The 2024 PC Gaming Show Roundup

I am one step away from making a very 2015 reference, which is a reference to Bottom. If you know, you know. Given I’m back here once again covering the PC Gaming Show, I think it is fair only to mention consoles when I know there is a console port or when it is noted, otherwise, I’m ignoring console ports. I’m also ignoring the pre-show which had the lovely Frankie Ward giving a top 10 bits of nonsense loosely connected to PC gaming; The Witcher 3 was 10th, No Man’s Sky 8th, Baldur’s Gate 3 in 6th, Fortnite in 4th, Discord in 2nd, and Battle Royales in 1st?

I’ll also be ignoring most, if not all of the forced “personality” stuff from Sean Plott and the fantastic Star Trek alum, Mica Burton. With all of that out of the way we got a look at a disturbing-looking (in my opinion) first-person cozy farming, though without the cozy graphics and more along the lines of 3D cartoon. There is no release date for NUGGETS ENTERTAINMENT’s upcoming early access title, Among the Wild, though you can sign up for closed beta access here.

Kurzgesagt was up next to join forces with Dorfromantik developer Toukana to make, Star Birds. Star Birds is an asteroid base-building game about resource management with the style of Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell’s YouTube video style. If you’re still not getting it that’s the YouTube channel that does the nice science-based videos that you are most likely subscribed to because 22.4 million people are. Star Birds will be released in 2025.

Imagine Conan (not the ginger one) but in a top-down survival sandbox RPG with pixel graphics, you’ve basically thought of Lorn Vale. An upcoming single-player title coming to early access in 2025, this trailer was another one asking people to sign up to its playtest. You can do that here.

Following that we got a look at what some people in Scotland think Monks do. Ale Abbey is a bear-making game set in a monastery. I don’t know if you’re allowed to make “wine,” but if so I’m sure about three people will try to make a thing called Buckfast. Otherwise known to the sane among us, fermented cat urine with pink food coloring. Ale Abbey doesn’t have a release date, a demo, or much else, but you can wishlist it for its release sometime in 2024.

Despite downright loving the original Streets of Rogue, I feel I’m too old for whatever Streets of Rogue 2 was aiming at with its trailer here. Already on my wishlist, this action Rogue-like is set to give you more freedom, more crazy situations, and more nonsense to get up to later this year. No demo, though you don’t have to wait long for Matt Dabrowski’s sequel as Streets of Rogue 2 releases on August 14th, 2024.

To quote the blurb on Steam, “Unleash custom attacks by combining words in this Super! Anime! Turn-Based! RPG!” We’ll be talking about Paper Castle Games’ Wander Stars again when I get around to writing up the Latin American Games Showcase. However, it is exactly as the description on Steam says, very anime and very turn-based. Though, unlike most turn-based titles, this one focuses on combining words in battle to do damage. Sticks and stones might just break bones, but words do hurt robots. There is no release date, though you can play the demo on Steam right now.

I have been getting emails about Southfield for months now and for the life of me, I just don’t get it. Another farming-sim though this time with a little jelly baby for your character and a whole lot of not much else. Designed for those who love the “whacky,” Southfield is hitting early access on the 24th of June, 2024.

Steel Seed was up next and it wasn’t much else we hadn’t seen before, I did a news article on it several weeks ago. This was just a new trailer, showing it off to as many people as possible and noting that it will be coming to Steam and Epic, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 later this year.

Launching into early access… tomorrow, Fallen Aces is a stunning comic-book-style action immersive sim FPS. Set in Switchblade City, this over-the-top is a “crime noir FPS that plays right out of the ’90s and looks like it’s right outta the comics.” Oh yes, I’m deeply interested and was sold instantly. Not only that but Trey Powell and Jason Bond’s title also has a demo out now.

In the first big showcase of a game beyond just a short trailer, we got a look at Stormgate, particularly the Celestial faction. Nothing said here hasn’t already been said elsewhere. “Stormgate, as it evolves will turn into something that is literally the best game we’ve ever made,” said a developer who worked on Starcraft 2, Korea’s favorite game. I love RTS, and I am excited for Stormgate, but I don’t need to hear how magical and innovative it is. I want to play it, and you can too soon. Releasing into early access for all us scrubs, Stormgate releases free-to-play on August 13th, or if you buy the early access release, you can play from July 30th.

