David’s 2026 Steam Summer Sale Recommendations

If everything has gone according to my plans, I successfully prepared this article before entering cryogenic stasis from mid-May until mid-October in the hopes of surviving this summer. If not, well, at least we’ve got the festivities of the Steam Summer Sale to keep us entertained while we all slowly melt. You know the drill here, folks: I’ve got a list of my personal favorite games that are notably discounted from now until July 9th at 10 AM Pacific Time. My recommendation roundup this time around is going to be slightly different than usual, though; you’ll see why. Let’s begin!

Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2 Bundle | Discount: 64% | Sale Price: $39.98

What better way to avoid the horrors of hot weather than by playing a pair of games set in a time when horse manure was everywhere, people bathed much less frequently, and saying the phrase “air conditioning” aloud would do nothing but confuse passersby? Okay, I know I haven’t exactly opened this entry with glowing praise, but hear me out. I bought the original Red Dead Redemption shortly after it was (finally) released on Steam, and Red Dead Redemption 2 had been kicking around in my backlog for a few years. I’ve played through them both in the past year.

I’m glad both games are readily available on Steam and can be purchased together in a bundle. I played through the first game on the PlayStation 3 ages ago and enjoyed it, but now I can say I’ve finished it properly since it’s on Steam. As far as its sequel is concerned, I loved every moment of my playthrough. I wasn’t necessarily expecting an emotionally enthralling story, but I can’t overstate how pleasantly surprised I was by everything RDR 2 has to offer. I recommend both games very highly, especially if you didn’t play the first one during its console heyday.

Minos | Discount: 20% | Sale Price: $14.39

It’s always a treat when I feel justified in including a game in a major Steam sale recommendation roundup so soon after I reviewed it. Minos is a self-described “maze-building roguelite” in which you play as two significant figures in Greek mythology: Asterion, the Minotaur, and Daedalus, the legendarily skilled architect and engineer. You’ll have to choose your path through the famous Labyrinth in order to hopefully help Astarion leave the maze and see the light of day for the first time in his life. The only problem is that Theseus, King of Crete, really doesn’t want that to happen.

Theseus keeps sending bands of mercenaries after Asterion and Daedalus with the goal of killing the Minotaur before he and his adoptive father escape the Labyrinth. Between waves of enemies, you can have Daedalus build traps and reshape the Labyrinth to dictate the paths enemies must take while they’re hunting down Asterion. As Asterion, you can fight any enemies who aren’t dealt with by Daedalus’ traps and, well, try not to die. Unbeknownst to Theseus, you’re brought back to the heart of the Labyrinth instead of dying. While there, you can then acquire permanent upgrades before starting a new run.

Poker Night at the Inventory (2026) | Discount: 10% | Sale Price: $8.99

Here’s a remaster (or remake, or re-release, or whatever you want to call it) I wasn’t expecting to see, but you’d best believe I’m overjoyed that it exists. I’ve owned the original 2010 version of Poker Night at the Inventory for basically as long as I’ve had a Steam account. I always loved it and its sequel, even though I absolutely suck at poker. Now, sixteen years later, playing the remaster has demonstrated that I’m not quite as awful at poker (thank you, Balatro), but still nowhere near good at it. Good thing Poker Night at the Inventory doesn’t require real-world money!

Here’s the gist if you’re unfamiliar: You’re a mute, faceless character everyone calls “the Player,” and you’ve been invited to a secret amusement hall called The Inventory. There, you’ll play Texas hold ‘em poker against Max from Sam & Max, Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, the Heavy Weapons Guy from Team Fortress 2, and Tycho Brahe from Penny Arcade. You can unlock special cosmetics usable in Team Fortress 2, as well. Skunkape Games did a masterful job with this spruced-up version of Poker Night at the Inventory, and I desperately hope they’ll be allowed to give its sequel the same treatment.

Ball X Pit | Discount: 20% | Sale Price: $11.99

I’m not sure how best to explain why I like Ball X Pit so much, but I’ll do my best. Ball X Pit describes itself as “a brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite” in which you’ll “batter hordes of enemies with ricocheting balls and gather the riches of the pit to expand your homestead, generate resources and recruit unique heroes.” That is to say, the deepest layer of its core gameplay loop is very similar to that of Breakout and Arkanoid, except that the blocks you break actively fight back. Ball X Pit also features all the trappings of a particularly addictive roguelite.

That is to say, its gameplay expects you to fail frequently early on until you gather enough resources to unlock permanent upgrades that make you progressively stronger. Ball X Pit executes that part of its core gameplay loop well enough on its own that I’d probably get addicted to it even without the additional base-building mechanics. Ball X Pit strikes me as a weird game to add base-building to, but somehow, that side of Ball X Pit combines with the actual tossing of balls into the pit in a way that my brain finds even more satisfying than either part on its own.

RoboCop: Rogue City | Discount: 90% | Sale Price: $3.99

Back when I still had enough of an attention span to watch movies, I was a sucker for cheesy action films, especially since I was allowed to watch the more violent ones when I was so young that I really shouldn’t have been. That said, I’ve never actually seen RoboCop. Still, it’s got a lot that appeals to me: Ridiculously over-the-top “futuristic” technology from the 1980s all crammed into the reanimated body of an unwitting action hero who cracks one-liners like his life depends on it. Weirdly, I see a lot of myself in Alex “RoboCop” Murphy.

