PC Gaming Show 2025 - Roundup

Merry Christmas to the year 2069, as by the time I’ve finished editing all the swear words and death threats out of this piece, I’ll be long dead. No, I won’t be covering every little “joke” or thing said about “The Rig,” the PC built during the show, or anything to do with Sean. I’d rather chew bricks. Nonetheless, we do as usual, start with the pre-show, as hosted by my favorite, Frankie Ward.

The majority of the pre-show was “Isn’t OLED nice?” “My, that DLSS thing is pretty cool,” I wondered where Frankie’s forehead came from after all these years, and there was mention of “keyboard experts,” but I couldn’t see Dizzy Reed anywhere. There were also a couple of ads for games. We’ll skip the Trash Goblin one because it wasn’t about a new update as far as I could tell.

We did get a look at Railgrade developer Minakata Dynamics and Hooded Horse’s next city builder, Whiskerwood. A mouse-based industrial kind of city-builder, this time with your mice caught “under the oppressive paw of your cat overlords.” Colorful, interesting, and using the theme by playing with oppressive characters that work, of course, I wishlisted Whiskerwood straight away. No release date just yet, but you can wishlist ahead of the “2025” release.

Following that, we got a look at something that is very similar to what I’ve been playing recently, Camper Van: Make It Home. More of a reminder that the van-life sim Outbound by Square Glade Games (developer of Above Snakes) is still a thing, the trailer doesn’t have a release date. You can wishlist Outbound now over on Steam, this one looks like it might be another few months away from release, though.

Not much else was shown of note, but we did get a longer look at Capy Castaway, which was also featured during the Wholesome Direct. I didn’t have much to say there either, as this one didn’t receive a release date announcement, nor was there much else. According to a post on Steam, Kitten Cup Studio and Big Blue Sky Games are set to have two reveals, both Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the Toronto Game Week. This is one to keep an eye on, and you can wishlist on Steam right now.

Onto the main show, and I could only quote half of my note, “Love you Mica (and your dad),” the other half is a bit sweary. Jumping straight in, we got a look at Soft Rain’s stylish action-adventure game that has a bit of magenta but is otherwise fine-looking, Ambrosia Sky. Issues with the logo to the point where I nearly missed half the title aside, you play as “Dalia, a deep-space disaster specialist dispatched to the rings of Saturn.” Dalia is sent to clean up and study the alien fungus in a job-sim/”narrative-heavy exploration” experience that I’m excited for. No release date or window, but you can wishlist and play the demo out now.

As described by the email we got, Far Far West is a “Chaotic Co-op Cowboy Shooter” coming to early access in 2026. Developed by the team behind Pumpkin Jack and 2024’s Akimbot, Evil Raptor’s Far Far West sticks with a similar sort of child-friendly sort of art style that can be a little off-putting. I can’t tell if it is the art style or the co-op focus that puts me off more, neither of them are my thing. Though I hope the team’s playtest, which you can sign up for now, goes well.

One for the gays and theys next, as Aspyr Media showed off Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition. A shiny version of the 2006 RPG from Obsidian Entertainment after the studio continued BioWare’s work with Knights of the Old Republic II, and before the studio slopped out Alpha Protocol. Releasing July 15th for PS5, Switch, Xbox, and PC via Steam and GOG, if you haven’t gotten enough of 2006 RPGs with Oblivion, Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition will still look dated, but you’ll have a great time… I hope. Aspyr is 50/50 with RPGs of that era.

Following the advent of Beat Saber, where you can launch yourself across the living room like Max Payne avoiding bullets, on-rail rhythm games just don’t have an appeal to me anymore. Nonetheless, Buffalo Buffalo’s Fresh Tracks is a winter-fantasy-themed game where you “fight to the rhythm of the gods […] on skis.” Part of me feels I should like this, but I’m shocked it doesn’t excite me at all. There should be a demo available now, and you don’t have to wait too long for Fresh Tracks either, as it will release on Steam August 12th.

About as inventive as mold in the back of your fridge, Pew Pew Games’ free-to-play Terminull Brigade showed off its magenta-ness. There is a demo available on Steam now ahead of its 2025 release, and will be released on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

A longer trailer than was shown at the Summer Games Fest showcase on Friday, Ratatan is the spiritual successor (that’s what that means Geoff!) to the 2007 rhythm-action game, Patapon. Showing off in a bit more detail what to expect from Ratatan, I won’t say it was a bad thing for fans, but it did wear thin rather quickly. You can of course play the demo out now, but you don’t need to wait long as Ratatan will be releasing into early access on Steam on July 25th.

Informative, like a politician caught inside his secretary, the trailer for Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth was effectively a teaser. You can wishlist now ahead of the 2026 release, but beyond being developed by Hyper Games after Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, that’s it for details.

Though speaking of things that annoyed me, the logo for Necesse is horrid to have during a showcase like this. A top-down open-world survival crafting thing in the vein of your Dwarf Fortress games and such, Necesse has been in early access since 2019 and has been well-received. Not that I’ve heard about it much, or remember. Nonetheless, Fair Games ApS will be launching Necesse into its 1.0 release on October 9th.

