What is the Steam Summer Sale?
The Steam Summer Sale is an annual event hosted by Steam, a popular online gaming platform. During the sale, people can purchase games at discounted prices, including Simulation and Tycoon games.
This is an article for the uninitiated! For the tycoons soon-to-be to take full advantage of the Steam Summer Sale and pack their library full of great games. There has never been a better time to get some of these titles The sale is running until the 13th of July.
This is a great opportunity for gamers to expand their game collection and try out new titles. In this article, I’ll provide you with 20 video game recommendations that you can purchase during the Steam Summer Sale.
My Top 20 Must-Have Recommendations
To create this list of recommendations, I looked at a variety of factors, including gameplay mechanics (and how different they might be from one another), graphics, positive reviews, and popularity. The goal was to provide you with a diverse selection of sim and tycoon games that appeal to different types of people, from a beginner just getting started, to a veteran. These are in the order I would prioritize getting. If you’re on a limited budget, the last 5 offer the best bang for your buck. Get ready to build, grow, and dominate your virtual empire, or you know, just have fun building your very own rollercoaster, waterpark, or seaside hamlet.
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20 – Transport Fever 2
Transport Fever 2 is one of those games that scratches a very specific itch. Unless you’re into it, I would advise checking out the rest of the list before you start adding things to the digital cart. Transporte Fever 2 places you in charge of building and managing a comprehensive transportation network spanning various eras, from the industrial revolution onwards. Connect cities and industries with railways, roads, ships, and airplanes. Strive for efficiency as you transport passengers and goods across vast, and I mean, VAST landscapes. Upgrade your vehicles and infrastructure to keep up with evolving technologies. That’s it, basically. The reason it isn’t further up on the list is not because it’s not worth it, it’s because the number 1 also does it, but adds a lot more flavor to it. However, Transport Fever 2 is still worth a go if you just want to focus on the transportation side of things.
19 – Fire Pro Wrestling World + Fire Promoter DLC
“What a weird entry” – I hear you thinking, wildly confused as to why Fire Pro Wrestling World is on this list. “When can we have a fully fleshed-out wrestling management game?”, is my answer! – “Smackdown VS Raw, you cry out” – “But do you really want to dust up your old Playstation 2?”, I conclude, defeating your logic. Well, until we get a proper wrestling management sim this is the closest thing we have to quench said thirst for managing and setting up those dream matches of yours.
All jokes aside, even the management aspect of Fire Pro Wrestling World is a bit sketchy on the best of days, however the sheer amount (and quality!) of modded content for the game allows you to set up a wrestling league of your own with the wrestling legends of your choosing. Want to have John Cena VS Andre The Giant? Go ahead. Hulk Hogan VS Stone Cold? What’s stopping you? Heck, just do whatever you want.
Fire Pro Wrestling World is also famous for its in-depth character customization options that allow players the freedom to build exactly the kind of wrestler they envision with its logic system. It’s a game that’s more fun in setting up the fights, than actually fighting them, but those are just my two cents.
18 – Anno 1800
Anno 1800 takes you on a journey to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. It’s one of the best city builders to come out in the last decade. You’ll be doing a lot of the same things you would expect in an Anno game: manage resources, construct buildings, establish trade routes, satisfy your townsfolk, and provide enough materials for your production network to foster the growth of your town. Engage in diplomacy, compete with other nations, and navigate through an era of profound technological and social changes.
It’s a game about meticulous details and optimizing everything to its fullest extent. Similar to other Anno entries, it’s a highly complex affair that requires some dedication to learn its mechanics and how each part of a supply chain interacts with one another. Fortunately, there’s a great campaign to ease you into the shoes of an influential leader through the transformative period of the 19th century in Anno 1800.
17 – Planet Coaster
Planet Coaster offers something that no other game does: it’s the ridiculous amount of freedom in creating scenery for a rollercoaster park. Every nook and cranny can be customized to a sickening degree. Just have a look around on Youtube to see what the game is capable of. On top of that, it also packs an intricate system to create roller coasters. And on top of that, it’s a very competent tycoon management title, with a lot of effort having to be put into your park to keep your guests happy and the park afloat.
Planet Coaster is the ultimate theme park simulation game in the market. No other allows you to unleash your creativity and build an amusement park-like PC with its unparalleled creative tools. The game offers endless possibilities for designing and managing. Its price is so low that if you don’t already have Planet Coaster, it’s time to start delighting visitors with awe-inspiring attractions, create stunning landscapes and become the master of your own entertainment empire. If you’re an imaginative person, love amusement parks, and revel in attention to small details, Planet Coaster might be your perfect fit. My only gripe with it is the lack of water slides.
16 – IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad is probably the best World War II flight simulation experience right now. Forget War Thunder and World of War Planes and their arcadey nature, embrace having to spend an hour and a half just trying to figure out how the damn thing turns on. It has a steep learning curve, but as soon as you start to be a more proficient pilot, you’ll start to understand the thrill that is flying iconic aircraft and engaging in high-stakes dogfights on the skies of one of the world’s largest battles in Human History: The Battle of Stalingrad.
