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 2024 games that are launching this year.
Killing Time: Resurrected
Steam page
Release: October 18
Developer: Nightdive Studios, 3DO
Until recently I hadn’t heard of this 1995 Doom clone, probably because it released as a 3DO exclusive before making the jump to PC the following year (cruelly, the year of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D). It doesn’t look particularly good at first glance but there are some interesting details: it has live action cutscenes, and sometimes live action characters will appear in the game world itself, which was definitely unique for the time. The 1930s horror setting is certainly rare, and in keeping with the horror theme the game relies more on puzzles than the usual ’90s FPS key hunt. Nightdive’s treatment looks to make it actually fun to play in 2024: you can crank the framerate up to 144 fps, and there’s full 360 degree mouse look.
Sniper Killer
Steam page
Release: October 17
Developer: Black Eyed Priest, Henry Hoare
Kinda like the Sniper Elite series I guess, but instead of virtuously slaying nazis you’re sniping innocent people. Unsurprisingly, it comes from famed horror publisher Torture Star Video. Its Nintendo 64 first-person shooter art style reimagines Goldeneye or Perfect Dark as misanthropic cult games that would have been banned in Australia. An interesting touch: in addition to the creepy snipings, you also get to play in the role of Detective Combardy, who’s trying to find the killer sniper and figure out their motive. Looks pretty screwed up overall and that’s no surprise: it’s by the same developer responsible for Bloodwash.
Drova
Steam page
Release: October 16
Developers: Just2D
I’ve heard lots of good things about Drova, a top-down pixel art action RPG with a focus on exploration and player choice. It draws from the “mystical allure of Celtic mythology” but follows the footsteps of Fallout: New Vegas, in the sense that you’re no hero or Chosen One, but instead some random tasked with surviving in a gruelling (though also quite beautiful) world. The open world is handcrafted, the story branches according to your actions and decisions, and there are duelling factions you can side with. One thing I’ve heard repeated about Drova: it doesn’t hold your hand, and it’s hugely quite ended, so expect that pleasant / infuriating confusion that comes with less heavily scripted RPGs
Eden Crafters
Steam page
Release: October 17
Developer: Osaris Games
Launched into Early Access last week, Eden Crafters is a survival game about transforming uninhabitable planets into habitable ones. That means altering the climate, and one way to do that is with elaborate machines, hence Eden Crafters’ big focus on automation. There’s also terraforming, crafting, familiar survival loops and, eventually, vehicles. It looks like a collision of a bunch of different things survival enthusiasts love, and unlike most survival games the Steam reviews are pretty positive at this early stage in development. Eden Crafters will likely hit 1.0 in a year with more “planets, biomes and automated systems”, among other things.
Yugo: the non-game
Steam page
Release: October 16
Developer: In Two Minds Studio
A cool little game about driving through moody landscapes inspired by the Balkans, specifically the roads connecting Kosovo and Montenegro. The “non-game” in the title refers to the lack of objectives: the whole point of Yugo is to take virtual road trips with friends (or strangers, if you like) while chatting or sitting in awkward / comfortable silence. It’s called Yugo because not only did Kosovo and Montenegro fall within the former Yugoslavia, but you’ll be driving a vehicle based on the Yugo; someone wrote a book about it being the worst car of all time. Adding to the dreamlike atmosphere are the Spomenik-like structures dotted through the minimalist hilly landscapes.
