Community MetaSteam | December 2025 - Cosmic Routine: Ninja Story from the Remastered Temple

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MARVEL Cosmic Invasion

After an unprecedented attack is launched across the galaxy, all life hangs in the balance. Nova, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Phyla-Vell, Captain America and many more heroes, both earth-born and cosmic, will join forces in a star-spanning brawling adventure against the deadly Annihilation Wave. From New York City to the depths of the Negative Zone, the future of the Universe will be fought for across the stars.​



SLEEP AWAKE

SLEEP AWAKE is an immersive first-person psychedelic horror narrative experience that explores the realm between sleep and death. From Blumhouse Games and led by Cory Davis (Spec Ops: The Line) and Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails), SLEEP AWAKE blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination.

In a desperate attempt to remain awake, the denizens of the last known city on Earth are reaching a panic crisis of reckless experiments in their effort to avoid The HUSH, the inexplicable disappearance of those who sleep.

Playing as Katja, you must survive the devotees of various depraved death cults and try to stay awake. Solve the puzzles of this mysterious world to shatter the horrors of the past.

In a unique setting, where an unfathomable phenomenon means that humans are disappearing when they fall asleep. The result is a warring world where dogmatic factions insist they have the one true solution for staying awake.​



Effulgence RPG

Effulgence RPG is a party-based, turn-based RPG where enemies are more than obstacles – they're raw material. Defeat creatures to break them into particles, then feed those particles into a matter printer to create weapons, gadgets and mechanisms. All of this plays out in a world built from shimmering text symbols arranged in 3D space.

Explore a stylized ASCII 3D globe of locations. Fight as a small squad in turn-based, party-focused combat. Break enemies into particles and print gear mid-run. Watch the world shift as text symbols reconfigure into new shapes and animations.

It's easy to transmit a video signal when you're just the distance of a satellite away. Go beyond the solar system and it may take hours to send a regular image to Earth. But when the signal comes from a galaxy a million light-years away, only fragmented symbols make it to us. Sometimes, they can be decoded and assembled into an animation made from text characters. Effulgence RPG imagines what happens when that signal is interactive – when you can walk inside the shimmering sea of symbols, and the creatures made of text don't intend to stay static.

This Early Access build is a vertical slice that will grow over time. The overall target is a 3-5 hour campaign with room for experimentation and replay.​



OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0

Experience a story of restoration and retribution over the divine rings-an epic saga that unfolds across the realm of Orsterra. You are the protagonist of the story. Choose your appearance, voice, motions, and favorite dish with the new character creation feature! Restore your hometown through town building. Invite companions and allies to live in a town of your creation!​



FEROCIOUS

Stranded on a deadly island, survival is all that matters.
Every step challenges you with savage predators, treacherous terrain, and limited resources.
Explore carefully to uncover hidden paths, secrets, and essential gear. Turn the wild to your advantage: control dinosaurs to attack enemies, open paths, or infiltrate guarded areas.
Every encounter is an opportunity - or a threat.​



ROUTINE

ROUTINE is a First Person Sci-Fi Horror title set on an abandoned lunar base designed around an 80s vision of the future. Curious exploration turns into a need for survival when a lunar base goes completely quiet. Searching for answers puts you face to face with an enemy who is certain the main threat is you. Discoveries lead to deeper unknowns and the only way to go is forward.​



American Truck Simulator - Louisiana

Discover the subtropical climate of the state which has provided the magnificent brooding scenery of the coastal bayous, and the lush, dank vegetation. Truckers can look forward to the beautiful and iconic landscape of this southern state, historical cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge, miles and miles of long stretching roads, and also the Mississippi River delta that has helped shape how the area looks today.​



Skate Story

You are a demon in the Underworld, made out of glass and pain. The Devil has given you a skateboard with a simple deal: Skate to the Moon and swallow it - and you shall be freed. Ollie, kickflip, and grind your way through the ash and smoke of The Emptylands as you take on a seemingly impossible quest. Learn to master your weight and motion to conquer the weeping concrete. Savour the ritualistic beauty as you set your feet to pop a perfect kickflip.

