Once human
PC, smartphones; Star Studio; Release: July 9
The market is already full of open-world multiplayer survival games, but this post-apocalyptic epic adds cosmic horror to the mix. The vast world is full of grotesque Lovecraftian monsters – including a living bus like the benevolent catbus in My Neighbor Totoro, but just horrible. You have been warned.
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Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
PC, PS5, Xbox Series A44 games; Release: July 18
A role-playing action game from New Zealand with intriguing Bloodborne-style combat. You’ll use an axe, dodges and a pistol to interrupt the attacks of your powerful enemies and gain the upper hand – but this animated world is much brighter and less gloomy, inspired by the developers’ antipodean environment.
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Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Xbox, PC, PS4/5; Capcom; Release: July 19
I’ve never seen anything like this new game from Capcom: you control a warrior protecting a priestess as she slowly makes her way through monster-infested Japanese mountain scenes, purifying her environment as she goes. During the day you rescue people and station your troops; At night you attack the monsters, hoping to keep her safe. It’s like tower defense meets Onimusha.
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Arranger: a role-playing puzzle adventure
PC, PS5, Switch; Furniture & Mattress; Release: July 25
Genre mashups are popular in the indie scene and this is one of the most interesting: a block sorting puzzle game crossed with a role-playing game. You play as Jemma, a young adventurer whose movement also shifts the row or column she’s standing on, turning exploration into a series of geographical riddles.
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SteamWorld Heist II
PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox; Image & Form; Release: August 8
The SteamWorld games are all fun variations on a theme: Dig is a Spelunky-style puzzle platformer, Quest is an RPG, Build is a city management game, and Heist is a characterful turn-based strategy fighter in which you control a team of fun pirate robots. In between battles, zoom around in a sputtering submarine and explore the seas.
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Black Myth: Wukong
PC, PS5; Game Science; Release: August 20
The sixteenth-century Chinese novel Journey to the West has inspired countless anime, films and video games, and this is the latest adaptation: an action role-playing game with clear Souls-esque leanings, pitting players against a wealth of monsters from Chinese folklore in a lush ancient landscape.
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Phoenix Springs
PC; Calligram Studio; 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 mind map instead of a bottomless suitcase; you use the words and ideas you’ve come up with to ask people for 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
PC; Mossmouth; Release: September 18
A collection of 50 standalone games created by a veritable who’s who of indie developers. Designed to resemble the software library of a fictional 8-bit console from history, UFO 50 features everything from sports simulations to shoot-em-ups. It’s a fascinating idea to bring modern game design sensibilities to an imaginary alternate gaming history.
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Cutter head
PS4, PS5, PC and Xbox Series Bokeh games; Issue: November 8
Red-eyed children, parasitic brain worms and deserted city streets: it can only be the latest horror adventure from Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama. Early footage suggests gallons of blood and a currently very chic PS2-era aesthetic.
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Hiking stop
PC, PS5; Icy road; Release: TB
In the latest project from Davey Wreden, creator of The Stanley Parable, retired warrior Alta leaves her broadsword behind to run a cozy tea shop. You’ll serve customers and grow all your own ingredients, but trailers suggest Alta’s past won’t go down without a fight…
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Café Critter
PC, switch; Sumo Newcastle; Release: TB
When developer Sumo Newcastle held its own game jam, Critter Cafe was such a popular newcomer that it was picked up for a full release. It’s all about rescuing cute creatures from a magical canyon and then letting them wander around your sweet little cafe, charming the guests and making friends. Probably one of the healthy hits of the year.
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Neva
PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox; Nomada Studio; Release: TB
From the team behind the ethereal, melancholic Gris comes another emotional adventure, this time about a young girl and her wolf wandering a beautiful but dying world. Drawing parallels between ecology and parenting, and showcasing some sublime natural environments, Neva looks set to be a harrowing yet hopeful experience.
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Unknown 9: Awaken
PC, PS4/5, Xbox; Reflector Entertainment; Release: TB
Starring Witcher 3 actor Anya Chalotra, this is an epic fantasy adventure that follows young warrior Haroona, who has access to a mysterious dimension and supernatural powers – which earns her the attention of an evil secret society. It reminds us of both Dishonored and The Darkness, which is certainly not a bad thing.
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Fear the spotlight
PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch; Fun Gaming Friends; Release: TB
The low-poly PlayStation 1 aesthetic of the mid-90s is back in a big way and really plays into the creepiness of this unusual horror game from a small team of two. Two teenage girls hold an ill-advised séance in their school library at night, and what happens next is predictably alarming: solving tactile puzzles while sneaking around the school in the dark is truly reminiscent of the brilliant early days of survival horror.
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