I haven't done one of these recommendations the past few days as I really didn't see that many games which were both good and on a decent discount.
However, today's rotation on the Steam winter sale brought with it quite a few good deals so here are my Steam sale recommendations for December 29-30:
Despite seeming like a simple 2D Minecraft clone Terraria has a massive amount of content that spans everything from base building, mining, exploring ruins and fighting giant bosses. I've spent over 200 hours playing it with friends and it is time well spent as there are so many choices when it comes to equipment and weaponry that you can make each "playthrough" feel unique.
Terraria is currently really cheap and with all of the content patches it has received over the years it is going to take you many, many hours to beat it. If you're looking for the biggest bang for your buck, especially for a co-op game, you're looking at it here.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed (-75%)
When I first saw Sonic & All-Stars Racing I instantly dismissed it simply because I found the whole concept of Sonic (the fastest being alive) riding around in a car to be really stupid. However, I had it gifted to me the past Christmas and rather than simply let it rot in my Steam library I decided to give it a proper try.
That proper try ended up with me playing for so long I completely forgot to eat lunch. As is turned out this Sonic game is actually the one of the best kart games I've ever played in my life, right up there with Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart. There are no bullshit abilities or cheap ways to win, its all about your knowledge of your racer, the map and how you drive.
If you enjoy the karting games I fully recommend you go with this one as it has plenty of maps, characters, unlockables and a TON of replayability as the single player AI can range from incredibly easy to immensely skilled depending on your settings.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (-50%)
Let me just preface this by saying that not everyone is going to enjoy CS:GO. It is a game with an incredible depth to it that will require you to commit some time learning its intricacies before you can even begin playing it for "real".
But if you are willing to invest a little bit of time in to it and get a good understanding of the tactics then CS:GO might be one of the best team-based games ever made, with lots of well balanced maps and tons of available strategies that have managed to keep those maps interesting to people for over 10 years now.
I've been playing it for years, on and off, and I am still not even remotely competent at it so if you want a game that you can sink in a lot of hours towards becoming truly good then CS:GO is your game.
Homeworld Remastered Collection (-65%)
The two classic Homeworld games are some of the best real time strategy games out there, combining both a great story as well as some amazing gameplay. The remastered editions take them to a whole new level however by not just upgrading the graphics but improving the UI, the mechanics and the multiplayer. So if you're in to RTS games you owe it to yourself to try the Homeworld series.
Word of caution however, the next installment in the Homeworld series, titled Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, is coming this January and the pre-order bonus for it is the complete Homeworld Remastered Collection. I won't give you any advice either way as I know very little about whether Deserts of Kharak will be good or not but just keep that information in mind as you could save some money by buying all three.
Serious Sam 3: BFE Gold (-90%)
The entire Serious Sam series has been built around one idea in mind: large open areas where you get to face off against thousands of enemies. And that is exactly what Serious Sam 3 does as well. It starts off nice and simple, with you against a couple of enemies here and there, but soon enough you'll be firing dozens of rockets per second at the many hundreds of demons hurtling towards you.
There is no better series for me to recommend you if you're just interested in some wanton destruction and the pure childish glee of shooting up monsters with ridiculous weaponry. You won't find a compelling story or immersive world building with Serious Sam but if its non-stop high paced action that you seek its here in spades, very big spades, that explode.
After the massive disappointment that was the latest Sim City I pretty much gave up hope on even seeing another similar game the next few years given how big the backlash was. And then, out of nowhere, appeared Cities: Skylines, a city simulator that took everything wrong with Sim City and improved on it.
Large plots of land, plenty of ways to organize your city, easily available mods and tons of ways to micromanage every aspect of city life, Cities Skylines has it all. If you're a fan of sim games I fully recommend you grab Cities: Skylines, you will find plenty of content and variety in both the base game and the content mods surrounding it.
And that is it for today's recommendations. Enjoy the games and I'll see you soon once the Steam sales shuffle once more.