I'm not sure it's physically or metaphysically possible to overfeed the Maw, but this week we put that desperate daydream to the test. There aren't any mega-sequels in the offing, none of yer Call Of Dutifuls, just an absolute deluge of neat and nifty originals - a deluge of such proportions I have been forced to unsheathe my HTML hammer and smash the customary single paragraph of PC game releases in twain.
On Monday 15th July, we have lunar base-builder The Crust, handsome 8-bit platformer Fallen Leaf, and gelatinous roguelike shmup Galactic Glitch. On Tuesday 16th July, there's Strange Scaffold's latest worrying oddity, Clickolding, in which a guy just wants to watch you use a clicker in a motel room, and the bright and breezy Flock, a fluttering creature-collector from the makers of Wilmot's Warehouse. I was going to call Wednesday 17th July a day of blessed, restorative oblivion, but then I glimpsed cyberpunk noir detective game Nobody Wants To Die, and folkloric metroidvania Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus.
You'll need a day off midweek, because on Thursday 18th July, it all gets a bit "autumn 1998". In no particular order, please be upstanding for: the amphibian shadow-hopping of Schim, the alpine slaycationing of Dungeons Of Hinterberg, the gunpowdery sorcery of Flintlock: Siege Of Dawn, the mucky early access kingdom management of Norland, and the immortal headshrinking of Vampire Therapist. And on Friday 19th July, finally, a colourful closing ceremony in the shape of Kanitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess, aka the best game I played at Summer Game Fest. Oh, and catacomb-pillaging co-opper Dungeonborne. Thanks for ruining my tidy finish, Dungeonborne.
Are there any important PC releases we've missed? I sincerely hope not. It may not be possible to overfeed the Maw, but it's definitely possible to give the Maw the runs, and you don't want to be within a thousand feet of that particular Altered World Event. Have a jolly week of PC gaming all.
Speaking of weird birds, reader Whatifredoranbughousescouldmove reckons we should check out Just Crow Things, unofficially known as Untitled Crow Game. It's got a demo on Steam, and certainly seems jolly.
Some games like to spice up their launch week with a live action trailer, or an animated short. For colourful demon-slaying defense game Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess, that's not enough. Instead, Capcom have collaborated with Japan's prestigious Bunraku Theatre to produce a short prequel using traditional puppetry (thanks, Automaton).
From Deadline via VGC, Paramount+ have cancelled the Halo TV show after two seasons, forcing Amblin Television, Microsoft and 343 Industries to search for another partner.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Devolver have announced Forestrike, a 2D action puzzler from Skeleton Crew Studio and Thomas Olsson, in which you play a martial artist who can see the future and plot out different sequences of moves to discover the one that will get him through each fight.
A huge and brutally hard Quake map called The Immortal Lock has been released into the undying Quake mapping world, as spotted by a fellow Shambler fan at cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer. The mapper, "ComfyByTheFire" has included 5200 enemies, in case you thought you'd feel lonely.
– Brendan Caldwell
The US Federal Trade Commission have branded Microsoft’s recent Game Pass pricing changes "exactly the sort of consumer harm" they alleged would result from the company's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, as reported by Kotaku. "Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation — combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs, see FTC’s February 7, 2024, Letter — are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger," the FTC writes.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm have laid off staff, specifically within the studio's mobile development team, as revealed by QA analyst software developer Tony Lazzara on LinkedIn.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
OH, HELLO FRIDAY
Let's gird our loins for one last run at the news trench. FEED THE MAW.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Anyone playing mercenary fantasy RPG Wartales? I keep seeing it and thinking "ooh" and then never following up. The devs have released a roadmap for the year ahead which includes free DLC and drop-in/out co-op functionality.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Action RPG Visions Of Mana will release on 29th August, Square Enix have announced in trailer form.
Horror game The Mortuary Assistant is getting an "endless embalming mode", for those who'd rather focus on the game's job sim elements than its story of demonic possession.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Pacific Drive is getting free and paid updates, including a photo mode, an interactive jukebox and more obstacles, regions and rooms for the exploration portion. See it all in the below trailer.
VGC have a little interview with former Silent Hill and Siren designer Keiichiro Toyama about the upcoming Slitterhead, which casts you as a disembodied, NPC-possessing force chasing down monsters posing as humans. It's sort of The Thing vs The Thing. Toyama chats a bit in the interview about not feeling the need for a "massive budget", though what "massive" means here numerically is open to guesswork.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
As reported by Eurogamer, turn-based RPG Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is finally in early access on PC via the EA app, almost a decade after launching on mobile.
Do you have a folder on your desktop housing a dozen projects that you started and never actually finished? That's okay, so does famous Final Fantasy character designer and Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura, according to an interview with Famitsu (translated by Automaton).
– Brendan Caldwell
Magical Delicacy is out this week. It's a metroidvania-inspired witchy cooking sim, set in a 2D pixelart harbour town. There's a demo on Steam.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Former Battletech and Lamplighters League developers Harebrained Schemes are teasing a new game. They're calling it Graft. Here's the official site.
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– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Apparently half the quest team (around 12 of 24, at the time of writing) for the next Cyberpunk game are modders, including modders of previous CD Projekt games. That's from this Flow Games interview with quest lead Pawel Sasko.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
I can't imagine The Cake holding my attention for very long, but the trailer made me grin. You're a buisnessman trying to get a cake home for your daughter's birthday without getting knocked over by aggresive pedestrians. The cake has strawberries on it.
– Nic Reuben
ICYMI Nic, apparently those gormless blue wormy dudes you were so anxious about in Elden Ring have legs. Does this... help?
