One of the things I plan to keep including that I started posting more about in 2019 are video games! I’ve been a big fan of video games for my entire life, and most of my childhood was spent either reading books, or playing video games with my younger brothers. In recent years, I’ve switched almost exclusively to PC gaming because I just personally prefer using my keyboard & mouse to a controller (for most games – definitely not all!), and I love Steam’s achievement system – yes, I’m one of those people, haha!
This winter, I picked up a couple of games from the Steam Winter Sale that I’d been wanting to check out or try. Not all of the games on this list are ones that I just recently purchased (Stardew, for example, has been one of my Most Played Games for awhile now), but they’re all ones I’d recommend after having spent a couple of hours with each!
1) Two Point Hospital (SEGA)
This is a hospital management type game, and it’s highly addictive. As you progress, the game teaches you how each room/staff member/skill, etc work, and there are also loads of Steam Community Guides to help walk you through maximizing your hospital’s income, reputation, & efficiency – if you want to focus on getting a high score! If you just want to have a bit of fast paced but relaxing fun, you can absolutely still play this and enjoy the heck out of it!
There are also little DLC packs you can buy to add new hospitals, content, or characters to the game – but the base game is super fun, so only really splurge if you’re loving it!
2) Cook, Serve, Delicious 2!! (Vertigo Gaming Inc.)
I liked the first game, but didn’t play it very much for some reason when I first got it a couple years ago. When this second one was on sale to promote the upcoming 3rd installment to the Cook, Serve, Delicious series, I scooped it up & started playing it right away!
This is a unique cooking game in that you can use your keyboard & typing skills to help your efficiency and score when filling orders or completing tasks around the restaurant. I love the variety to the little shops you can work in – from ice cream to pizza to burgers to pasta, you can pretty much do anything once you unlock all the levels!
This one is a bit more fast paced and could be stressful due to the limited amount of time given to complete each order – so if you know you’re not really into timed game mechanics, you might want to skip this!
3) Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
This is a really fun deck building type action adventure game that allows you to battle your way through a map of different creatures, bosses, and treasure rooms with the help of your cards, potions, and relics. It’s super simple to learn & get into, and hard to stop playing once you stop!
I love the different playing styles you can develop depending on the cards you choose along the way, and have found myself on the edge of my seat at times trying to survive a particularly rough fight with only 1 HP left – it’s completely engaging, and super fun!
Even if you’re not big on deck building or card games, I’d recommend giving this one a shot – it may surprise you, and the graphics are cute!
4) Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe)
Yes, I’m still obsessed with & talking about Stardew Valley! I play this solo & on co-op mode with my boyfriend, and love the updates and improvements that have been added since the game’s initial release. It’s super fun, super chill, and super addictive to play as a little farmer in the small town of Stardew Valley. There are lots of things to collect and/or unlock in the game, like recipes, museum items, library books, fish, and more.
I love the interaction abilities with the townsfolk, and how developed each character is as a whole. The in-game calendar of events is always fun, and reaping the rewards of a carefully cultivated crop of corn gives me such a feeling of accomplishment – and brings out the alliteration in me, I guess!
5) Cooking Simulator (Big Cheese Studio)
I have a love/hate relationship with this game, and here’s why: it’s extremely addictive, and also kind of freaking HARD! The main objective is to make a dish from near-scratch, which involves grabbing ingredients, seasoning food, cooking items to specific requirements, and then serving it to hungry patrons. The difficulty comes with the nearly real-life physics mechanics, which make simple tasks like pouring a drop of oil into a pan VERY DIFFICULT!
Still, it’s very rewarding to get 5 stars (and a tip!) on a meal you worked over a hot stove (ahem, I mean, sort of) to deliver, and I love the amount of recipes and ingredients available in the game. The possibilities are almost endless! And there’s going to be a Baking Simulator at some point in the future, too, which I am definitely looking forward to!
Have you played any of these? What games can you currently not stop playing? Let me know in the comments, I’m always on the hunt for new stuff to play! Bonus points if the game has achievements, ’cause this is just the kind of person that I am.
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I played Two Point Hospital late last year when Steam had a free to play weekend and I agree, it is highly addictive. We ended up playing it the whole weekend – I ended up not buying it because it was so addictive and I didn’t want to lose all of my time to it haha.
I LOVE Stardew Valley. It’s so much fun, and I think I want to go play it right now because now I’m thinking about it again!!