EDF! EDF! EDF! Yes, have you ever wanted to play as the authority figures in Red Faction: Guerrilla, well now you can with Mars Tactics. Letting you take control of either the “Capital’s corporate army or Labor’s worker revolutionaries” you can make like Gustav Holst and bring war to the red planet. An isometric turn-based tactics title, you’ll go to Mars to spread Matt Damon and his poo-y potatoes across the arid sand later this year. There is no demo and no specific release date, we just have the 2024 release window.

I honestly don’t know how to feel about Toads of the Bayou, a turn-based tactics Rogue-like deck building title from La Grange. To say it is downright gorgeous would be an understatement because it is beautiful, however, it does remind me of Subset Games’ Into The Breach. Despite being loved, I didn’t like that one from the FTL developer. Though there is something about Toads of the Bayou, I’m trepidatious about its October 2024 release. No demo is available, though in August there will be a prologue to Toads of the Bayou on Steam.

I think it was the other day I said that I’m getting sick of these Guy Ritchie-style trailers and though I instantly fell in love once I saw it was Artificer’s next game, I did have a grumble at it. Sumerian Six is a World War II-era isometric RTS Commandos-style of game where you lead “an unlikely team of commando scientists behind enemy lines to fight Nazis, uncover arcane mysteries, and wield experimental technology to turn the tide of WWII.” Yes, after Showgunners, magic nazis are up next. The trailer noted a 2024 release is on the way, but Steam doesn’t give a date, though you can check out the demo.

I was sorely unimpressed with Mithy Yell Studios Inc.’s All Systems Dance, and even more unimpressed with the bastardization of Gil Scott-Heron’s most famous quote. Trying to look like a mix of Jet Set Radio and Mirror’s Edge, you must dance to break the system, man. There are no release date dudes and dudettes, as this rhythmless action-adventure rhythm title doesn’t impress. Nor is there a demo.

There is a demo for what I’ve dubbed “Mad Maxine,” or as it is known, FUMES. Coming from FUMES team, this early access vehicular combat-based title looks to be very strange and very fast-paced. I’m also thinking it looks very fun as well. No release date, but given FUMES is coming to early access and we’ve got a demo to play, I think we’ve got a solid idea that we’ll get to see more of it in the coming months or year.

One year on, no release date, and I’ve still got very little to say about dungeon-crawling action Rogue-like “boomer shooter,” Sulfur. You may remember this from last year, I certainly do. One of a few I do remember from last year’s showcase, though I can’t say it was for great reasons. It looks fine, there is a demo, and Perfect Random has given us a 2024 release window, I’m just waiting to see something impressive from it.

From the Xbox showcase properly ending on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to (as the kids say), we have S.T.A.L.K.E.R. at home. Phantom Line is something I remember from last year. It was that thing with a box that you walk into, there are red curtains, and then there was a jump scare. Well, as it turns out, it is a “paranormal SWAT” game set in post-nuclear Europe where you and up to three of your friends can shoot at things that go bump in the night. I can’t quote my notes on the details, as it includes an expletive, but maybe if we get a better look at it and a release date I’ll go back to caring.

Much like the Stormgate segment, we got a lot of talking about Killing Floor 3, which is still about killing zombies, now with limb disembodiment and extra damage. I guess the revolution has finally come, bullets do damage. Sarcasm aside, it is yet another Killing Floor game. If there was a new feature to care about, Tripwire would be out here talking about it. Coming early in 2025, you can wishlist on Steam right now.

Can I get a mod day one to add a chant about where Adam Johnson can “off” to? COPA CITY is a football management game with a rather big twist, though one we’ve somewhat seen before. A much nicer side to Dutch studio Darxabre’s Hooligans: Storm Over Europe, you are the organizer of some football events in COPA CITY and must keep fans happy and far enough away from either other to not cause bother. Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2025, there are still three teams to be announced and two cities. The already announced teams are Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Brazilian team Flamengo, with the city of Warsaw already announced.

