Happy mid-January all! The year is picking up pace in terms of new PC game releases, and the symptoms of the Maw's hunger are everywhere. For example, my fridge has started bleeding an iridescent fluid. Peering into the oily green depths, I see a much older, cyborg version of myself dressed in spiked leather against a background of burning oceans. The other Edwin mouths and gesticulates urgently, but I have no time for his dire warnings of global calamity. There are new entertainment products to discuss! Here's what's coming down the pipe this week.
We open Monday 13th January with Airborne Empire, sequel to the flying city builder Nate Crowley hailed for its "arabesque steampunk" aesthetics and called "a weird, mirror-universe counterpart to Frostpunk". Forging onward to Tuesday 14th January, we are transfixed by the spectacle of a billion spaceships doing battle in early access RTS Annihilate The Spance. What is "spance"? I don't know, but it involves "minimal micromanagement". Also on Tuesday, the early access launch of action-RPG sequel Hyper Light Breaker, which I have mixed feelings about based on a demo at GDC last year, but am rooting for based on its pedigree. If you prefer your Arrrrpegging top-down, there's also attractive pixelart roguelite Heroes Of Hammerwatch 2. On Wednesday 15th January, there's Osaka-set metroidvania Blade Chimera and Might & Magic-esque strategy-RPG Broken Alliance. On Thursday 16th January, it's time for a remaster (in this case a "f remaster") of Tales Of Graces. And on Friday 17th January, it's time to musou in Dynasty Warriors: Origins.
As ever, this round-up is but an artisanal shaving from the glacier of new video games. There are probably other, even worthier projects to discuss and you should definitely mention them in the comments, together with any Happenings we overlook. Find our latest news liveblog below, and have a jolly week.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Key points- 09:09 am January 17 2025 FRIDUCK
- 09:14 am January 16 2025 THURSNESDAY
- 08:17 am January 15 2025 WEDNESDAY
- 09:08 am January 14 2025 PIKACHUESDAY
- 10:56 am January 13 2025 PIKMONDAY
PIKMONDAY
This week's puns are all about Nintendo, in hopes the Mario merchants might deign to show PC a little more love. What's the matter, Nintendo, you afraid of the Steam forums? Yeah, I don't blame you really. FEED THE MAW.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
11:15 am UTCThis weekend I learned of Takara Cards, which is a handsome space roguelike cardgame with 80s anime-inspired aesthetics. They're calling it FTL meets Slay The Spire. Who are "they"? I... don't know. I don't know.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
11:24 am UTC As reported by Eurogamer, Toadman Interactive, Counterplay Games, and Freejam have all confirmed that they're shutting down, while Enad Global 7 are laying off 38 people at Piranha Games.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
11:58 am UTC Unionised Don't Nod workers are calling for another round of strike action in response to potential layoffs, amid stalled negotiations with studio leadership over things like severance packages. An excerpt: "STJV will not sign a deal that would endorse management’s iniquitous initial project, even if it comes with a nice moustache." I, er, assume that's some kind of French idiom.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
12:02 pm UTC Alleged anonymous sources have allegedly and anonymously told The Game Post that Bungie's upcoming MOBA project Gummy Bears is heavily inspired by Smash Bros, with a percentage-based damage system. See, I knew this was a good time to have a Nintendo pun week.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
12:04 pm UTCThe Death Stranding 2 developers are crunching, it seems.
The most demanding period of game development—both physically and mentally—commonly known as “crunch time.” On top of mixing and Japanese voice recording, there’s an inevitable pile of other tasks: writing comments, explanations, essays, interviews, discussions, and… https://t.co/FrXRgaS748
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) January 10, 2025 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
12:12 pm UTCAGDQ 2025 has wrapped up, raising $2,556,305 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The best thing in gaming continues to be the absolute best.
– Nic Reuben
12:13 pm UTCA video from Grinding Gear about the next Path Of Exile 2 patch. Proper patch notes are coming later this week.
Path of Exile 2 - 0.1.1 Patch Preview Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
12:27 pm UTCMinecraft players are horrifying me with images of slanted buildings. Minecraft isn't supposed to look like it's balancing on one corner! BAD. WRONG.
My attempt at a slanted building style, what do you guys think?
byu/Jonhson_Jonh inMinecraft
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
16:30 pm UTC I got a spam email about some (probably AI) thing that lets you talk to your plants and your plants talk back. I'm tempted to write about it but I don't want to give them any publicity.– Nic Reuben
09:08 am UTCPIKACHUESDAY
Our lucky star is shining today! FEED THE MAW.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:08 am UTCthanosi says: itch.io has a Venturing 2025 bundle witha mix of 129 digital/physical games and books for $25+ https://itch.io/b/2831/venturing-2025
Friend, I am in your debt.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:10 am UTC Another golden oldie appears poised to resurface, for Sega have filed new trademarks for Ecco The Dolphin. Thanks, Gematsu.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:14 am UTC Yesterday, MP1st reported that an Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake announcement is impending, citing an anonymous source at Virtuos who also shared alleged details of how they're updating it for today's players. I didn't write it up because, frankly, I haven't seen this kind of report from MP1st before, and I'm not sure I trust it. But the prospect of an Oblivion remake seems pretty credible, going by Microsoft planning docs that were composed in 2020 and leaked in September 2023.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:15 am UTCSeekerX says: Coming Thursday 1/16 is Fragrance Point. Last year, Alice O liked the Playstation-style retro 3D art on display in the Next Fest demo, as well as the game's very odd vibes: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/my-eyes-hurt-from-the-extreme-90s-cgi-style-of-this-next-fest-demo-and-i-couldnt-be-happier
This looks pleasantly addled. Thank you for seeking it out, SeekerX.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:18 am UTCA trailer for Rebel Wolves' action-RPG The Blood of the Dawnwalker, which is being made by him wot did Witcher 3. You know, that guy. What do you mean, hundreds of people worked on The Witcher 3? I refuse to believe it. Konrad Tomaszkiewicz is described as "game director" so he clearly directed the whole thing. Anyway, Blood Of The Dawnwalker is an open world single-player RPG set in 14th century Europe, at the height of the Black Death. As the title suggests, there are vampires.
