The Maw: what’s new in PC games this week?
This week is the week of Halloween, a period bountiful in horror games, but I write about horror games all the time anyway. Even when I’m writing about happy, upbeat games, I’m actually writing about horror games. I’m worried that if I double-down further on morbidity I might foul the Maw’s humours and give it jaundice. So let’s see if we can satiate the creature with some nice, breezy open worlders and RPGs instead. I’ll throw in a single horror game just to keep up appearances.
On Monday 28th October, strafe the gobbos in roguelite FPS Sulfur, serve wholesome garbage to hungry ducks in open world cooking RPG Fruitbus, or ply the Weird West in turn-based Civ-style exploration sim ColdRidge. On Tuesday 29th October, Max Caulfield returns in dimension-hopping mystery Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, but perhaps you’d rather run a horrible toast shop. On Wednesday 30th October, a moment of reflection and perhaps, a quick bout of Poncle-influenced beat ’em up Karate Survivor. On Thursday 31st October, we turn up the volume with the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. There’s also a Horizon: Zero Dawn remaster but I’m not linking that, because ffs, it came out on PC a whole four years ago. Instead, why not try Tlatoani: Aztec Cities, in which asymmetry is an offence to the gods. On Friday 1st November, finally, shake off the dust and make for the horizon in back-packing RPG Albatroz.
In obstinately refusing to foreground horror games this week I have, of course, left the creaky cellar door wide open for you to stuff the comments with your spookathon recommendations. Please do! Find our weekly news liveblog below. Hope you have an absolutely frightful week.
The Ian Games Network have an interview with Bloober about their recently announced time-diving horror game Cronos: The New Dawn. There’s some stuff in there I like – 12 Monkeys is an inspiration! – but I’m sad to hear that Bloober seem to want make more conventional, actiony fare in future. “It was like, ‘let’s end the chapter of the adventure games,” comments producer Jacek Zieba. “Layers of Fear, Observer, and The Medium, [games that were] strange, experimental, with fixed camera tools. ‘Okay, let’s finish with that.'”
According to former Halo dev Tyler Owens, Microsoft considered but ultimately scrapped a PC port for Halo 5: Guardians.
Warframe’s update/expansion Warframe: 1999 will launch in December. I saw a bit of this at Tennocon – it takes the sci-fantasy blaster back in time to the turn of the 21st century, where you’ll start by exploring a deserted shopping mall.
Here’s some music for Californian readers, who probably aren’t awake yet. I think a Silent Hill spin-off set in Los Angeles would be tops.
PUAL BLARP GHOUL COP? PUAL BLARP GHOUL COP!
28 MONDAYS LATER
The Maw swirls and screeches! Take up thy broadsword and mop bucket – FEED IT.