I’m a bit less enthusiastic about Unpacking developer, Witch Beam’s next game, Tempopo. A planning puzzle game about getting up and around obstructions on floating islands. The type of game you’d expect to see on mobile and you’ll get three stars after you’ve watched a trailer for something else free-to-play. You can wishlist Tempopo on Steam and is set to come to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Switch at some point. No demo, no date, just wishlists.

Following a long trailer for PC Game Pass, which I was hoping there was a game in that style, we got a look at the 2025 release 90s action-RPG Last Moon. Where I think Sea of Stars (which aimed in the same direction) succeeds over Sköll Studio’s Last Moon is that it has a refreshing look. Last Moon has an art direction we’ve seen a lot of, particularly in the Metroidvania sphere, so I’m not as pulled into it despite looking pretty. There is a demo out now for Last Moon, though as I said, no specifics on the release date.

Another stylistically interesting one in that comic-book style, though this time a “micro-sandboxes in this fast-paced covert revenge thriller FPS from the developers of El Paso, Elsewhere.” Strange Scaffold’s I Am Your Beast is a Metal Gear ‘em up with a “Boomer Shooter” focus. It looks stunning. Not only is there a demo out now, but better still, the release is only August 15th, 2024.

I’d like a deeper look at the next game from the people behind Moonlighter, Cataclismo. A real-time base-building defense game, Digital Sun’s next game gives me a They Are Billions vibe but focused on a castle. There is a demo out now for Cataclismo, though you won’t have to be sedated by that for long. Cataclismo will be released on Steam on July 16th, 2024.

The next title I want to drag David into and try to get him to shoot at the thing he’s supposed to this time, unlike with Ready or Not. Level Zero Extraction is a tactical horror extraction shooter with a dark atmosphere. There are no real details to speak of as of yet, but you can play the demo, out now. Level Zero Extraction is releasing later this year on Steam, but no date is given.

I take back what I said when I spoke about Stormgate, I hate RTS games, particularly those that poise themselves as eSports (7 in the pre-show). Battle Aces is a fast-paced action-orientated RTS that looks like it forgoes the army-building you’d do in the likes of Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance, Total Annihilation, or Rusted Warfare – RTS. Worse still, the Steam page notes online PvP as the only mode and in-app purchases. If you are cretinious enough you can sign up to the closed beta here. No release date, no demo, and you can only wishlist on Steam.

There are still no details on Jump Over The Age’s Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. Another nice trailer for the upcoming “tabletop-inspired RPG, in a human and heartfelt sci-fi world.” However, there weren’t many details to pick up on from here as someone who’s yet to play the first game (there are a lot of games, I’ll get around to it). It looks very pretty, looks very Citizen Sleeper: More of it, but also looks like we’ll not get to see it until early 2025. There is also no demo.

Isometric tactics horror-based Persona-like (shut it, I know Persona is dark) up next, yes it is Necrosoft Games’ Demonschool. We saw this last year, or maybe the year before, and I instantly wanted it then. Now, there is a demo for this turn-based JRPG-inspired (made in California) title, though you might only one to play that for a short while. Releasing September 13th, Demonschool is one of my most anticipated games of the year. Coming to Steam, Epic, Xbox Series X|S and One, PlayStation 4/5, and Nintendo Switch.

I can’t say I’m terribly excited for Indoor Astronaut’s sequel to its initial 2020 release, Unrailed! Unrailed 2: Back on Track looks to be more of that chaotic co-op railroad construction gameplay but with newer levels. Coming sometime later this year to early access, there isn’t a demo or a specific release date in sight for Unrailed 2: Back on Track.

The trailer for Space Wizard Federation’s Space Station 14, coming to early access at some point, made me think it was something Yahtzee made a long while ago when he did the Dev Diary series. Nonetheless, I was off, as Space Station 14 is a free-to-play online PvP/co-op RPG where “disasters, enemies, and incompetence conspire to make each shift aboard the station a unique and hellish experience.” You can sign up to get access to the playtest on Steam right now, though there is no release date noted anywhere for this one.

