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On average, a dozen new games are released on Steam every day. And while we think that’s a good thing, it can be hard to keep up. Potentially exciting gems are sure to be lost in the deluge of new things to play, unless you sort through every game released on Steam. So that’s exactly what we did. If nothing appeals to you this week, we’ve rounded up the best PC games (opens in a new tab) you can play right now and a running list of 2022 games (opens in a new tab) which start this year.
black tail
Steam page (opens in a new tab)
Released: December 15
Developer: The Parasight
Introductory price: $24 | £20.79 | AU$31.96
Hardtail is a first-person adventure heavily inspired by the Slavic folk legend of Baba Yaga (opens in a new tab). The protagonist is Yaga, but don’t worry: you won’t bludgeon your enemies with a pestle, because combat in Blacktail is all about magic archery. In Blacktail, Yaga is a “16-year-old girl accused of witchcraft and expelled from a medieval Slavic colony”, and during her hunt for the spirits that haunt her, she will make harrowing decisions that will affect the whole world…including those who banned her. Studio The Parasight features former members of the Bloober team, and while Blacktail certainly isn’t horror, it looks as gorgeous as The Medium and Layers of Fear 2. Early reviews from Steam users are also “very positive”.
Melatonin
Steam page (opens in a new tab)
Released: December 16
Developer: Half Asleep
Introductory price: $13.49 | £11.69 | AU$19.79
Melatonin is a psychedelic rhythm game located on the border between reality and dreams. More importantly, it’s a rhythm game that does away with the usual rhythm game interfaces: instead of a series of icons, Melatonin’s environments and animations tell you everything you need to know (Thumper the did too, although in a totally different way). The world of melatonin is rendered in crisp lines and evocative pastels, and each of the 20 levels features its own soft, bubbly music. If you’ve mastered it and want more, there’s also a level editor.
Insomnia: theater in the head
Steam page (opens in a new tab)
Released: December 16
Developer: Perfect Day Studio
Introductory 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 nonetheless. Over the course of an endless sleepless night, the protagonist interacts with various bizarre puzzles that unfold in her mind. It’s a point-and-click puzzle game, but with puzzles that strive to evoke that dreaded feeling of nighttime alertness. Insomnia is developed by Perfect Day Studio, which is responsible for the hugely popular A Perfect Day (opens in a new tab)which unfortunately has not yet received an English translation.
River Town Girls 2
Steam page (opens in a new tab)
Released: December 15
Developer: WayForward
Introductory price: $36 | £27.89 | AU$51.25
Like its predecessor, River City Girls 2 is all about walking right and defeating bad guys. It’s a beat ’em up developed by one of the best pixel art studios in the business, and if the recent Shredder’s Revenge (opens in a new tab) has rekindled your interest in old school arcade action games, well worth a look. There are six playable characters, all with significantly more moves and executions than in the previous game, and like the first game there is local and online co-op support. Basically, in typical sequel fashion, there’s more of everything.
Arcane Valley
Steam page (opens in a new tab)
Released: December 17
Developer: Dynamic Zero
Introductory price: $6.79 | £4.92 | AU$9.77
Here’s a retro-style open-world RPG, with a pixel art presentation that looks like rose-tinted glasses on 8-bit Zelda games. Based on Steam’s description, the story is as vanilla as it comes: the protagonist is after one treasure or another, and finding it will complete “his father’s legacy”. But a convoluted story doesn’t make for a good RPG, especially if you’re in it for the crafting, leveling, and combat, all of which Arcane Vale offers in hefty doses. It looks like old-school fun, and the pixel art is really pretty.
