Good morrow to ye, stranger! This week's new PC game round-up is jam-packed indeed - absolutely sardine-canned. So let's skip the customary preamble about the Maw's digestive habits and proceed directly to the banqueting table.
On Monday 3rd March, Star Crafter sets out to craft "entire planets, Dyson Ring, Dyson spheres, and more". Possibly just Minecraft in space again, but I do like those skies. On Tuesday 4th March, Carmen Sandiego has third-person hang-glider sequences now? Also, here's Knights In Tight Spaces for medievalists with solid spatial reasoning, and Grimoire Groves for green-fingered, psy-cosy-delic roguelikers. And Two Point Museum, which is apparently a bit too grand for comfort. And Everhood 2 for people who like bizarre musical action-RPGs. And first-person soccer shooter Vector Strike. And Merchants Of Rosewall, for people who like *squints* selling dog figurines to elves.
Enough, Tuesday! You don't get to own the whole week. Look, you've left me no room to write about Wednesday 5th March, so let's call that a rest day. On Thursday 6th March, it's time for those HD remasters of hero-hoarding JRPGs Suikoden 1 and 2, unless you have physically present friends and a sofa, in which case you might prefer Split Fiction, unless you yearn to play monster physician, in which case you might prefer Do No Harm, unless you like pretending your desktop is a Mario level, in which case here's MainFrames. And on Friday 6th March, why not spend a few hours cleaning magical artefacts in Wyrmhall: Brush And Banter.
These games? Merely our picks. Your choices? Probably superior. Where to mention them? The comments thread below. Also below? Our latest weekly news liveblog. Have a jolly week.
The Maw belches and burgeons like an overshaken bottle of pop. Break out the 16-caliber decorkers and FEED IT.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
At least one Japanese restaurant has run out of cheese following Monster Hunter Wilds players getting cravings for cheese naan after watching a scene in the game, via Automaton.
– Nic Reuben
Project2501 says: Unprofessional for staff to do it so I will, RPS mainstay Caff has a game out. Chilled out micro dosing molly enhancer (my strap line, not his!), Kinetic Canvas is out tomorrow. If you can afford it and fancy it, maybe show some love. Looks like a nice little relax during these fraught days.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3526260/Kinetic_Canvas/
I know writers who are professionals, and they are all cowards. Also this looks absorbing.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Steam set a new record for players simultaneously online this weekend, thanks in no small part to Monster Hunter Wilds, which broke one million concurrents on Friday despite a Mixed user review reception.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Fucked-up courtier simulator Sultan's Game will launch on 31st March. Not played the demo for this, but Nic found it promisingly debauched.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Slay The Princess developer Black Tabby's visual novel RPG Scarlet Hollow has received a major update. Expect "70,000 words of new story content" in the first two episodes (one of which is still available as a demo), plus some UI tweaks. The full game is 25% off to celebrate.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
If you've been hankering for some vintage Command & Conquer, you can get basically all of it right now for about a fiver. The Ultimate Collection is 70% off - 10 base games and seven expansion packs, from Tiberian Dawn to Tiberian Twilight.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
STARBOARD FIFTEEN, WE ARE APPROACHING TUESDAY
The ocean is brisk this morning! Also for some reason this week's days are nautically themed. What's your favourite old-timey helm order? FEED THE MAW.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Hideki Kamiya wants to bring back Scalebound, Platinum's Microsoft-published dragon-riding action-RPG, which was cancelled in 2017. I wonder if he's been playing Monster Hunter.
— 神谷英樹🍀 Hideki Kamiya🍀 (@HidekiKamiya_X) March 3, 2025
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– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
PCGamer have an interview with Inzoi's assistant director Joel Lee exploring the ticklish question of how sex is portrayed in the forthcoming life sim, which aims to be "widely available to as many age groups as possible".
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Played a bit of the Moadra demo last night at reader Galactic Man's recommendation. It's Super Metroid if Samus were the Predator.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
According to Capcom, Monster Hunter Wilds has sold "8 million units in 3 days, which is the fastest a title has reached this milestone in the company’s history."
You have yet to steer me wrong! To add some context, this is a sokoban game where you merge, cut and push small creatures together and crush squid with blocks. Seems a bit merciless, but of course it's all fairly abstract.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
A recc from I_have_no_nose_but_I_must_sneeze - Deck Of Haunts. It's a spooky turn-based cardgame in which you are a haunted house, trying to moider interlopers before they reach your heart. I didn't find the demo mindblowing in practice - the early levels boil down to damaging NPCs as they more randomly from room to room - but I love the concept.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Suikoden is getting an animated show and gacha game. Fart noise. Bigger fart noise. Slightly smaller fart noise. Big fart noise again. (I'll watch the show, sure.)