Skate fast to destroy vicious demons, help a forgetful frog, and save other tortured souls on your journey from fragile beginner to hardened skater. Push through hell and discover The Devil's greatest weakness: humility, perseverance, and a disgustingly sweet backside tailslide.

Skate through nine layers of The Underworld. Cruise through streets and surreal landscapes full of waxed ledges, unholy gaps, and tortured demons.​



Yakuza 0 Director's Cut

Fight like hell through Tokyo and Osaka entertainment districts as yakuza Kazuma Kiryu and cabaret club manager Goro Majima in an epic crime drama of intertwined fates that created legends.

Kiryu and Majima each have three unique fighting styles to dynamically switch between to creatively crack skulls with your fists, makeshift weapons and more.

Fighting isn't the only way to kill time in 1988 Japan: from discos and darts to classic SEGA arcades and cabaret clubs, there's endless distractions to pursue in the immersive, neon-lit city.

Director's Cut content gives deeper insight into key incidents and character backstories with never-before-seen cutscenes.​



UNBEATABLE

UNBEATABLE is an anime-juiced rhythm adventure where you (figuratively) destroy on stage while you (literally) destroy on stage. During rhythm gameplay, you only need two buttons: a button for up and a button for down. The pink-haired girl is Beat, and she is you, and you have a lot of things to worry about. The cops are everywhere, and they are mad at you for what feels like no good reason. Though it doesn't help your case that you keep making friends with people that the cops are mad at for slightly better reasons. Talk to people, help them out (or don't, I'm not your mom!), play huge concerts, and punch cops. And then run away from the cops you punched. Also there are monsters or something. The music got you here. It'll get you through it. All of this culminates in massive setpieces where everything is at stake.​



The Temple of Elemental Evil

An evil demoness founded a cult dedicated to exploring evil in its most elemental forms. This cult was based in a temple just outside the village of Hommlet in a vile shire known as Nulb. Soon, this cult ruled the region with tyranny; times of chaos and violence ensued. Hard-fought battles were waged and the war was eventually won by the good armies of nearby lands. The temple was razed, the villains were imprisoned, and order was restored. The temple itself faded into distant memory...until now.

Recently, bandits have begun patrolling the roads outside Hommlett and wicked forces are rumored to be afoot, converging on the ruined temple at Nulb. Their purposes for such meetings are as yet unknown. The identity of these people are equally a mystery. Some claim they are bent on slaying monsters and maintaining order within the region, but no one can be sure.

It is an adventure that will lead to the source of a deep and abiding mystery, to the very core of evil itself.​



The Last Ninja Collection + Bonus Games

The Last Ninja Collection brings together seven iconic titles for the first time, celebrating the golden era of retro gaming and the preservation of pioneering games from the '80s & '90s. The Last Ninja series is known for its innovative gameplay, memorable graphics, atmospheric music, and groundbreaking reviews that captivated gamers worldwide, setting a new standard for action-adventure games.

This collection includes The Last Ninja, Last Ninja 2, Last Ninja 3, Ninja Remix, International Karate, IK+ and Bangkok Knights. These games were milestones in the gaming industry, pushing the boundaries of technology and making them available to play on Windows PC. The Last Ninja was developed and published by System 3 in 1987, navigating through beautifully hand-crafted environments, solving puzzles, and engaging in combat. It was a global commercial and critical success, earning numerous awards, including 'Game of the Year,' 'Best 8-Bit Graphics,' and 'Best Music Soundtrack.' Last Ninja 2, developed and published by System 3, follows Armakuni's quest for vengeance in modern-day New York against the evil Shogun Kunitoki, featuring atmospheric, isometric environments and challenging gameplay. Last Ninja 3 received a perfect 100% review score, marking an unprecedented achievement. Ninja Remix enhances the original experience with new soundtracks, updated graphics, and gameplay tweaks.

