It's the time of the year for treats and tricks, but hopefully you'll only see evidence of the former in the two major game sales that began today. Both Steam and GOG.com have their own devilish delights in store over the next few days, featuring major savings across a range of favourites that dip as far as 90% off. There's plenty to get stuck into, from scary games of yesteryear through to modern classics of a more mainstream flavour, all of which can be added to your collection with just a few clicks. Here are some highlights.
Starting with the Steam Halloween Sale, Hollow Knight is very much on-theme and available at a particularly sharp price. For just £5.49 you can pick up this excellent 2D platformer (including all the free content rolled out since launch), and £2 more will bring you the Gods and Nightmares DLC. Hollow Knight was critically acclaimed on launch and has only got stronger over time.
It wouldn't be a Steam Sale without big reductions to The Witcher II: The Wild Hunt, which is on sale 70% off at just £10.49. Whet your appetite ahead of CD Projeckt's Cyberpunk2077, due April next year.
One game of slightly more recent vintage is Prey, Arkane's 2017 reboot of the classic franchise. Criminally underrated at launch, this atmospheric FPS is available for just £10 or £32.38 bundled with Dishonoured 2.
The main Sale page features dozens of other titles, and a new innovation sees developers and other content creators stream selected sale titles on the main sale page. What better way to see exactly what you're in for before you buy? Plus, a wide selection of titles (both free to play and on sale) will be incorporating in-game Halloween festivities as free content for a limited time, making Steam well worth your time if you're at a loose end this week, even if you don't intent to add to your game catalogue.
Moving across to GOG.com's Halloween Sale, the selection of games most prominently showcased are specifically of the scary variety. However, in keeping with GOG's general business ethos, indie titles and generational classics are brought to the fore.
If you're after some old-school ARPG action, can we recommend the original Diablo + Hellfire expansion. It's likely that Blizzard will be announcing the fourth major incarnation of the franchise later this week at Blizzcon 2019, so what better way to get back in touch with the roots of the genre than this £6 bargain.
Staying in the genre, big reductions are available for Grim Dawn and its DLC packages. This more modern take on ARPG tropes builds on the multi-classing approach pioneered by Titan Quest (as well as its game engine), and has been well liked by aficionados the world over. The base game is available for £5.99, while additional DLC builds on the core experience.
Finally, there's always Amnesia: The Dark Descent. To be played alone and with the lights off, it's not one for the faint of heart. Be brave and pick it up for just £2.39.
Steam's Halloween Sale runs through until November 1st, while GOG's last until Monday 4th. Set aside some time to browse both storefronts; the deals are cheap, plentiful, and sometimes a little hard to find.
