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Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of June 8
Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week!
Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle are most worth my attention?”
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If posting a sale, it is strongly encouraged that you share why you think the available game/games are worthwhile.
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Quern - Undying Thoughts is an amazing game with a not-so-amazing name that is currently 85% off on Steam (a historical low).
I don’t want to overhype this game or anything, but it’s a first-person puzzler that I would put up in the Pantheon of Greats alongside titles like Myst, The Witness, or The Talos Principle, though it has a different design and structure. It feels closest to Myst given that you’re on a mystery puzzle island, but I honestly enjoyed Quern a lot more.
This is also a game that seems to be well liked and has a healthy number of Steam reviews, but I never really see anyone talk about it or mention it. It feels like a genuine hidden gem, socially speaking, because it’s all but invisible outside of its circle.
The game is actually on “mental cooldown” for me. I’m waiting out a long period (years) so that I can forget more of the game, which will eventually let me revisit it again with mostly fresh eyes. There are still some things I can remember (and likely always will), but even those memories are fuzzy at this point, with specific details and solutions lost to time (which is exactly what I want to happen).
Again, I don’t want to overhype it. It’s not perfect by any means, and there were one or two puzzles I remember getting frustrated with, but overall I think it’s just a beautifully made game that’s got richness and depth to it.
I've yet to play Quern, but remember being really excited to pick it up. I'm going to need some kind of event to motivate me to play games from my backlog...
I do have a short story about a similar game, Haven Moon. This is another Myst-like that released around the same time as Quern. I doubt the puzzles are as well crafted, but this one is kind of special to me due to how I played it.
Around 6 or 7 years ago, I moved into my current condo. I knew my internet wasn't going to be hooked up for a long time (I want to say 2 weeks?), so I downloaded a bunch of games and movies to keep me occupied during that period. Haven Moon was one of them.
I think I finally understand what it must have been like to play Myst on release. Back when you couldn't get frustrated on a puzzle, decide it was simply too unclear or unfair, and simply look up the solution. But nope, no internet. I needed to rack my brain and try everything. And so I did.
I explored the environments thoroughly while playing. I thought about the puzzles while not playing. I took screenshots of everything, and documented anything that looked off. I had numerous "Eureka!" moments that allowed me to progress. And eventually, after days of effort, I beat the game.
I tell you, I have never been so satisfied to see a game's credits before. Having all achievements and a playtime of "0 hours, 0 minutes" on Steam (due to offline mode), it remains one of my proudest gaming achievements. I can't even say it was a great game or anything, but I'll always remember it.
That's a great idea! Want to collaborate on it? 😂
I picked Quern up a couple days ago when I saw it was on sale.
I'll just note that controller support is there (you can enable it in the settings), but somewhat disappointing. As far as I can tell you still need a mouse to actually get into the game (main menu is not navigable via controller). Walking around seems fine, and I was able to solve the first puzzle entirely with a controller, but it's a bit clunky--very clearly a mouse-and-keyboard-first game with controller support feeling a bit tacked on. It's not bad enough to turn me off from playing it or anything, but figured I'd warn my fellow couch gamers.
Humble has a bundle for IGN Live (don't really know anything about that but they have Slay the Spire for $10, which is my favorite game ever):
https://www.humblebundle.com/games/ign-live-bundle-2025
They also have a narrative arc bundle that seems worth, Harold Halibut for $20 but I'm gonna be picking up Venba for $3:
https://www.humblebundle.com/games/narrative-arc-bundle
Slay the Spire + Potion Craft for $10 is a good deal. I got StS on Steam and mobile, even gifted one to a friend and it's still worth it for the casual few hours a week I put into it
Two Point Hospital free on EGS this week:
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/two-point-hospital
I keep forgetting the app does a separate freebie (and I still don't know how to share them, the app is pretty bad). This one is pretty interesting, it is Shapez. Already given away on desktop, it is a factory builder for shapes. I'd been looking forward to playing it.
What the Pak!?, an 8 player mini-game party game, is free to claim on Steam for the next two weeks.
Also a reminder that SteamDB has this handy-dandy page to quickly check out all of the current/upcoming free weekends and promotional giveaways. There are a number of free weekend games this week including Hell Let Loose, Barony and Stardeus.