From there, we got our first deep-dive, and it is one that I’m actually interested in, but this is one of the problems I have with the PC Gaming Show. However, spending a full 7 minutes on 10 Chambers’ Den of Wolves without there being a demo, playtest, or release date is infuriating. I’ve got nothing against the team, one of my snarky notes is “’Going back to our Payday 2 roots,’ so it was you people that made Payday interesting…” My problem is more with the pacing of these PC Gaming Shows, being all over the place and inconsistent.

Den of Wolves looks nice, it has a few good ideas, and it aims to sort of refresh the heisting genre of co-op FPS games. I can’t say I have an issue with that. If you’re a fan of the team that made Payday and Payday 2 what it was, this is a great look at their next game. However, during a showcase like this, it feels like a slog.

Speaking about being quite inconsistent, we moved straight on to All Systems Dance. We saw this one last yea,r and I wasn’t too nice to it then, and I’m not too excited about it now either. Developed by Mighty Yell Studios Inc. and co-published by Strange Scaffold, this is a rhythm action-adventure sort of RPG that wants to be a bit like Jet Set Radio. Personally, I don’t see the appeal, but you don’t have to wait long if you do, as All Systems Dance will release August 20th.

Continuing the tone shifting wildly, we’ve got a simple, small-scale puzzle game called Spooky Express. Basically, you look down on a checkerboard map with “monsters” placed throughout, and you have to place train tracks in order to send a train and collect all the monsters. Aimed a bit younger than a Payday 2-like and the next couple of games, Draknek and Friends found their game in an odd place. You can play the demo for Spooky Express now on Steam and wishlist ahead of the 2025 release. I assume around mid-October for some reason.

Something a bit more stylized now with a short deep-dive into The Rogue Prince of Persia from Evil Empire and Ubisoft. One of the few really good things Ubisoft is doing with its money as of late, The Rogue Prince of Persia returns the series to its 2D roots but with a Rogue-lite feel about it. Released into early access only last may, we got the announcement that The Rogue Prince of Persia will get its 1.0 release this August.

Can we make it illegal to do these shouty-YouTuber trailers for multiplayer games? I’ll even pick the punishment, you have your fingers broken with hammers if you break that rule – sound fair? Nonetheless, Red Rover Interative’s first game, coming in “Q1 2026,” got a showcase, and I don’t hate the idea, I just hate sort of tactical, round-based (I think) shooters being shown off like this. Enginefall is a take on the defend-the-castle style of PvP shooter where one group protects the engine conductor, as it is train-based, while Mad Max-style crazy-looking people (called tailie) try to kill him and destroy the train.

I mean, I’d kill him too, he dresses like a time-traveling Nazi that just left 2020. Nonetheless, the interesting idea here is that you need to be smart and work together to kill the conductor and destroy the train. At least it looks that way, and there are a lot of interesting systems shown off in the trailer. Starting Friday, the 13th of June, through to the 15th, you can join the playtests for Enginefall and see it for yourself. You can also wishlist and check out the details on Steam.

From wanting to play something that’s shown off a little poorly to wanting to stick my face in an oven. Up next was CCP Games’ Eve Frontiers, a game which accountants pretend their spreadsheets are actually about to keep themselves from jumping in front of the train in the morning. By the time this article is out, Eve Frontiers will be released for founders, with the “Founder Access-New Era” starting June 11th.

Oddly enough, I’m excited about Rocket Flair Studios and Astra Logical’s next game, SkyRig. A base-building strategy game about building what is effectively an oil rig, but for several different resources, in the high atmosphere of a gas giant. A bit like Rocket Flair Studios’ title Surviving the Abyss, I’m hoping the studio has learned a lot from that and the backlash following its early access exit. SkyRig is set to release on Steam in 2026.

I believe the kids call it “bricked up.” That’s the description I’d give my excitement when I saw Coincidence and Astra Logical’s Kaizen: A Factory Story. I’ll let the Steam description speak for itself here: “an open-ended puzzle automation game from the original Zachtronics team, set in 1980s Japan. Design, build, and optimize production lines to create iconic products, like calculators, camcorders, and arcade machines.” I’m going to be walking funny until July 14th when Kaizen: A Factory Story releases on Steam, but if you can’t wait, there is a demo now.

Another from Astra Logical and another that I’ve been excited for, Industrial Technology and Witchcraft’s Dawn Apart, finally got an early access release date. It just so happens to also be releasing on the 14th of July. Dawn Apart is another industrial-style base-building thing about mining, automating, and defending your base – what if Factorio were isometric and colorful. A bit more voxel-based, I’m still excited to see this one do well. However, if you can’t wait until the 14th of July, there is a demo available now.

Now, I’m not repeating myself on accident here, but Astra Logical has another automation-assembly game releasing this year, and this time from the same people that made You Suck At Parking. Modulus is less about defending a base and more about creating really complicated, sprawling factories full to “cut, color, stamp, and assemble” to fulfill orders. There is a demo available for Modulus right now, which will tide you over for now, ahead of the October 22nd release date.

