The Steam PvE Survival Crafting Fest has officially kicked off. Amidst a wave of heavy discounts on relevant titles, the newly launched Breathedge 2, which dropped on the 31st, has soared straight to the very top of the global Steam best-sellers chart.

Breathedge 2 is a sci-fi space survival adventure and the direct sequel to the 2001 original. The ordinary bloke who starred in the first game and that trusty chicken are back for another round, picking up right after the events of stopping a massive space corporation's sinister plot. The protagonist and the crew find themselves wanted fugitives on the run from the corporation, dealing with friendly fire and unravelling the murky truth behind how everything went pear-shaped.

The developer has made notable changes across various elements, including the environment and enemies. Moving beyond just surviving amongst the wreckage of a shattered spaceship, players can now explore diverse locations like space stations, abandoned residential ruins, and various starships, with vastly improved vehicles and transport to help get around. While the protagonist previously had nobody to chat with except the spacesuit's AI and a chicken, Breathedge 2 introduces NPCs who can join as companions or help progress missions.

Early user reviews for Breathedge 2 are sitting at Very Positive, with 86% of them glowing. Granted, the review count isn't massive just yet, but players are praising the surprisingly solid optimisation despite being built in Unreal Engine 5, alongside the return of the trademark dark comedy and cheeky parodies that defined the original game. Quality-of-life tweaks like inventory management and oxygen capacity have also gone down a treat. That being said, a few players have grumbled that the AI voice acting gets a bit distracting, while others pointed out that managing food and hydration has become noticeably trickier than keeping track of oxygen.

Elsewhere on the charts, The Blood of Dawnwalker climbed all the way up to second place, likely fueled by the recent drop in Metacritic critic scores that has everyone talking. Meanwhile, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, gearing up for its launch on September 4, made a strong debut at fifth place.

Looking at the top 20 daily peak Concurrent Players, Project Zomboid tumbled down to 20th place with 82,039 players, dropping by roughly 20,000 compared to the previous day. Palworld, which made massive waves with its official release back in July, pulled in 157,895 concurrent players, seeing its numbers settle comfortably in the mid-100k range.