Emona Capital, the investment firm who recently bought Relic Entertainment, have also bought Still Wakes The Deep publishers Secret Mode. This has led to a "small" number of layoffs, as reported by Eurogamer. Like Relic, Secret Mode will apparently get to operate like an independently owned business.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
BY AND LARGE IT'S WEDNESDAY
I had no idea this was a nautical expression - thanks Shacklestein. FEED THE MAW.
Alternate history city builder Kaiserpunk launches on 21st March. It's now being published by Elda Entertainment, whose founders include former members of Paradox Interactive.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Beringed and bizarre wizarding sim Dungeons of Blood And Dream has passed through the magic portal from early access into 1.0.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
As reported by Kotaku, who cite an anonymous source, there have been layoffs in Sony's PlayStation Visual Arts team.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
STEADY AS SHE GOES INTO THURSDAY
I once learned to sail with my dad, you know. We were the only crew who managed to sink our boat during the capsize drill. I think the boat is still there, sleeping at the bottom of the marina like a straight-to-VHS Titanic. Anyway, FEED THE MAW.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Insider Gaming are reporting that Ballistic Moon, creators of the Until Dawn remake, are "effectively closed" following layoffs last year, based on anonymous sources.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
As passed on by Percival Gamer, the "original creative team" behind Hand Of Fate are back with Hordes Of Fate, a Vampire Survivorish roguelike. It's being made by Capes developers Spitfire Interactive with Defiant Development publishing.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
The demo for sweet retro town-builder Metropolis 1998 has received a major update, with a more complex life simulation for citizens. Interesting to watch this one come together.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
One of Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra's voice actors has told The Direct that the Amy Hennig-penned superhero caper might be out for Christmas 2025.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Thanks to this Polygon piece, I'm just learning that Suda51 worked on a 1994 wrestling game starring a man named Smith Morio (after Smith's singer and not-so-charming fascist crank Morrissey). Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special attracted "boxes" of hate mail for its controversial ending, and a new fan translation means its now available to play in English. Oooo, English. Bet you like that don't you Morrissey.
– Nic Reuben
Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination is a "Severance-like RPG" visual novel launching in April, with a demo on Steam now.
The Financial Times report that gaming social media platform purveyors Discord are in talks to go public.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Assassin's Creed Shadows has a canon story mode that strips out all the narrative choices, in case you missed it. None of the game's romance options are canon, Ubisoft have told Gamerant.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Project Citadel is a new space RTS from a few of the people behind Age Of Empires, Age Of Mythology and Halo Wars, including former Ensemble bods Dave Pottinger and Jason Sallenbach and former Microsoft chap Yohan Sengamalay.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Dark And Darker has been pulled from the Epic Games Store due to "an ongoing legal dispute", as reported by Gamesradar. Developers Ironmace have previously faced litigation from Nexon, who have accused them of "using trade secrets and copyrighted information" to create the game.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Action-RPG Mandragora, which features writing from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines scribe Brian Mitsoda, will launch on 17th April. A lot of you liked the demo.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is getting a barber mode, modding and "a trove of updates" via patch 1.2 on 13th March.
I had neither a Speccy nor an Atari but I would have played this. Apparently they've added chickens?
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
LOOK TO WINDWARD, IT'S FRIDAY
Consider Phlebas and FEED THE MAW.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
SeekerX says: This game has been out for a month, but perhaps The Maw will accept it as an offering since there was a significant update to it this week: Free Itch detective game Type Help bills itself as "A puzzle-mystery game inspired by Return of the Obra Dinn, Her Story, Unheard and The Roottrees are Dead" and I found the mechanic of unfolding the game by deducing who was where and when to be tremendously satisfying (I binged the thing in one sitting when I needed to escape reality for a bit). https://william-rous.itch.io/type-help
The Maw is always up for deduction games! Not played this yet, but I like the Itch page's PSA that there are definitely no ghosts in Galley House.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
A gameplay trailer for Frogwares' latest, The Sinking City 2. It's breaking all my rules about never showing the Lovecraft monsters but the setting continues to be a wonderful eyesore.
A demo for Stratogun, which has been billed to me as a Super Stardust successor.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Lethal Company continues to have plenty of company in the extract-o-horror genre. The latest addition to that genre is Niktophobia, which takes things in more of an Aliens direction with motion trackers and the question of which parts of a space station to illuminate using limited power.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Decent-ish licensed shooter Robocop: Rogue City is getting some DLC with a big tower. EDIT - not DLC! As Brendy points out, this is a standalone game.
