So that wonderful time for PC gaming is upon us. The Steam Summer Picnic Sale is here and it’s in full swing. The glorious crackle of wallet fueled bonfires is here and the sound of ISP’s groaning from bandwidth usage is upon us. With games such as DOOM. Bombshell, Arma II, Arma III, Rust, The Forest, Shadow Warrior, and thousands more on sale, it’s hard to sift through all those good-to-play games in order to find ones to play. But fear not! We’re here, we brought our picnic basket, and we’re about to share with you a few of our secret video game hidden snacks you may want to bring to your digital picnic. So lets get straight to business and take a little peak into our basket to see what you may be looking over.
#10 – The Forest – $14.99 | $11.99
So you’ve decided for this glorious time of year to take your vacation on a plane. Unfortunately, you’re not heading to the same beach we are at, but instead it’s filled with cannibals prepared to turn you into their picnic snack. Your goal is to survive, to salvage anything usable from a forest, and hope that you can outwit your unfriendly hosts. With man or woman premium steak on their menu, it’s surely time to fight back, and prepare your local fort for the best survival chances you may have. Daylight as you would assume is your best friend. Here you’ll be able to gather supplies, build your tools, and even build a safety nest to hide within.
Soon as sunset begins to roll around? Your not-so-friendly neighbors decide to invade, steal your picnic basket, and drag your body along the sandy beaches to prepare their very own moonlit picnic. What’s on the menu? You are.
#9 – The Secret World: Ultimate Edition – $59.99 | $20.39
So you may not be one for the awesome beach side views where you’re knocking the heads off of hostile cannibals, gotcha. Instead you’re the one that likes to stay inside, read a book, and head on to take out enemies the world has never seen. Lets say the show Grimm is one of your favourites – not a problem. Welcome to Secret World, a world that exists outside of our own in many ways and special people, namely you, are chosen to help protect it from unforeseen forces. With the Illuminati, the Dragons, and a few other factions truly existing, it’s up to you to stop evil at all costs – also it’s up to you to look badass doing it in this MMO subscription-free title.
As a once monthly-subscription based game, Secret World is the book of MMO’s that decides to step away from the traditional play style of games like World of Warcraft and to create their own unique touch. If that’s something for you? Here’s your book, enjoy the shade this summer.
#8 – Shadow Warrior – $49.99 | $4.99
You’ve decided to get a taste of the Asian sights this year. Awesome-sauce. Coming up your alley is your chance to take on the sword-wielding badassery that’s Lo Wang. If you are one for satirical puns, a humorous host, and a demonic side-kick, it’s time to get your trip through Japan underway.
As a remake of the 1997 Classic, Shadow Warrior brings back all the sword and gun wielding fun in a modern touch. With up dated mechanics, gameplay flow, and graphics? There’s nothing to pass-up here as you’ll scale your way through demon infested Japan in order to kick the living Hell out of anyone that gets in your way in order to take out those looking to ruin your vacation.
#7 – The Witcher Franchise – $79.97 | $26.52
So your trip so far has been a wild one, so far we’ve gone from beautiful beaches that ended up being cannibalistic, to a book that took you into a beautifully written fantasy world, and now we’ve decided to go back in time. Welcome to a new fantasy Dark Age based on a fictional Europe where dragons, witches, goblins, faeries, demon’s, siren’s, elves, mages, and much-more await to test your skills as you go horse back riding. On your adventure you’ll be following the guidance of a gentleman, one who’s not truly so gentle, by the name of Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a special hunter known as Witcher, a unique breed of slayers who hunt the impossible for financial gains and to purify the world of trouble.
With their ability to slay these creatures, you’ll get to see fantastical sights never before-seen as players push through this new and ancient world. If that’s something you enjoy, here’s your chance to see something unique as you across the mountains, through castle streets, and even caves galore. Just remember, swimming isn’t always your friend.
#6 – Rocket League Deluxe Edition – $23.99 | $14.39
Your trip has brought you here. The taste of futbol with cars has gotten your attention. It sounds impossible, ludicrous, and ultimately beyond enjoyable. Welcome to Rocket League where soccer, racing, and pure insanity have mixed to bring you the next big sport for cars. Here players are pitted against each other to score the most goals while pulling off insane tricks, blowing each other to pieces, and all around being an adrenaline junkie bad ass.
If that’s something you’re up for, the games name explains it all as players are put in multiple arenas around the world, sporting their national flag, and working together to be the best of the best.