Considering that Teyon, the developers of RoboCop: Rogue City, aren’t exactly known for releasing nothing but genre-defining masterpieces, RoboCop: Rogue City is vastly more enjoyable than it has any right to be. That’s especially true if you’re a tech geek like I am. Though you do some normal police work, you spend a lot more time exacting summary justice (i.e., shooting criminals). Everything involving gun combat in RoboCop: Rogue City feels almost disturbingly satisfying. If you’re curious to know what it’s like to be the deadliest weapon in OCP’s arsenal, I highly recommend RoboCop: Rogue City and its standalone expansion, Unfinished Business.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Anniversary Edition | Discount: 75% | Sale Price: $9.99

Here’s the first of two entries on this list that I’m collectively calling “the big burly dudes with satisfying weapons pack.” I still know basically nothing about Warhammer 40K or any of its related spin-off universes, but playing through Space Marine earlier this year really sparked my interest and made me want to start getting into the lore. Thereafter, I was pleasantly surprised that the “boomer shooter” Warhammer 40K: Boltgun (which is also heavily discounted right now) has a story that picks up where Space Marine left off; it’s a sort of interlude between Space Marine and Space Marine II.

You play as an Ultramarine by the name of Captain Demetrian Titus. From my (limited) understanding, as an Ultramarine, you’re so well-trained and well-armed that you alone bring as much firepower to a battlefield as several entire armies of lesser Imperial troops. You and two of your immediate subordinates are sent to Forge World Graia, a planet devoted to producing weaponry for the Imperium of Man. Forge World Graia has been invaded by a force of Orks, and it’s your job to use all the weapons in your massively satisfying arsenal to kill as many Orks as it takes to liberate the planet.

Dogpile | Discount: 40% | Sale Price: $5.99

Dogpile is a “roguelike deck builder about merging cute dogs into bigger dogs.” Each card in your deck depicts a dog you can drop into your yard upon playing a card. If that dog touches another of its same type, they’ll merge into the next-highest tier of dog, which is likely to be an entirely different breed than the first two. How does that work, exactly? Don’t worry about it, you’re overthinking this. You earn a certain amount of bones each time you merge dogs, which can happen multiple times after playing a single card if the conditions are right.

If you haven’t earned enough bones to pass a threshold within a certain number of times you draw a new hand of cards, you lose the run. Every so often, you’ll have the chance to take a random dog from your deck to the salon, which will give that dog perks that make it more likely to merge. You can also purchase tags you add to a dog collar on the side of the HUD; these tags grant you passive effects during the current run. If you enjoy roguelike games and dogs anywhere near as much as I do, you’ll love Dogpile.

Batman: Arkham Collection | Discount: 85% | Sale Price: $8.99

It’s been long enough since I last included the Batman: Arkham Collection in a recommendation roundup that I have no problem doing so again. This collection includes three of the four games in the Batman: Arkham series; once again, Arkham Origins is undeservedly made the odd one out. Even though Arkham Origins isn’t in this collection and isn’t typically considered part of the main Arkham Trilogy, I’d highly recommend it in addition to this collection of the Caped Crusader’s capers. I enjoy each game in this collection so much that I’ve long since lost track of how many times I’ve played through them.

The fact that Batman: Arkham Asylum is nearly 17 years old at the time of writing only slightly reminds me of my own mortality and the inexorable march of time. Batman: Arkham City is the only game I can think of whose ending still makes me openly cry no matter how many times I play through it, and I have no shame whatsoever in admitting that. In case you wrote off the PC port of Arkham Knight ages ago after hearing how rough it was for some time after it launched, I assure you, it’s in much better shape now.

Sintopia | Discount: 20% | Sale Price: $27.99

I wasn’t necessarily expecting to see Sintopia discounted during this year’s Steam Summer Sale, but now I have fewer qualms about recommending it to just about everyone who will listen to me gush about it. Sintopia is a combination city-builder, city management, and god game in which you play as the newest Administrator of Hell, Inc. You see, in the world of Sintopia, not even death can save your immortal soul from the “wonders” of bureaucracy and capitalism. You simultaneously manage both Hell, Inc. and the overworld, with different tasks in each that are still intertwined with one another.

In the former, you’ll have to construct and staff buildings to ensure that the souls of all mortals brought to hell get every last drop of sin (and, thus, profit) squeezed out of them before they’re resurrected. In the latter, you’ll be responsible for a village of “sentient chickpeas” called Humus, whose souls are the ones you cleanse. You’ll need to make sure they reproduce often, mainly because you’ll also frequently have to kill them en masse to send their souls to Hell. If you want to learn more about Sintopia, I’d suggest checking out my preview from last year.

Doom: The Dark Ages | Discount: 67% | Sale Price: $23.09

Last up today is the other entry in my so-called “big burly dudes with satisfying weapons pack.” I know Doom: The Dark Ages is the most divisive entry in the “new Doom trilogy” that started with Doom 2016 and continued with Doom Eternal. For what it’s worth, though, Doom: The Dark Ages easily earned its spot as my 2025 Game of the Year. As I said in that article, I think Doom: The Dark Ages knows just the right spots of my primitive brain to push to kick my “happy chemical” production into overdrive. That’s true with many similar games.

I know that, all the way back in 1993, John Carmack and John Romero probably never envisioned a world in which their IP and its protagonist would wind up using a shield, riding a dragon, or piloting a mech suit, but the fact that those things are all present is a significant part of why I enjoy Doom: The Dark Ages so much. Those aspects are also what caused a lot of “new Doom” fans to dislike The Dark Ages, which is totally fair. For my part, however, I’m so glad that Doom: The Dark Ages deviates from the norm to this extent.

That’ll just about do it, folks! As always, if you have any suggestions for discounted games I didn’t include here and/or that I might not even know about, please feel free to share them with us all in this article’s comments section. In all honesty, time got away from me constantly during the first half of this year, so I only had the time to sit down and finish this article on the very day the Steam Summer Sale began. I’ll do my absolute best to keep that from happening again with this year’s Steam Winter Sale recommendation roundup!