On an average day, about a dozen new games are released on Steam. And while we think that's a good thing, it can be understandably hard to keep up with. Potentially exciting gems are sure to be lost in the deluge of new things to play unless you sort through every single game that is released on Steam. So that’s exactly what we’ve done. If nothing catches your fancy this week, we've gathered the best PC games you can play right now and a running list of the 2020 games that are launching this year.
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp
Steam page
Release: October 23
Developer: Beautiful Glitch
Price: $11.99 | £9.99 | AU$17.95
The original Monster Prom is a modern cult classic, and it's not hard to understand why: it's a competitive dating sim all about hooking up with monsters. In other words, it fills a niche that has been neglected for far too long. This sequel (which is actually called Monster Camp) takes place during a summer camp, rather than the lead up to a prom, and in addition to some familiar faces there are some new beasts to woo. In the words of studio Beautiful Glitch, they're "repeating the best from the... formula, but adding some new spices to it." Best not tamper too dramatically with a winning formula.
Murder House
Steam page
Release: October 23
Developer: Puppet Combo
Price: $11.99 | £9.29 | AU$16.95
Retro-styled horror games are becoming a dime-a-dozen nowadays (there's even another one further down this list), but Murder House takes the 1980s retro-fetishism to an extra level, wedding the aesthetics of ye olde VHS technology with the grim austerity of early 3D survival horror. The game follows the trevails of a news crew tasked with investigating the former home of a serial killer, and I think you can guess what follows. When will people learn not to explore ominous looking abodes? In videogames at least, hopefully never.
Beyond The Wire
Steam page
Release: October 22
Developer: Redstone Interactive
Price: $34.99 | £27.79 | AU$49.95
Launched into Early Access last week, Beyond the Wire is a WW1 first-person shooter with large scale battles that can host up to 100 players, 50 per side. Of course, there's more than a whiff of Battlefield 1 about this outing, but there are some interesting touches: melee is directional (think Kingdom Come: Deliverance) and cooperative tactical gameplay is of the utmost importance. Beyond the Wire currently boasts three factions, "multiple" modes and three maps, but more of all that will be added to the game ahead of its proper 1.0 launch, which will happen as late as 2022.
Uppers
Steam page
Release: October 22
Developer: Bullets
Price: $29.99 | £24.99 | AU$42.95
This madcap brawler launched as a PS Vita exclusive in 2016, and to make matters worse, it was also a Japan only release. Now it's been polished up for PC, so everyone can get involved in its over-the-top weirdness. Set on an island consumed by mindless violence, you can choose from 13 playable characters in your mission to punch and kick people for no good reason at all. Uppers probably isn't a classic, but it's nice to see it get a new lease on life.
Dread X Collection 3
Steam page
Release: October 24
Developer: Various
Price: $9.99 | £7.19 | AU$14.50
These Dread X horror compilations are always worth a look, and this third instalment looks like no exception. Across 12 games you're getting a diverse range of genres, including adventure games, sims and platformers, with all created within ten days. These games all fit the mold of "spoopy," which is a relatively modern internet coinage which vaguely translates to "cute but scary". Based on the trailer, you'll probably be getting some fairly uncanny takes on childhood nostalgia as well.
These games were released between October 19 and 26 2020. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
