On an average day, about a dozen new games are released on Steam. And while we think that’s a good thing, it can understandably be hard to keep up with. 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.
moonscars
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: September 28
Developer:Black Mermaid
Introductory Price: $20 | £16 | AU$29.95
Moonscars is a Metroidvania with a decidedly Soulsborne slant, but in the context of its genre it’s better to think of it as Blasphemous and Hollow Knight. Main character Irma is on a mission to “unravel the mystery of her existence”, and the story unfolds in as cryptic a way as you’d expect, but most importantly, the 2D pixel world she explores is breathtaking, beautifully wretched. is, Blasphemous resemble Ghosts ‘n Goblins. The combat is brilliant too, with a strong emphasis on powerful parries (don’t worry, the window is unusually forgiving). It’s a tough game, but the difficulty level ups after about five hours, all the better for understanding some of the more impenetrable aspects that seem to be inspired by Demon’s Souls’ World Tendency system.
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: September 29
Developer: Iron Wolf Studio SA
Introductory Price: $27 | £23.39 | AU$41.35
Nothing screams “PC gaming” harder to me than a complicated military sim, and Destroyer looks like one of those you old man Microprose games that came with 60 page manuals. Launched last week in Early Access, you control a “Fletcher-class destroyer”, in other words, a large warship with complicated controls and unfathomable firepower. Combat conditions, such as the weather and enemy behavior, are procedurally generated across five locations, and there are also different captain profiles, all with their own temperament, to really support the role-playing experience. The game will be getting more features and improvements during the “6 to 8 months” Early Access period, but Iron Wolf Studio claims the current game offers a “stable and polished core experience”.
Click to sail
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: September 30
Developer: EdFarage
Introductory price: $1.49 | £1.26 | AU$2.21
If the stress of piloting an authentic U-Boat is too much for you, Click to Sail is a deliberately simple game that requires one input (a mouse click) to play. It basically appears to be an autobattler: you assemble your squad and then send them into one of the game’s beautiful blocky battle arenas to deal damage and steal treasure. Different items will activate different effects, buffs and debuffs, but the main thing is to: get that gold, the better to keep paying units to fight for you. Click to Sail is in Early Access and will remain there “for a few months” as more features such as classes, maps, and maps are added to the game.
funtasia
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: September 30
Developer: Fantastico Studio
Introductory Price: $9 | £6.83 | AU$12.90
The most immediately striking thing about Funtasia is the art style, which is: extreme a lot. But that’s probably by design: this 2D sidescrolling racer is set in “a colorful paradise polluted by airborne garbage,” and it looks like a sickly, psychedelic take on Trials. Except unlike Trials, you can’t stop so the crazy physics engine really gets a workout, especially with the presence of some really fiendish obstacles. There are 40 cars, 10 tracks, global leaderboards and even a local cooperative mode, which can work online with Remote Play Together. Italian artist Emanuele Olives worked on the art style, which is inspired by Adventure Time and Troma, the latter responsible for The Toxic Avenger, among other really sick films. (opens in new tab).
bad writer
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: October 1
Developer:Riddle Fox Games, Paul Jessup
Introductory price: $5.39 | £4.31 | AU$7.65
If you’ve ever had the ambition to become a fiction writer in the 21st century, you probably learned quickly that it’s a game. Bad Writer is a life simulator that seems determined to demonstrate this: As Emily, your job is to submit short stories to various fiction magazines. Don’t worry, you don’t really need to write in this game as it’s more about managing Emily’s happiness meter as she tries to succeed at something that rarely rewards real gratification. Emily wanders around her house collecting ideas for short stories, before finally sitting down at her computer to create little masterpieces. But watch out! Computers have distractions, like social media, and we all know that writers are some of the worst characters on social media (with the big exception, of course, of Joyce Carol Oates (opens in new tab)). When Emily’s happiness meter is completely empty, it’s game over and a real job.
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