Garden of Witches Screenshot
Image: Team Tapas

We're here once again at the end of the week, this time a little less frazzled. This week was a weird one. Despite several high-profile releases, the start of Gamescom, a barrage of announcements, and some great indie debuts, it has been surprisingly manageable. Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting a flood, but we won't be trying to cram in fifty games at once here.

We're fully locked in on the alphabetical sorting format, so cast your eyes at the list below and see what catches your fancy:

News: Gamescom kicks off with a barrage of big announcements

E3 may be dead, and other events may be buckling, but Gamescom in Germany is going stronger than ever. Between the opening show and the following events (most of which you can see in the Gamescom Steam showcase linked above), tons of promising games were either unveiled or got fresh footage. Personally, I'm most excited for Pony Island 2: Panda Circus (from the developers of the excellent Inscryption), but we also got confirmation of Path Of Exile 2 leaving early access this December and the announcement of a very XCom-like Rainbow 6 turn-based tactical spinoff and a new Dungeons & Dragons action game, Warlock. Plus, I'm quite looking forward to the expanded Steam re-launch of vehicular roguelike TankHead, now rebranded as TankRat, but that won't be until next year.

On a less positive note, there were a fair few games actively, proudly developed using generative AI. While it might seem like this is the direction the entire industry is moving in, a cursory analysis reveals most of it to be coming from a cluster of Chinese and Korean publishers - a part of the globe where the backlash against AI hasn't been so intense, leading to situations where a game launches only to be pilloried for it, to the surprise of the developers. See the mess surrounding Vapor World the other week. So, irritating for sure, but probably not the death of videogames as we know it, and we've got plenty to look forward to in 2027 and beyond.

News: Grand Theft Auto 6's gameplay breaks the net's backbone

I have liked Grand Theft Auto games in the past, but never loved one. The next one - one of the highest-budget videogames ever made - seems unlikely to change that. But it would be silly to suggest that people are disinterested in the game, especially after the gameplay trailer release crushed one of the key internet supporting pillars - the Amazon Web Services backbone - bringing Twitch, Netflix and several other major sites to their knees for a significant while last night, as reported by Forbes. I saw Twitch spitting out error messages that I'd never seen before. You could practically hear the silicon creaking.

Demo: Gunmetal Gothic - Phantasy Star Online for the goth crowd

I've been waiting for a while to get my hands on this one, after following development of it for several years. Despite the aesthetics being a little more retro than I'd expect, this one feels like a throwback to the early Dreamcast era where online multiplayer was awkwardly, nervously positioning itself as the next best thing. A chunky third-person co-op shooter RPG that seems to draw equal inspiration from Phantasy Star Online (the OG) and the old Nightmare Creatures series for PS1. Give it a try, and bring your friends.

Out Now: 1666: Amsterdam - Early access undermined by AI corner-cutting

In the lead-up to its early access release, this promising supernatural action-adventure set in historical Holland caught a lot of flak for undisclosed AI usage in its demo. An unforced error that has almost certainly led people to be hyper-critical of the game's early access debut. The initial slate of reviews - both professional and from the Steam user crowd - are largely negative. Even the ones more optimistic about the game point out a lot of jankiness, both bug-based and in terms of unsatisfying controls and thin content. Here's hoping they can right that ship, and make sure any gen-AI stuff is fully excised by launch.

Out Now: Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing - Free Bomberman with hero powers

Everyone loves Bomberman - a classic arcade multiplayer format. And Blasterbug is a fun little take on the formula, giving each of its insectoid bombers a unique ability to throw a wrench into the action. And it's free, too! The only downside is that there's no native online multiplayer, so you'll either need friends on the couch with you, or use the Remote Play Together feature on Steam. At least there are bots for solo play.

Out Now: Box Knight - Castle Crashers goes rogue in the office.

One of the many games I got dropped a key for this week. While I've only had a brief chance to try it, this fusion of roguelike hack n' slashery and Castle Crashers' style and absurd humor feels like a good'un. Plus, the setting of the game - an office workplace so overrun by toxicity that it's taken form and started beating people up - is a relatable, if silly conceit.

Out Now: Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters - Anime Football Excess

The Captain Tsubasa series has been around nearly as long as the manga and anime it's based on. Pure old-school anime melodrama applied to The Beautiful Game. While early Captain Tsubasa games were more strategic RPGs with semi-turn-based combat, this one's far more action-based, with spectacular special attacks mixed in with the more traditional footy. Unfortunately, reviews aren't great so far, mostly focused on a lack of Steam Deck compatibility (due to the game's anti-cheat software) and a story mode that feels threadbare compared to its predecessor.

Out Now: Combolands: Balatro-infused city building

Balatro, undeniably, had The Sauce. Between satisfying sounds, UI effects, and some aggressive screen-shake, it made every hand played in an otherwise bland game of video poker feel spectacular. Combolands aims to apply that feel to city-building, and seems to have largely pulled it off. A short-form roguelike deckbuilder where you're aiming to expand your city in the most point-generating method possible, different buildings synergizing with their neighbors, applying multipliers and boosts to each score count.

