Melanie: The Holiday PC Game Sales for Non-Gaming PCs

Each year it seems digital sales for PC games at places like Steam and Amazon get more and more attention, probably to the chagrin of those who only own work desktops or mainstream laptops. Just because your computer can?t run, say, the PC version of Borderlands 2?doesn?t mean you should ignore these sales, though.?Many of the cheapest deals during these sales are for hundreds of indie and old school games that are designed to run on a much wider range of computers than the blockbuster releases. Below I?ll try to list a few of the best ones.

Looking at the system requirements on the store page for each game is obviously the best way to gauge its playability on your system, but pretty much everything in this article will run if you?ve at least bought a system with a dual core processor and an independent graphics card (i.e. not ?integrated graphics?) within the last five years. Many of these games have demos so you can test them yourself, and many have Mac versions. A handful also have Linux versions.?The best places to shop for these games are Steam, GOG.com, Desura, Playism-games.com, Amazon, and GamersGate.?(Little Indie is worth a look, too ? Pete.)

PC Exclusives

If you?re a console gamer who just doesn?t see the need for a high-end PC then these are some of the best games that you can?t get on consoles yet and will probably run on your computer.

Unity of Command ? Critics describe Unity of Command as one of the most accessible PC strategy games in years. It?s a hexagon-oriented turn-based wargame about the Stalingrad campaign of World War II. Fans of games like Advance Wars will feel right at home with this one after they get used to the game?s specific quirks, like strategizing units around supply lines. Unity of Command successfully attains the same kind of addictive ?one more turn? nature as a lot of strategy games like Civilization or Advance Wars. It?s a great example of a strategy game that?s approachable, addictive, and easy to run.
Demo available (Steam, official website)
Mac version
Linux version
May run on integrated graphics

Primordia ? In recent years Wadjet Eye games has been hailed in the PC community as a great publisher of point and click adventure games in the style of ?90s titles like Monkey Island or, more recently, The Walking Dead. Primordia is their latest release. Set in a post-apocalyptic world populated by machines, the game tells a mystery story that unravels into a search for the truth about mankind?s fate. Primordia?s voiceover work stars Bastion?s Logan Cunningham.
Demo available (official website)

Hotline Miami ? Definitely one of 2012?s most intense and violent shooters, Hotline Miami mixes together frantic but tactical gameplay with an ?80s retro aesthetic and a trippy storyline. Players clear levels of enemies in a 2D, top-down fashion with whatever weapons they can get their hands on in an environment where one shot is usually a kill. People have called it ?Super Meat Boy with guns? and the game has been praised for its soundtrack.?(Check out our Two-Headed Review here?to see what Alex and Tristan thought of it ? Pete.)
Xbox 360 controller compatible

Torchlight II ? Despite the original Torchlight?s console release, Runic Games hasn?t announced a console version of the sequel. They did, however, design the PC and Mac versions to run on a very wide range of computers. Every bit the cheap, fast-paced Diablo clone the original was, Torchlight II expands its scope with a larger traversable world, new classes, and multiplayer. It also manages to look starkly different from the first game and very stylish despite its modest 3D graphics.
Demo available (Steam, official website)
Mac version

FTL: Faster Than Light ? One of 2012?s most critically acclaimed indie games, FTL might be the most distinctive blend of strategy, simulation, and RPG elements seen in a while. It?s basically a space exploration roguelike where you finally get to make Captain Kirk-style decisions like diverting power from shields to phasers and sucking all the air out of part of your ship in order to put out a fire. Captaining a ship in an unforgiving galaxy with no way to reload after you die makes for an intimidating game, but FTL handles things with a very easy to use interface which, together with the game?s randomized areas, make it as addictive as it is intense. ?Like Hotline Miami, this game has also been praised for its soundtrack.?(Check out the longest review we?ve ever posted here ? Pete.)
Mac version
Linux version

PC Exclusives: Honorable Mentions

Gemini Rue
Ys Origin
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (review)
To the Moon (READ.ME)
Audiosurf

PC Versions of Multiplatform Games

A lot of the games you might normally find on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, or other console services are also available on PC at much lower prices during these sales and often don?t require a high-spec computer to play.

Cave Story+ ? Cave Story is one of the most well-known Japanese indie games, largely brought to prominence in the west on Nintendo?s downloadable platforms. The original PC version is actually freeware, but Cave Story+ features remastered graphics and music, and is the only version with achievements.
Mac version
May run on integrated graphics
Xbox 360 controller compatible

La-Mulana ? Most well-known in Japanese indie circles and recently on WiiWare, La-Mulana is half-off on GOG.com during the holidays. Inspired by platformers of the era of the MSX game system in Japan, La-Mulana has certain gameplay similarities to games like Super Metroid and visual allusions to Indiana Jones.
Xbox 360 controller compatible

Castle Crashers ? One of Xbox Live Arcade?s first hits finally came out on Steam earlier this year with local multiplayer intact and higher resolution graphics. For those that still haven?t played it, Castle Crashers is a sidescrolling four player hack and slash reminiscent of Super NES and Genesis games like Golden Axe.
Demo (steam)
Mac version
Xbox 360 controller compatible

Limbo ? Since becoming one of 2011?s most critically acclaimed games on Xbox 360, Limbo has been re-released in various forms. A depressing, atmospheric sidescrolling platformer, it features some exceptionally well-designed puzzles wrapped in a simple control setup.
Demo (steam, official website)
Mac version (2009 or later)
Xbox 360 controller compatible

Retro City Rampage ? One of the year?s most anticipated indie games, Retro City Rampage is a Grand Theft Auto parody with NES graphics crossed with myriad 80?s pop culture references.
Demo (PlayStation Network)
Xbox 360 controller compatible

Multiplatform Games: Honorable Mentions

Ys: The Oath in Felghana
Bastion
The Binding of Isaac
Super Meat Boy
Torchlight
Wizorb
Sword & Sworcery

Retro Games

Digital PC game sales also always include a huge mass of oldschool games that will run on probably any modern computer simply due to having been originally designed for systems from decades ago. Almost all of them are extremely cheap.

Nearly everything on GOG.com falls into this area, and so does a large chunk of Steam?s library. Steam?s sales usually include massive deal packs that might include all of the Doom and Quake games, or every Star Wars game, or a huge selection of Sega Genesis games.

If you know where to look, you really don?t need a $2000 gaming computer in order to take advantage of PC game deals. 2012 in particular has been an excellent year for the kinds of games made on low budgets to run on low-end hardware.

Source: http://gamesareevil.com/2012/12/holiday-pc-game-sales-nongaming-pcs/

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