Five new Steam games you probably missed (December 19, 2022)
Sorting through every new game on Steam so you don’t have to.
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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 thebest PC gamesyou can play right now and a running list of the2022 gamesthat are launching this year.
2024 games: Upcoming releasesBest PC games: All-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest MMOs: Massive worldsBest RPGs: Grand adventures
Blacktail
Steam pageRelease: December 15Developer: The ParasightLaunch price: $24 | £20.79 | AU$31.96
Hardtail is a first-person adventure heavily inspired by the Slavic folk legend ofBaba Yaga. The protagonist is Yaga, but don’t worry: you won’t be bludgeoning foes with a pestle, because the combat in Blacktail is all about magical archery. In Blacktail, Yaga is a “16-year-old girl accused of witchcraft and expelling from a medieval Slavic settlement,” and during her hunt for the spirits that haunt her, she’ll make some agonizing decisions that will affect the whole world—including those who have banished her. Studio The Parasight features former members of Bloober Team, and while Blacktail most certainly isn’t horror, it looks as gorgeous as the likes of The Medium and Layers of Fear 2. Early Steam user reviews are “very positive”, too.
Melatonin
Steam page Release: December 16Developer: Half AsleepLaunch price: $13.49 | £11.69 | AU$19.79
Melatonin is a psychedelic rhythm game set on the threshold between reality and dreams. Most importantly, it’s a rhythm game that does away with the usual rhythm game interfaces: instead of a rolling series of icons, the environments and animations in Melatonin tell you all you need to know (Thumper did this too, albeit in an entirely different way). The world of Melatonin is rendered in crisp lines and evocative pastels, and each of the 20 levels features its own gentle and bubbly music. If you master it and want more, there’s a level editor too.
Insomnia: Theater in the Head
Steam page Release: December 16Developer: Perfect Day StudioLaunch price: $2 | £1.66 | AU$3
A game that strives to capture the agony of insomnia doesn’t sound particularly appealing, but Insomnia: Theater in the Head looks fascinating nevertheless. As an interminable, sleepless night wears on, the protagonist interacts with various bizarre puzzles that play out in her mind. It’s a point and click puzzle game, basically, but with puzzles that strive to evoke that dreaded feeling of mid-night alertness. Insomnia is developed by Perfect Day Studio, which is responsible for very popularA Perfect Day, which has sadly yet to receive an English translation.
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River City Girls 2
Steam page Release: December 15Developer: WayForwardLaunch price: $36 | £27.89 | AU$51.25
Like its predecessor, River City Girls 2 is all about walking right and beating the crap out of baddies. It’s a beat ‘em up developed by one of the best pixel art studios in the biz, and if the recentShredder’s Revengereignited your interest in old school arcade action games, this is well worth a look. There are six playable characters, all with a bunch more moves and executions than in the earlier game, and like the first game there’s both local and online co-op support. Basically, in typical sequel fashion, there’s more of everything.
Arcane Vale
Steam pageRelease: December 17Developer: Dynamic ZeroLaunch price: $6.79 | £4.92 | AU$9.77
Here’s a retro-styled open world RPG, with pixel art presentation that resembles a rose-tinted glasses take on the 8-bit Zelda games. Based on the Steam description, the story is as vanilla as they come: the protagonist is after some or other treasure, and finding it will complete their “father’s legacy”. But a complicated story does not a good RPG make, especially if you’re in it for the crafting, levelling and combat, all of which Arcane Vale offers in large doses. Seems like some old school fun, and the pixel art is really pretty.
Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.
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