Aircraft and their cockpits are meticulously recreated, each own with their unique flight characteristics and models. Landscapes and maps are accurate and the weather is as realistic as it can be. If you’re one of those lucky bastards that have a VR Headset, try dive bombing with a Stuka. The amazing graphics of IL-2 should make for an unforgettable (if horrendous) experience.
15 – RimWorld
Everyone and their grandmother should know about RimWorld by now. It’s a sci-fi colony management game where you guide a group of survivors stranded on a remote planet through their… misadventures. You’ll be responsible for their needs, assign tasks, and construct shelters to protect them from harsh environmental conditions and hostile creatures. The game is based on the idea that things will inevitably go wrong, and you can only stave disaster for a while longer before everything goes bust.
RimWorld boasts a vibrant modding community, offering a vast array of user-generated content, easily available through Steam Workshop. Customize your gameplay experience with mods that introduce new features, expand the game’s mechanics, or create unique scenarios. Engage with the community and share your stories about how everything went wrong. It’s very much a game in the vein of Dwarf Fortress.
The reason it isn’t higher on the list is because of its low discount.
14 – Parkitect
Parkitect offers a nostalgic and charming experience of managing a theme park but without all the quirks of having to deal with outdated controls and UI. It’s a more simple approach to the genre than Planet Coaster, and it looks way more charming. Expect to design and build thrilling roller coasters, craft intricate landscapes, and create attractions to entertain your guests. Hire staff, manage finances, and fine-tune the park’s operations to provide a magical experience for visitors of all ages, and all that stuff. If you’re really into coasters, then Planet Coaster is a much more apt game for you. If, however, you’re just dipping your toes and want a game that you can pick up, start building your coasters, and just have your park running in half an hour, Parkitect is your best option.
But don’t be fooled by its charming aesthetics, it also packs quite the attention to detail and its coaster-building system is still based on true-to-life physics, and you have ample choice when crafting intricate coaster designs.
13 – Dirt Rally 2.0
It’s always difficult to pick between Dirt and Dirt 2.0, so I’ve decided on the latter mainly because of its insane value for the asking price of less than 5 dollars. Developed by Codemasters, the Dirt series took rally racing to new heights with its realistic physics, detailed environments, and over 50 of the most powerful off-road cars ever built. From the iconic B series to the vehicles of today. It has tracks from all over the globe: New Zealand, Spain the USA and so many others.
Personally, what had me gripped to my wheel was its inclusion of the historical series, where you’re tasked with driving a selection of vehicles to the podium, from the 60s to today. The contrast between each generation is so strong it gives you a stronger appreciation for the effort placed by the developing team behind each car. It’s really just fantastic.
It also has a lot of optional DLC content that adds so much more to the base game it’s really worth picking it up on sale, especially if you have an interest in rally, and a wheel and pedals to match. For less than 10 dollars you can pick the whole thing, and won’t need another rally game for the next decade.
12 – Frostpunk
Ah, Frostpunk! The game that has the balls of asking its players the tough decisions Anno 1800 is too afraid to ask. Why shouldn’t kids work in the mines? Do you really to eat that much? Do your people really need eight hours of sleep? Given your current predicament, do your people really need basic care? Why can’t they just eat dead bodies? In all honesty, Frsokpunk is a more accurate representation of how the industrial revolution tackled the issue than most games can ever aspire to be.
The game is set in a frozen, post-apocalyptic world. As the leader of a small group of survivors, you must manage resources, make difficult decisions (like some mentioned above), and balance hope and despair. Build and expand a steam-powered city, establish laws, and face moral dilemmas to ensure the survival of your society in the face of extreme cold.
Venture beyond the boundaries of your city and explore the frozen wasteland. Uncover hidden resources, encounter other survivors, and make crucial discoveries that may alter the fate of your society. Expand your knowledge, adapt your strategies, and uncover the mysteries of the frozen world. It’s a fascinating approach to city building and one worth engaging with if you’re into a challenge.
11 – UBOAT
UBOAT is yet another game that started up extremely shaky when it first came out, and it has now been developed to be a somewhat realistic, but extremely immersive World War II submarine simulation game that plunges players into the challenges of commanding several key aspects of a German U-boat.
Instead of having you control the U-boat, the game takes a more survivalist approach to the genre, by having you act up as the commander, managing the ship’s crew in order to get the most out of the machine. This means not only ordering them around the U-boat systems but also making sure they’re well-fed, motivated, and well-rested. In fact, the game describes itself by having its primary theme being the “life of German sailors”.
The game excels by giving you every possible degree of freedom it can, allowing you to chart your own courses, stalk your pretty, and engage in battles if you want when you want. Despite its multiple systems at play it rarely gets overwhelming, but it’s worth putting the sub through its paces on the tutorial before jumping into the Atlantic Ocean.
Strategy Games | Strategy and Wargaming 
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