Dune Awakening Key Art
Image: Funcom

Our first week of being open to the public! Thank you, so much, everyone who's reading this. It's been a nerve-wracking process getting this site ready for you all to enjoy, and we hope you've found some great games to check out already. With Damien and Noah scurrying around, we've covered a lot of stuff this week, but as ever, there's plenty we didn't have time for a full article. If you're new, this is where we clear the docket and give a quick spotlight to the dozens of other stories and releases of the week.

As is standard procedure (now we've worked that out), it's any demos and updates taking the lead, then an alphabetical roundup of this week's interesting releases. 3, 2, 1, let's jam:

One that I've had an eye on for a while. Severlink is a very slick-looking Splinter Cell/Syphon Filter/Metal Gear-ish stealth infiltration game with a very PS2 aesthetic, and it just went to Backerkit (a Kickstarter alternative) to crowdfund the remainder of its development, along with a playable demo. Give it a try, see if it gets you nostalgic for those classic sneaky days, and throw some money at it if it hits the mark.

Demo: Starfinder Afterlight - Digital adaptation of the hit TTRPG

We finally get our first taste of Starfinder: Afterlight this week! Nearly a year after their successful Kickstarter, the space adventure counterpart to Pathfinder (which in itself is basically D&D with the serials filed off) finally has a PC game. The full version's due out later this year, but a short slice is available to try now. Response has been largely positive, but bizarrely there's no custom character creation in this version, but they promise it'll be in the full game.

Update: REAL WEB LEGENDS: Carter's Quest Act 2 - Devil May Bi

One of those indie gems that forever seems cursed to fly under the radar, Carter's Quest is a wild experience. It's like a mash-up of Zelda 64 and Devil May Cry, fueled by manic bisexual energy. It's not just the lighting - EVERYONE in this game is weirdly sexy and shaking their stuff in skimpy outfits. Today marks the release of the second episode in early access, with at least one more planned.

Update: Dune Awakening gets its big single-player v1.5 update

I'd never gotten around to playing Dune Awakening because just one survival-crafting sandbox is a time sponge, and a pseudo-MMO one is even more demanding. Today's massive v1.5 update for the game not only brings Funcom's open world Dune game to consoles, but rolls out a full single-player mode for players who want to experience the main story arc without regular map wipes or butting heads with rival guilds.

Out Now: Active Matter - Post-soviet anomalous extraction shooter

The developers of moderately popular battle royale CRSED are back with a moderately popular PvPvE extraction shooter. Active Matter is set in a STALKER-esque anomalous zone populated by monsters and other weirdness, as well as rival squads that are just as likely to murder you and steal your goodies. It's just a shame about that AI content disclosure. It's only one character, but wow, could you have phrased that any worse?

Out Now: Concrete Burial - Short horror FPS with a blood-fueled gun

One I'm planning on digging into tonight. Reportedly a short but sweet first-person horror shooter set in a cursed brutalist megastructure. Plus, you're a one-armed knight armed with a pistol that fires your own (obviously limited) blood at enemies. The developer reckons it's under two hours long and pretty non-linear.

Out Now: ConVRgence - STALKER VR, with a friendly dog buddy

Another VR STALKER-like leaves early access - there's a surprising number of these now. Funnily, ConVRgence used to be known as Paradox Of Hope, and looked very similar to the Metro series instead. But after legal threats, it pivoted to that OTHER post-soviet mutant hellscape setting. The fun twist of this one is that you've got a dog buddy with you, able to sniff out danger and loot, so you're not entirely alone.

Out Now: Dimraeth - Early access ARPG with gorgeous sprites

A new open-world action RPG with some very complex Path of Exile-esque buildcrafting, and GORGEOUS 2D sprite art. This one's fresh into early access and obviously still has a long way ahead of it, but seems to be off to a good start. One to keep an eye on, even if I've got more than enough ARPGs to chew on over the next few months.

Out Now: Dunebound Tactics - Roguelite squad tactics on a sandy sea

Turn-based roguelite squad tactics set in a vast desert world where crews get around on dust-paddling sand-ships. Slick aesthetics, a positive slate of initial user reviews and lots of opportunity for terrain destruction has me intrigued. Not had a chance to try this one myself, but the initial round of user reviews are pretty positive.

Out Now: Endless Legend 2 - Science-fantasy 4X leaves early access

The latest in French studio Amplitude's long-running Endless series (finite unless otherwise stated), Endless Legend 2 returns us to its science-fantasy world, where wizards, all-consuming bug-people and stranded space-farers clash classic Civilization style. The series has always been known for having excitingly varied factions, each with a distinct style of play and end-goal, and judging by the glowing reviews, this one's no different.

Out Now: Fleetbreakers - Roguelike RTS from ex Halo Wars devs

An intriguing looking space combat roguelike RTS from a team with some real strategy chops. Freshly launched into early access, response to this one is good so far, with folks liking its Halo Wars inspired small-squad tactics, and roguelike structure, with battles playing out quickly but just being part of a path through a larger sector.

