Five new Steam games you probably missed (May 2, 2022)
Sorting through every new game on Steam so you don't have to.
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 2022 games that are launching this year.
Haiku, the Robot
Steam page
Release: April 28
Developer: Mister Morris Games
Launch price: $17 | £14.86 | AU$25.45
Another week, another Metroidvania—not that I'm complaining. This week's entry looks very cool indeed, though its strengths might be hidden behind the familiar GBA style presentation. That said, the pixel art and animations look well above average. Playing as Haiku (who is a robot) you'll explore a big interconnected world discovering power-ups, hacking and slashing miscreant machinery, and gradually getting a grip on what's going on in this cute mechanical world. There are some slightly novel systems—such as the 'heat gauge' which determines how many special abilities you can use before a cooldown commences—but this looks pretty orthodox, overall.
Kaiju Wars
Steam page
Release: April 29
Developer: Foolish Mortals Games, Michael Long
Launch price: $18 | £13.94 | AU$26.05
The pitch is undeniable: an old school turn-based strategy, but the aggressors are giant Kaiju monsters. Kaiju Wars borrows the Into the Breach twist of being able to see the monsters' next move, and the presentation is similarly gorgeous, with lush retro pixels glazed in VHS murk. To fend off the giant monsters you'll have jets, tanks, which can be equipped with some appealingly unrealistic weaponry (freeze rays, mechas). Efficiency is important too, because each of the five monsters will transform throughout each encounter, becoming stronger and more troublesome.
Deadly Dozen Reloaded
Steam page
Release: April 29
Developer: N-Fusion Interactive
Launch price: $30 | £23.79 | AU$42.95
Here's a ground up remake of Dirty Dozen, a 2001 squad-based third person shooter inspired by the old WW2 war film of the same name. That game wasn't particular popular, but it's interesting to see this remake emerge, especially at a time when single-player tactical shooters are frustratingly rare. All graphics have been dramatically overhauled, but so have the controls, weather effects, and more. You could wait for Sniper Elite 5, but this could be an interesting curio to keep you occupied in the meantime.
MACE: Mapinguari's Temple
Steam page
Release: April 30
Developer: Tavern Tale Studio
Launch price: $5 | £4 | AU$7.50
MACE sounds a lot like Among Us, but with an interesting horror twist. Up to 10 players dive into a sprawling, labyrinthine temple to collect three artefacts. Along the way you'll need to be wary of traps, but more importantly, you'll need to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity from your collaborators, because one of them is a "deceitful cultist". Playing as the cultist sounds great: you can summon baddies to smite your hapless "friends", and you can also just mess with the environment in endlessly cruel ways. This looks like a lot of fun, though it's yet to be seen whether it'll attract a healthy playerbase.
Metal Mind
Steam page
Release: April 25
Developer: Whirlaxy Studio
Launch price: $15.29 | £11.89 | AU$22.05
Mecha Mind is a top down roguelite shooter visually reminiscent of Enter the Gungeon, except you play as a mech tasked with resisting an oppressive humanity. Being a mech (albeit a sentient one), your body is quite modular, and a big part of Metal Mind's appeal is kitting out your war robot with fancy weapons and components that will dramatically affect your playstyle. The Steam page insists there is "no blind development" here, so do expect to spend a bit of time optimizing your mechanical war machine.