With the Summer Sale just a few weeks behind us, the march of Steam's genre-specific festivals has begun once again. And speaking of marching, the latest festival sale's starring game is preventing exactly that: the Steam Tower Defense festival kicks off today, offering a sale celebrating the tactical placement of defensive fortifications through August 5, 2024, at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Topping my list of sales is Cataclismo, which is currently on sale for 20% off at $23.99. Technically, it has been on sale since Early Access launched last week as an Early Adopter discount, but this introductory price ends the same day the genre festival takes place. This tower defense RTS is promising enough that I'm willing to overlook the asterisk if it means I get another chance to talk about the game; as I wrote in my Cataclismo preview, the LEGO-inspired fort building is a joy to build by hand, a bulwark against the hordes of terror It's a joy to build against the hordes of terror by hand.

Older popular tower defense titles are also discounted further: Orcs Must Die!3 is 80% off at $6 and combines third-person combat with trap and tower placement to ward off oncoming orcs, goblins, and other fantasy prey. For a more traditional medieval tower defense, Stronghold: Definitive Edition, a 2023 remastered version of the classic castle sim, is currently 34% off at $9.89.

If you're looking to hone your strategy skills, consider Bad North: a defensive tactics game in which you carefully place a small number of units to defend randomly generated islands from pirates. It's perfect for bite-sized battles when you only have a few minutes to spare.

After the Tower Defense festival ends on August 5, it quickly moves on to the Fighting Game Fest, which runs through August 12, and the Rhythm Fest begins a week later. These sales will continue until the Steam Autumn Sale on November 27 and the Winter Sale on December 19, less than a month away. For more information on upcoming sale dates, see Steam's sale schedule.