Out Now: Hope 01 - Solo sprite-based extraction shooter horror

Another extraction shooter, but this one's side-scrolling, 2D and single-player. Slowly loot a massive self-contained facility for resources while fighting off mutant monsters, rogue robots and all manner of gnarly critters. So far very well regarded by the early adopter crowd, and with some interesting little details, like testing your guns on blocks of ballistic gel to get an idea of just how hard those bullets are punching.

Out Now: Kernel Hearts - Cyber magical girl character action RPG

A very slick new release that seems to have flown further under the radar than I expected. A very slick, stylish take on Magical Girls, with death just sending your cyberized Sailor Moon-alike back to the start in a new body. One I hope to carve out some time for this weekend. It also has full online multiplayer, which is a rarity in games like this.

Out Now: Lily's World XD - 2004 girlypop investigation mystery

Digging around haunted computers is just a whole genre now, huh? Hot on the heels of the excellent Desktop Explorer, Lily's World has you digging into a missing teenager's laptop from 2004, uncovering unsettling secrets behind all of the pink windows and dress-up games.

Out Now: Nightwater - 3D open world automation

Yet another open world sandbox factory-builder, but this one has you with eyes firmly on the prize of your own freedom, seeking to escape the world by ascending from caveman technology to the industrial revolution and beyond. There's also some dungeons and jumping puzzles too - hope you've got wall-running chops on top of factory optimization skills.

Out Now: Ragnar - Hades, but Vikings

Some games just wear their inspirations on their sleeves. Ragnar, leaving early access after a little-covered round of public testing, is undeniably, obviously inspired by Hades. Not a bad game to riff off, but that's a tough act to follow. Can't deny that the spell effects and watercolor backdrops and character art are lovely, giving this a very different look to Supergiant's opus.

Out Now: Runeomicon - Defensive strategy and spellcasting

Now this one's an interesting one. A tactical defense game where you're a dark wizard, drawing spell-runes in the air as quickly as you can to slow down the enemies bashing on your door while trying to complete the ritual you're working on. Looks to be stressful but fun, and most of the initial round of reviews are happy with it too.

Out Now: Runescape Dragonwilds - Open-world survival spinoff

Hot on the heels of Valheim comes another open-world survival crafting game with a focus on adventuring and monster hunting. This time based on long-running MMO Runescape. As such, it might be the most generic fantasy adventure setting possible, but I can't deny it's pretty, and the combat has some oomph too. This one's leaving early access after a relatively successful stint there.

Out Now: Soul Injector Commando - Shoot souls into billionaires

A surreal comedy FPS from prolific, experimental art-game developer Jeremy Couillard. You are a commando working for God, tasked with hunting down the world's richest people and forcibly injecting functioning souls into them, so that they might make the world better instead of worse.

Out Now: The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 - Historical sim strategy

A mixed reception so far for this early access debut, but hopefully Ashborne Games (developers of the excellent Last Train Home) will get a chance to hammer this one into shape and realize their vision of this classic bit of historical strategy goodness. This one's all about making money through medieval trade and politics, rather than just kicking over castle walls.

Out Now: The Headlands - Low-fi farming sim

Clean polygons but scarcely a texture to be found in this 'meditative' farming game set in the era before technology started to get 'smart'. Lots of puttering around in tractors and other farming vehicles, hauling goods, tilling toil and harvesting those combines - no, wait, that's another game entirely. Still, this one's highly praised so far, despite being fresh into early access.

Out Now: Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter - Another JRPG classic remade

The first Trails In The Sky remake was featured in our list of essential JRPGs for good reason. The Legend of Heroes series might be the longest running JRPG story around, with the very first entries rolling out in the '80s, and this game's predecessor made for a fantastic entry point. In this adventure, hero-for-hire Estelle Bright sets out on a quest for her missing brother, Joshua, only for things to quickly escalate into a high-stakes, globe-trotting adventure.

Out Now: Tumblebee - According to all known rules of aviation-

A short but replayable horror action game from the developer of aquatic Star Fox-ish nightmare Death In Abyss. You are a cute, very round bumblebee, searching an underground spider's nest for your missing family. While you can fly around, one mistake sees you tumbling and careening through the tunnels and into the dark, possibly into the jaws of a waiting predator.

Out Now: Woodo - Low-intensity world of woodcut puzzles

A gorgeous, wholesome toybox puzzle set in a world of lushly painted wooden dioramas. Describing itself as 'A toy for those who never forgot how to be a child', that feels about right, with its gorgeous world just there to be poked and prodded at, with your mouse cursor making things shake and jiggle and react even when you're not puzzling things or coloring in unpainted bits in the environment.

And that's a wrap on our first true week. It has been a pleasure bringing all this to you, and I hope that this will continue for many more months and years to come. Let us know if you found something cool and interesting from this roundup, as ever, and we'll see you again on Monday!

And remember: Be excellent to each other.