International Karate (rebranded as World Championship Karate in the USA) was the first European game to top the Billboard charts on the C64, setting the standard for martial arts games. IK+ is a multi-award-winning sequel with improved graphics and gameplay, featuring a three-player mode. Bangkok Knights was the first fighting game to feature large, distinct characters, inspiring Street Fighter's development. These games represent a pioneering time for video games and for System 3, a games company founded in 1982 by Mark Cale. Preserving these games is crucial, not only for nostalgic reasons but also for understanding the roots of modern gaming and the legacy of System 3's contributions, including The Last Ninja series, which sold over 23 million copies across the trilogy and influenced action-adventure games for decades.​



BioMenace Remastered

Explore the original 3 episodes (36+ levels) plus a brand new 4th episode (15+ levels), spanning a range of diverse environments including cities, forests, underground caves, and secret high-tech labs. Rescue hostages and encounter a variety of dangerous enemies and hazards, putting your fighting and platforming skills to the test. Snake Logan is a top-secret operative for the CIA ordered to complete missions that others would regard as suicidal. One day, Snake is called into headquarters and briefed on a situation that has arisen in Metro City. It seems that thousands of monster-like creatures are on a rampage of destruction through the city. Many thousands have already died, and Metro has declared martial law just before losing all communications. Right before the city was overrun, authorities received a message from a man calling himself Dr. Mangle. He stated that Metro is to be an example of what will happen to the rest of the world unless all factions of government comply with his wishes. Snake is ordered to take a plane, fly recon over the city and then return. While circling over the area, he is suddenly attacked by some kind of laser weapon, and the plane loses engine power! He's forced to make an emergency landing and explore the ravaged city on foot. It's now up to Snake - and you! - to save any survivors, find the source of this destruction, and stop Dr. Mangle.​


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Endfield I'm actually really intrigued by because it doesn't feel like they're just making a Genshin copy-paste with a slightly different coat of paint.
And because I've heard many good things about Arknights' story, world-building and gameplay, though I've never gotten into it myself since it doesn't have a native PC client and I'm not tooo huge an Tower Defense anymore.

So I'm curious how they are gonna translate that storytelling and world-building into a higher budget 3D environment.
But also because it's NOT a full on open-world game (it has bigger zones afaik, but they are segregated), how combat isn't just swap combat copy paste (your party members are all actively on the field for example, like in "real" JRPGs) and how the factory building aspect is gonna integrate into the whole. I like the idea of exploring to find resource nodes, build facilities to collect them, build your own zipline systems etc.
I would also call Xenoblade and old Assassin's Creed games open-world game although there's loading screen between the big areas. The exploration and activities to do are basically the same as a truly seamless world. But that's just semantics. Hope you will enjoy the game next month!

Great vision. (y)
"It's making a game that you want to play. It's contradictory, but [try to] not care too much about the players, because if you care about your game, it means you care about the players ultimately," he said. "The best way for me to care about people is to make something that is sincere. If it feels human, [even] if there are little flaws here and there, it's forgivable. It just has to have a strong soul and identity."
 
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RIP Zampella. Awful way to go.

I wonder how much input he was able to leave on any upcoming games. Hopefully it was a lot.



Core PC gaming communities have such warped perceptions that doing the sensible, responsible thing feels inadequate lol. Buying fewer games and actually playing them is the right thing to do. Everyone of us who keep adding +1s to their library are the ones being weird.

EDIT - this got me to thinking... Do you guys reckon Valve would have invested as much as they have in Proton, Steam hardware etc. if they didn't have people collecting games like pokemon without ever playing them? In other words, if their customer base acted rationally and only bought games they were going to play, how much worse off would PC gaming be today?

Gabe always talks about OG Doom selling more than Windows back in the day. and how that encouraged him to bail on Microsoft.

So I think Valve was always gonna try to make Steam its own platform separate from Windows. They were able to benefit so much from the digital age and being quick on their feet.

