The Maw: What’s New in PC Gaming This Week

There are times when I think the most intriguing new PC releases of each week are orchestrated behind the scenes by some diabolically scheming, Left 4 Dead-esque “AI Director.” Usually, the games come in small groups, evenly spaced across the weekdays—a steady onslaught. But every now and then, they come insidiously en masse, attacking on a single day. This week, it’s the latter.

On Monday August 12th mockingly empty alleys and the sound of crying. On Tuesday August 13th the wordy wizardry of Leximan (for which there is still a Steam demo). On Wednesday August 14th a distant choir and a raised neck hair. And then, on Thursday, August 15, the onslaught begins: the Early Access launch of the laid-back factory sim Shapez 2, the parsing, point-and-clicking of The Crimson Diamond (also has a Steam demo), the bloody fistfights and llama-based exploration of Arco (Steam demo? Yes, Steam demo), the cheerful city-building of Gourdlets (no Steam demo for this one… ah, just messing around – here it is), the wacky musical toys of ODDADA (would you like to try the Steam demo?), the bird antics of Just Crow Things (Steam demo, yes), and the Steam release of Sins Of A Solar Empire 2 (shockingly, no demo).

Thought it was over? Better regroup with your teammates, because the director has a few zombos up his sleeve. On Friday, August 16th, a closing quartet of the fun, the fearful, and the forlorn: the mournful sheepdog odyssey Farewell North, the diminutive Zelda-esque Castaway, the cosmic junk-seller Pawn Planet, and Feed The Deep, a Lovecraftian roguelike from the Fruit Ninja developer. As always, all of the week’s new releases are sponsored by The Maw, an endlessly ugly embodiment of the universe’s yearning for the New. You can follow our efforts to manage and appease the creature in the news liveblog below. Have a great week!