Anyone can do Steam sales for role-playing games, shooters, and action-adventure games. The current sale appeals to a very, very specific target audience.
We all know the big genres: role-playing games, shooters, action games, maybe even meta-genres like story games. But now there are niches within niches within niches. Did you know, for example, that box games are a thing?
At least that’s what Steam is promoting in a new big sale: The Steam Festival of Box Puzzle Games is aimed at everyone who likes to tinker and push things around
The sale started on April 21 and runs until April 28, 7 p.m. German time.
And the name really says it all: the box sale is all about puzzle games with a strong focus on moving boxes. You won’t find any of the current story-driven puzzle hits like Blue Prince here, but you will find some smaller, more exotic titles with surprisingly positive Steam reviews. Let’s go through a few highlights.
Highlight: Isles of Sea and Sky
- Genre: Puzzle game
- Release: May 22, 2024
- Price & discount: 10 euros (50 percent discount)
Isles of Sea and Sky follows in the tradition of so-called Sokoban games. The name may not ring a bell, but those of you over 30 will surely have stumbled across a Sokoban successor on Game Boy or PC: In Sokoban (originally a Japanese game from 1982), you have to push boxes into the correct order on the correct switches to collect a reward.
Isles of Sea and Sky takes this idea and puts it into a kind of retro open world with a pixelated look reminiscent of classics like The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. You travel through a maritime island world, solve all kinds of brain teasers, and progress through the game.
Isles of Sea and Sky has a 92 percent positive review rating on Steam. Many puzzle fans are celebrating it as an incredibly cool experience, such as user Valeour: Incredible game! Very stimulating and satisfying puzzles. The whole aesthetic and scenario are just wonderful, and the controls are simple in the best way possible.
Click here for the Steam offer for Isles of Sea and Sky
More interesting offers
And here are a few more highly rated games at a glance:
- In Patrick’s Parabox you puzzle your way through 350 hand-crafted sliding puzzles in which boxes within boxes within boxes must be solved. Over 3,000 Steam reviews are 99 percent positive! Currently reduced by 40 percent to around 12 euros.
- In Bonfire Peaks you solve sliding puzzles in 3D to light beacons. Over 200 challenges await you. The cool look really stands out. Currently discounted by 60 percent, it costs around €8.
- Dungeon and Puzzles also sees itself as a Sokoban heir, but shifts the box principle to a dungeon scenario with monsters, traps, and mazes. The game is 80 percent off and available for a mere 2 euros.
- Sokobond is a little chemistry puzzle game in which you assemble molecules. Around 100 levels await you, and according to the developer, no knowledge of chemistry is necessary. Cost: around $4 (70 percent discount).
- In Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure you accompany little Jemma on a journey of self-discovery through a picturesque game world. The trick is that as soon as you move her, the 2D world moves too, so you actively shift the world to solve puzzles and advance in the game. Arranger currently costs $9 (50 percent off), but there’s also a free demo available on Steam.
If you’ve been screaming at boxes since the first Tomb Raider, it’s worth looking beyond the puzzle sale, for example to this week’s releases. Clair Obsur, one of the most anticipated role-playing games ever, is coming out this week, and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, a veteran fighting game brand, is returning after more than 25 years!
