Don't know. Don't care. I'm here for games, and buying games at the price I want to buy them at the time I want to buy them. They can drop the anime slop altogether for all I care. It's meaningless to buying good games at a decent price.

I think the theme for the year is meant to be 'exploration'. but I'm with you in that I personally don't like it and they're not even season themed.

Looks like we just have to hope that next years choice is better.

I need to buy Don't Starve Together.

homepage art looks kinda cultish to me

Originally posted by Duke H. Vytantis:

i have no idea what is going on? do any of you? what a let down :DSTpoop:

It is clearly a (poor) attempt at mixing/mashing several popular genres together. The space ship is sci-fi but the way it is depicted suggest very low tech so it suggest steam punk. Then you have a mage/priest who is trying to summon/subjugate some kind of entity. The people gathered in a circle and chanting around it suggest a ritual of some kind. So this whole thing suggest fantasy/D&D/base building/horror. And then I can see a huge lizard to the right, which to me suggest survival themes.

But I do agree... It is a mess and I don't like it either. The art style is the biggest culprit. I might have appreciated it way more with more details instead of going the minimalist route.

I do hope they bring back the anime delivery girl. Despite a handful of anime haters who raged about it, the art theme was probably the most-loved one that Valve has ever rolled out for Steam events, alongside of the pixel cityscape aesthetic they had going on for a few years before that.

When I think "Steam," my mental image is those two art styles. They should have them up full-time TBH, with a rotating cast of artists doing various event and category pages.

Eh. It's not particularly inspiring, but it's not offensive either. It just is. I think it's the weakest art we've had for a seasonal sale yet. The pixel-art theme we had a while back was fantastic, and of course Steam delivery girl and her cat from last year was peak.

Originally posted by Shotgun:

Despite a handful of anime haters who raged about it (Steam Delivery Girl)

People only raged because that character was loved. Step 1 of trolling is identify a thing people like. Step 2 is say that thing is bad. Step 3, lay back and collect the free jester points.

Originally posted by Haruspex:

People only raged because that character was loved. Step 1 of trolling is identify a thing people like. Step 2 is say that thing is bad. Step 3, lay back and collect the free jester points.

This probably applies to most cases, but there are people out there who truly, genuinely despise anime with their entire being. People who would literally physically assault you for wearing a Naruto shirt. I wish I were kidding.

Originally posted by Duke H. Vytantis:

i have no idea what is going on? do any of you? what a let down :DSTpoop:

What ever it is, it is not saying "buy video games at low low prices", at least not to me.

It could be a very prudently and conscientiously obfuscated bit of speculative fiction about a future where Elon Musk has become the winged despot god-king of Mars.

It could be a memory of somebody at Valve's of their gym teacher shouting at that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ billy shortly after he completed getting the class to launch the balloon thingy into the air in time with a gust of wind, but just how they remember it because they had a peanut allergy which they were having a reaction to.

It could even be something poultry-related.

Does it matter? What matters is time that Gaben shares with his big-breasted hos on his yacht.

Originally posted by Shotgun:

there are people out there who truly, genuinely despise anime with their entire being. People who would literally physically assault you for wearing a Naruto shirt. I wish I were kidding.

True story. I'm pretty closeted in my love of anime. Nary a Naruto shirt to be found in my closet, and not a single wall scroll or waifu body pillow in my house. I'm actually a little jealous of the ones who can loudly and proudly proclaim their weebdom out in public like that, risking life and limb.

Originally posted by Shotgun:

This probably applies to most cases, but there are people out there who truly, genuinely despise anime with their entire being. People who would literally physically assault you for wearing a Naruto shirt. I wish I were kidding.

Extreme examples for sure.

I guess whatever was chosen, there's always going be some people that like it and some people that don't (and probably some people that are 'meh'.)

I was looking at some of the old themes and papers last night, special themes are relatively new (2022?) and animated wall paper was a few years before that.

I realise what's gone appears to be the event element. Like the great steam holiday getaway, or the intergalactic summer sale. There's some great game art on some of the past sales even if they are static wall papers. They felt like 'an event'.

Obviously it's not helped by my dislike of the current art, but this sale feels really dialled in and low effort in comparison. I appreciate someone made this for Valve, but it feels like they could've just stuck any animated picture in of anything, there's nothing about it that says 'Summer' or even 'Valve sale'.

But hey, I appreciate someone else might really like it, even if I don't understand myself.

they are sealing (or releasing) some eldritch abomination or something

The theme is “discounted games”, like most sales.