Grand strategy alt-history city build-a-majig Kaiserpunk is hosting another free playtest from July 20th through to July 22nd. Find out more on the Steam page.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
IS IT THURSDAY? IT IS
OK, the music's started. Places, everyone! FEED THE MAW.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Via Gamesradar, Dragon Age: The Veilguard lead writer and narrative designer Patrick Weekes says the game won't let you use blood magic because it's too dang evil. "I think it can be ethically neutral if you only use your own blood, but after seeing it used as a required part of mind control and demon binding in [Dragon Age 2] and [Dragon Age Inquisition], it's just not a road we want the hero to walk right now," Weekes told a fan on Blue Sky. "Which is a shame, because 'use your health to cast more spells' is a fun gameplay twist for folks who like that kind of risk/reward play style. We might find other ways to get that. Just not blood magic for the hero for now."
Yakuza studio Ryu Ga Gotoku have announced an announcement, which I am now announcing to you. They're going to reveal a new game at the Tokyo Game Show in September, via Games Radar.
– Nic Reuben
No Man's Sky's latest update gives the planets a refresh with new water and cloud effects, amongst other environmental tune-ups.
Chrono Sword is a top-down pixel-art souls-like and...wait...where are you going? It looks good! It's also got time travel in it, innit. Very nice art, too.
– Nic Reuben
From Fire Emergence might be good, might not be. But! It's an indie survival horror with a demo, and that is enough for me to go "ooooooo".
– Nic Reuben
Hooded Horse have announced that they're publishing Whiskerwood, a cat-and-mouse city-builder from the peeps behind train RTS Railgrade.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Apartment Story is a "third-person thriller" that lets you: "Eat food, pee, wash your hands, sleep, smoke, write, watch TV, shave, change clothes, nap, shower, take drugs, wash the dishes, turn off the lights, drink beer, listen to music, top up your electric, answer the door and shoot someone with a real gun."
– Nic Reuben
Dead By Daylight spin-off The Casting of Frank Stone - a collaboration between Until Dawn devs Supermassive Games and DBD creators Behavior Interactive - will launch on September 3rd 2024, while Dead by Daylight’s new 2v8 game mode launches on July 25.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Saber and Focus Home have post a statement about the leaking of a WIP Space Marine 2 build, which they say dates back to roughly September 2023.
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– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
IT, WEDNESDAY, IS
The paving stones curl like tongues and the streetlights twist like serpents as we embark on another day of news. FEED THE MAW.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Those dastards at Larian have emerged from their cave of falsehoods to announce yet another patch for Baldur's Gate 3, featuring split screen updates, honour mode improvements, and more.
– Nic Reuben
treelo says: Why is Edwin insistent on still using the forbidden trailer words?
I am a creature of caprice
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Disney are investigating reports of a massive hack over the weekend. Details stolen apparently range from Disney staff logins and personal information, to documents about collaborations with Fortnite and an Aliens: Fireteam Elite sequel.
Stealthy top-down shooter Intravenous is free on Steam until 6pm this evening UK time. "Hotline Miami + Metal Gear" decrees one commenter. "Hopefully it's worth the $0.00 that I spent on it" says another.
– Nic Reuben
Tides of Tethys is about sending squads of aquanauts to build fancy techno-monasteries in the oceanic depths of an alien planet.
The second act of Destiny 2 Echoes is out today. "Delve deeper into Nessus and track down The Conductor," readeth the Steam page. "New story missions, new activities, and new rewards await you..." Here's a trazzer for you tray-tray enthusiasts.
I noted this at the end of last week's liveblog, but gloomier first-person parkour fans might want to check out Pillars Of Fog, which launched yesterday.
In the grim darkness of the far future, there are only placeholder assets and SPOILERS. Beware, servants of the Imperium - a WIP build of Space Marine 2 has apparently leaked two months ahead of release. Ta, PCGamer.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
SeekerX says: I've got a couple more tidbits for The Maw -- Tomorrow, 7/16 sees the PC remaster of Riviera: The Promised Land, a GBA RPG that I remember fondly for playfully integrating choose-your-own-adventure branches to its level structure and a very light sprinkling of dating sim-ish relationship meters, mostly played for cute humor. Not nearly as weird a deconstruction of setting and genre as other games by the dev (which include Yggdra Union and Knights in the Knightmare)
I remember umming and erring over whether to get this on GBA. I never did and wish I had. I miss the GBA. *RPS brand explosive collar emits warning screech*.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
A former Toys For Bob artist has revealed the cancellation of an unannounced new Crash Bandicoot game, together with a mysterious "Project Dragon" for a different studio. There are images of the dragon game (which wasn't Spyro) in the below Xitter thread.
Alright, let’s start things off 😭
Project Dragon was a cosy sandbox survival crafting multiplayer rpg- a buildable world made of blocks inspired by minecraft filled with fantasy characters and quests inspired by breath of the wild, and I loved working on it dearly https://t.co/KFMnuDnsWbpic.twitter.com/ZD0bckDpnH
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– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
As reported by Eurogamer, the Two Point Hospital devs are teasing a New Thing. It seems to have heists in it.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Here are your dates for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer open beta - 6th-9th September. Unless you preorder, which means you'll get early access from 30th August.
Supraworld's sequel has a loose release date, coming in early access this year.
– Nic Reuben
The First Descendant has "decided to make adjustments" to "barely-changed" Destiny 2 icons after a Forbes article pointed out some suspicious similarities.
– Nic Reuben
IT IS MONDAY
And helpfully, I'm off sick. Better today than Thursday, I guess. FEED THE MAW?