Sticking with colony sims and base building but leaving Astra Logical behind, we move on to Sonderlust Studios’ Generation Exile. Announced last year, it has sat on my wishlist since then, and I’ll admit it hasn’t seen much thought, as there hasn’t been much to say. More about the terraforming and colonization of a seemingly barren planet as a second chance following the fall of Earth, you are focused on regenerative systems that let you keep your people alive and create a new home. No release date, with the Steam Page simply saying “2025,” this is one to wishlist and hope you know about more soon. There is also a demo available until the 16th of June.

I’ll be honest, I completely forgot that 11-bit studios’ The Alters was releasing this week. Shown off a bit more, the “hardcore” sci-fi survival, adventure, base-building game is only set to release on June 13th. The Alters will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, Epic, GOG, and the Windows Storefront.

Oh, the more you know – I just found out that the Pathfinder games are based on a revised version of D&D 3.5 rule set, and basically a version of D&D started in 2009. Well, unlike Owlcat Games’ Pathfinder games, Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults is “the first-ever co-op Hack and Slash ARPG based on the Adventure Path;” and based on Pathfinder Second Edition. Personally, the high fantasy dungeon-crawling adventure thing doesn’t excite me, nor does BKOM Studios and Megabit Publishing’s Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults make me excited about D&D like Baldur’s Gate 3 does. However, I’m happy for fans who are excited, but they’ll be disappointed at a lack of release date. You can wishlist it on Steam and Epic.

Sponsored by AMD, there was a very short look at Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault and its upcoming release. No date yet, and quite frankly, I prefer the other look we got at it during Day of the Devs, which feels like more of a quick in-depth look. This trailer seemed to be the 1:30 ad you get on YouTube before that video you actually wanted to see, if you know what I mean? There is a demo out now for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault on Steam and the Windows Storefront, while Moonlighter 2 will release this summer on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Windows Storefront.

Barotrauma is one of those games that you put on your wishlist and proceed to never actually pick it up. Well, developers FakeFish and Underlow Games revealed the new DLC and even called it something you young people don’t know about. The “Barotrauma – Home & Harbor Expansion” is supposedly an expansion that adds outposts and base-building, a new body-mod, technocratic faction, and more story. About three years on from the release of Barotrauma, the “Barotrauma – Home & Harbor Expansion” is set to release sometime in 2026.

Let me borrow from the Steam description on this next one: “Eliminate all Visitors. An anxiety horror about paranoia in the End of Times.” So it is an America simulator? Trioskaz and CRITICAL REFLEX’s No, I’m not a Human is kind of like those 90s adventure FMV games, though without the FMV bit. There is a twinge of body-horror as people and aliens alike look mangled, and it is your job to interview, interrogate, and inspect them as they seemingly seek refuge. Interesting, but I’d need to know how long the idea will be drawn out. There is no release date just yet, but you can play the demo now on Steam.

I think it is unfair of me to state that something is a clone of a game, but Peculiar Pixels and Devolver Digital’s Botsu reminds me a lot of Doborog Games’ fantastic Clone Drone in the Danger Zone. Less about straight-up fighting, this online multiplayer/co-op-focused release focuses more on doing sports and things like that in a voxel-based physics world. I guess in that sports vein, it is also similar to Fall Guys. We only have a release window of Q3 of 2025 for Botsu, but you can play the demo right now.

We’ll skip the AMD ad and go straight to the fact that we got a trailer announcing the roadmap for No More Room in Hell 2, coming in July. No More Room in Hell 2 is already out in early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store. The new roadmap is set to bring new weapons, a new map, difficulty options, solo play, and a tutorial gym, all in multiple updates throughout this summer.

I don’t know if it is the art style or the fact the trailer just did nothing for me, but Farever really doesn’t do anything for me in this announcement trailer. The first we’re seeing of the title from the developers of Evoland, Wartales, and Dune: Spire Wars, Shiro Games. Aiming sort of to be an online co-op style version of Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom with a less defined art style, something about it doesn’t capture me as much as I think it should be. No demo here yet, but you can wishlist ahead of the beta sometime in 2025.

Ok, this next one shows how much an art style can make me turn around on a studio’s titles, as Failbetter Games showed off Mandrake. This one is short of a short 5-minute deep dive and much like the showcase of Generation Exhile last year, this deep dive is actually worth its time. An instant wishlist, Mandrake is an isometric farming/life sim sort of RPG based on British folklore. You already know part of the folklore of the Mandrake itself thanks to Joanne’s crappy books about the specky one, the ginger, and the smart one.

No release date or demo for Mandrake just yet, it was just announced after all. However, you can of course wishlist it for any reason, including the art style or maybe the conventionally attractive older man who sits in trees. Either works.

Part of me wanted to say this next one was part of last year’s showcase, but it wasn’t, and I don’t know why I wishlisted it last May. Nonetheless, Pizza Bandit reminds you why you don’t mess with someone who has a stone oven. Pizza Bandit is a “mission-based 4-player co-op third-person shooter, [where] you embody a wannabe chef utilizing his ex-mercenary skills to fund his dream pizza restaurant.” JOFSOFT’s Pizza Bandit might put you off pizza sauce for a while, but you can wishlist and play the demo now on Steam, and you don’t have to wait long as Pizza Bandit will also release into early access on August 25th.

