By Amber Hodson

It’s that time of year again, the time everyone’s wallets feel the brunt of Steam’s sale. Nevertheless, now is the perfect time to stock up on some games to play whilst the weather outside turns frightful – you may even want to share these games with others! In this article I’m going to list a handful of my favourite titles that you must consider trying this December, and trust me, you might want to stock up on some extra snacks just in case.

*All prices are in GBP.

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series – £7.81 from £22.99

Telltale games are, by now, well known for their unique game series’. From The Walking Dead to Back to the Future and now Game of Thrones, there is no denying that the developers know how to create a great storyline. The Game of Throne game series takes place towards the end of the third season until just prior to the start of the fifth season. The story focuses on House Forrester, a family not yet introduced in the television series, but mentioned briefly in the novel A Dance with Dragons.

If you’re a fan of Telltale games in general or are a Game of Thrones buff, you might want to consider purchasing this over the holidays. The fact that the price includes all five episodes is a bonus!

Alien: Isolation – £7.99 from £31.99

Fans of Alien have long been awaiting for a game that would wet their appetite and after many disappointing games based around the Alien franchise, Creative Assembly have done fans justice with this survival horror masterpiece.

In this particular game you play as Amanda Ripley, fictional daughter of the protagonist of the film series, Ellen Ripley. It’s fifteen years after the events of the 1979 film and you must board the Sevastopol, a remote space station owned by the Seegson Corporation, in order to retrieve the flight recorder of the Nostromo spacecraft from Alien which has recently been located. As usual nothing goes to plan and you find yourself being hunted by the very monster that plagued your mother. Unlike previous games in the series the alien is intelligent and will learn from its own mistakes, so tread carefully!

Rocket League – £10.49 from £14.99

One of the more casual games on this list, Rocket League sees you using a variety of RC cars to play a game of football. Whilst that description on its own doesn’t sound all that entertaining, the game is in fact one of my favourite titles to come from 2015. You can boost, jump and fly your way to victory as you attempt to tuck the oversized ball into the back of the opponents goal. With a range of RC cars, arenas and match types available you wont get bored so easy.

The Long Dark – £7.49 from £14.99

The Long Dark is a survival simulation game which takes place in the frigid Canadian wilderness where the player assumes the role of a crash landed pilot struggling to survive after a global disaster. Included are two game modes: story and sandbox. The story mode is episodic but has been pushed back to a 2016 release date, the sandbox mode allows you to spawn into one of four maps with the aim being to survive for as long as possible.

The game includes several gauges on screen which you must keep control of, these include: body temperature, caloric intake, hunger/thirst, fatigue, wind-chill, wildlife and others. To keep these in check you must navigate the environment to find shelter and provisions, all whilst trying to combat the eerie wilderness.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 – £2.99 from £14.99

A personal favourite of mine, and for good reason, ETS2 is one for those simulation lovers out there. The aim of the game is simple, start from the bottom of the trucking empire and make your way up to business head. Purchase and upgrade trucks from companies spanning from MAN to Scania and travel the world as you transport wanted materials and goods. A wonderful mod community makes this title all the more interesting to play and for added control you can use a steering wheel – joy!

Zombie Army Trilogy – £8.99 from £29.99

From the developers of Sniper Elite comes a game with a zombie filled, World War 2 based flesh fest. ZAT sees you take control of undead hordes using a sniper rifle, pistol and some extra little explosive goodies such as nades and trip wires. Of course it wouldn’t be a true zombie masterpiece without Nazi zombies, so there’s that added bonus too! For what it’s worth, especially in a world over-saturated with zombie titles and DLC, ZAT is a great game to play with friends and a boredom buster.

The Evil Within – £5.24 from £34.99

One of the scariest titles I’ve played in a long while, The Evil Within is worthy of any horror gamers time and money. Directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, this particular game returns to a physiological terror state that hasn’t been seen in a while.

You play as veteran police detective Sebastian Castellanos who encounters a malevolent force while investigating the scene of a gruesome mass murder at Beacon Mental Hospital. This force throws Sebastian into a world filed with hideous creatures who will stop at nothing to harm him, pretty standard for a survival horror game, no? Yes, but the fact that The Evil Within gets deep under your skin makes it worth the play, that’s if you can get through it…

There are hundreds of deals floating around on Steam until the new year – plenty to last you into 2016 and beyond! If you think you could add to this list, specifically if you know of any hidden PC gems, please leave a comment below! Otherwise – have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!