Steam sales are often a highly anticipated affair — there are significant price drops on our favourite games, there are trading cards to be earned and you’ll get great deals on franchise bundles.

But things have gotten a little stagnant over the last few sales, with each sales period largely recycling the same formula. Sometimes the deals aren’t even that great.

But for the 2018 summer sale, dubbed The Intergalactic Summer Sale, Steam has introduced a cool new feature that will appeal to many.

This time around, the sale not only comes with an alien theme, but an alien mini-game included in the client. You can access the minigame at the top of the store page or through a banner under your Recommended section.

What does this game involve? It is a simple shooter game where you have to defend your side of the screen against hordes of enemy aliens.

As you level up, you gain more Salien Abilities which help you defend your position. The ultimate goal is to do this enough times within a certain tile on the planet’s map to claim it from the enemy.

Team up with other Saliens to fight The Duldrumz on different planets and free the abducted games. Gain XP as you battle, level up, unlock new abilities, and win cosmetic items to deck out your Salien. Plus, get Summer Sale Trading Cards just for playing.

Valve

But passing some time and earning some trading cards is not the major draw of this minigame. It’s the fact that you’re entered into a draw to win a free game from the planet’s reward selection. The more you play, the higher your chances of winning.

Yes, this is very much like a raffle and I hardly ever win in these. But it costs you nothing to join, so it’s a fun new perk that will make you return to Steam a few times during the sale.

The Steam Intergalactic Summer Sale runs from June 21 to July 5.  Make sure to check your wishlist for any deals on games that you’ve favourited.

Now go forth and conquer!