days overall. And I figured I would
[4:20] point it out just for that. However, if
[4:22] you wanted to wait a little longer on
[4:24] that one, I don't think anybody would
[4:25] blame you. Another one of my favorite
[4:27] titles from this year being a boomer
[4:29] shooter and this one is Mouse PI for
[4:32] Hire, which is 20% off bringing it down
[4:35] to $24 US. And this was a delightful
[4:38] experience. I like to play these games
[4:40] to relax between all the RPGs that I
[4:43] check out and Mouse PI for Hire was a
[4:46] genuinely delightful surprise. I think
[4:48] for what it is and what it's trying to
[4:50] be, it is really high quality and well
[4:52] done. I love all the handmade art, the
[4:55] rubber hose animation, all that stuff.
[4:57] It's a great time if you're into it.
[4:59] Now, I want to talk about another JRPG,
[5:02] which is Trails in the Sky First
[5:04] Chapter, a remake to the original Trails
[5:06] in the Sky. However, at 50% off bringing
[5:09] it down to $30 US, you've got a pretty
[5:12] good entry point into the series before
[5:15] Trails in the Sky Second Chapter's
[5:17] remake drops in September. That is one
[5:19] of the games I'm looking forward to
[5:20] covering that month, though it's going
[5:22] to be a busy one. But seeing how I
[5:23] enjoyed the first one enough to look
[5:25] forward to the second one, I figured
[5:26] some people might appreciate the heads
[5:28] up on that one. Then we've got another
[5:30] boomer shooter on sale with Bolt Gun 1
[5:33] being 67%
[5:37] you can, if you like, check that out
[5:40] before Bolt Gun 2 is set to drop later
[5:42] this year bringing with it some changes
[5:45] and mix-ups to the formula, some added
[5:47] content via an extra character to play,
[5:49] that kind of thing. So, if you want to
[5:50] see where that started with the
[5:52] original, it's a pretty good time to
[5:54] jump into it before the second one
[5:55] drops. If you happen to be in the mood
[5:57] to purge some heresy, of course. Now,
[6:00] this next title is an interesting one
[6:02] because I haven't talked about it in
[6:03] quite some time, and it is none other
[6:05] than Expeditions: Rome, which is 80%
[6:08] off, bringing it down to $9 US,
[6:10] including the DLC, I believe. And while
[6:12] I haven't talked about this game for
[6:14] some time, it was actually my game of
[6:16] the year for 2022 because I enjoyed it
[6:19] so much. It is a CRPG, though more on
[6:22] the tactics side of things, that sees
[6:24] you being a stand-in for Julius Caesar,
[6:26] kind of running through a lot of what
[6:28] that looked like historically, but
[6:29] getting to make some of your own choices
[6:31] and participate in those campaigns, that
[6:33] kind of thing. And it is a shockingly
[6:35] well-done, very, very surprising game.
[6:37] And one of the reasons I wanted to bring
[6:38] it up is not only the sale, but because
[6:41] they announced a series continuation via
[6:44] Expeditions: Samurai very recently, the
[6:47] past couple of weeks, at all the
[6:48] industry shows earlier this month, which
[6:50] is noteworthy because that follows a
[6:52] bunch of drama with the creators of the
[6:55] Expeditions series and that studio and
[6:57] everything that happened there that I
[6:58] don't want to get into here. But, I will
[7:00] say Expeditions: Samurai on the art
[7:03] department does not look great to me,
[7:05] but it did give me an opportunity to
[7:06] shout out Expeditions: Rome, so figured
[7:09] I would do it. Next up, we've got The
[7:11] Witcher 3 coming in at 80% off, bringing
[7:13] it down to $10, which includes the DLC
[7:17] if you have not, in fact, for some
[7:19] reason already bought The Witcher 3.
