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 you can play right now and a running list of the new games of 2019.
Nightmare Reaper
Steam page
Release: July 17
Developer: Blazing Bit Games
Price: $18.99 | £14.49 | AU$26.95
Nightmare Reaper is a retro-styled first-person shooter with a style that seems to borrow as much from Wolfenstein 3D and Blake Stone as it does from the likes of Duke Nukem 3D. The last two games seem key, because this is a surreally coloured game, with lots of flashing lights and ludicrous gibs. It's an Early Access title: the game will release as episodes (just like the classics), with the current and first boasting 32 of "over 80" total weapons. If you're into Ion Fury (née Ion Maiden), Dusk, Amid Evil, or actual old school shooters, this looks worth a look.
Soulfire
Steam page
Release: July 16
Developer: AyDream Co., Ltd.
Price: $16.99 | £13.49 | AU$23.95
Launched into Early Access last week, Soulfire is a sidescrolling melee battle royale game boasting a "souls-lite" combat system. The game pits 20 teams against one another (though I've no idea the player limit within these teams) in an open world Castlevania-esque 2D sandbox, with 25 melee weapons, five ranged and five spells to choose from. The game is expected to stay in Early Access for a year, with the studio finetuning the game and also adding more content during that period. It's always hard to make a commitment on niche online-only games, but Soulfire certainly looks interesting.
Founders' Fortune
Steam page
Release: July 20
Developer: Oachkatzischwoaf Interactive
Price: $18.00 | £14.00 | AU$26.00
Founders' Fortune is a "fantasy colony simulator" which focuses just as much on the mental wellbeing of your colonists as it does building and defense. You'll build them up from nothing, constructing buildings, infrastructure and farms, all the while trying to stop them from having tantrums and dying during the freezing winters. The game has been in alpha for a while, but with its launch into Early Access the studio predicts up to a year worth of extra development time, with a range of inclusions planned like relationships, multi-floor builds and pets.
Possession
Steam page
Release: July 18
Developer: Weirdfellows
Price: $9.99 | £6.99 | AU$14.50
Here's a true, ye olde styled roguelike with an interesting twist: in Possession you play as a ghost, and as the name implies, you'll be able to possess the monsters you encounter in order to inherit their abilities. As the ghost, you'll be trying to make your way up and out of what I assume is hell itself, and this can only be done by wielding the strengths of dozens of foes. While it's definitely an old school turn-based affair, studio Weirdfellows insists that it's a pick up and play affair, that you won't need to "memorize dozens of weird key commands, or puzzle over confusing skill and ability lists".
Robo Instructus
Steam page
Release: July 16
Developer: Big AB Games
Price: $12.99 | £10.00 | AU$18.50
Robo Instructus has players controlling a robot with the use of simple programming commands. As the game's increasingly complex puzzles are solved, more commands are unlocked, leading to more "elegant and powerful" solutions. Some Steam reviewers are praising it for its ability to introduce certain programming concepts, but it looks like it'd be fun even if you don't want to learn anything.
These games were released between July 15 and July 22 2019. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
