The Maw: what's new in PC games this week?
Speed Freeks, Crush Houses and Degenerate Gamblers, that's what
Live
I write this week's list of new PC games in a spirit of terror, for a strange man is at my window with a ladder. Has Santa Claus come early? Have Sony's goons found me at last, after swearing vengeance for that 8/10 I handed God Of War 3 as a cub reporter? Does the motion detector on the light over the apartment block door need fixing? There is no time to enquire and certainly no time to flee, for there are video games we must discuss.
On Monday 5th August, a gentle start in the shape of RPG life sim Fields Of Mistria. On Tuesday 6th August: another goblet of Norse mayhem in Volgarr The Viking 2, followed by the lo-fi frenzy of One Btn Bosses and the early access launch of greenskin kart racer Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks. On Wednesday 7th August, pied piper simulator Creatures Of Ava. On Thursday 8th August, the simmered-down city-building of Mini Settlers, the eco-puzzling of Preserve, the wardrobe-switching Soulsliking of Deathbound, and the Balatro-baiting of Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers, with just enough room left in the cookpot for Steamworld Heist 2. And on Friday 9th August, we celebrate the weekend by filming college drop-outs on the toilet in The Crush House.
As ever, all of this is sponsored by the original Man in the Window, the Maw - an enveloping and esurient entity from realms beyond ken, always hungry for another helping of video game news, always threatening an interdimensional invasion if left unfed for too long. You can track and belittle our desperate attempts to appease it in the liveblog below. Have a good week.
Nightingale is getting a big overhaul in the shape of the Realms Rebuilt patch - it's due this summer, and spans progression revamps, new tilesets and weapons, and increased building limits. It also requires you to start a new character.
I continue to have mixed feelings about Frostpunk 2. It sounds like I'm not alone - 11 bit are making changes based on beta feedback, including new hubs, workforce management and a new type of construction resource.
Capcom have started a Making Of series for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess - I didn't realise its maps were based on real-life miniatures.
Here's the trailer for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6's new Zombies mode, featuring the first of two maps, Terminus Island. There's a lot more detail over on the official site.
Here's a niche but cool one: A fan community for '97 JRPG Grandia have got together with some of the original voice actors to produce a voiced version of an important scene from the game. Much of the original was voice acted, but this scene wasn't, which I gather was a bit of a sore point for the fanbase. I've forgot most of Grandia save remembering I enjoyed it, once upon a time, but this is still lovely.
There's yet another new version of Doom on Steam. Announced to mark the beginning of QuakeCon, it's an enhanced Doom 1 & 2 bundle with a bunch of bonus features and a new episode contributed by id, Nightdive Studios and MachineGames. Here's the trazzer.
CHARGE OF THE FRIDAYS
Congratulations, you made it. Let's blow this joint! But first, FEED THE MAW.This is WolfEye's new thing: a retro-futurist first-person RPG modelled on Prey and Dishonored. Catch screens and extended thoughts from the studio co-founders through the jump.
My Lovely Empress seems winningly nasty.
Rebel Roar is a glitch punk roguelike deckbuilder where you play digitised animals, including a hacker possum, fighting against human corporations.
Elite Dangerous has added a new spaceship as paid DLC. The Type-8 Transporter is a hauling vessel that players can pay to unlock for about £10. It looks pretty. The trailer for it also oozes "US truck advert" which is rad, actually.
Crytek's Hunt: Showdown 1896 - a big expando-update for Hunt: Showdown - will release on 15th August. It overhauls the tech and takes players to Mammon's Gulch, a new map in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Charming albeit clunky Tolkien tunneling sim The Lord Of The Rings: Return to Moria is coming to Steam on 27th August.
RISE OF THE THURSDAYS
The beast surfaces, and top-heavy is the ship as a dinnerless news writer with all Activision in his head. FEED THE MAW.The Puzzle Maker: Cebba’s Odyssey turns genre fantasy battles into match-three puzzles.
If you have room in your heart for another civilization-builder, Earth of Oryn seems to have a fair bit going on.
Development of Black Myth: Wukong is complete - look out for a celebratory trailer tomorrow.
Weird West devs Wolfeye are teasing their next game - and comparing it to the co-founders' previous first-person creations at Arkane. It's not impossible that I know more about this than I can currently share.
No More Robots have announced Descenders Next, which expands upon the original 2019 downhill biking sim with other extreme sports, including snowboarding and mountain-boarding. Trailer below.
Hark, a cinematic trailer for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6's Zombies mode. There's a longer breakdown coming on Thursday, 8th August.
FLIGHT OF THE WEDNESDAYS
Some agent of the Maw has unstrung the trebuchets overnight! Fetch the spare elastic, load up a fresh salvo of hotfix changelogs and FEED IT, FEED IT.Keep it hush-hush, but Saber's horror adaptation Quiet Place: The Road Ahead launches on 17th October.
Dinky open world hag simulator Caravan Sandwitch will release in September.
LEGO Fortnite is getting flying bus stations and thereby, fast travel.
KRVeale says: **Fate Stay/Night** gets a remaster and official availability on the PC for the first time in twenty years this week? (Also on switch, but less relevant to RPS)
Trailer below! I binged the Fate animes after randomly watching Fate Zero on Netflix. FYI, this T-rated remaster doesn't have the original's sex scenes and they've taken out some of the gorier bits too.
Bleak Faith: Forsaken has received a major update. I've been eyeing this one up. It's a Souls-inspired action-RPG with towering Blame!-esque environments. Initial player verdicts have been mixed, but it feels like it has promise.
A demo is on the way to Steam for Shadow Of The Ninja - Reborn, which looks pretty tasty as retro revives go.
Star Wars Outlaws's story DLC will feature Lando Calrissian and Hondo Ohnaka. Lando is coming in the Wild Card pack while Hondo shows up in A Pirate's Fortune.
BOX OF THE TUESDAYS
Feed the dang Maw!Out today, Super Dungeon Muncher seems like a snackable slice of silliness.
A new Frostpunk 2 video. This one's about how you pass laws.
Capcom just put some new videos for Monster Hunter Wilds, diving into mechanics and weapons.
The Bõ: Path of the Teal Lotus devs have launched a Patreon to make up for a lack of post-launch support following the sudden closure of their publisher, Humble Games.
THQ Nordic are teasing a new Darksiders game.
CASE OF THE MONDAYS
PHONE IT IN. I mean, FEED THE MAW.