The year-long extra wait is almost over: Necrosoft Games and Ysbryd Games have revealed that isometric Persona-like Demonschool will be released “Summer 2025” according to the trailer. “Q3 2025” according to Steam. Stylized up the wazoo, this turn-based tactics RPG is one of my most anticipated games for the year. There is a demo on Steam now, with the full game releasing on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic.

Admittedly, I wasn’t too excited by Channel37 Ltd’s The Last Caretaker before, but that trailer sold me on it. To quote my single note, “Spermbank simulator!” You play as a robot left on earth as humanity has escaped into orbit around our delicate little rock, however, the men can’t really get it up while they are up there, so it is up to you to setup and protect the sperm and the egg once you’ve shaken the jar a bit. No release date for The Last Caretaker just yet, but you can wishlist it ahead of the early access launch on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Well, that’s my dad’s favorite game sorted whenever it comes out. The next game from Parkasaurus developer Washbear Studio, Railborn might not be a Souls-like set on a gothic version of Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express, but it is an open-world survival crafting base builder. However, your base is sort of constantly moving… when you want it to. Build farms, homes, and places to craft on your train as you explore the world of Railborn when it releases into early access at some point. No release date, but I’m hoping to find out more soon.

The second Voyagers game I’ve seen from this past weekend, and this one doesn’t have a Twovix either. I believe we saw Voyagers of Nera back in 2023, when it closed the Wholesome Direct, and I wasn’t too keen on it then. Two years later and a release date on the horizon, I’m still not sold on saying thank you to Treehouse Games. That’s a Moana reference for those who missed the original joke. Vibrant and colorful, something about Voyagers of Nera isn’t exciting me. There is a demo available now, but you don’t have to wait too long as Voyagers of Nera will be releasing into early access on August 5th.

Another DLC, this time for a survival crafting game that I don’t like. Rocketwerkz’s Icarus is an open-world survival crafting game that not only looks very generic, but has a design that I have an issue with since it launched in 2021. Nonetheless, the team announced the new DLC “Icarus: Great Hunts Campaigns.” This DLC will add a new map with new bosses, new boss-hunting mechanics, upgradable legendary weapons, and more. There is no release date yet, but if it is your thing, then you will be more than happy, I guess.

Much like the Mandrake situation, I’ve never been a massive fan of Noio’s art styles for the 2D Strategy Kingdom series, but the studio’s next game is right up my alley. GARBAGE COUNTRY looks a bit like post-apocalyptic car-based DREDGE, but with a slightly colorful voxel world. Very atmospheric, you can spend a lot of time exploring, or you can seemingly bash down a gate to go pick up some garbage, even building yourself some defenses to keep yourself alive. A lovely little idea that I’m highly excited about and wishlisted straight away. No release date or demo, but there is an aim for a 2025 release, it seems.

Can we stop constantly quoting HP Lovecraft without acknowledging those bits you won’t quote, please? Steeped in lots of dark atmosphere, Cyber Temple’s DarkSwitch is a city builder/colony sim that is very Frostpunk influenced with a fantasy-Steampunk aesthetic as you build around what is basically The World Tree. This is something I want to see a bit more of in that shorter deep-dive thing, just a short, quick “this is the gameplay and this is the ideas” thing. No release date as of yet, but you can wishlist DarkSwitch on Steam and GOG.

I don’t know how to feel about this next one, as it looks fine, looks like something I’d play, and even looks like something I’d enjoy. However, MAICHA STUDIO’s Spirit X Spirit just isn’t doing anything for me, and I think it is because the trailer focused so much on the combat. A sort of 3D one-on-one spectacle fighter-style thing, there wasn’t a story reason shown for why these men are hitting each other. Typically, I’m a gameplay-first kind of person, but with the June 19th early access release date around the corner, I’m just not sold.

Last Tuesday, I got an email about this next one, and I instantly pegged it for what it is, a Cult of the Lamb-like but without the interesting art style. Releasing into early access on July 16th, Worship has you “Incite the end of the world as a devout zealot of an eldritch god in this multiplayer Pikmin-inspired Rogue-lite.” Despite my want to incite the actual end of the world so I never have to cover another PC Gaming Show again, something (mostly the art style) isn’t sparking the interest I expected to have. There is a demo available now for Worship, but July 16th isn’t far away.

Despite owning Guns of Icarus Online and Guns of Icarus Alliance, I can’t say I’m terribly excited by the 5v5 PvP dogfighting (cue the Jeremy Clarkson-style pause)… until now! Muse Games’ next game is an anime Guns of Icarus in space, and I’m not even joking, it is called Stars of Icarus. What more do you need to explain it? Set to release some time in 2026, you can wishlist on Steam now.

Oh, this is the big one, as I took a few notes with this 9-minute long deep-dive that was about as deep as a puddle of man juice. IO Interactive had a few talking heads and a bit of footage to show off 007 First Light, starring a young wannabe Henry Cavill (mostly in the jaw). The reality is that the studio just started showing off the James Bond game that was announced back in 2020; there isn’t going to be the entire plot shown off with explanations of which famous actress the character is necking on with, of course.

