Steam’s summer sale starts: tips, tricks and juicy titles

Steam’s having its famous summer sale and you’re itching to start spending precious moola, right?

So, after all the rumours first got people stirring and anxiously patting their wallets looking for change, the Steam Summer sale started today. It seems like a midsummer’s Black Friday for gamers. While the Northern hemisphere tests out alternatives to enjoying sunny summers outdoors, read these tips and remember — patience is a virtue, good things happen to those who wait, etc.

People have taken to the forums celebrating games and mid-month pay days. The rumours started in Russia (the best ones always do) when a user going by the title vexos reported he got some slip-of-the-tongue deets from Steam sales. It then went over to an indie developer, Fortex, simply stealing Steam’s thunder by announcing it themselves.

Either way, make sure you have food and clothes stocked for the rest of the month. Steam is known for its mid-season deals that would make you think twice about going on holidays with your family and the lot. Rather, you’ll end up with a host of games with as much as 30, 50 or 70 percent off. Most of which you didn’t really want in the first place or which you could have gotten at a better discount.

Steam’s store can be daunting to newcomers. It’s not always that well laid out and you can easily find yourself rebuying stuff. Before being overcome by your impulsive self, make a list. Stick to this list and wait for your game to be part of a daily deal. Not just any discount (there will be hundreds), a daily deal or flash sale is what you’ll want. Daily deals, flash sales and publisher bundles offer the best discounts.

Well, before you start adding every familiar gaming title you don’t own to that cart, download this Enhanced Steam extension (Chrome or Firefox). It will help you from buying blindly. It allows you to see price histories, notifications about already bought content and will also tell you if there’s any third party DRM shenanigans (e.g. Windows Live required).

Also keep in mind that there are other places you can download similar titles such as Amazon‘s Game Downloads or GamersGate. These sites also run routine specials.

Today’s Daily Deals on Steam include:

Bioshock franchise 50% to 75% off
Endless Space 66% off
Antichamber 66% off
Hotline Miami 75% off
Scribblenauts Unlimited 75% off
Don’t Starve 40% off
Defiance 66% off
Toki Tori 2+ 34% off
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger 33% off
Left 4 Dead Franchise 75% off

Which humble bundles are you looking to snatch up? Bioshock, Don’t Starve, Antichamber? nom nom nom…