On an average day, about a dozen new games are released on Steam. And while we think that’s a good thing, it can be understandably difficult to keep up. Potentially exciting gems are sure to get lost in the deluge of new things to play unless you search every game released on Steam. So that’s exactly what we’ve done. If nothing interests you this week, we’ve rounded up the best PC games (opens in new tab) you can play now and a running list of the 2022 games (opens in new tab) that will start this year.
Gigabash
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 5
Developer: Passion Republic Games
Introductory Price: $35 | £27.79 | AU$53
Every now and then a game about giant monsters that kill each other appears, and the world rejoices. The latest kaiju brawler comes in the form of GigaBash, which is the format of Smash Bros. and MultiVerse takes over, although it is played from a top-down perspective. Matches can host up to four players in free-for-all or 2v2, and in addition to the Kaiju-inspired beasts themselves, there are also “Titan-hunting mecha” that act more like superheroes. While online and local multiplayer seems to be the meat here, GigaBash also has four single-player campaigns that follow the undoubtedly emotional and nuanced origin stories of some of the monsters. This looks like a lot of fun.
Zapling Bygone
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 6
Developer: 9FingerGames
Introductory price: $12.79 | £9.91 | AU$18.36
Here’s a bizarre Metroidvania starring an alien with many limbs. As Zapling, you’ll explore a grotesque, pixelated world in search of bosses, from whom you’ll inherit the expected array of Metroidvania power-ups. Somewhat disconcertingly, Zapling switches between the skulls of these fallen bosses depending on the ability you want to use, so if you want to run into walls, for example, you’ll need to don the Ratking’s skull. These bosses are spread across six biomes ranging from Gardens, Mountains, and a place called ‘Grimtown’, and along the way you’ll collect comic panels that piece together the story of the devastated planet the game is set on.
Board up!
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 5
Developer: It happens
Introductory price: $14.39 | £12 | AU$20.76
Hectic party games about culinary drama are in vogue right now, with Overcooked! the most popular. At a glance, Plateup! has a lot in common with that phenomenon, right down to the drawing style and the exclamation mark in the title, although there are some (albeit minor) differences. Alone or with three friends, develop and run your own restaurant, strategically placing cooking elements and ovens to streamline productivity. Once that’s done, the usual chaos or cooking and serving begins, and if you manage to complete an entire 15 days in business without everything falling apart, you win. It’s a neat roguelite twist on a thriving genre.
Boneraiser minions
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August
Developer: Anthony Case
Introductory Price: $1.59 | £1.35 | AU$2.36
Boneraiser Minions is what happens when the developer behind Skelly Selest and Staimium Immortaly creates a Vampire Survivors clone. Like those two previous games, Boneraiser Minions takes a distinctive approach to pixel art, walking the line between outright horror and Adult Swim psychedelia. As hordes of enemies rush towards you, you must dodge them while using “the bones and souls of slain heroes” to grow your own horde of followers. It’s a bit more complicated than that sounds, and there are several game modes to dive into. Boneraiser Minions is in Early Access and will stay there for three months while new stuff is added and old stuff is polished up.
Vanaris Tactics
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 4
Developer: Matheus Reis
Introductory price: $9 | £6.47 | AU$13.05
As the screaming crowds continue to demand a new Final Fantasy Tactics, the quiet sages among us know that there has been a plethora of great, modern alternatives in recent years. Vanaris Tactics is the latest, and unlike most leagues, it’s not a 50+ hour affair, so you could actually finish it. It’s a “short, narrative tactical RPG experience that tells a story of refugees fleeing their occupied motherland”, and as you’d expect, it’s all about moving tiny pixel humans into sensible positions to hurt your enemies. There are fifteen encounters each, with the usual mix of RPG number crunching and skill management.
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