From a gorgeous hand-drawn platformer to a steampunk action-adventure, 5 new Metroidvanias releasing over the next 3 days on Steam make this an excellent week

I hope you like Metroidvanias because this week, Steam is absolutely bursting at the seams with new ones threatening to steal all of our free time. Seriously, it's at the point that it will be difficult to decide which one to play first.

Cast your gaze over to Metroidvania.GG's home page, and what do you see? Under the 'coming soon' section, there's not one, not two, but five upcoming Metroidvania and Metroidvania-inspired titles listed – three of which are launching today, with the next two coming tomorrow and the day after. Good luck keeping up with all of those, huh?

But what's on offer? Well, even if they all feed into the Metroidvania genre, there's still plenty of variety. First up on the games available today is Metamorphosis Games' Gestalt: Steam & Cinder – an indie steampunk side-scroller that was inspired by classic 16- and 32-bit games of old. In this adventure, you'll explore the Steam City of Canaan, fighting for humanity's survival while beating up plenty of Clockwork golems along the way.

Also releasing today is Omni Systems' Bioframe Outpost, a sci-fi adventure that aims to offer "a fresh take on Metroidvania gameplay" with a unique photography mechanic that'll help you gain all-important knowledge about the creatures and systems found in the world. It sounds like quite a different vibe from Skaule's Magical Delicacy – a "wholesome pixel art platformer" that combines the Metroidvania genre with cooking as you explore a town filled with people, all with different requests for you to cook up for them. You'll collect new recipes and kitchen tools as you go.

If that wasn't enough, you can prepare for Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus – a gorgeous hand-drawn action platformer from Squid Shock Studios releasing tomorrow. It's inspired by Japanese folklore, looks genuinely stunning, and sounds like entirely my jam with a "larger-than-life cast of bizarre and adorable yokai."

Last but not least is Old Bit Studio's Meifumado – a Kickstarter-funded post-apocalyptic action RPG full of non-linear levels and story-driven side quests, as well as a "diverse combat system offering varied arsenal of weapons and fighting skills." It looks super stylish – I can only hope we all have enough time for it after all of the other Metroidvanias releasing directly before it. 

Needless to say, we are being spoilt for choice this week – regardless of whether you're interested in one or all of these games, plenty will keep us busy for some time to come. My backlog is weeping.

For even more, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Metroidvania games to explore to absolute completion.