STEAM Hidden Gems discovery

Kingdons of Amalur: Reckoning. https://store.steampowered.com/app/102500/Kingdoms_of_Amalur_Reckoning/
One of the best fantasy RPG games I have played i some time, often overlooked or dismissed by many. Understandably, since the dev studio went under and ended up in a messy legal situation over ownership of the IP. The game has a few bugs, but in 150 hrs of playtime, I never had one that was even close to gamebreaking. Most bugs have workarounds, and if you research the game before playing, you will see which things need attention, and find the workarounds for them. It goes on sale fairly often, and should be grabbed when it is, either on Steam or on a bundling site.The DLC are best to have too, though the weapons and armor DLC can be skipped if the entire collection is not on sale for 70%+ off.

Marauder: https://store.steampowered.com/app/289600/Marauder/

A quality bit of real time with pause tactical strategy. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans will really appreciate the feel of it. Its somewhat janky, but if you can deal with a few broken bits an bobs here and there (such as the cutscene art videos not playing in game), you're quids in. Gets VERY cheap in sales and will run on a laptop with intel HD 4000.

If you try and like it, I also suggest https://store.steampowered.com/app/289890/762_High_Calibre/ by the same people.

Creepy Castle is a criminally-underlooked adventure game with a Warioware-style battle system. Tonally it feels like a turn-based Cave Story. Ant Queen is the best.

Super Blood Hockey: https://store.steampowered.com/app/532190/Super_Blood_Hockey/

The best "retro" experience I've had on Steam. It's a challenging old-school sports game that really captures what playing crowded around the TV used to feel like. Loren (the developer) is working on a major "franchise mode" update right now. Get in before it goes live so you can act all hipster when it does.

By metal jesus do you mean that youtuber?

CAPSULE (https://store.steampowered.com/app/303940/CAPSULE/)
Creepy minimalist space survival adventure.
4,99€ normal price or as low as 0,89€ on sale

My score: 8/10

https://store.steampowered.com/app/497780/Recursed/

Best puzzle game since Antichamber - https://store.steampowered.com/app/219890/

There are far to many games which haven't received the recognition they deserve. Just recently we had this:

Future Proof
A open puzzle game where you are trapped in a loop and have to find a way to survive the crashing meteroid. 12 minutes to solved one of the several overlaying puzzle chains to get one of the 14 endings of the game. The game is highly rewarding exploration and deduction. With the exception of one ending there is nothing unlogical. To every problem hints can be found and the puzzle can be solved. It is just a matter of finding the right hints and smartness. Also has some light humor elements, is weird and doesn't waste time explaining it many unexplainable elements. Should run on nearly any device not older than 5 years.

Then we have a bit older:

Nadia was here
A nice puzzle games with more emphasis on story. Sometimes a bit tedious but an overall nice story, some clever ideas. And probably one of the more interesting/better fighting systems which in itself also serves as kind of puzzles. Combining available items and skills is necessary to beat certain fights. Also has a nice metaphor going for it. Should also run on most devices.

Then we have far older:

Our Darker Purpose
A wonderful top-down room clearing game. An interesting art style, wonderful music and lots of different challenging bosses. Recommanded to everyone who can get over the "BoI is better attitude". Our Darker Purpose plays a bit slower and needs a more tactical approach. You rarely get in an outright unfair situation. If something doesn't work like you want it isnt cause game mechanics or controls suck but because you've chosen the wrong tactic. Lots of different power-ups and an overlay of at least two different stories where you are free to interpret your own version. Also very challenging game.

There are still more games. Like ..... half of the games I made a review for on Steam probably fall into that category -_-

I'll respond to "hidden gems discovery" and say check out these threads: 1, 2 and 3, maybe you discover a new tool for further discovery.

Overlord https://store.steampowered.com/app/11450/Overlord/
Raising Hell xpac https://store.steampowered.com/app/12710/Overlord_Raising_Hell/

Best Pikmin clone ever made. Get them together. A few bucks for both when on sale.

The Last Express: https://store.steampowered.com/app/252710/The_Last_Express_Gold_Edition/

It is a point & click and mystery game where the characters move in real-time. You are in a train and there is a murder, you will try to resolve it.

Sadly, according to the reviews, the Steam version is bad because they added help icons and pop-ups. Also, I don't know your OS but Windows 10 is not supported. What a shame for this gem. :[

Dungeon Warfare (80% off right now because sequel just came out)

Really cool top-down pixel graphics tower defense game. Its highlights are the large collection of physics-based traps (think Orcs Must Die, but without the running around) and the addictive progression and runes system. And I challenge you not to laugh when you send a particularly large batch of enemies flying down a pit, or you steer them right in the path of an explosive minecart.

