2024 games: Upcoming releases
Best PC games: All-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best MMOs: Massive worlds
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
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 hard to keep up with. Potentially exciting gems are sure to be lost in the deluge of new things to play unless you sort through every single game that is released on Steam. So that’s exactly what we’ve done. If nothing catches your fancy this week, we've gathered the best PC games you can play right now and a running list of the 2023 games that are launching this year.
Scorchlands
Steam page
Release: February 8
Developer: Ringlab
Launch price: $10.79 | £9 | AU$15.97
Launched into Early Access last week, Scorchlands is a hex-based colony builder with a big focus on resource extraction and all the complex logistics associated with it. So instead of just going out there and digging up stuff, you'll need to take care of how that stuff gets where you want it. So yes, there's a little bit of Factorio in here, but the setting is far less grounded: you're building on and exploiting a procedurally generated volcanic satellite, and more importantly, there's magic. This magical technology will open up better ways to go about your colonization, but naturally there are baddies out there that you'll occasionally run foul of. Studio Ringlab predicts an 18 month Early Access period, during which time new features will be added, as well as the usual spit and polish.
Midnight Scenes: From the Woods
Steam page
Release: February 10
Developer: Octavi Navarro
Launch price: $4.49 | £3.86 | AU$6.75
Best known as the artist behind Thimbleweed Park, Octavi Navarro has also issued a lot of solo-developed adventure games, usually with a strong psychological horror bent. Last week Navarro released Midnight Scenes: From the Woods, which by my count is the fourth in the Midnight Scenes series. This entry is set in the Fernwood Creek Mental Health Center, which is suffering "disturbing incidents" following the arrival of a new patient. Protagonist Elijah befriends this new patient, and... then the horror starts. This is a short adventure which can be completed in one sitting, and as usual with the Midnight Scenes series, it's all about Twilight Zone-inspired eeriness.
Yggdra Union
Steam page
Release: February 7
Developer: Sting
Launch price: $20 | £16.75 | AU$29.50
Yggdra Union first released for Game Boy Advance back in 2006, and has since been ported to PSP, smartphones, the Nintendo Switch, and now PC. Originally published by Atlus but now handled entirely by its Japan-based developer Sting, it's a fairly orthodox tactics RPG, with a bird's-eye view overworld map used for navigation, and battles taking place from a sidelong perspective. It's not exactly a lost classic, but if you're fond of Japanese fantasy RPGs you'll probably dig its vibe, if nothing else. Curiously, the PC port is an Early Access affair, but only so that any lingering bugs can be fixed. It's a substantial port, after all, with a new PC-friendly control interface and other bonuses, like the ability to rewind and adjust battle speed.
Pentacore
Steam page
Release: February 12
Developer: Jonathan Collier, Jason Martin
Launch price: $10 | £8.50 | AU$14.50
If you're craving a conventional, old school Metroidvania, Pentacore could do the trick. An unabashedly nostalgic affair, Pentacore could make even the likes of Astalon: Tears of the Earth look experimental, but its art style is very charming, with an approach to pixel art that seems to wend closer to ye olde Apogee shareware games than, say, an 8- or 16-bit console game. It ticks all the boxes: a large, interconnected world, a nice variety of permanent upgrades, and lots of gnarly baddies to repeatedly shoot to death. Looks like a lovely labor of love.
Mystic Gate
Steam page
Release: February 10
Developer: Zoo Corporation
Launch price: $8 | £6.80 | AU$11.60
Wow, it feels like ages (read: probably just a few weeks?) since a new twin-stick shooter roguelite hit Steam. That's what Mystic Gate is, bearing a strong resemblance to the likes of Enter the Gungeon, Nuclear Throne and others of that ilk. The loop is what you'd expect: enter a dungeon, shoot the crap out of bullet-spewing foes, collect loot that will improve or diminish your chances of winning, and then die. There are the now-expected permanent upgrades that stay good from run-to-run, but most importantly, there's two-player local cooperative play. If you can't get enough of this genre, it looks like a blast.
