2023 games: Upcoming releases
Best PC games: All-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPSes: Finest gunplay
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 you can play right now and a running list of the 2023 games that are launching this year.
Silica
Steam page
Release: May 3
Developer: Bohemia Incubator
Launch price: $20 | £17.95 | AU$29.50
Silica is a fascinating hybrid of first-person shooter and real-time strategy, developed by Bohemia Interactive's (DayZ, Arma, Take On Mars) experimental branch. The game is split cleanly in the middle between Infantry and Commander game styles: in the former you're on the ground blasting aliens, while in the latter you're high up in the sky playing RTS god. Interestingly, there's also a third role played from a third-person point of view, which lets you take control of an alien which can shift between eight different forms. Seems like a lot! And it is: there are also vehicles, and the Infantry mode itself has five classes. The current Early Access build supports both singleplayer and online multiplayer, and has two modes in the form of Strategy and Arena. The Early Access period is expected to last around a year.
Kaku: Ancient Seal
Steam page
Release: May 4
Developer: Bingobell
Launch price: $22.24 | £18.68 | AU$32.48
Also in Early Access is this "semi-open world action-adventure" which has a whiff of ye olde 3D platformers about it, delivered with modern RPG trappings that brings it closer to something like Immortals Fenyx Rising. Players guide Kaku through a fantastical world blending fantasy with sci-fi elements, with a focus on third-person combat and environmental puzzle solving. The presentation is what stands out: the landscapes are colorful and varied, and the combat promises "freedom of expression" in the sense that it allows a bit of freedom when it comes to abilities. This Early Access build has the full main storyline, but over the course of 2023 it'll gain new puzzles, exploration and combat elements.
Showgunners
Steam page
Release: May 3
Developer: Artificer
Launch price: $27 | £22.49 | AU$39.55
Showrunners is a turn-based tactics game, but just for a change it's neither hard sci-fi or fantasy: it's set inside a brutal dystopian reality game show. Your objective is to survive a series of increasingly grueling obstacle courses, and to make things worse, there are "heavily armed psychopaths" out to kill you, too. While the levels are hand-crafted, each can change dramatically according to your performance: If the show director fancies that you're finding things to easy, they'll aim to make things hairier. As you progress you'll win more fans, and the better you perform the more fame you'll accrue, which helps gain more lucrative sponsorship deals. Looks like a game worth checking out, even if tactics isn't your thing.
The Witch of Fern Island
Steam page
Release:May 2
Developer: Enjoy Studio S.A.
Launch price: $16 | £13.40 | AU$23.60
If you're averse to playing Hogwarts Legacy, The Witch of Fern Island could serve as a decent alterative. Protagonist Abrill is an ambitious witch enroute to a magical academy, but along the way she crash lands on a mysterious island. Deprived of the lectures and theory of the academy, Abrill has to make do learning witchcraft the hands-on way, but she also needs to survive: expect to grow plants, raise animals, brew potions, and experiment with enchantments to make day-to-day life a bit easier. Abrill will also have the chance to customise her island cottage, make friends with the locals, and leisurely explore on her trusty broom. The Witch of Fern Island is an Early Access game, but it's expected to hit 1.0 by the beginning of 2024 at the latest.
Spiritless Ltd.
Steam page
Release: May 5
Developer: Roland Wejner, Robin Bretschneider
Launch price: $20 | £16.75 | AU$29.50
This week's obligatory point 'n' click adventure is about monsters busting ghosts. You thought all scary things were in cahoots? Think again! Spiritless Ltd. is set in a world entirely inhabited by monsters, who go about their business in perfect monster peace, except for when they're haunted by pesky poltergeists. Protagonist Charles Stone (yes, that's the monster's name) works as a ghost buster of sorts, and is tasked with visiting an old mansion to fix a faulty ghost busting machine. Things, as you might expect, go awry, and only pointing, clicking and puzzle solving is going to fix it. Looks fun, and funny.