We do get the details that “he’s young, he doesn’t know all the things we know about Bond” explanation of the story and timeline. To which my Tomb Raider (2013) alarm bells started ringing, knowing die-hard fans will scoff at the notion of a non-expert Bond. I don’t mind the idea, but it could prove a challenge to get right while modernizing the character and keeping him true to himself. Though that isn’t what took up most of my notes, it was actually something from Art Director Rasmus Poulsen that got me angry.

Of course, developed and published by IO Interactive, there is going to be that comparison of Agent 47 (Barry to me) and James here, so the talking heads discuss that in their scripted talking points. Poulsen says, “If Hitman is a single-minded killer[,] and basically the bad guy of the game, Bond is the hero.” Maybe there was something else meant by this, but you’ve been with IO since Blood Money, and if you’ve misunderstood Agent 47 as the bad guy, I want to search your hard drive. What shady deals do you have to be cutting on the side to think Agent 47 is ever the villain? I want to know.

007 First Light looks great, seems to be moving in a good direction, and gives IO something to do other than work on Hitman games. I can’t complain too much. However, this deep dive is a little too early to care about, as we’re still several months to a year away from First Light being given the light of day for players. Releasing in 2026 for PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2 (the first to single this out), and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, you’ll probably want to wishlist it now.

When your graphical designer is fueled by those zesty memes, it makes your game look a bit terrible. goblinAmerica (yes, one word) is the next game from Gil Lawson, developer of Rogue Light Deck Builder. The type of game that will have an overwhelmingly positive set of reviews on Steam, about 99% of which are trying to be as funny as beating a child to death with a hammer. Which is oddly enough their type of humor. No release date, just a window and a demo that’s out now. goblinAmerica is set to release in Q4 of 2025, and I still won’t understand its appeal.

From 90s Dot Com bubble design to, and I quote, “How terribly dull-looking.” It feels wrong to say that about a game made by the studio that released Battlefleet Gothic: Armada and its sequel, but Tindalos Interactive and Dear Villagers’ EverSiege: Untold Ages looks like a typical action RTS in a fantasy realm. Though you do have something to do as your turrets fire upon the hordes, the whole fantasy thing isn’t gripping me. No release date just yet, but you can sign up for the alpha playtests coming later this summer.

I might have wishlisted this next one, but that’s more for the visuals of the trailer and the idea rather than the gunplay itself. Developed by titolovesyou, PIGFACE is a fast-paced FPS that understands the whole PS1-ish graphics, but either the music is too loud or the SFX are too quiet in that trailer to make the FPS exciting. The guns in this first-person shooter sound like Tic-Tacs being fired out of a high-speed Pez dispenser, and not in a fun sort of way. With a demo out now, PIGFACE is set to release into early access sometime in August.

Bullet hell, bullet heaven, I don’t care as long as it goes in the back of my skull. A sequel/spin-off of 2019’s open-world sandbox TeraTech, Payload Studios’ TerraTech Legion seems to be capitalizing on the whole Bullet Heaven craze going on since Vampire Survivors. A bit more flashy and graphically intense than that, TerraTech Legion is going to have its fans, but as a fan of guns and cars (the most “Manly” thing I’ve ever said), I’m not a fan of this one. There is a demo out now, but even the press release giving more details doesn’t have a release window.

My editor got some of my notes when Paralives showed up and revealed a release date (finally) for this Sims-like, but that’s just what can’t be published. Developed by Alex Massé and team, Paralives is a full The Sims-style game developed by 13 people and doesn’t have EA ruining it. We saw Paralives way back in 2021, and regularly I am left thinking about it or when we’d get it. Well, there is still some time off, but we’ll get hands-on with Paralives later this year. Set to launch into early access on December 8th, I hope the PR person doesn’t mind being bugged by my requests for a code. I want it now!

People Can Fly are making a PvE co-op survival shooter base-building thing, which looks fine, but none of that is what I took note of. Of all the weird wildlife and action footage for Lost Rift, I decided, of all week,s to write, quote, “D-Day landings with flying spiders.” Somehow, I think even the spiders wouldn’t have attacked Bill Millin. There is no release date as of yet for Lost Rift to go into early access, but there is a demo available now, and you can wishlist it on Steam.

One that I think will excite Alexx in particular is Rogue Snail’s Hell Clock. Developed by the studio behind Star Vikings Forever, Hell Clock is an ARPG Rogue-like set during the war of Canudos in 1896-97, which took place between the Brazilian military and a new Millenarian cult about 100-130 years too early. Or at least that’s how White-centric historians characterize it. However, like most history, it is actually a bit more complicated. I won’t say Hell Clock takes liberties with the historical setting, but it certainly puts a dark fantasy spin on the ideas.

Isometric, like a few action Rogue-likes following the success of Hades, the flashes of light and color throughout Hell Clock stand out against the dark, grim-looking backdrops. You can, of course, Wishlist Hell Clock on Steam right now and even play a demo, but you don’t have to wait too long for its release. Hell Clock will release on Steam on July 22nd.

