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 2021 games that are launching this year.
Ynglet
Steam page
Release: June 6
Developer: Nifflas
Launch price: $4.49 | £5.21 | AU$10.35
Ynglet is vaguely a platformer—the developer calls it one—though it has no platforms. Instead, the insect-like hero has to dash between airborne shapes, sometimes with the help of bouncy walls. It's a novel take on a twitch action game: instead of bouncing and leaping you're floating at speed, and it looks gorgeous in action. The subtle colour schemes and hand drawn art are reminiscent of N++, as is Ynglet's use of music to draw you into its strange, abstract world. It's by the creator of Knytt, Uurnog and Affordable Space Adventures, so if you've dug any of those you'll need to check this out.
Lost Epic
Steam page
Release: June 5
Developer: Oneoreight, Team Earthwars
Launch price: $17 | £13.16 | AU$24.60
Here's a 2D action RPG with a visual style reminiscent of Vanillaware's games, most obviously Odin Sphere. As knight God Slayer, you'll smash and slash your way through lavish 2D environments in order to confront six very pissed off deities. As you'd expect, there's loot and upgrade trees to grapple with, and a "multitude" of different weapons ranging swords and claymores through to bows. Lost Epic is in Early Access, and will stay there for up to a year while the studio polishes the game, reacts to feedback, and adds a bunch of new content. At the moment, the first two of six regions are available to play through.
Slipways
Steam page
Release: June 4
Developer: Bettlewing
Launch price: $17| £14 | AU$23.95
Slipways has a very promising pitch: It's an accessible grand strategy game that shears away most of the detailed, menu-based micromanagement you'll find in games like Solaris. Of course, you may love that stuff, but this is for those who don't. According to the game's description you'll "colonize planets, carefully pick industries and hook everything up so that your planets support each other." Andy Kelly gave Slipways a spin back in February and was very impressed, writing that "it's a wonderfully simple, streamlined strategy game, but still makes you feel like you're building something grand."
Anima: The Reign of Darkness
Steam page
Release: June 2
Developer: Redeev
Launch price: $10.79 | £8.36 | AU$15.25
If you love ye olde action RPGs and find the likes of Diablo 3 too accessible and polished, Anima: The Reign of Darkness is here for you. Originally a mobile title, this hack and slasher has "potentially infinite game difficulties," apparently, with five playable classes which can be folded together if you want to experiment with the game's multiclass system. Everything you'd expect from a loot-focused time sink is here, save multiplayer support, but hey: it's old school.
Mighty Goose
Steam page
Release: June 5
Developer: Blastmode, MP2 Games
$20 | £15.49 | AU$28.95
Finally: A titled goose game. This one stars a goose whose name is Goose, but Goose's list of tasks is mercifully simple: speed through sidescrolling 2D environments shooting the ever loving heck out of everything in its path. It's a simple run and gunner, in other words, but the pixel art is pretty, there's local cooperative play, and it stars a goose.
These games were released between June 1 and 7 2021. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
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