The PC gaming landscape welcomes a diverse set of new titles this week, including the limb-swapping zombie action of "Stupid Never Dies," the constructive puzzling of "Cutout Village," and the peculiar ground-based strategy of "Star Trek: Outposts Unknown."
Monday, October 19th
Early access begins for "Athanasia," an early access title that merges the survival horror of Dino Crisis with the immersive simulation of System Shock. "Warding Witches," an upwardly scrolling bullet hell game, also launches, featuring unique shielding abilities in lieu of traditional screen-clearing mechanics.
Tuesday, October 20th
"Star Trek: Outposts Unknown" offers a departure from typical space exploration, focusing on ground-based building and strategy. A more familiar co-op experience arrives with "We Were Here Tomorrow," an 80s-themed Antarctic base escape game requiring two players with microphones to solve dispersed, asymmetrical puzzles. "A Sister's Journey," a run-and-gun metroidvania, showcases impressive environmental art, while "Baron," an open-world mafia game set in Ankara, enters early access.
Wednesday, October 21st
"Stupid Never Dies," an action RPG from former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, challenges players to control a zombie attempting to resurrect its girlfriend by grafting monster parts onto itself. This initial release is the "Glorious Idiot" edition, which includes DLC; a cheaper base game is slated for Friday. Also launching is "WOIM," a sokoban puzzler where players control an earthworm navigating environments by eating and excreting blocks, with the ability to split itself to fit through tight spaces. "Cutout Village" presents a unique city-builder where players must cut, fold, and glue together houses, mimicking a papercraft aesthetic.
Thursday, October 22nd
Square Enix releases "Final Fantasy Resonance," the first "HD-2D" entry in the series, featuring classic Final Fantasy elements like moogles and airships with a distinct visual style of 3D dioramas and retro sprites, incorporating a stagger system inspired by "Octopath Traveler." Kairosoft, known for "Game Dev Story," offers "One Piece: Grand Gourmet," a laidback management simulation. "Moadra," described as a "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within of Metroid-alikes," presents a similar art direction to the classic action-adventure title.
Friday, October 23rd
"Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest" arrives, an adaptation of a book series featuring turn-based battles and asynchronous multiplayer in a procedurally generated world. Players will engage in combat against other creatures, a departure from typical feline behavior. The article also notes the upcoming release of the base game for "Stupid Never Dies" at a lower price point.
Developers are also considering end-of-year list features, the implications of generative AI in game development, and exploring themes of grimdark futures, with a mention of "Babbdi," a city-rover game that features a leafblower mechanic.