5 New Video Games You Might Have Missed In May 2022

Overview

So many video games release every month that it can be nearly impossible to keep track of them. More importantly, the deluge usually means that at least a few really good games get buried under the tide.

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Depending on how this is received, I’m going to attempt to pick through the mass of new releases each month and point out five that I think look really interesting. The great thing about this list is every game on it is available right now.

I’m not going to bother hiding each title in an attempt to keep you glued to the screen, so I’ll list them upfront. Nemesis Lockdown, Dwerve, Keplerth, Songs of Conquest, and No Captain Allowed. Read on if you want to learn more about these games.

Nemesis Lockdown Digital – Early Access

Nemesis Lockdown is a digital adaption of the board game by the same name. In Nemesis Lockdown, you and the other players take the role of characters on a secret Mars base infested by Aliens. The danger of the situation demands that you work together to survive, but each of you has a secret objective to complete, and some objectives could require you to turn against one or more of the other players.

While I haven’t played Lockdown I have played the board game version of the original Nemesis, and it’s a great game. It manages to capture the tension of an aliens movie despite being a cardboard game on your table. I can only imagine that going digital really enhances that immersion.

Nemesis Lockdown is currently in early access, but as far as I can tell the game matches the board game already. It’s mostly performance and quality of life features that still require implementation. It currently lacks a tutorial, for example.

In my honest opinion, early access is a strange choice for the game. It’s an adaption, so its features are pretty much set in stone, and I doubt it’s going to go beyond the capabilities of the board game. However, the concept of being able to play Nemesis online is an attractive one, and I’d love to see the game brought to life on screen. It might be time to step up from Among Us and meet its older, more mature sibling.

Dwerve

My tastes in games have largely shifted to where I can no longer enjoy games where you shut your brain off. That unfortunately rules out most dungeon crawlers. Dwerve, is different, however. It’s a dungeon crawler where you play a tinkerer that takes on creatures with a tower defense style of gameplay.

It’s a unique combination and one I’m very curious about. Placing defenses and traps in real-time is undoubtedly going to be hectic, especially since you usually have plenty of time to think in most tower defense games. I’m really interested to see if it works out as smoothly as the trailer implies.

There’s definitely some potential for the game to be frustrating, but I’ve been following Dwerve for quite some time, and it looks like the developers know what they are doing. I have to really admire the fact that Dwerve isn’t just another run-of-the-mill dungeon crawler, and that alone is worth a look.

Keplerth

While Keplerth bears an uncanny resemblance to Rimworld, the games are very different. Keplerth is Rimworld if Rimworld was a survival RPG rather than a colony sim. While they are both technically survival games, in Keplerth you play as a single character, and the game is much more action-focused.

You can build a base, tame monsters, and farm crops, but also fend off invasions and go dungeon crawling. I’m particularly interested in the gene-editing system as I’m hoping it can make for relatively unique play styles. You can also play the game in co-op, which is nice.

Keplerth was in early access for quite a while but recently had its 1.0 release. It also has workshop support, and that has some massive potential if it can manage to gain the popularity required to attract talented modders.

Songs of Conquest

Compared to most games that release every month, Songs of Conquest has made a few waves. I still wanted to include it, however, as I myself didn’t know about it until I went looking for games to include on this list.

Songs of Conquest is basically Heroes of Might and Magic, and that’s probably all I need to say. It’s in early access, but the meat of the game is ready. All four factions are playable. It features two complete campaigns and online multiplayer.

According to the developers, they are opting to learn what players want to be added to the game as opposed to throwing out a massive roadmap that they may not be able to handle. I could get behind the early access tag easier if more developers were willing to put out games that are nearly feature complete but are open to adding more based on player feedback. So I’ll give the developers props for this one.

No Captain Allowed

Imagine Overcooked, but instead of screaming at each other in a kitchen disaster, you’re screaming at each other amid a ship on a hostile planet. That’s No Captain Allowed, except that you also have to vote on decisions such as ship upgrades or which paths you take.

You have to work together to keep one of four types of ships running while also fending off boarders and massive enemies. These types of party games can be a ton of fun with friends when designed well. The rogue-lite take is also interesting and should, in theory, make the failures less painful, as it’s somewhat expected.

The make or break it is going to be how clunky the game is. I’ve played plenty of party games with potential that ended up suffering due to poor controls. This is another game that recently exited early access, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Closing Words

I hope you found at least one game that piques your interest. If you find lists like this helpful, let me know alongside any other feedback via Twitter, Youtube, Discord, or even by email. If the interest is there I’ll throw one out each month, covering the previous month. Happy Gaming!