It’s the week after Christmas. All of the presents are unwrapped. You’re probably tired from all of the rush of the holiday seasons. Or maybe you just have some extra gift money you haven’t spent yet.
Lucky for you, this week I’m going over five games made by people I’ve talked with over the past year. I’ve seen, either in part or in whole, the development process from all of these games in that time. They vary in popularity, so you may have a hidden gem or two in here. What they all have in common, other than yours truly, is that each developer built something cool, they released it to the world, and the games are all discounted for the Steam Winter Sale.
On to the games!
Whether these are for “research” or fun is up to you. Listed in alphabetical order for your leftover holiday spending pleasure.
Desert Kingdoms 2 - $2.99, 20% off
Desert Kingdoms 2, from solo game dev Markus Fink, is a minimalist real time strategy game where you start with a single tiny settlement and expand to take over the map. You can grab this game at just $2.99, 20% off the list price.
If you’re like me, that could also be read as take a single settlement and then be crushed by the surrounding settlements all trying to expand. As you progress in the match you get access to new building and unit types depending on the type of resource you capture on the map.
As with many others, I first met Markus on Discord. I was an early playtester for Desert Kingdoms 2 prior to launch, meaning I received the game for free via a release override on Steam. Even at that time I enjoyed the game and am excited to see it out in the wild.
Harbinger - Free
Harbinger is a fast-paced, gun-flipping first-person shooter by another solo developer, Dobrx. This game is free, so technically not on sale, but free is just 100% off so it makes the list.
You might even call it a boomer-shooter. You blast through your enemies with a variety of fun weapons to purchase upgrades from the pumpkin-headed tavern keeper, Thresh. There’s even a cute rat that scurries back to you when you toss him at enemies.
This is actually the second free title Dobrx has released since we met. Through these two games he has developed his particular style of boomer-shooter and seeing the evolution of both of these games over the past year has been a blast (see what I did there). The approach Dobrx has taken with development of both games has been a great example for building a set of tools over time to publish games more quickly.
Mighty Marbles - $10.19, 15% off
Mighty Marbles from developer Destined Games is an arcade style physics puzzle game where you guide a rolling marble through Rube-Goldberg style contraptions to reach the end of the puzzle. It’s like playing with one of those old school physics toys. You can grab this one for $10.19 at 15% off.
Even though I don’t often play puzzle games, the hand-designed puzzles that Destined has built in the game are satisfying and fun. That rolling marble sound across the various surfaces of the game is a great touch too. It even reminds me of certain physics projects from when I was an engineering undergrad.
I’ve known James, the solo developer behind Destined Games, for a bit over a year now. At that time he was working on an early version of Mighty Marbles and I was working through the first stages of my first Steam game, Trace Hunters. We exchanged feedback on both games over the course of months and recently reconnected in my Discord after I launched my YouTube channel. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to celebrate the Mighty Marbles launch with him on Discord and look forward to more.
Spaceport Trading Company - $8.99, 40% off
Spaceport Trading Company from developer Digital Techtonics is exactly what it sounds like, a game about trading goods at spaceports throughout the galaxy. You can grab this Early Access game for $8.99, a whole 40% off it’s listed price.
If you’re like me you can put anything in space, and I’ll probably like it. Space trucking deliveries across the spaceports in Spaceport Trading Company is a relaxing experience with a fun and colorful art style. As an Early Access game, the developer is also looking for feedback and ideas so feel free to reach out if you really enjoy the world.
I met Digital Techtonics though my YouTube channel. We connected on Discord and have exchanged feedback and ideas on our games, and games in general, fairly often. They have another Early Access game in the works which focuses on just the trading aspect of Spaceport Trading Company as well. Check it out in their profile linked above if that’s more your style.
Unicycle Pizza Time - $3.74, 36% off
Our final game for the list is Unicycle Pizza Time by the team at BiteMe Games. It is incredibly frustrating to play, exactly as it’s designed to be. Get it for $3.74, at 36% off, and take out those pent up holiday frustrations.
It turns out a lot of people like to play these “rage games” and you can end up with some hilariously frustrating moments as you attempt to deliver a probably cold pizza to whoever ordered it. On a unicycle. Across an urban hellscape of a route.
I originally met Marnix, the most vocal of the BiteMe team, who is also a game dev YouTuber when I cold emailed him in late 2023 asking to meet up for an intro chat. I was getting ready to enjoy the late-November Dutch rain and had recently seen BiteMe is from the Belgium. As you might have guessed, Marnix agreed. We had our first of many calls in the back of a Mexican restaurant in Amsterdam as the rain dripped outside. We’ve met monthly ever since, and I’m a supporter on their Patreon. He’s been a huge help as I’ve made an entrance to the games industry as both a developer and content creator.
See you next year
And there we have, five guys from five developers all on sale. Whether it’s “research” or fun hopefully you enjoy these games too. I won’t do these game lists too often, so next issue will be back to focusing on game dev topics.
See you all next year and thanks for reading.
Find of the Week
I’ve given you several finds already this time around, so I’m skipping the usual Find of the Week this week. Look forward to more finds here in 2025!
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