#5 – Arma X: Anniversary Edition – $49.99 | $9.99
After a weird night of a few drinks, a few tattoo’s, and somehow crossing over into Europe, you’ve been enlisted into the U.S. Military – or you’ve been enlisted this entire time. Well your duty has been yanked into combat. You, your friends, and your country are now needing you to be the best of the best. In Arma and Arma 2 (this pack contacts both games and all DLC. It does not contain Arma III), you’re goal is to fight in a hyper realistic combat setting where enemies will hunt you, they’ll attempt to kill you, and their combat mechanics are perfect.
With your friends in-tow it’s time to see just how well you can prove yourself to your digital country and survive your trip across Europe.
#5 – Kingdom’s of Amalur: The Reckoning Collection – $39.99 | $9.99
Your military enlistment didn’t last long. Somehow you’ve been knocked back into a fantasy world by the name of Amalur. Here you’ve been revived and become the chosen one. Of sorts really, but your death has been prevented by the use of magic and science. As you’ve awoken the lab you are being tested on falls under attack in order to take you out. As enemies besiege it, it’s time for you to fight back, and survive. Why? You’re the last of your kind and the only one that has the chance to be the hero Amalur needs in its time of despair.
Here you’ll take your vacation across unique terrains ranging from lush forests, rocky valleys, and sun scorched deserts. Let alone do you get to see these, you even get to see a few beach side camping grounds that just happen to be littered with enemies waiting for you to take them out one by one. Unless you die again, then all is lost.
#4 – DOOM (2016) – $59.99 | $39.99
So your ideal vacation was to go to Mars and see the exotic red planet. Unfortunately your trip didn’t go the way you planned and now your DOOM Slayer pal and you are having to take out the minions of Hell just to enjoy your sandwich. Unfortunately these heart-munching, flame-lobbing, cybernetically enhanced a-holes have no want to share the last few bites. So now? It’s your time to bash your way through the blood riddled landscapes of Hell and Mars in order to ruin their day – all for ruining your very own summer vacation spot where you decided to pitch up your umbrella for a few cold drinks.
This latest title from legendary studio id Software goes back to what made DOOM the series it was. It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s bloodier than Hell itself, and its soundtrack is undeniably made to be an adrenaline pumper and get you in the mood. If you were expecting Frank Sinatra or Aretha Franklin – sorry kid, those two are up in Heaven drinking whiskey and champagne watching you kick Hell’s ass.
#3 – Fallout 4 – $59.99 | $29.99
Somehow you managed to find your way back from Hell and Mars – only to be back on Earth. Now you find yourself in 2077 after the bombs have fallen and a good chunk of humanity has been wiped out. It’s not a great place to be, but thankfully the Minute Men are there to save the day once you run into these lads. Luckily they are willing to help you settle down, have a few gasses of irradiated tea and find your missing kid. Yea your missing kid here. If you didn’t know you have one? Surprise. Now get in there and fight like there’s nothing else worth fighting for as much as this.
Did we mention you get to shoot off nuclear bombs, kill gigantic enemies, and fly around in airships? Yea that happens.
#2 – BioShock Franchise – $69.97 | $10.51
Well your picnic hasn’t been exactly the one you want nor has your summer vacation. You’ve gone from a once peaceful plane flight to a forest full of cannibals to Mars, to Hell, and back, and now somehow you’ve managed to sink your Power Armor to the bottom of the ocean into Rapture. If blowing up nuclear bombs, detonating demons into a thousand pieces, and even fighting off Ogres galore hasn’t been your ideal path of survival – here’s your next stop. BioShock is the renowned creative child of developer Irrational Games.
BioShock’s franchise allows fans to travel deep within the waters of coastal America where a world of people have decided to break away from the government, live among themselves, and keep to themselves. Down here they’ve also learned how to harness Adam and Eve to make themselves even more powerful. This isn’t limited to the idea of wielding special abilities such as shooting bees from your finger tips, lighting a candle with the snap of your fingers, or powering a bulb just by holding it. If you like the idea of going from the ocean to a floating city above the clouds, this franchise is right up your alley.
#1 – Bombshell – $34.99 | $11.39
So your luck has absolutely sucked to this point and it’s about to suck more once you step into the shoes of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison who you’d swear is Duke Nukem’s twin sister. Crafted by the minds behind “The King”, Bombshell takes you on a wild adventure to fight off an alien enemy threat while moving across multiple terrains in your fight to return home. Downside? Your nemesis is not about to let that happen too easily and he’s going to make you fight for that two way ticket.
If you can manage to get out? At least you can say your Summer Vacation was one Hell of a ride, but you somehow lost your food along the way.
What are some titles you’d suggest to your fellow gamers? Let them know in the comments or just let us know what games you snagged up this year before the sales end July 4th.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.