From the stars, a sinking ship, to having nine lives and being a broke Vampire…
Cosmic: A Journey Among Shadows – May 6
This 2.5D Metroidvania from King’s Pleasure is releasing into Early Access (EA) this week and will spend approximately “6-10 months” in that phase. Players who purchase the game in EA will have access to 3-4 hours of gameplay and will get the game cheaper than it will be once Early Access ends. It’s coming out for PC, and dates and other systems are seemingly TBD. (A press kit from last year lists Xbox One, Xbox Series consoles, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch as available platforms.)
Farm Together 2 – May 7
Farm Together 2 improves over the original game in every way, offering a better polished experience and becoming the best way to enjoy your own farm!
Early Access is also the name of the game for Farm Together 2 from Milkstone Studios. The developers have stated that the game will spend anywhere between 6-12 months in Early Access, gradually adding new features and mechanics that will make it in the final 1.0 release. If you know this will be your jam, you can save a few bucks buying it in the Early Access phase as well.
Gift – May 8
Gift was one of the demos I played during February’s Steam Next Fest and fell in love with the art and the protagonist. (The fact they’re wearing an old school diving helmet kept a perpetual smile on my face.) Not to mention that the platforming/puzzles were that sweet spot of being challenging, but not hair-pulling difficult. Gift is coming out for PC, Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles in addition to Game Pass.
Little Kitty, Big City – May 9
The most apropos game name EVER. (You are, indeed, a little kitty in a big city.) This was another game where I had the chance to play a demo during Steam Next Fest and spent most of my time with it just exploring and seeing how much havoc I could wreak across the demo area. (It was a lot.)
This one is coming out on not just PC, but Xbox One, Xbox Series consoles and Switch. If you’re a Game Pass subscriber, you’ll be able to play it as part of your subscription.
Animal Well – May 6
Animal Well’s visuals are almost hypnotic in a way; with almost like a CRT-filter quality to them. The world looks wild and weird, the enemies look wild (those swans! the cat!), and I really enjoy the dark, moody vibe of the world. It has a spot on this list not because it’s a Metroidvania, it’s a Metroidvania attempting to do some cool stuff. It’s coming out on PC, PlayStation 5, and Switch.
Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns – May 6
If you thought Fortnite had quite an eclectic collection of crossovers, Poncle was like ‘hold my beer’ with Operation Guns, a new DLC for Vampire Survivors. The gist: The President’s cousin’s sister’s dog has been kidnapped by Red Falcon, and you need to come to the rescue.
Brocula – May 7 (Xbox) May 9 (Steam)
Waking up after 500 years to realize that everything you had is gone has to suck. That’s the premise behind Brocula, coming out on May 7 for Xbox and Xbox Game Pass, and May 9 on PC. An angsty vampire who has to sling coffee during the day and repair his castle at night? Makes me think of me, without the whole undead thing. All I have to say here is yes, please!
Gatekeeper – May 10
Gravity Lagoon is a small team from Kazakhstan. What impressed me here were the slick visuals and well-drawn-out roadmap for the game. (It’s releasing in Early Access on Friday.) It’s a roguelite, so it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are a fan of that genre, it’s worth a look. They released Gatekeeper: Infinity last year, and as of publishing it has a “Very Positive” on Steam.