Steam’s Simfest is on, hosting dozens of sim game deals

In brief: Valve started celebrating the rising popularity of job simulation games last year with a “Simfest” full of discounts. While the first event focused on hobbies, this year’s edition takes a more general look at the impressive variety of simulators, with over 100 sales and demos.

Steam is running a second annual Simfest from July 20 to July 24, offering discounts for dozens of simulation games focused on various jobs. Strategy game fans might also find some worthwhile deals during the event.

This year’s Simfest is a third-party event hosted by Auroch Digital and Stray Fawn Studio.

Auroch’s most notable recent releases include the space exploration title Mars Horizon 2 and the FPS (admittedly not simulation-related) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. Straw Fawn focuses on city-building titles like Airborne Empire, The Wandering Village, and Earth of Oryn.

One of the event’s headline titles is Disney Dreamlight Valley, a life simulation game that combines an adventure game story with Disney’s take on Animal Crossing. The critically well-received title has players help build and manage a town while befriending iconic Disney characters. Although still in early access, the game is 25 percent off at $22.49 and has a free demo.

Another significant early access release on sale is Xenonauts 2, marked down to $29.99 at a 25 percent discount. This sequel to an homage to the original 1993 X-Com tasks players with overseeing a global resistance against an alien invasion by managing resources and commanding turn-based battles. The full release, expected sometime next year, will have additional technologies and UFO types.

One of the biggest price drops is for PC Building Simulator, which is 75 percent off at just $4.99. This fan favorite can help players learn how to build an actual PC by tuning and customizing various real-world parts. However, although the base game has a steep discount, it has almost a dozen DLC packs representing different hardware vendors, most of which are 33 percent off.

The oddest featured title might be Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator, on sale for $11.87 at a 34 percent discount. The game lets players operate a home brewery with realistic chemistry simulation while learning the beer-making process. Players can also devise and share custom recipes on Steam Workshop. Another alcohol-related offer is Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator for $8.49.

Other interesting titles include Human Fall Flat for $5.99, Construction Simulator for $27.99, SnowRunner for $16.49, and Lawn Mowing Simulator for $6.79.