Codex of Victory

Futuristic hex-based, turn-based strategy. Think Battle Isle or Advance Wars mixed with Xcom-style base-building, by masters of the genre who also did Fantasy Wars, Elven Legacy, Warlock Master of the Arcane. I wouldn't call the game itself a masterpiece, but I find it well-paced, with the story and unlocks constantly moving you forward. There are a few unexpected twists, and some battles can be quite challenging until you figure out the right strategy. ("Controller support" is misleading though. I'll work with a Steam Controller, but not an Xbox one.)

Advanced Tactics Gold

Ok, this is more for the hardcore strategist. Play this if you want a wargame engine that makes great procedurally generated maps that you can play against a competent AI (there are also pre-made scenarios). The game is part 4X, part traditional hex-based strategy, as you get to capture resource points and build customized unit formations with them. You win by concentrating power at key points to break through the enemy front, encircle units and cut off their supply.
Impossible to learn with just the in-game tutorial, thankfully there are a couple excellent Youtube series on the game: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGB6RkFB7ZmNFf8iASmnOk4rW9He_G2KG

The Blackwell Series

If you like point&click adventure games with a good story (you follow a family of mediums - and their family ghost - helping lost souls find peace and the afterlife), you've probably already played those. If not, I don't know what you're still doing here. Go!
The order of the games is Legacy, Unbound, Convergence, Deception, and Epiphany.

Nice thread BTW ;) !

Super Cloudbuilt ($20) is a really fun and fast-paced jetpack-parkour game. There is a story mode with collectibles and a playground to practice, a ranked mode for IL speedruns and challenge modes, and a rush mode for speedrunning groups of levels back to back. The graphics are beautiful, the soundtrack is great, and the controls are very responsive. The game does a good job of presenting challenges that are right outside your comfort zone, and it's very rewarding to finally conquer a level that you have been struggling on. Highly recommended as a fun experience and as a hardcore challenge

(Medium specs, 20% off at GMG)

Grey Cubes - Surprisingly fun brick-breaker

Valley - I ended up adoring this game, and even though I've already 100%'d it, I can't bring myself to uninstall it.

Song of the Deep - I don't often see people mention this game, and it's really an incredibly good underwater "platformer".

Highrise Heroes - Quite possibly my favorite word game

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood - I had SO much fun with this one!

ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West - Before Hellblade, there was ENSLAVED, and I've always considered it a hidden gem. It turned out to be one of my favorite action-adventures.

The Swapper - Many of heard of this, I'm sure - it's a classic - but how many give it more than a passing glance? It's story-rich and environmental with excellent mechanics and puzzles. Truly a gem!

Runespell Overture - Battle Poker Solitaire? Absolutely great gameplay, and one I never see people mention.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/235320/Original_War/

Original War is a very good RTS.

Realms of the Haunting. One of the best games I have ever played. I remember founding demo from some free disc (came with a magazine perhaps?), playing it through multiple times and then ordering the full version with my brother.

The came mixes adventuring, mystery and action really well. Going through the mansion with the creepy music just gave me the chills and then discovering a companion was such a relief. The puzzles aren't too challenging if you take your time, inspect your items and ask your companion about the items too. It really does feel like you are trying to solve the mystery together even if you are playing alone.

The graphics aren't really pretty nowadays and the videos look blocky but if you can get over it you are up for a treat! Game doesn't require much more than a potato pc and is really cheap too.

my vote goes to Eufloria
relaxing, but addictive. addictive, but relaxing.

Shattered Planet

The gameplay loop is pretty simple - explore small procedurally-generated areas and then teleport to the next one - but the sheer variety of enemies, items, locations and events makes every trip an interesting one.

There are daily challenges to change things up and get you to try items and strategies which you may not normally have considered.

Add in a touch of humour and a solid presentation, and it makes for an addictive experience.

The Magic Circle

Clever without being overbearing or pretentious. Story-rich without becoming a "walking simulator".

The writing, voice acting and design are excellent, and the puzzles are logical and rewarding.

An engrossing, unique experience, offering an interesting insight into game design.

The Fidelio Incident

It sold only very few copies. Which is pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. It has such a good narrative. Fantastic actors (love that irish accent). Great atmosphere. More gameplay than your average walking sim. Nice graphics. Outstanding sound design. And a nice ending. It really deserves better... If you like story-driven games, I urge you to take a look at this one.