It is a giant man who is angry. I ran to wishlist it straight away! TALLBOYS and CRITICAL REFLEX’s Militsioner is a stealth-ish immersive-sim that is described as “kafkaesque,” but not about bugs like in Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis). Well, in Militsioner you live in a town with a giant policeman at the center of it, and I mean he is a Cloverfield-sized giant, but you’ve been arrested and must escape the town without the policeman seeing you and putting you back in jail. I want it, I want it now. Though you can request access to the playtest on Steam right now, there is no release date just yet for Militsioner.

The art style on this next one is pretty, but something about the deck-building isn’t doing it for me. Developed by Roundguard developer Wonderbelly Games, Arcane Eats is a Rogue-like deck-builder about feeding fantasy people some fantasy meals. In concept, I like it, but something about the trailer wasn’t selling it to me for whatever reason. No release date just yet and no demo, but you can wishlist Arcane Eats right now on Steam.

Maybe I was just in a dour mood after I had realized I’d spent nearly 2 hours writing notes by this point and didn’t know if this show would go on another hour or so. Nonetheless, my single publishable note read “How very Cyanide & Happiness of you.” Game Swing’s upcoming early access online co-op Doomday Rogue-lite, GUNTOUCHABLES, is trying to be that “funny” Rogue-ish game with lots of gore and that type of thing. Not really hitting any of the spots that would make me excited for it, GUNTOUCHABLES will be releasing into early access on the 17th of June.

I want to say we’ve seen Ultrakill before because it is the type of thing we see in a montage of games trying to recapture 90s shooters without anything unique or interesting about them. To quote my only note, “still in early access and still insufferable.” However, for those who are excited by it, there is the “Layer 8: Fraud” update set to release sometime this year. As detailed as ever.

An odd little city-builder/resources management game up next with STARIO: Haven Tower. Developed by Stargate Games, you are building a tower with a “self-sustaining ecosystem; establish vertical trade routes; [and] defend towertizens [sic] against skyborne calamities.” A game about building to reach the gods in the sky, this is a simple-looking city-builder, but I think it will prove a bit of a challenge where it needs to. There is a demo available now for STARIO: Haven Tower, but you won’t have to wait too long for a release as it is set to release sometime in Q3 of 2025, according to Steam.

Following that, we got a trailer announcing something we already knew since Mike covered it last week. The Aaron Paul, Laura Bailey, Alanah Pearce, Erin Yvette, and some YouTubers I’ve never heard of Superhero dispatch-service thing, Dispatch. Well, that has a demo right now, and we didn’t get much more detail than that. AdHoc Studio’s Dispatch will be releasing sometime in 2025, but we don’t know when just yet.

Already on my wishlist since last year, Wheel World is a strange one because of how it is advertised in trailers and in words are wildly different. NIDHOGG developer Messhof and Annapurna Interactive’s Wheel World is just shown off as an open-world game about riding a bike through a typical Annapurna-style world and doing occasional races. Then you look at Steam, and you’re told, “Perform the long overdue Great Shift ritual to save a universe on the brink!”

You’d think that’s the mission statement for the couriers of these delivery services in Edinburgh, by the way they throw themselves through traffic. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of the typical Annapurna Interactive game, then I think this is one you’ll probably wishlist. However, you won’t have to wait long for a release date, as Wheel World will be releasing on PS5, Xbox, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on July 23rd. No demo though.

That’s when we went into the deep dive on FBC: Firebreak, one of Remedy’s only games that I’ve wishlisted before it is even out. I don’t mind the idea of doing the deep dive, but I don’t think we needed a whole 7 minutes of an interview to say nothing new while explaining this three-player FPS PvE title has roles, and the monsters are a bit weird since you’re in Control’s Oldest House. Not to mention that it is a complete lie that any sticky note ever has actually stuck to anything properly without instantly falling off. That set was held together with tape and Blue Tack.

The majority of the interview was about explaining the shift from story-focused set pieces that are well-constructed to something multiplayer. Yes, I might really hate Sam Lake’s smug-looking face, but even I can admit his and his team’s games are well-constructed. Do we really need to be told, like children during a messy divorce, that we’ll still see the story-focused side of Remedy though? If you were upset for some stupid reason about FBC: Firebreak, being told a week before release that it’s all fine isn’t going to change anything. FBC: Firebreak will be releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on June 17th.

From that to “Oh, there is another Ubisoft game this year.” Anno 117: Pax Romana is a city-building RTS in the Anno series, and I don’t think I’ve met a single person who has ever played the series. I guess that I can say that it looks nice, but that’s about as much as I could say, despite enjoying strategy games set during that Roman period, Pax Romana isn’t bringing anything too exciting that makes Anno 117 a must-play. If you’re a fan of the series and a fan of what Ubisoft Mainz does, then you can wishlist Anno 117: Pax Romana ahead of its November 13th release date.

