Table of Contents
once human
PC, smartphones; Starry study; Release: July 9
The market is already packed with open-world multiplayer survival games, but this post-apocalyptic epic adds cosmic horror to the mix. Its enormous world is filled with grotesque Lovecraftian monsters, including a living bus like the benevolent CatBus from My Neighbor Totoro, but only awful. You have been warned.
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Flintlock: Siege of Dawn
PC, PS5, Xbox Series A44 Games; Release: July 18
A New Zealand action RPG with combat intriguingly similar to Bloodborne. You use an axe, dodges, and a pistol to interrupt the attacks of your powerful enemies and gain the advantage, but this animated world is much brighter and less gloomy, inspired by its developers’ antipodean setting.
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Kunitsu-Gami: The Path of the Goddess
Xbox, PC, PS4/5; Capcom; Release: July 19
I’ve never seen anything like this upcoming Capcom game: you control a warrior who protects a priestess as she slowly dances through monster-infested Japanese mountain scenes, purifying her surroundings as you go. During the day you rescue people and place your troops; At night you attack the monsters in hopes of keeping her safe. It’s like tower defense meets Onimusha.
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Arranger: A disconcerting adventure
PC, PS5, Switch; Furniture and mattresses; Release: July 25
Genre mashups are popular in the indie scene and this is one of the most interesting: a block sorting puzzle crossed with an RPG. You play as Jemma, a young adventurer whose every move also changes the row or column she is in, so exploration becomes a series of geographical puzzles.
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SteamWorld Heist II
PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox; Image and form; Release: August 8
All of SteamWorld’s games are adorable variations on the same theme: Dig is a Spelunky-style puzzle platformer, Quest is a role-playing game, Build is a city management game, and Heist is a turn-based strategy game with character in which you control a team of fun. pirate robots Between battles, you sail a sizzling submarine and explore the seas.
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Black Myth: Wukong
PC, PS5; game science; Release: August 20
Chinese novel from the 16th century. Journey to the West has inspired countless anime, films and video games, and this is the latest adaptation: an action RPG with clear Souls-style leanings, pitting players against a host of monsters from Chinese folklore in a sumptuous ancient landscape.
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phoenix springs
PERSONAL COMPUTER; Calligraphy study; Release: September 16
A point-and-click detective game for the 21st century, where the player collects concepts and conversations instead of objects, and the inventory is a mental map instead of a bottomless suitcase; You use the words and ideas you have come up with to ask people questions and get more information. The images have the bold, hyper-stylized beauty of a strange pop video or new wave animation.
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UFO 50
PERSONAL COMPUTER; moss mouth; Release: September 18
A collection of 50 indie games created by a veritable who’s who of indie developers. Designed to look like the software library of a fictional 8-bit console from history, UFO 50 has everything from sports simulations to shooter games. Bringing modern game design sensibilities to an imagined alternate gaming story is a fascinating idea.
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severed head
PS4, PS5, PC and Xbox Series X; bokeh games; Release: November 8
Children with red eyes, parasitic brain worms and deserted streets: this can only be the latest horror adventure from Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama. The first images suggest gallons of blood and a currently very stylish PS2-era aesthetic.
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travel stop
PC, PS5; icy road; Release: to be confirmed
The latest project from The Stanley Parable creator Davey Wreden sees retired warrior Alta ditching her sword to run a cozy tea shop. You’ll serve customers and grow all your own ingredients, but developments suggest Alta’s past won’t go down without a fight…
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Coffee Critter
PC, switch; Sumo Newcastle; Release: to be confirmed
When developer Sumo Newcastle held its own internal game-jam, Critter Cafe was such a popular participant that it was chosen for a full release. It’s about saving cute creatures from a magical crevice and then allowing them to wander around your sweet little cafe, charming guests and making friends. It’s probably one of the healthy hits of the year.
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Neva
PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox; Nomad Studio; Release: to be confirmed
From the team behind the ethereal and melancholic Gris comes another emotional adventure, this time about a young girl and her wolf wandering through a beautiful but dying world. Drawing parallels between ecology and parenting, and featuring some sublime natural environments, Neva looks set to be a moving but hopeful experience.
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Unknown 9: Wake up
PC, PS4/5, Xbox; Reflector Entertainment; Release: to be confirmed
Starring Witcher 3 actress Anya Chalotra, this is an epic fantasy adventure that follows young warrior Haroona, who has the ability to access a mysterious dimension and supernatural powers, earning her the attention of an evil secret society. . She reminds us of both Dishonored and The Darkness, which isn’t a bad thing.
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Fear the spotlight
PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch; Cozy play friends; Release: to be confirmed
The low-poly aesthetic of the mid-’90s PlayStation 1 is back in a big way, and it really plays up the creepiness of this unusual small two-person team horror game. Two teenage girls hold an ill-advised séance in their school library at night, and what happens next is, unsurprisingly, alarming: solving tactile puzzles while crawling around the school in the dark really reminds you of the glowing ones. early days of survival horror.
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