Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero: A Nostalgic Dive into Strategy
Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero is one of those richly complicated hex-based military strategy games that can only exist on PC. The turn-based politicking takes place on a map that can host up to 50 kingdoms, and in addition to the prickly army building and warfare planning, there’s also resource gathering and management, and no small amount of diplomacy. While the interface looks streamlined and modern (as streamlined as these things can get) the map itself is charmingly reminiscent of PC games from the days of yore, by which I mean, the mid ’90s.
Retale: Retail Work with a Twist
Retale follows the travails of a retail worker in a big, fluoro-lit, boomer-abundant department store. Played from a top-down perspective, it mirrors the frantic pace of Overcooked!, though Retale is single-player only and a lot more caustic. For instance, keeping customers happy via careful, receptive listening to complaints is definitely one way to go about your job, but throwing a box at them is another (more enjoyable) way. Success can come in many and varied forms! For the most part you’ll be doing what you’re employed to do: stacking shelves, but you’ll need to hone your build if you want to get Employee of the Month.
SpaceCraft Brawl: Build, Battle, Repeat
Launched into Early Access last week, SpaceCraft Brawl is a game about creating your own spaceships and then pitting them against other player’s creations. The grid-based creation workshop allows for endless tinkering with form factor, weaponry, shields and movement, but there’s a bunch of pre-existing designs if you’re not into building. Which, to be honest, would seem to be missing the point, because SpaceCraft Brawl is all about the fun of seeing if your meticulously constructed (or flat out bizarre) creations can stand a chance in battle. There are a bunch of different weapons and abilities (with more to come down the line) and a map editor too. The Early Access period doesn’t have a specified time frame, but there seems to be plenty to sink your teeth into already.
Angelstruck: A Dark Fantasy Bullet Hell
Angelstruck is a slick, bullet hell schmup roguelite in a dark fantasy skin. The much put-upon protagonist moves left and right as waves of flying enemies descent upon them, with respite from the relentless pace coming in the form of random power-ups. These boons can—in the spirit of the genre—dramatically change the trajectory of a run, and synergizing abilities can lead to utterly broken runs. Definitely good Steam Deck fodder.
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 2024 games that are launching this year.