This is how to do something along these lines All Systems Dance, give me anime Sex Bob-Omb. Sort of the same idea as OFK, D-CELL GAMES is building a world around a digital music act in this rhythm-adventure in the world of UNBEATABLE, where “music is illegal and you do crimes.” Which I guess is like “be gay, do crimes” but lacking the sex of rock music. Coming in 2025, there is no demo available for UNBEATABLE yet unless you count the 2021 free-to-play title UNBEATABLE [white label] as the demo. Which itself has “overwhelmingly positive” reviews on Steam.

The number of emails I’ve gotten about Odinfall, you’d think I was part of the PR team. Still no release date for this upcoming early access Rogue-lite, twin-stick shooter, there is a demo out now for this Viking-themed title. Now, can I stop getting so many emails? Thank you!

Pugstorm’s Core Keeper was released into early access in 2022 and has seen reasonable success since. Honestly, I thought it was a new top-down survival thing that looked a bit like Techtonica, but hey-ho. Well, as it turns out, Core Keeper’s farming, mining, building, and crafting game is about to hit its 1.0 release, and also release onto consoles finally. Coming to Steam in 1.0 on August 27th, you’ll also be able to pick it up on Xbox Series X|S and One, PlayStation 4/5, and the Switch.

Alexx was nice to No More Room in Hell 2 the other day during the Summer Game Fest coverage, though my notes were less so. Simply put, “Survival Left 4 Dead-like.” In development from Chivalry and Chivalry 2 dev, Torn Banner, there isn’t really much detail. We did get a narrow release window, but I’ll be surprised how well No More Room in Hell 2 will be in early access this Halloween and ready for large-scale multiplayer.

Speaking of large-scale multiplayer, Striden is a survival online PvP title that doesn’t know when or where it wants to be. It has Thompsons, MP5s, and otherwise, but really when and where this title made by 5 Fortress is set is beyond me. It is noted this title made by six people is set in the “Scandinavian peninsula,” but honestly from what I’ve seen the scenery looks quite generic. No release date for the early access just yet for this Swedish developer’s title, though you can request access to the playtest on Steam right now.

Hey kids, do you know, the weed? I’m the worst person to talk about Drug Dealer Simulator 2, but also probably one of the best people given I know where some drug dens are. Nonetheless, byterunners’ upcoming sequel to its 2020 release is only days away from release. Releasing on the 20th of June, you can wishlist Drug Dealer Simulator 2 right now.

The few in this bunch right here were in a collection of games in a quick montage. You’ll see why I am about to “go off on one” about that here in a minute. Though Zero Sievert showed up, again another top-down extraction shooter because they are all the rave, not for a release date or anything like that. There is an update coming in Autumn featuring the new city, “Zakov City.” 1.0 is supposedly set to come in 2024, though I guess a new city was more important to announce.

I use that Rocketpoweredmohawk gif of him saying “I am calm!” a lot. Whoever thought that trailer for The Deadly Path was great should be shot into the eye of the sun for their crimes against humanity, never given a chance to come back within human contact ever again. Not only was the text fully on screen for half a femtosecond, none of it says the words “The Deadly Path.” It could have been “Billy Bob’s Anus Spelunking Adventure” How the Christ was I supposed to know? I am calm! No details were given, obviously, it was an awful trailer.

An awful trailer that bled straight into Incolatus, a “Y2K girly-pop retro-inspired arena-style movement FPS.” Once I’d disentangled the idea of the previous game being part of this one I invested very much into Funny Fintan Softworks’ noisy (visually), incoherent, fast-paced trailer. No release date, no demo, just wishlists for you.

I was into Inferni: Hope & Fear, which is releasing July 1st. Then I realized it was only online PvP, and a battle royale TCG at that. A demo is available right now for Village Studio’s first title, but as I say, you don’t have to wait long for the release of Inferni: Hope & Fear.

Ghostrunner has a lot to answer for when it comes to DeathSprint 66, though so does Battle Royale and The Condemned. “a neon-drenched online multiplayer thing,” as my notes say, it is the type of thing that works in concept. I think we’ve yet to see it in action properly to get a good gauge of where it really sits. Again, no release date, and no demo. I’m left wanting to see more not because I want it but to see what it actually is.

