: Upcoming releases
: All-time favorites
: Freebie fest
: Finest gunplay
: Massive worlds
: Grand adventures
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 you can play right now and a running list of the that are launching this year.
The Children of Clay
Release: March 8
Developer: Balazs Ronyai
The Children of Clay is a gloriously unsettling "archeology horror game". The set up is simple: you have to closely [[link]] study bizarre clay figures in search of runic glyphs or any other notable [[link]] feature. And that's it, pretty much, except this being a horror game you may or may not be stumbling into something a bit more frightening than what that [[link]] description suggests. Either way, this is a richly atmospheric game inspired by Hungarian mythology and, presumably, the uncanny otherness of obscure ancient artefacts. It's free.
Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate
Release: March 7
Developer: John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Published by David Szymanski (Dusk, Gloomwood) and developed by Evan and John Szymanski (My Friendly Neighborhood), Secret Agent Wizard Boy is a pretty clear homage to (or parody of) Harry Potter. Set in a "prestigious wizarding school", the objective is to clear out a crime syndicate that has set up camp in the school's underbelly. What ensues is third-person physics slapstick with co-op support, military-grade explosives, and an open-ended approach to completing (or ignoring) your mission. It's an early access game: development will last for up to two years.
Book Bound
Release: March 7
Developers: Big66
Here's a pleasant cozy game about running a bookshop. I don't think running a bookshop in real life would be very cozy, because barely anyone reads books anymore, but this is a good failproof way of living the dream. Once you've decked and and decorated your shop, you can then specialize in genres, unlock new literary niches to stock, and try to hand sell to customers. It definitely looks a far cry from , which is what all real bookshops are like.
Muffles' Life Sentence
Release: March 8
Developer: BossyPino
Another free game, Muffles' Life Sentence is an oddball retro-styled RPG set in a bizarre prison. According to the Steam description, the prisoners here are "remade to match their crimes". I don't know what that means exactly, but I do know that the protagonist has no face, and as you progress through the game you'll get a range of different faces to wear. Combat is card-based, which I won't hold against it because the rest of Muffles looks so interesting. This is the first episode in an ongoing series.
Warm Monkey
Release: March 7
Developer: Evprod
I'm super drawn to the art style of Warm Monkey, which reminds me of the more graphically ambitious Commodore 64 games of yore. Set in an open world city and played from an isometric point of view, it's really just about surviving as a monkey in an urban space. As time passes more monkeys join you, meaning you'll eventually be overseeing a pretty big group of monkeys, which increases the challenge of keeping them alive in a big city bustling with dangerous traffic and short on accessible water. A truly strange looking game, and best of all, a friend can join you on this weird expedition thanks to local coop support.