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.
What Never Was
Steam page
Release: January 12
Developer: Acke Hallgren
Price: Free
What Never Was is a free, first-person narrative game about exploring a loved one's past. Mourning the loss of her writer grandfather, protagonist Sarah must search through his belongings and, as you'd expect, she soon discovers that the man she knew doesn't quite align with the man he was. There's light puzzle solving, but otherwise What Never Was can't help but recall Gone Home, in the way studying artefacts from the past helps tie together the story. One Steam reviewer describes it as "calming, relaxing and unnerving", which sounds pretty appetising to be honest.
Bury Me, My Love
Steam page
Release: January 10
Developer: The Pixel Hunt, ARTE France, FIGS
Price: $4.99 | £3.99 | AU$7.50
Bury Me, My Love is a narrative adventure game about a Syrian migrant's efforts to reach Europe. The developers describe it as a "text messaging adventure game" (quite the burgeoning genre), and that's because you'll be playing as Majd, who must direct, advise and encourage his wife Nour via text message as she goes about her journey. Depending on the way these conversations carry out, there are 19 "potential different endings with widely divergent outcomes". According to the Steam description, the concept " stems from an article written by Le Monde journalist, Lucie Soullier, telling the story of Dana, a young Syrian woman who fled her country and is now living in Germany."
Odd Realm
Steam page
Release: January 11
Developer: Unknown Origin Games
Price: $9.99 | £7.19 | AU$14.50
Launched into Early Access last week, Odd Realm is a top down settlement building sim with charming pixel graphics. Across four distinct and procedurally generated biomes, you'll need to ensure your settlers are protected from the elements, as well as any nasty antagonisers lurking in the world (or in the heavens). In addition to all that, there are mines to explore, presumably for loot and resources, because you don't explore mines for no reason. The studio expects Odd Realm to stay in Early Access for around 6-12 months, mostly to allow for community feedback.
Aftercharge
Steam page
Release: January 11
Developer: Chainsawesome Games
Price: $19.99 | £14.99 | AU$28.95
Aftercharge is a first-person 3v3 competitive game where one team is invisible and the other is invincible. The invisible team comprises robots, who must destroy energy extractors in order to smite the invincible team. "The (invisible) robots have to coordinate their attacks, create distractions and sneak around to destroy them," the description reads. "The (invincible) enforcers on the other hand have to cover as much ground as possible and use their abilities wisely to spot the attackers and stop them before they can destroy all of the extractors." An interesting premise, which will hopefully attract a reliable playerbase.
Neoverse
Steam page
Release: January 10
Developer: Tinogames Inc.
Price: $17.99 | £13.99 | AU$25.95
Neoverse is a rogue-like deck builder with an anime aesthetic. It hit Early Access last week, even though it's "already ready to launch" according to the developers: the Early Access stint will last around six months and is mostly focused on quashing bugs. There are 300 cards and more than 100 skills, as well as 70 types of monster and "a never-ending continuation of unlimited possibilities" (I assume this means it's a rogue-like). My eyes glaze over at the mention of cards, but if you're into deck building and rogue-likes this looks polished and fun.
These games were released between January 7 2019 and January 14 2019. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
