New on Steam: An open-world role-playing game with an awesome story awaits you this week

A story highlight is coming to Steam this week. But one of the most controversial games of recent years is also waiting for you

What a start to the 2024 gaming year: There is currently at least one really exciting game on Steam every week. And so it is again this week. After Palworld, Enshrouded, Granblue Fantasy: Relink and Helldivers 2, here’s an action role-playing game with the potential to be one of the best story games of the year

But there are more new releases with plenty of potential waiting this week – and a controversial pirate game that is finally setting sail after years in development hell.

Highlight of the week: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, the latest work from Life-is-Strange creators Don’t Nod, promises to be the first major story highlight of 2024. This action role-playing game takes you to the pristine, dark forests of 17th century North America and tells the emotional story of Red Mac Raith and Antea Duarte, professional ghost hunters, with a tragic twist: Antea becomes a ghost herself at the beginning of the game.

I played Banishers back in December and can tell you the following: The game impresses with a combination of solid combat, puzzles and important decisions. The interaction between Red and Antea gives the battles a unique dynamic. While Red uses physical attacks and ranged attacks, Antea brings a supernatural layer to the battles with her special abilities.

Despite minor weaknesses in the open-world design, Banishers gets a lot of things right. The emotional depth of the storyline, combined with well-written characters and morally complex decisions, make the game a potentially unforgettable experience.

More releases of the week

Monday, February 12

• SpellRogue (Early Access): A turn-based roguelike deckbuilder in which your success also depends on the luck of the dice.

Tuesday, February 13

• Ultros: The most unique feature of this Metroidvania is its visuals, which are reminiscent of an LSD trip.
• News Tower (Early Access): In this business simulation you become a newspaper publisher, reminiscent of the German Wi-Sim classic Mad TV.

Wednesday, February 14

• Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered: You can now experience Lara Croft’s first three adventures from the PlayStation 1 era in a remastered look. Watch the video to see how it compares to the original:

• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (Early Access): The dwarves from the cult co-op shooter also go hunting for rare ores in Survivor, but the whole thing is a game in the style of Vampire Survivors.
• Solium Infernum: A turn-based strategy game à la Civilization, but here you fight for dominance in hell.

Thursday, February 15

• Colonize (Early Access): This building game lets you raise a settlement in the newly discovered America of the 17th century. You will have to deal with Indians and other dangers.
• Goat Simulator 3: After Epic exclusivity, the wonderfully chaotic destruction sandbox now also makes it onto Steam.
• Carribean Legends: In this pirate open world, you will experience an epic story, explore dozens of islands, go on treasure hunts, rob other ships and much more in around 200 hours of gameplay. Perhaps the better Skull and Bones?

Friday, February 16

• Skull & Bones: After years of postponements, Ubisoft’s biggest open world is finally being released – and is already having to deal with a lot of fan criticism that was voiced during the open beta: No boarding maneuvers, no story campaign, little variety and a lot of grind. You can find out how much potential the finished game ultimately has in our test later this week.

Note: Skull & Bones does not appear on Steam, but is mentioned in our release overview due to its relevance.