Happy Friday, everybody.
Normally, this is the part where Cody and I sit down together and pretend we’re responsible adults who carefully curate this list through rigorous research and intense debate.
Unfortunately, Cody is currently somewhere between Johannesburg and Computex, frantically trying to figure out whether twenty-seven pairs of socks are enough for a few-days-long trip.
That means I’ve temporarily seized complete control of this week’s Steam Wishlist Sale piece. And power is a dangerous thing.
So while Cody prepares to spend the next few days surrounded by bleeding-edge gaming hardware and enough RGB lighting to be visible from space, I’ve been browsing Steam for some of the best hidden gems, upcoming indie games, cosy city builders, horror adventures, and overlooked experiences currently on sale.
Whether you’re looking for your next relaxing city-building obsession, a creepy horror game to play with the lights off, or something completely different from the usual AAA blockbusters, these are the Steam deals that caught my eye this week.
Town to City
Steam Sale Price: R210 marked down from R233
Get It Here
Why It’s On Arielle’s Wishlist:
You know that magical feeling when you’re scrolling through hundreds of Steam Next Fest demos and one game suddenly grabs you by the eyeballs and refuses to let go? That was Town to City.
I downloaded the demo on a whim and ended up wishlisting it before I’d even finished playing.
As somebody who has accidentally sacrificed entire weekends to city builders and management games, the idea of creating a beautiful Mediterranean town without being shackled to rigid grid systems sounds like exactly the sort of thing that could derail my plans in the best possible way.
What Is Town to City:
Town to City is a cosy city-building game that gives players the freedom to create a thriving 19th-century Mediterranean settlement completely free from traditional grid restrictions.
Instead of forcing every road and building into neat little squares, you’re free to design winding streets, bustling town centres, picturesque plazas, and scenic waterfront districts however you like. As your settlement grows, you’ll attract new residents, unlock technologies, expand industries, and eventually transform a sleepy town into a prosperous city.
The game also offers terraforming tools, extensive customisation options, citizen management systems, and gorgeous voxel visuals that make every settlement look like a tiny work of art. If you’ve ever wanted a city builder that’s just as much about creativity as it is efficiency, Town to City looks ready to deliver.
Midnight Special
Steam Sale Price: R112 marked down from R149
Get It Here
Why It’s on Arielle’s Wishlist:
Look, I am a simple woman. Show me beautiful pixel art, a creepy mansion, mysterious phone calls, and enough retro horror vibes to make me think of old-school survival horror classics, and I’m immediately interested.
Midnight Special feels like the sort of game that would have completely consumed my personality if I’d discovered it during a Steam Next Fest binge. The only thing stopping me from playing it right now is the ever-growing mountain of games currently staring at me from my backlog and judging my life choices.
What Is Midnight Special:
Set during a stormy night in 1987, Midnight Special is a point-and-click survival horror adventure that blends gorgeous 16-bit visuals with psychological horror and classic puzzle-solving.
Players take on the role of Sarah, a babysitter whose ordinary evening quickly descends into something far more sinister after the power suddenly cuts out. Strange phone calls begin ringing through the house. Objects move on their own. Reality starts behaving in ways reality absolutely should not.
Inspired by classic horror cinema, old-school survival horror games, and psychological thrillers, Midnight Special focuses heavily on atmosphere, exploration, and storytelling. If you’re a fan of games like Clock Tower, Resident Evil, or creepy mysteries that leave you questioning what’s real, this looks like one to keep an eye on.
Town of Zoz
Steam Sale Price: R92 marked down from R185
Get It Here
Why It’s on Arielle’s Wishlist:
This is one of those games that almost certainly landed on my wishlist because Larry told me to add it.
And while I would never openly admit this in public, mostly because he would become unbearable about it, he has an annoyingly good track record when it comes to discovering hidden gems before everyone else.
Town of Zoz has colourful visuals, action combat, cooking mechanics, community-building, and enough charm to make me suspicious. Games shouldn’t be allowed to tick this many of my boxes at once.
What Is Town of Zoz:
Town of Zoz is an action RPG where players step into the shoes of Ito, a young shaman chef who returns home to help run his family’s farm and restaurant.
What begins as a simple homecoming soon turns into a larger mystery involving ancient secrets, forgotten history, and a dark force threatening the town.
Outside of combat, players gather ingredients, prepare meals, and build relationships with the townspeople. Food plays a major role throughout the experience, helping strengthen bonds with characters while also providing gameplay benefits during exploration and combat.