The Blood of Dawnwalker — Cinematic Trailer & Gameplay Teaser Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:22 am UTC Sound the "Can it run DOOM" klaxon, because PDFs can run DOOM now.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:17 am UTCWEDNESDAY
A subtle one, here, from Graham. FEED THE MAW.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:19 am UTCPour one out for Rocksteady's troubled Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, which has received its final major update.
As a reminder, Episode 8 will be the final update to #SuicideSquadGame. The title will remain playable in both Online and the recently released Offline Mode for players to continue to wreak havoc in Metropolis 💥
— Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (@suicidesquadRS) January 14, 2025 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:23 am UTCForest Reigns is an "emergent FPS" from VG Entertainment, a team led by former S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer Ruslan Didenko. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic Paris that has been overrun by a sentient forest you can use as a volatile terrain mechanic in combat.
Forest Reigns - Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:24 am UTC EA's MySims: Cozy Bundle is coming to PC.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:26 am UTC As reported by the Metro, NetEase hope to release two new Marvel Rivals heroes every three-month season.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:30 am UTCGamejam project Stretchmancer - summarised by Alice0 as "a first-person puzzle-platformer which uses one neat trick to change how you see the world, and builds on that while a baddie taunts you" - is being turned into a full game.
STRETCHMANCER - Announcement Trailer Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:33 am UTC PS1 RPG nostalg-o-bundle Lunar Remastered Collection is coming to Steam on 18th April 2025.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
08:35 am UTC Out 4th March - Everhood 2, an "Unconventional Action RPG (UARPG)" with rhythm game elements and lots of gags.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
10:55 am UTCA message from the Beyond: "Hi! My friend just released this very short, free point & click adventure on Steam. I'm sure you get a squillion emails like this every day, but it only takes about 30 minutes to complete the game and I think RPS readers would probably appreciate the game's sense of humour, so if there's any way you could give it a shoutout I think my friend would be thrilled and surprised."
The Maw thanks you for your offering, reader. Helpfully, half the team are off sick right now, but perhaps we can find time for it later in the week.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:14 am UTCTHURSNESDAY
Another one from Graham. He insisted that if I used the Wednesday pun I had to use this one too. Considering reporting him to HR. In the meantime, FEED THE MAW.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:17 am UTCRetailer GOG have joined the European Federation of Game Archives, Museums and Preservation Projects - the largest game preservation organisation in Europe, according to itself. "We are also discussing exciting new game preservation projects, which we look forward to sharing soon," said GOG managing director Maciej Gołębiewski.
Our Video Game Preservation efforts continue!
We’re thrilled to announce that today we've joined the European Federation of Game Archives, Museums, and Preservation Projects (EFGAMP), making us the first Polish institution to do so. This marks another important step in… pic.twitter.com/JBbDxN0MGw
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:22 am UTC As reported by Insider Gaming, a GTA 5 mod project that added GTA 4's Liberty City to the world has been abandoned, following conversations with Rockstar.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:43 am UTC Games Workshop are happy about the success of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, but they aren't banking on a Warhammer game being such a hit again (presumably excluding Total War?). "We recognise that successes like these for Warhammer are not a given in the world of video games," reads the latest investor report. "Clearly we are looking for the next one. We remain cautious when forecasting royalty income."– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:45 am UTCBullet Noir is out 12th February. As the name may suggest, it's sort of Hotline Miami meets Sin City.
Bullet Noir - Official Announcement Gameplay Trailer Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:49 am UTC Idun: Frontline Survival is a posh tower defender from Gustav Hagerling, former chief visual effects director for the Battlefield series. It's got respectable Big Swarm Energy and you can move your towers around.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
15:56 pm UTCHere's the full schedule for this winter's Frost Fatales, an all-women and femmes speedrunning event hosted by Games Done Quick.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
20:24 pm UTCFormer hosts of the Electronic Wireless Show Alice Bell and Nate Crowley have teamed up with Jon Hicks, former big boss of Gamer Network (and thus of RPS, too), to launch a new gaming podcast. Episode 0 of Total Playtime is out now.
– Graham Smith
09:09 am UTCFRIDUCK
The problem with Nintendo puns is that, given the fame and scale of Nintendo's doings, the puns are either very obvious or pretty obscure. I think this is the latter. Nonetheless, let us FEED THE MAW.– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:12 am UTCAccording to Bloomberg, two Sony live service games - one from Days Gone developer Bend and one from Bluepoint - have been cancelled following a review. Allegedly, one of the games was a God Of War.
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:14 am UTCUurnog and Ynglet developer Nifflas is swinging for the pupper-packing crowd with Rhythm Doggo, a rhythm platformer featuring a Very Good Boy. It looks a bit like Animal Well.
Rhythm Doggo Trailer Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
09:16 am UTCPath Of Exile 2's latest patch is upon us. It is vast. I pity the poor soul who has to read all that and turn it into an article. *DMs Brendy*
– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
18:48 pm UTCSome end of week music, care of Double Fine. We've had a few absences this week (in addition to the sad departure of bestest best reviews editor Edders) so things have been slow. Hope it's been a gentle one at your end.
Cosmic I Watch on YouTube– Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
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