We got a short trailer followed by a small interview that wasn’t really telling us too much about Crescent County, only confirming what you saw in the trailer which the Steam page could do well enough. By day postman-sim, by night racing/dating-sim. See, now that’s my speed of cozy games. Sadly creative director at Electric Saint, Anna Hollinrake, didn’t come with a release date for Crescent County, nor is there a demo on Steam. Coming to Steam and Xbox, you can wishlist right now.

A short indie montage was up next, and here we go again with the montages. Forgotten Seas is a very indie early-access crafting title about ships. To be derogatory, Pangea Game Studios’ first title isn’t very visually interesting, though is only developed by 2 people so I can see why. If you like survival-crafting base-building titles, you’ll enjoy this title released last Friday, but I’m struggling to get excited for Forgotten Seas.

The award for Most Generic Dialog of the Week goes to, “My name is Sam Walker, and I’m the last man standing,” Moon Mystery! Cosmoscouts’ Moon Mystery won the award long before it has a release date on Steam and Epic, though won the award hands down. It is a great honor to meet the wannabe sci-fi exploration title this early, but honestly, I don’t think I’ll be shaking its hand when it comes to collecting the award because I don’t want that genericness all over me.

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge has a lot to answer for, especially after that Power Rangers game revealed during Summer Game Fest, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind. We’re not talking about that though, we’re talking about G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra, another side-scrolling Beat-‘em-up based on an ’80s property that should be left in the ’80s–’90s. No release date, but you can play the demo on Steam.

“Cozy” farming sim, Everholm is up next. Set to release later this year according to Steam, you can pick up a demo there too and try out this farming sim with an action bit tacked on. Yes, we’ve come to the point where even the cozy games have to be about hitting things now. No specifics on a release though we know that Everholm is set for later this year.

Set in 2045, Reija’s upcoming title, Shell Runner, wants to be an isometric cyberpunk extraction shooter, but honestly, this trailer did nothing. Maybe if there was something unique that it was trying to sell and showed me, I’d be in but otherwise, it is the noise blending into the background. No release date was given but a demo is out now, and when Shell Runner does eventually release onto Steam, it will be in early access.

Massive battles with thousands of soldiers? Renaissance Kingdom Wars, you had me when you offered me thousands of little men to have all to myself. Some might be turned off by the grand strategy RTS-ness of Reverie World Studios’ latest title, a very ambitious Total War-like, though I think there is a charm to an indie doing that. Coming to early access in Q3 of 2024, there is no demo for Renaissance Kingdom Wars, though there is a free prologue coming soon.

I was out immediately at “Narrative & Resource Management Hybrid,” then I was back in at “Operate the tax collection system.” I guess what I am saying is, I am fickle. Coming to Steam in 2024, Macagames’ Debtor’s Club is a Cartoon Network-y odd game that seems to be leaning into being odd. Coming later this year, you can play the demo now on Steam.

A not very attractive, side-scrolling rhythm action title, The Land of the Magnates roots itself in the myths of the Middle East, and I kind of wish that was more prominent. A demo is out now for The Land of the Magnates, though there is no release date for Permanent Way Games’ first release.

Adding some dimension and visual interest into the series, Cat Quest III takes a more “A pirate’s life for me” approach. With a demo currently on Steam, you’ll see it is more of that Cat Quest thing I’ve yet to get into. You’ll be able to play Cat Quest III on Steam from the 8th of August though, and you’ll also get to pick up Cat Quest III on the Switch, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox Series X|S and One from the 8th too.

The Crush House was already on my wishlist before we got a showcase. I’m glad this got a detailed look to explain itself a little bit more, though I think more games like this could have gotten the spotlight instead of The Killing Floor 3 and Stormgate, games that already have the spotlight.

What more can I say about The Crush House, it is a TV production-based game about filming a 90s reality TV show, with hints of Rogue-like/lite restarting if you fail. Coming to Steam on August 9th, I’m excited to perv on people and film some fish.