Blending fast-paced action, heartfelt storytelling, cooking mechanics, and community building, Town of Zoz looks like the kind of game that could quietly become one of the year’s most pleasant surprises.
The Occultist
Steam Sale Price: R239 marked down from R299
Get It Here
Why It’s On Arielle’s Wishlist:
Okay, so here’s the thing. You know I love horror. You know I love creepy islands. You know I love stories involving cults, missing people, paranormal mysteries, and things that absolutely should not be standing at the end of dark hallways.
So naturally, The Occultist feels like it was designed specifically to target me. This is exactly the kind of game I’d save for a rainy evening when I’m home alone, all the lights are off, and I can fully commit.
What Is The Occultist:
The Occultist is a first-person narrative horror thriller that follows paranormal investigator Alan Rebels as he travels to the abandoned island of Godstone in search of answers surrounding his father’s disappearance.
Once home to a disturbing cult that vanished decades ago, the island is filled with abandoned buildings, supernatural entities, and long-buried secrets waiting to be uncovered.
Rather than focusing on combat, The Occultist emphasises exploration, stealth, puzzle-solving, and paranormal investigation. Alan’s mysterious pendulum serves as his primary tool, allowing him to manipulate the environment and uncover clues hidden throughout the island.
Origament: A Paper Adventure
Steam Sale Price: R97 marked down from R149
Get It Here
Why It’s On Arielle’s Wishlist:
Some games just stick with you long after you’ve played a demo. Origament is one of those games.
I first played it when it was still a tiny demo, trying to stand out among hundreds of others, and somehow it managed to completely capture my attention. Ever since then, it’s been sitting on my wishlist patiently waiting for me to finally make time for it.
Which, admittedly, is something my entire wishlist is doing.
What Is Origament: A Paper Adventure:
Origament: A Paper Adventure is a charming puzzle-platformer that tells the story of a living letter travelling across time and continents to reach the person it’s meant for.
Throughout the adventure, players transform into various paper forms, including paper planes, boats, and even paper shurikens, each offering unique abilities and ways to overcome environmental puzzles.
The game focuses heavily on exploration, creativity, and storytelling rather than combat, creating a relaxing experience filled with beautiful environments, clever challenges, and a surprisingly heartfelt narrative.
With its imaginative premise and gorgeous presentation, Origament feels like the kind of indie game that reminds us why we all fell in love with video games in the first place.
Subliminal
Steam Sale Price: R80 marked down from R100
Get It Here
Why It’s On Arielle’s Wishlist:
Okay. Confession time. If I have a guilty pleasure, it’s internet rabbit holes about liminal spaces, Backrooms lore, abandoned malls, weird internet mysteries, and all the other deeply unsettling corners of the internet that normal people wisely avoid.
I know far more about Backrooms lore than any functioning adult probably should. So when Subliminal appeared on my radar, it didn’t stand a chance. It was getting wishlisted immediately.
Please forget I admitted any of that.
What Is Subliminal:
Inspired by The Backrooms urban legend, Subliminal is a psychological horror experience built around environmental puzzles, shifting realities, and unsettling exploration.
Light itself becomes a gameplay mechanic, allowing players to manipulate shadows, reveal hidden pathways, and alter the very structure of the world around them. Every change affects the environment, creating puzzles that rely on perspective, observation, and experimentation.
As players journey through strange memory-like spaces, including abandoned play areas, water parks, basements, and impossible architecture, reality gradually begins to unravel.
Powered by Unreal Engine 5 and featuring some genuinely stunning lighting technology, Subliminal combines psychological horror, puzzle-solving, and liminal-space anxiety into what looks like a deeply unsettling experience.
And there you have it. Six more games that have successfully climbed onto my Steam wishlist and begun aggressively demanding both my attention and my wallet.
The worst part is that every single one of them scratches a completely different itch. One is a cosy city builder. One is a retro horror adventure. One lets me investigate occult mysteries. Another turns me into a sentient piece of paper.
Gaming is weird. I love it.
By the time Cody gets back from Computex, he’ll probably return with another dozen recommendations that I’ll immediately add to my wishlist without question, because despite how much I enjoy making fun of him, he’s also annoyingly good at finding hidden gems.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go stare at my backlog and pretend I’m not about to buy another game I’ll definitely play someday.
Probably. Maybe. No promises.
