Steam's Winter Sale doesn't gamify the process

Steam's Winter Sale doesn't gamify the process

In-case you still haven't bought a present for your favourite gaming pals this Christmas, then today's the time to do it. Steam has launched its annual winter sale and amazingly this time around, it's done so without feeling the need to gamify the whole thing. You aren't fighting monsters when you buy games, or unlocking new challenges to complete: you just buy a game and play it.

Or better yet, gift it to someone you know. There's no flash or daily deals this time around either, so you can just see the games that are on offer and buy them at their best price. You don't need to come back tomorrow or the day after - though new games will be more promoted/featured than others at different times - to see what's available, you just buy what you want now, knowing that you've gotten the best discount you could.

The deals on offer are quite good too. New games like Just Cause 3 have 20 percent off, and there's big-2015 releases like The Witcher 3 and Rocket League marked down by significant amounts.

Indie games of course make an appearance, with Crawl, Risk of Rain, Project Zomboid and Sheltered all holding strong at the top of the sales charts with their average 33 percent off.

Valve is also running a promotion that gives away copies of Left 4 Dead 2 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive if you buy Steam hardware like the Steam Link or Steam Controller.

I've picked up The Vanishing of Ethan Carter myself. What about the rest of you?