I was ready to boot the telly in if we had to wait another year to hear some actual details on Prideful Sloth’s Go-Go Town!. Part sandbox, part city builder, part cozy life-sim, Go-Go Town! has appeared in several showcases over the last couple of years and we’ve finally got a release date for the early access, and a demo available right now. Coming to Steam on June 18th, we’re literally days away from getting some hands-on time with the “all the games-game.”

Give me some country on shuffle, give me some podcasts, give me some peace and quiet. I’ll be happy on September 3rd when Star Trucker releases on Steam. The demo is out now, there is no need to muck about here, just a lovely bit of space trucking from Monster and Monster as well as Raw Fury. Also, can I get some VR for it too, there will be a missing person’s report out on me in a matter of days.

From charming truckers to another word ending in “uckers” I can’t say here, we got a look at Escape from Tarkov. I wouldn’t have minded it, I really wouldn’t have, but we got teased with a 1.0 release and got absolutely no detail in that direction or when that announcement might be made. I honestly think there is more detail in The Deadly Path trailer, and I wanted to launch someone into the sun for that one.

My notes simply read “A platformer where you stick fireworks up your [bum] and pray you don’t die.” Power to you if you thought I was talking about a real-world event you could join, you are why we have the Darwin Awards, but I’m actually talking about Send It Studios’ Splodey. A 2D precision platformer with fast-paced action and is a speedrunner’s wet dream. Out now on Steam and rather cheap too.

Can I just fling myself in the ocean already and stop this flintlock-based nonsense? Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, which I forgot was being made by A44 Games which made Ashen, is still coming to Epic, Steam, Xbox Series X|S (Game Pass), and PS5, all on the 18th of July. I still think it will get 8s across the board and be forgotten about a year or two from now. However if you’d like to, four weeks before launch, you can download the demo on Steam and try it out yourself.

‘83 is another one of those cozy farming simulators. Oh, wait, no it is not, it’s another one of those bloody online PvP “Cold-War-Gone-Hot, combined arms, first-person military shooter for high player counts.” Great, we’re in a dirth of those right now, what with all of them currently in development. No release date (surprise), and in fact the Steam page notes: “Head over to our website to sign up for the chance to participate in any future pre-release Alpha or Beta testing!” No.

Have I gotten too old for bright contrasting colors and fast-paced shooting? There was an ad for MULLET MADJACK, which still looks exactly like you think it does with a name like that. Released May 15th, this heavily stylized and somewhat gory title offers something to someone. Not me though.

I love the idea of a game from someone who worked on Gone Home and even someone who worked on Mark of the Ninja and Firewatch. However, what we got from an eco-centric city-builder/colony sim was an interview that kept going in circles about how revolutionary the idea of regenerative systems are to this Rogue-like/lite is. Which in short says, you’ll get it wrong ten times to get bored by the eleventh when you do have it all working perfectly fine. Coming in 2025, there is no demo or release date for Generation Exile, just a release window and wishlists.

Following an actual bit of sincerity from Sean about lay-offs, we got a look at Emberstorm Entertainment’s early access title, REKA. The Steam blurb notes: “Channel your inner witch! Build your cozy chicken-legged hut, practice witchcraft, and forage for ingredients in autumnal woodlands.” You had me at the walking chicken house, but you also had me when Mica noted that REKA takes from Slavic folklore, and thus we also have mention of Baba Jaga. Coming to Steam this August, there is a demo right now for this stunningly Eastern European-inspired game.

Dogubomb was up next with its “genre-defying strategy puzzle adventure.” Blue Prince is something I’ve seen around via ads and otherwise, but I can’t for the life of me work out how to explain it. You are investigating a mystery (obviously) and have to explore a mansion called Mt. Holly. Good enough start, but before you enter a room, you must pick from one of three options, a bit like drawing a card from a deck, be it security, a bedroom, or elsewhere. Maybe the demo out now might help shed some better light on Blue Prince. No release date, however.

If that was difficult to explain, getting a Dyslexic to describe a game about “[Learning] world-changing words and master [the Lok creatures] mind-bending effects” is downright cruel. Stunning with its use of black-and-white crossword-like visuals, but I’m going to need a bit more help to figure out what Letibys Design and Icedrop Games are cooking up here for a release later this year with LOK Digital. There is a demo out now, and I think I might need to find time to play that.

