2023 games: Upcoming releases
Best PC games: All-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPSes: Finest gunplay
On an average day about a dozen new games are released on Steam. And while we think that's a good thing, it can be understandably hard to keep up with. Potentially exciting gems are sure to be lost in the deluge of new things to play unless you sort through every single game that is released on Steam. So that’s exactly what we’ve done. If nothing catches your fancy this week, we've gathered the best PC games (opens in new tab) you can play right now and a running list of the 2023 games (opens in new tab) that are launching this year.
Canine
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: May 11
Developer: PuKo
Launch price: $3 | £2.49 | AU$4.50
Canine is yet another PS1-style survival horror outing, but this one stands out to me for its dog-centric ways. Picture this: your dog has been stolen by an evil corporation. To save your dog, you must infiltrate the premises of said corporation to save it. Big problem, though, because the building is guarded by a violent humanoid dog who wants to kill you, and the only weapon you have is a cute throwing ball. Needless to say, you won't be throwing this ball at the humanoid dog, though it may prove useful in other ways. This is a stealth game at heart—think Alien Isolation, or Outlast—but its the creepy breathing ye olde 3D graphics that give it its terrible vibes.
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: May 11
Developer: CyberConnect2
Launch price: $40 | £31 | AU$56.95
The first Fuga game received great reviews when it released in 2021, and this sequel doesn't look like it shakes the format up. It's a narrative-driven turn-based RPG that follows the events of the first game, so if you haven't played that, maybe start there (opens in new tab). This sequel has a "revamped" tactical combat system, and some other minor mechanical tweaks, but is otherwise a sequel in the truest sense of the term. If you're into steampunk (loosely based on WWII-era France), visual novels, tactics and uh, talking animals, it's a series worth checking out.
Voidtrain
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: May 10
Developer: HypeTrain Digital
Launch price: $27 | £22.49 | AU$39.55
Most studios say, "let's make a survival game with tree punching and base building and maybe some cannibalism", while the studio behind Voidtrain says: "how about a survival game about an Interdimensional Express Train travelling through increasingly surrealistic and dangerous worlds that you have to, you know, survive?" This Early Access survival game is all about moving through said weird worlds while gathering the resources to upgrade your train. With the use of a gravity defying grappling hook you'll also be exploring the weird regions around the railway, which is populated with heaps of disturbing things that want to kill you. This is an Early Access affair: it'll launch into 1.0 some time in 2024 (subject to change), but looks like a blast already, with four-player online coop already supported.
Midautumn
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: May 10
Developer: Team Midautumn
Launch price: $25 | £21 | AU$36.50
This week's roguelike representative is a colorful top down dungeon crawler with beautiful pixel art. So... zero points for originality then? But wait until you get a load of the premise: during a vacation at their grandma's place, protagonist Robin Lam finds an entrance to the Spirit World in the basement. Ridding this Spirit World of evil spirits will apparently help combat the scourge of gentrification overtaking grandma's real world neighborhood. If only it were that simple in real life! Midautumn thus splits its time between fast-paced ARPG gameplay and town exploration, with all the loot and roguelite trimmings you would expect. It's hard to stand out among the trillions of roguelites on Steam, but this one has my attention.
The Ranch of Rivershine
Steam page (opens in new tab)
Release: May 12
Developer: Cozy Bee Games
Launch price: $27 | £21.41 | AU$38.65
I can't tell if this is aimed squarely at young kids or not, but if you're into horses, cozy management sims and farming, you could do much worse than try The Ranch of Rivershine. Launched into Early Access last week, this is definitely one for the horse heads: in addition to building a ranch and maintaining it, you'll acquire and raise horses, which you can either keep, breed and nurture, or trade at the local auction house for presumably even better horses. Better still, you can to ride the horses, all the better to train them up for various cross country events. It wouldn't be a chill game without some form of farming, so expect to grow grains, hay and fruit to keep your horsies happy too. This looks like a real labour of love, and will stay in Early Access until 2025 at the latest, with lots of new material to be added in the interim.