Its also the only real way of evolving and innovating for a company like Valve...otherwise you are always just some basic PC application. Its why GOG/Epic have such a hard time growing and making money.

Also I think the community factor of PC gaming pushed Valve to do all of this even more than game collecting. But game collecting ofc matters too as the growth of PC game releases forced to them to invent crazy convenient things and not just sit around doing nothing.
 
lashman Layton related news

“Through this program, I hope many of you will get to soar to the global stage as game developers. While I am also actively working as a developer, I’ve recently found myself thinking that AI technology is encroaching upon the creative world.

Currently, around 80~90% of codes are written by AI and then fixed up and finalized by human programmers. In other words, it means that right now, around 80~90% of games are made by AI.

And it does not just stop at programming – AI technology is encroaching on art, music and even game design on a large scale. Not to mention that it’s already becoming common sense in the creative world to rely on the power of AI to boost work efficiency.

That is why I believe that “aesthetic sense” is a necessary skill for game developers.”
 

This is tragic news. The man was one of the most influential people in the FPS space in the last 25 years. He started the excellent Medal of Honor series and then he had to start over and made Call of Duty. He then made Modern Warfare which basically became the template for multiplayer FPS shooters in the industry. In over 30 years of gaming I cannot remember any game having as much pre-release hype as Modern Warfare 2 did and it went on to become the biggest entertainment launch in history. Then he was forced to start all over again and ended up making the Titanfall series. Titanfall 2 has one of the best FPS campaigns ever made. Then Apex Legends and the Star Wars games. And then EA put him in charge of Battlefield. That series was nearly dead after two terrible games but he pulled it out of the grave and launched it into space. BF6 ran over COD this year, something that was basically unimaginable before this.

Anyone working in the game industry would have considered themselves blessed to achieve any one of these things. Vince did it all. His games were enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people. Truly a legend. May he rest in peace.
 
Make sure you disable Vaporlens in the Augmented Steam extension.

View attachment 791

They've added something else called Steampeek which mimics Valve's 'more like this' suggestion box at the bottom of the page


Turns out, this one can't be turned off and it's pissing me off...


I have to assume the extension authors are getting paid by these services to add this crap.

Everything turns to shit in the long run.
 
I'll never understand that mindset tbh, enjoy what you enjoy

Absolutely. I've seen people who said split fiction was GOTY earlier in the year now not even bring it up and when I asked one of them "no one talks about it anymore so whats the point" ??? Imagine doing your GOTY for anyone but what you enjoyed and thought was the best of the year lol
 
Started playing STALKER 2 again after dropping it earlier this year. Could not finish it since it was missing so many core features and performance was shit. I would say it is a an amazing turnaround getting close to Cyberpunk / No Mans Sky support. Performance is greatly improved, Features like Alife, Night Vision are working. Unreal engine upgrade is in the works given even better performance. Having a blast so far.
 
Started playing STALKER 2 again after dropping it earlier this year. Could not finish it since it was missing so many core features and performance was shit. I would say it is a an amazing turnaround getting close to Cyberpunk / No Mans Sky support. Performance is greatly improved, Features like Alife, Night Vision are working. Unreal engine upgrade is in the works given even better performance. Having a blast so far.
InquisitorAles bless

:steam_pigblanket:
 
lashman Layton related news
As much as I dream of a time where a single developer can make a high quality AA-tier title all on their own like the ancient times without going insane, 80%-90% today is wild. I can't even get current agents to get 80% correct code even when it's something simple, and that's just the code. I feel like we're at ~2% generative image capacity (how much the AI can do by itself)...
 
Smallest winter sale so far for me, but that is also because I bought a lot of games that I wanted to buy during the winter sale in the days/weeks before the winter sale happened Steam/Loaded/Other shops. Like Outer Worlds 2, Little Nightmares 3, The Precinct, Skate Story, Cataclismo, Sonic X Shadow Generation, MGS3 Delta, Suikoden, Final Fantasy Tactics, Shape of Dreams, Wuchang and some others.