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 2020 games that are launching this year.
I Am Dead
Steam page
Release: October 9
Developer: Hollow Ponds, Richard Hogg
Price: $19.99 | £15.49 | AU$28.95
From the creators of Wilmot's Warehouse and Hohokum comes I Am Dead, a puzzle game that, as the name implies, follows the trevails of a dead protagonist. This fellow is Morris Lupton, curator of a museum on the "tiny" island of Shelmerston, who following his death teams up for his deceased dog Sparky. Once dead, he learns that Shelmerston is threatened by looming disaster, and the only way to avert that disaster is to explore the island, dissect the lives and minds of its inhabitants, and then use this information to prevent its collapse. As you'd expect from these developers, it's a gorgeous game to watch in action.
Democracy 4
Steam page
Release: October 7
Developer: Positech Games
Price: 26.99 | £20.99 | AU$36.99
Launched into Early Access last week, this is the fourth entry in the long-running Democracy series. It's a power simulator, basically: you're the leader of a country and are responsible for shaping its culture and policies. Interestingly, this instalment uses a "custom-built neural network designed to model the opinions, beliefs, thoughts and biases of thousands of virtual citizens." The game is in Early Access in order to gain insight and feedback from players around the world, with a view to creating a more authentic experience, and is likely to launch into 1.0 some time in 2021.
The Survivalists
Steam page
Release: October 10
Developer: Team17 Digital Ltd
Price: $24.99 | £21.99 | AU$35.95
From the creators of prison break simulator The Escapists, comes this pixel-art, isometric take on the survival genre. There's a bit of a whiff of Don't Starve! here (and yes, there appears to be tree punching), but there are also dungeons you can plunder, and monkeys you can train to do your bidding. There are a heck of a lot of survival games out there, and while this one definitely looks beautiful, there's a demo if you remain unconvinced.
9th Dawn III
Steam page
Release: October 6
Developer: Valorware
Price: $15.99 | £12.39 | AU$22.95
Here's the third instalment in the 9th Dawn series, which is basically a low-fi indie take on Diablo. It may not be the best looking ARPG out there, but there's a lot to sink your teeth into here: the open world is reportedly "massive," there are 1,400 items, 270 monsters and even an in-world card game (like Gwent, you don't have to play it if you hate cards). This is a very big game, and yes, it has fishing.
Aery - Sky Castle
Steam page
Release: October 8
Developer: EpiXR Games UG
Price: $9.99 | £7.19 | AU$14.50
If 100 hour grindy ARPGs aren't your think, Aery - Sky Castle is the antithesis: it's an atmospheric flying game starring a bird (what else?) who has happened upon a strange dreamy alternative world. The game is mostly story driven, and the focus seems to be on enjoying the fluid movement more than achieving anything per se. That said, there are ten worlds to explore and apparently some "environmental riddles" to solve.
These games were released between October 5 and 12 2020. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