To put it nicely and without being too crude, I was nearly flipping tables with my excitement for Tom Francis’ Tactical Breach Wizards. In the next game from the developer of Gunpoint and Heat Signature, you are a group of Spec Ops soldiers with magical abilities, such as a healer that can only heal you once she’s killed you, a sniper that can see all possible futures but can’t remember his own past, and so on. Great stuff, I want it now! Well, there is a demo available now if you can’t wait until the 20th of August (22nd according to Steam) when Suspicious Developments’ Tactical Breach Wizards launches on Steam.

I want to say we’ve seen Aloft before, but I can’t say I’m all that sure. A demo is out now for Astrolabe Interactive Inc.’s co-op survival sandbox, but it seems you won’t have to wait long either for the single-player full release. Aloft is set to come to Steam in Q3 (“fall 2024”) this is a charming, though fairly similar-looking survival sandbox.

I get one more showcase of Screenbound without a detail in it, I’m setting fire to the world’s supply of GBAs until my demands are met. I want this odd 2D-3D hybrid thingy now, can you hurry up and at least give me something to snack on while I’m waiting?

I hope you like anime because Hotel Galactic is a cozy management game with a heavy Studio Ghibli-inspired art style. Stunning, beautiful, gorgeous— I’m sure someone has already drawn images of that cat person that aren’t safe for work. The next game from Ancient Forge, developers behind Blockbuster Inc. and The Tenants, I’m reasonably excited to see what Hotel Galactic is with its dark villains looking in the back-end of that trailer. However, it was only just announced and there is already mention of a Kickstarter on the horizon, telling me there is a reason we don’t have a release date or a demo in sight.

Releasing on Tuesday, there isn’t much to say about Secret Mode and The Chinese Room’s 1975 Scottish coastal oil rig horror, which hasn’t already been said. I wasn’t too excited about it when it was announced because I’m used to Scotland being portrayed as a shortbread tin holding bagpipes and kicking an Englishman to death. One out of three ain’t bad.

However, I’ve come around to Still Wakes the Deep, and I’m excited to see what it does. Also, I’m glad we’re getting proper pronunciations of words, such as “po-lis” and heavily rolled Rs on “fired.” Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S (Game Pass), Epic, and Steam, it is only a few more days before release.

From 70s Scotland to 80s Texas, two times the most rural parts of each location are yet to catch up to. We’ve got a look at PikPik’s Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days. Side-scrolling survival zombie thing, we’ve got no details here, and quite frankly, I need to see something more to get too excited about it. A demo is releasing this October, supposedly, but no release date.

We got a quick-fire piece that was annoyingly tacked on updates to some games that didn’t need to be here. Tarn and Zach Adams, creators of Dwarf Fortress, came along to tell us there is a beta out now for “Adventure mode.” This led to another similar-looking game, Caves of Qud, which was first released 15 years ago and is finally getting its 1.0 release because it is “the most intricate Rogue-lite ever made.” No thanks. Meanwhile, the “Spring Molting” patch is out now, and I still don’t know what that means.

The third game is another “free-roaming sandbox game about growing from [a] street rat to a tradesman, a priest, a smuggler, an alchemist, a spy, or perhaps someday a leader to rival the Overlord,” Streets of Fortune is quite ambitious. Now kids, what does ambition get you? That’s right, no release. Or at least no release date with a 1.0 patch this side of the decade.

Oh, I do like an alt-history strategy game set in a time where you can spread a Nazi’s guts half a mile up Shaftesbury Avenue. The next game from Coffin Dodgers and HyperBrawl Tournament, Milky Tea Studios’ Grit and Valor – 1949 is an upcoming dieselpunk RTS Rogue-lite featuring Nazi mechs. I’m sold, give it to me now! There’s no demo and no release date, but we have a 2025 release window on the horizon here. Interestingly enough, Grit and Valor 1949 is coming to Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch as well as Steam. Yes, one of those is not like the other.