Out Now: DoDonPachi Resurrection Reignite - Classic shmup poorly re-released

This one hurts a bit. As a lifelong DoDonPachi fan (arguably the series that defined modern 'bullet hell' shooters), seeing one land so roughly hurts. The good news about this re-release of the excellent DoDonPachi Resurrection is an interesting Battle Royale score-challenge mode... which barely has enough players online to sustain it. Less good is modes and features missing from the previous, superior release. Our man Damien over at Time Extension took a deeper dive on the release here.

Out Now: Eslabong - Mercenary-managing arena autobattler

A silly name for a surprisingly serious game, despite the cute aesthetics. A mercenary arena-battler where your main point of involvement is running your guild, levelling your fighters and finding good team synergies before watching them fight it out. Or you can join them in the field and control one of them yourself. This one's freshly released in early access but doing very well so far. There's a demo, too!

Out Now: Feed the AI - Incremental clicker made about AI, not with it

A speculative sci-fi incremental clicker that feels all too relevant. You steer your little cursor around the screen, picking out data for a rapidly-evolving AI to feed on, investing your profits generated into upgrades for it and yourself, and deciding what its personality will be. High concept, but mostly a game about juicy explosions of lights and sparks with a cool retro cyberspace aesthetic. Well reviewed so far.

Out Now: Fell & Sell - Fast FPS dungeon-crawling and shop management

The latest from prolific trend-chasing Art Games Studio S.A., hot on the heels of Pharmacy Store Simulator back in May. Once again, they've put out a fairly standard-looking shop management game, but with a high fantasy twist. Between rounds of shelf-stocking and selling to customers, you have to delve into nearby dungeons to raid for their treasures. I mean, where else are sofas and clothes going to come from? Artisans? What're they?

Out Now: Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition - Old wings, new tricks

A new baseline package for the long-running Flight Simulator series, coming from the same developers as the Plague Tale series - Asobo Studio clearly have range. This new edition includes a bunch of new aircraft (including the Airbus A310 for people who want to go big), 24 classic missions referencing earlier Flight Simulator games, and four more fully modelled airports. While the base price of the game is a steep £60, there's a big discount available now. The only problem is that the publisher, Microsoft, still falls under the BDS boycott, so consider before rushing out for this one. If you're new to this ongoing story, check out People Make Games' great video on it here.

Out Now: Garden of Witches - Cute 'n witchy roguelite hack-and-slasher

One I've had an eye on for a while. A Hades-inspired action roguelike set in a creepy-cute world of witches, adorable familiars, and gloomy gardens which you get to snip your way through with a giant pair of scissors. After a successful two years in early access, the game is now complete, with the final stretch of story (requiring several more runs if you've already got it) finally implemented. As for me, it seems like a good time to start.

The popular Hololive VTuber appears in yet another game, published under the increasingly popular Holo Indie banner. This time it's a whimsical 3D platformer with some character action combat, featuring Gura herself and a bunch of her friends and co-streamers. The movement immediately reminds me of A Hat In Time, and there's a demo available now if you want to give it a try.

Out Now: Money for Girls: Amortized - Uncompromising Girl Detective Mystery

Messy, queer, stressful, all too real despite its surreal aesthetics and characters. A reactive (if short) visual novel about a talented Girl Detective (now college-age) trying to rustle up a thousand dollars because her family is struggling and debtors are coming knocking. RPG elements steer your journey - is your character a D&D nerd? Does she have OCD? Does she suffer from Endometriosis? No, really, that's a thing here. I did say it's too real.

Out Now: Polylithic - Low-poly paleolithic survival sandbox

Another early access debut, more interesting for its concept than something to rush out for. Most survival sandbox games have a 'caveman era', pitting your character against the world with little more than rough stone tools for help. Polylithic doubles down, having you play as a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer, stalking wooly mammoths and trading with local tribes. Good concept, but it sounds like it left early access a bit early.

Out Now: Shadow Dungeon - Old-school, high-spam ARPG

Sometimes a game can look raw as hell and still find its mark, and retro action RPG Shadow Dungeon fits the bill. With stiff paper-doll animation and what feels like kitbashed-together sprites, Shadow Dungeon seems less about the individual monsters and more about the chaotic excess that a good character build can fill the screen with. This one's for the Numbers Go Up crowd, with a main story that the developer estimates will take 30-50 hours, with three extra difficulty loops above that.

Out Now: Sludgineers - Incremental, weirdly cozy screen-cleaning

Another game emerging from the long (but very clean) shadow of Powerwash Simulator. This one's less about precise cleaning and more about blasting huge chunks of real estate clean with a van-mounted sludge-busting cannon, which you'll be constantly upgrading through a lengthy tech tree. Cute sprite art, some interesting mechanical twists (there's more to do than just spray down purple goo) and many big numbers to chase, although this one doesn't seem like it has much in the way of depth.

Out Now: Twisted Party - Worryingly similar to another game...

And lastly, a reminder that not everything here is us recommending a game, merely pointing out that it's noteworthy. And it feels worthy of note that we're just one month from the release of industrial nightmare party-game collection Machine Party and we're already seeing whole-cloth imitators, low-fi graphics and all.

And there you have it! The weekend begins, and August fades into the shadows behind us. I'll be away from the wheel for a few days after the weekend and will resurface on Thursday. In the meantime, I leave you in Noah's capable hands.