Sundered

This game got quite a bit of hate on launch. Mostly for difficulty spikes, and for the parts of the world that are procedurally generated. And I understand the criticism. I understand it can be frustrating when you do well, and then suddenly there is such an amount of enemies that you feel you had no chance at all. Many people don't even like when games get too hard. So, these moments might turn those gamers off completely. on top of that, parts of the world are procedurally generated. The main sections are not, but the space in between is. And it's not done that good, to be honest. There are dead ends that make no sense from a level design standpoint. And you can sometimes see how they put a room together. There are moments when you realize you had almost the same exact room 5 minutes earlier, with the treasure in the same position. So, the game is not flawless... BUT! It still is so much fun! The art style is fantastic, the animations really good. The controls are tight. The level design may not be as good as in Ori, for instance. But that's not the end of the world. You still have great design in many areas, hard to reach treasures, secrets to discover - typical metroidvania stuff. And the difficulty spikes - well, i love them! ^^ I really like this system that spawns like 40 enemies all at once, and you have to try to survive. And no, it's not impossible. It's a matter of skill, of learning how the different enemy types behave, and of the perks you're running. I went for shield regeneration, which helps enormously against the hordes. It's always challenging, which is not necessarily the case in all metroidvania games. TL;DR: yes, the game has certain problems. That doesn't mean it's a bad game. I stopped playing Pyre for this. That has to mean something. ;)

Also, please check my thread about great PC games with low sales that need your support!. You might find a few hidden gems there. :)

Reassembly

I always recommend this when someone asks. It's a great game, especially from a small time indie dev. Runs decently well on a potato, but some heavy fighting can lag a little.

Copypasta from my actual Steam review:

Reassembly has an immense amount of replay-ability and customization available. Each faction you can control has a unique play style and strategy to it, which makes it really fun to jump around from one type to another. Building a big agent-level ship and blasting everything to bits in one shot will not always work (though sometimes it does) - sometimes you need to spawn a swarm of one hundred smaller, probe-launching ships to take down your foes while you kite from a distance.

The game takes in other players creations (like Spore, but better, because your changes actually mean something here) and fills your space with varied and changing enemies. If you've conquered one sector, it doesn't mean that the next will work out the same way.

I have a couple games I can recommend that I believe qualify:

1) The Void Rains Upon Her Heart while yes the game is still in Early Access I can highly recommend. It is, in essence, a rougelike shoot-em-up. You fight progressively stronger bosses each floor and every time you beat one you get new powers. It only had a couple difficulties last time I played but like I said it is very good and can run on potato.

2) Legendary Gary So this game is kinda a trip. What? Well you are Gary who lives at home with his mom, works at the local supermarket, and deals with typical relationship stuff. You have to deal with life decisions and motivation to do some. But Gary is also addicted to a PC game (which you also control) called Legend of the Spear which plays as an RPG with turn based combat. The music is this crazy synth-pop (in a good way) and the artistic style/colors are equally as crazy. This game is truly a hidden gem with only 10 reviews.

I think this applies to these games: I just started to delve into the longrunning Ys series. I heard that name a couple of times before, but never did any research. It's an action JRPG series started in 1987, and the latest one is Ys VIII, that just came out this year on Steam.
I bought the remake compilation of Ys I and Ys II, called Ys I & II Chronicles+, and while they're not perfect games, they're very unique, due to the weird battle system, in which you have to bump into enemies tangentially. I love the new spritework, the music is outright fantastic, and the story and characters are interesting enough to get you invested. I think the weakest parts of the game are some poorly designed boss battles and the mazelike dungeons. Other than that I had a great time with these, and will dive into Ys: The Oath in Felghana, which is a remake/reimagination of Ys III, that I actually won on SG some time ago. They obviously work on a potato.

Another hidden gem I don't hear anyone talking about, is Ether One. It's a narrative driven adventure game, in which the puzzles are optional. By solving the puzzles you get a better understanding of the story, but they can get very complex. I loved it. It deals with dementia, and gets pretty emotional towards the end. The artstyle and world building is very beautiful, and the voice acting is superb. I really recommend giving this a try! It is somewhat demanding, the original version was built on the Unity engine, but the new version titled Redux runs on the UE4 engine. I'd say you will need a medium range PC to play it smoothly. I also think you can actually choose to play the original or the Redux version, both come in one package.

Forgotton Anne is really lovely