Tables were nearly flipped once again, as we got a look at The Rise of the Golden Idol. No release for this 70s sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol, though there is a demo out now for the detective puzzler. The Rise of the Golden Idol is set to release sometime in 2024, though as I say, we don’t have a detailed release. Coming to Steam, PS5, “Xbox,” Switch, and Netflix, I’m very excited.

Another turn-based strategy title with real-time exploration up next, Every Day We Fight wants to talk about “resistance” and all but, though it doesn’t go so far as to say it is the French resistance. That and the accents are all over the place. A time-looping title (so I’m sold!), you’ll fight an alien invasion during a not-so-subtle hint at a war during the 20th century. No specific release date, though there is a note of coming in 2024, so soon, maybe?

Anime, again. ACE Entertainment’s upcoming Tales of Seikyu is a “fantasy farming adventure amidst yokai legends. Can you restore a countryside inn to its former glory, forge connections with extraordinary characters, and uncover the hidden wonders of this magical world?” Pretty, nice, and lacking a solid release date or a demo. Set to release sometime in 2024, this is one for wishlists.

“[A]n adventure game set in a fantastical world inspired by 17th century Iceland and folklore,” Island of Winds seems interesting on paper. In action, a little more generic than I’d have liked from Parity Games, though it is the studio’s first title and is still a work-in-progress release. Coming in 2025, I’ll have to see more closer to the release to be too excited about Island of Winds. Coming to Steam, Epic, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, we’ll keep an eye on this one.

I like the dedication to the awful graphical quality of the 90s, but I’m sitting here in front of multiple 1080P monitors with a graphics card that can handle 8K at the very least. I need to see more from Rain World developer, Videocult’s newest title, Airframe Ultra. An action-racing, hoverbike ‘em up with a focus on split-screen gameplay. No release date, no demo, and until I see something worth getting excited for, no wishlist for you, Airframe Ultra.

Now this is how to get me excited for an open-world survival-crafting game with a multiplayer focus that looks like an 80s cartoon. Stormforge is exactly that, coming from Age of Rivals publisher, Roboto Games, in the studio’s first game developed (according to Steam). No release date for this ambitious first title and no demo sadly, but I’m already on the wishlist for Stormforge.

The next game from Motion Twin, the studio behind Dead Cells, Windblown is something that has caused a little bit of controversy for some reason. Coming to early access later this year this action-Rogue-like has yet to excite me as much as Dead Cells did. By the looks of it more of an isometric title and somewhat focused on fast-paced multiplayer action, I’ve yet to have that spark ignited.

As I say, releasing later this year, it was more of a community manager begging to get abused online by people wanting it to be a survival-crafting MMO fishing sim, with 2D arcade platforming. Which is to say, don’t ask the internet to tell you what it wants.

The penultimate trailer was for the next game from the developer of disturbing physics-based co-op platformer, Chasing Rats Games. We got a look at Worship. The Steam blurb notes: “Incite the end of the world as a devout zealot of an eldritch god in this multiplayer Pikmin-inspired Rogue-lite.” Well, of the games shown, that’s certainly one of them. I can’t say I’m too impressed in motion or from screenshots, the art itself just isn’t inspiring excitement, and nor is the idea. No release date, we’ll probably see this one again next year as it was only just revealed.

The final trailer was another “sure, that’s a game,” from me. Janson RAD’s Gunboat God is a fast-paced shoot-’em-up with a monochromatic foreground and colorful background. Given the overall name and look, it makes me think it is supposed to be set in Vietnam, but if America wasn’t vastly outsmarted by Guerrilla warfare. “Transform your Gunboat and upgrade your weapons, skills, and abilities to take on giant, challenging, multi-stage bosses!,” Sure, but can you give me a reason to be excited? No release date yet, but you can wishlist on Steam right now.

That’s it, that’s the PC Gaming Show 2024. As I’ve said countless times, if this show was less about the forced “personalities” and attempts at comedy, I’d be more excited about covering it every year. However, it keeps drastically changing from sketch comedy to awards/anniversary dressing, to a stage show with interviews as 2019 was. If you’d like to watch the whole show yourself, it is linked down below, but I’d suggest trying to skip any time Sean Plott is talking because the man gets on my nerves.