The next game from Gabe Cuzzillo and Maxi Boch (Ape Out), and Bennett Foddy (Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, QWOP, and VVVVVV), Baby Steps is one of those “let’s make awkward controls” games. Maybe I’m too old to find contrived ways of having someone fall over to be funny, but Baby Steps just isn’t hitting that absurdist Australian thing you’ll see with Aunty Donna, The Axis of Awesome, and whoever else you can think of that hits some sort of mass appeal. For those who somehow find Baby Steps funny, there is a demo out now, but you don’t have to wait much longer for a release. Baby Steps will release on PS5 and Steam on September 8th.

“Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Arbites Class” was up next, the new DLC coming to Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. Basically, if you think right now is a great time to cosplay as a cop and shoot at anything that moves, you don’t have to wait long for this one. The “Arbites Class” DLC will be available June 23rd.

My notes simply read, “City Builder/4X Strategy without all the interesting bits.” AMPLITUDE Studios’ ENDLESS series is one I’ve yet to really understand, and with ENDLESS Legend 2 coming up soon, I don’t think I’m going to start anytime soon. It is a fine trailer about building empires and doing a semi-Civ thing, but you really need to be into what the ENDLESS series is already trying to do. Those who are excited about ENDLESS Legends 2 can get excited for the August 7th early access release date.

Previously called Last Standing, Berserk or Die shadow dropped, and I can’t wrap my head around the gameplay. Slap your keyboard like you are Lance Stroll seeing a wall at a street circuit, and the screen will light up like a Christmas tree trying to kill an epileptic, sure, but it is really not my thing. You can pick up Berserk or Die as it is now called since Vampire Survivors developer poncle took over publishing rights. Really cheap and for those types of people, have at it you crazy kids, I’ll go back to anything else.

Ok, a Devolver-published game that isn’t extremely gory, what has this world come to? Releasing July 10th, and there is a demo available right now, Mycopunk is a co-op mission-based shooter where you join the New Atlas Hazard Crew and try to kill/get rid of deadly fungus. I’m honestly surprised it wasn’t titled something like “Fun-guys,” as it seems like that type of thing. Interesting, but unless the rest of humanity stops being annoying, the co-op bit puts me off.

From PC Gaming to “Why am I getting a Playdate Direct right now?” We’ll see if my only note here gets through on Blippo+: “If I smoked crack and played on nostalgia, I’d make some money too.” Kind of like NotGames’ Not for Broadcast, Blippo+ is an FMV “off-cable TV simulator,” whatever that means. It is currently available on PlayDate. Flip through channels and watch the absurdest comedy wearing thinner than your art teacher’s blouse, then probably leave an unfunny review that’s trying to be funny when Blippo+ releases on Steam “Fall 2025.”

Odd that Ubisoft is publishing this next one, but I guess that’s what happens when Sandfall Interactive reminds people there are interesting ideas under Assassins Creeds, Anno, and Tom Clancy games. Morbid Metal is a “Hack ‘n’ Slash, Action Rogue-lite, where you can shapeshift into unique characters to slaughter enemies with powerful combos.” Developed by SCREEN JUICE, it is a quick trailer diving into the ideas as explained by game creator Felix Schade, as he explains the ideas concisely and clearly. Exactly what these deep dives should be. Morbid Metal will release into early access on August 20th, or you can play the demo now.

Developed by brika and published by Ysbryd Games, LOVE ETERNAL is a psychological horror precision platformer. That’s not just me quoting my notes, that’s how the team describes it, and I don’t think there is a better way to do so. Very niche, this is one you are best checking the trailer out on and possibly wishlisting for later this year. The trailer notes “Q4 2025” for PS4/5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Switch, and on Steam.

I went and wishlisted Bus Bound straight away. The next game from Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop developer, stillalive studios, following Team17/Everplay’s acquisition of Astragon a couple of years back. Is it a total conversion/totally new idea? No, it is a similar thing where you are renovating a town to become friendly to public transport, but that’s all I really want to see. No release date for Bus Bound just yet, and hopefully, Saber Interactive will be kind when I ask to review it. “Coming soon” according to Steam, Bus Bound will be on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and (of course) Steam.

An odd one coming next year, ATMOSFAR is the next game from Airport CEO developer Apog Labs. An open-world base-building thing on a floating set of archipelagos with the ability to play with up to three other players. The trailer itself wasn’t really selling it to me, but I know I’ll be keeping an eye on it ahead of its 2026 release on Steam.

The next game from the developer of The Entropy Centre, VOID/BREAKER, I wasn’t too kind to this one. “A terribly dull-looking Rogue-lite FPS with some destruction physics,” now usually the latter is something that I love no matter what, but you’re shooting at robots in Stubby Games’ upcoming title, and there wasn’t a lot of footage of them reacting to those shots. A demo is out now for VOID/BREAKER, and will release into early access August 20th with a console release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S seemingly coming later.

Someone had to do it, I just didn’t really want it to happen. Love Shore developer, Perfect Garbage, is developing a “narrative farming sim with a terrifying twist – someone in the town is a supernatural serial killer.” Well, thanks for the spoiler to Grave Seasons, a farming/life sim with horror elements published by Blumhouse Games. No release date and no demo, but will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam, where you can wishlist ahead of release sometime in 2026.

