Sometimes it feels like you can’t open Steam without seeing a new roguelike deckbuilder for sale. Don’t get me wrong: I love the genre, but it gets a bit stale after a while. That’s why a game like Shroom and Gloom feels so fresh.

The one thing from the playthrough that really stood out was that voice made a lot of difference. At one point when the kids were being swamped by monsters, someone yelled “it’s because they can hear you!” “I’m sorry, I’m just scared!” was the reply “Be scared quietly!” That should be the game’s tagline.

Screenshot: Debate and Switch Recently, I had the chance to test out a couple of Jackbox party games from the upcoming Jackbox Party Pack 12, which is releasing in October this year. For this preview, I sat down (digitally) with some Jackbox crew and a few of my peers to play a match each of “Debate and Switch” and “Hyperface.” First off, I have to get this out of the way: “Debate and Switch” is itself, a bit of a bait and switch. See: “debate and switch” is an established TV

I spent many hours sitting on the couch playing the Dynasty Warriors series and other Warriors style Koei Tecmo games. Tears of Metal takes that “1 vs 1000” style and adds rogue-like elements and a few other twists to make an addictive action game that isn’t quite like anything I’ve played before.

I’m an absolute sucker for old school survival horror, and based on my time with the Steam Next Fest demo for Senara: The Sacrament, that’s exactly what developer Influsion Inc. is going for. But instead of relying on retro aesthetics, they want to up the scares with "hyper-realistic" graphics that do their best to mimic real life.

Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 ANTHEM#9 is a game of "buts." It is the debut title from self-taught solo developer koeda, but it feels surprisingly polished in its presentation. It has some serious style and seriously catchy music, but a gameplay loop that makes me feel like it’s missing that certain something. It features a clever gem-matching combat system that feels great when it works, but the world around it feels empty.

We recently got to play a preview build of DarkSwitch that shows off a little bit more than the Steam demo does—and few colony sims have grabbed me quite like this. I probably haven’t been this invested in the genre since the original Frostpunk thrust me into a “what if” frozen world and tasked me with keeping its residents alive. But instead of a frozen wasteland, DarkSwitch drops you into a lush fantasy world where being on the ground means being subjected to a creeping fog