[7:21] But, now is a shockingly good time to,
[7:23] if you haven't already, and that is, of
[7:25] course, because the announcement of an
[7:27] upcoming expansion for that game, many
[7:29] years after its release, as they, of
[7:31] course, work on The Witcher 4. I won't
[7:34] bore you with the description, The
[7:35] Witcher 3 is great, but if you want to
[7:37] take it one step farther, you can even
[7:39] pick up The Witcher 2 for $3 US and the
[7:42] original enhanced edition for $1.50.
[7:46] Only a couple more left to go. We then
[7:48] have Doom the Dark Ages, which is 67%
[7:51] off, bringing it down to $23 US. And
[7:54] this is of note because not only is it a
[7:56] fantastic game on its own, it has a DLC
[7:59] coming out relatively soon, known as
[8:01] Revelations, which is going to bring
[8:02] some new content and everything. So, if
[8:04] you want to not only get the game for
[8:06] cheaper than it would be, but you can
[8:07] also, of course, pick up that DLC, if
[8:09] you like. Though, that obviously won't
[8:11] be on sale yet. Speaking of DLC, I also
[8:13] wanted to talk a little bit about The
[8:15] Alters, which is a very bizarre survival
[8:18] game that's uh hard to describe,
[8:20] necessarily, but you basically make
[8:21] clones of yourself, known as alters, in
[8:24] order to escape a hostile planet. It is
[8:27] a very, very interesting and unique
[8:29] game. And it can be yours for 50% off at
[8:32] $17 US. But, another reason I wanted to
[8:35] bring this up is because it is also
[8:36] getting a big DLC here in just a couple
[8:39] of weeks, which I plan on jumping into
[8:41] and reviewing, as I enjoyed that game a
[8:43] lot, and hopefully other people will, as
[8:46] well. And then, to start closing this
[8:47] out with a couple games I always like to
[8:49] mention, um I've been covering Rogue
[8:51] Trader. It's final DLC is upcoming in a
[8:53] few months. However, if I'm being real
[8:55] honest, if you haven't bought that game
[8:58] already, I would probably continue to
[8:59] hold off, and the reason for that is
[9:01] that Season Pass 2 is not on sale. So,
[9:04] in order to get all the content, you
[9:06] would have to buy the base game, Season
[9:07] Pass 1, and Season Pass 2, which is
[9:10] honestly a good chunk of money for a
[9:11] sale, and you still wouldn't have the
[9:13] DLC that we are still waiting on. So,
[9:15] for that one, specifically, if you
[9:17] haven't bought it at this point, and you
[9:19] want to get it on a discount, I would
[9:20] probably just hold out until winter
[9:22] sale, personally. But, I figured
[9:24] somebody would ask, so there you go. And
[9:26] then, of course, I can't talk about
[9:27] Owlcat without talking about one of my
[9:29] favorite games of all time, Pathfinder:
[9:31] Wrath of the Righteous. You can get the
[9:34] Game of the Year Edition, which includes
[9:35] the base game and all of its DLC for the
[9:38] low low price of $12 US and considering
[9:41] I have played that game for I think it's
[9:43] like 800 something hours doing some
[9:45] quick math in my head including the time
[9:47] I spent with the closed beta I think it
[9:49] is around a little shy of 900 like
[9:52] somewhere between 850 and 900 I think.
[9:55] So rest assured that game is well worth
[9:58] the cash but I do think that is pretty
[10:00] much going to do it for the games I
[10:01] wanted to highlight during this but if
[10:03] you have anything you want to mention as
[10:05] I mentioned at the top of the video
[10:07] certainly leave it down in the comments
[10:09] section below and with any luck I may
[10:10] well just learn of some great deals to
[10:12] pick up things for future reviews on my
[10:14] own outside of of course just helping
[10:16] any wayward commenters but that of
[10:19] course means to like comment subscribe
[10:21] all that YouTube jazz but regardless of
[10:23] any of that truly just thank you so much
[10:26] for watching. I really do appreciate it.
[10:27] May you wander in wisdom and have an
[10:30] amazing day.