Sticking with horror and Blumhouse Games, the publisher is also set to release Eyes of Hellfire, a “co-op gothic horror game” that’s sort of a deck builder with social deduction, I think. Developed by Gambrinous, the art style is probably the most exciting part of Eyes of Hellfire to me. Coming to early access this August, you can wishlist Eyes of Hellfire right now on Steam.

After that, we got a look at the GOG mods thing that it has going on, with the addition of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss, Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines Unofficial patch, Doom Phobos, “and more” noted in the trailer. The climax of which was that Skyblivion will be coming to GOG later this year.

“We have Hotline Miami at home” up next, as DeadWire looks to add hacking and emergent systems into the mix of the fast-based top-down shooter. Developed by Velocity Noodle and Baby Redemption developer, Shotgun Anaconda, DeadWire will be released this September. No demo or specifics of release date, so one to wishlist.

The next one was more of an ad, so I’ll just quote the Steam description here: “a survival life simulation game set on an island inspired by the rugged Australian outback.” I couldn’t think of a bigger nightmare. Dinkum is one of those colorful sorts of farming sim-looking games, but is just an open-world survival crafting game that was released earlier this year. There is a demo out now, and there will be a sale on the 12th of June.

Before we got a look at Mac n Cheese Games’ Void Martyrs, host Sean Plott said, “I’m public enemy number 1 in 14 countries.” Yeah, mostly because I spread the good word of hatred toward your existence during these shows, but that’s enough about me nearly describing a horror scene. Void Martyrs is a top-down “grimdark survival horror about a nun in space.” If you like shooting slow, horrible monsters on a space station while playing as a nun, this is one to wishlist. No release date or window, though, and no demo either.

“Russian Vegas simulator.” I don’t think there is ever going to be a better description of Panik Arcade’s “Rogue-lite slot machine nightmare,” CloverPit. Set to release sometime this summer on Steam, CloverPit is one of those endless debt simulators where you keep gambling in-game money.

Housefire isn’t going to like me, and quite frankly, fair. Coming this fall, Eclipsium is a surrealist horror thing that turns your very nice OLED monitor into one of those bulky CRT monsters for its simple “retro” art style. To be quite damning let’s quote my only note, “Of all the video games, that’s one of them.”

I could almost say the same about a few others here, nearly saying it about Just Die Already developer Doublemoose Games’ next game, Abyssus. Instead, I went with Doom, if you make your own guns… and that kind of sells it to me. Abyssus is a “fast-paced cooperative FPS and Rogue-lite brinepunk adventure” set to release August 12th. However, if you can’t wait that long, then you’ve probably got ADHD and you might want to play the demo and wishlist now.

To continue my series of damning praise, I said of ASCENDANT that it was “A game that would have done well in the vinegar strokes of 2012.” A terribly dull, dreadfully magenta game from the developer of Lightseekers, PlayFusion, trying to make the capture-the-flag thing interesting once again by showing off nothing worth getting excited about. The trailer ends with the quote, “It’s like capture-the-flag on crack.” Maybe if you were on crack, you’d have developed a more visually interesting game to release later this year on Steam.

Speaking of appealing to 12-year-olds in many years gone by, Ed McMillen and Tyler Glaiel have teamed up again. You know the guy who made The Binding of Isaac and the other guy that made The End is Nigh, two games that appeal to the typical Reddit user of 2010. Well, their new game Mewgenics is the type of game that people who think shouting “aids!” is a punchline will find very funny. Mewgenics is set to release on February 10th, 2026. Finally! We have a game other than Resident Evil with an actual date in 2026, chime the bells.

If that description of Mewgenics was deemed “risky” I can’t quote what I said about Dark Rift Horror and Wales Interactive’s next FMV horror thing. Dead Reset is a time-looping Saw film for surgeon Cole Mason, to which you might as well have called him Generic McManface. The trailer doesn’t give much, and I can’t say what I thought when I saw it, so just know that Dead Reset will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch (of all bloody places), and Steam this September.

Believe it or not, this next one is the penultimate game. Described as a “sci-fi exploration sim for people who like to wander,” the trailer here for Bernband doesn’t really do the idea justice, in my opinion. Developed by Sokpop Collective and Tom van den Boogart, you just walk about and explore a sci-fi city full of alien people. No release date, just something to wishlist on Steam right now.

I’m being harsh again, but “Agar.io if it were a proper game with a style” is how I described the game that was quite disappointing to end on. Coming from the developer of ABRISS – build to destroy, Randwerk’s next game Wanderburg has you playing as a castle-fortress thing on wheels. Described as a “minimalist open-world roguelike in an ecosystem of Castles on Wheels,” you consume other castles and such to grow and become more powerful, but it’s not multiplayer as far as I’ve seen. You can register for the Wanderburg playtest right now on Steam and wishlist it ahead of the 2026 release.

As usual, I have issues with the pacing of the PC Gaming Show, but when you look at the games shown off, it wasn’t terrible. Maybe if you sat through every painfully written line from Sean Plott you’ll want to bash your face against a brick wall, but it was a fine show otherwise. As always, you can find the show from the very beginning embedded down below and put yourself through that pain if you’re psychotic enough.