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 (opens in new tab) you can play right now and a running list of the 2022 games (opens in new tab) that are launching this year.
Who’s Who?
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 29
Developer: G1 Playground
Launch price: $5 | £4 | AU$7.50
Here’s a cheerful-looking online party game with a bit of a whiff of Among Us about it, albeit a little less complex. In Who’s Who? you need to figure out who’s real and who’s an AI character, while simultaneously trying to pass off as an AI character yourself. This means you’ll need to get really good at behaving like an NPC, while also finetuning your instinct for noticing the tells of “real person” behavior. If you suspect one of the roaming Funko Pop-like characters are real you have to attack them (what else?), but if you happen to attack a fake character it’s game over for you. This central premise is spread across a handful of game modes, and you’ll be able to customize your character as well—though presumably you’ll want to avoid standing out too much.
Orx
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 31
Developer: johnbell
Launch price: $18 | £12.59 | AU$26.05
Jonathan Bolding described (opens in new tab) Orx as “Carcassonne crossed with They Are Billions”, which sounds pretty on the money to me. Launched into Early Access last week, it blends tower defense with deck building in a lengthy rogue-lite campaign featuring over 300 cards, all of which should help decimate “orx” as they blunder towards your base. This Early Access launch features two factions, over 30 enemies, and quite a few ways to optimize difficulty. The Early Access period is expected to last “about a year from now”, and during that time it’ll get a total of four factions, a “meta-progression” system and some other unspecified stuff. The art has a really inviting pixel-comic style that should please your eyes as you slay orcs, too.
World Fighting Soccer 22
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: August 31
Developer: Melko Game Club
Launch price: $6 | £4.34 | AU$8.62
Here’s a pleasantly simple and retro take on soccer. Played from a sidelong perspective, World Fighting Soccer 22 abides by the general rules of soccer—kick the ball into the goal to score—but it’s presented in a way that almost resembles Smash Bros. or MultiVersus. Oh, and the soccer ball is on fire, for some reason (I suspect the reason is that it looks cool). This one looks great to play with friends on the couch, but there’s also a single player campaign and a training mode, if you want to make sure your friends never get the edge over you.
Until The End
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: September 1
Developer: Red Sorel Games
Launch price: $5 | £4.22 | AU$7
Here’s a fascinating looking game about working in a palliative care unit. Recent graduate Zoe has just started her first nursing job, so she’s a little green, but that’s ok because you—the player and thus the expert—are here to advise her on the best ways to care for her patients. It’s a narrative-driven adventure game at heart, so your choices will matter, and it was written with the input of a real palliative care nurse, so it’s probably the most authentic game about nursing on Steam (perhaps the only?). There are eight patients under your care, and how you interact with them and treat them will determine which of the “several endings” you’ll see.
Kraino Origins
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: September 3
Developer: GameAtomic
Launch price: $10 | £7.19 | AU$14.50
Kraino Origins is basically a Ghosts ‘n Goblins clone, with an art style closer to the original than the recent (and pretty good) series reboot Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection (opens in new tab). Across eight levels you’ll be subjected to gruellingly exact platforming, enemies with predictable but infuriating movement patterns, and bosses that’ll stump you for days. Yes, it will probably be incredibly painful to play, but the art is beautiful and the satisfaction for beating it immense. As old school as they come.
