Skelly Selest
Steam Page
Released: May 1
Developer: Caiysware
Publisher: Caiysware
Price: $2.99
Described by Austin as a hybrid of Devil Daggers and Enter the Gungeon, Skelly Selest is a “score-attack slash dash run ‘n’ gunathon”, according to its developer Caiysware. A quick look at the art style definitely bears that out, with procedurally generated maps and hordes of gross-but-also-kinda-cute monsters to fend off. There are various alternate game modes, such as an endless survival mode and a CCG twist on the formula, among others. If you’re a fan of the above mentioned games as well as Nuclear Throne, it’s a pretty inexpensive game and the pixel art is really compelling.
Shoppe Keep 2
Steam Page
Released: May 4
Developer: Strange Fire
Publisher: Excalibur Games
Price: $12.99
The original Shoppe Keepe was an RPG that cast the player as a town vendor, rather than a dungeon trawling hero. This is its sequel, newly in Early Access, which has the same formula except this time, it’s set in an open world. Rather than sending folk out to procure resources to sell in your shop, you’ll be doing the procuring yourself by exploring “the open village, forest and distant lands”. If you’re keen on just the management elements of Shoppe Keep, it sounds like you’d be better off with the original. But if you’re eager to play something more akin to (but not at all the same as) a traditional RPG, this is closer. “Shoppe Keep 2 may be in Early Access for a year, but could continue to be in development up to two years,” reads the Steam page. It’s currently sitting on a “mixed” rating, so don’t go in expecting a flawless game this early in development.
Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation
Steam Page
Released: May 3
Developer: Suncrash
Publisher: Suncrash
Price: $19.99
Long in Early Access, this helpfully titled apocalypse survival management sim is now feature-complete. Judgment mixes colony simulation with tactical combat, and all this takes place during a “demon apocalypse”, surely the best kind of apocalypse. Once you’ve found a decent enough place to settle, you’ll need to grow it and defend it, but you can’t stay still: resources must be gathered, supplies must be retrieved. You’ll also be researching in order to plot a way to send the demons back where they came from (which is hell, naturally), and you can apparently do so with good old human technology or with magic. Sounds good.
Juicy Realm
Steam Page
Released: May 4
Developer: SpaceCan
Publisher: X.D. Network Inc.
Price: $9.99
Yes, it’s another roguelike, but hear me out: not only does this one have an especially gorgeous art style (pixel-free!) but you also fight against fruit in it. To my knowledge, there’s not yet a roguelike about killing sentient fruit. Jokes aside, it does look fun: you’re an explorer in a strange land, and you must bolster your base by going on the usual supplies-hunting expeditions. From what I can gather, your base is not subject to perma-death but your expeditions are. It’s apparently much easier than your average roguelite, but expect the usual randomisation of items, locations and more. It’s sitting on a “mostly positive” rating on Steam at the moment, so it must be doing something right.
Beat Saber
Steam Page
Released: May 2
Developer: Hyperbolic Magnetism
Publisher: Hyperbolic Magnetism
Price: $19.99
You’re probably as surprised as I am to hear that a VR-only rhythm action game is currently the highest rated game on Steam, but it’s apparently true. Currently in Early Access until the end of this year, Beat Saber tasks the player with using sabers to slash the right objective on the beat. Or in the words of the developers, “every beat indicates which saber you need to use and also the direction you need to match.”. We’ll probably publish more on this game in the coming weeks, but in the meantime if you’re after a great VR game, this seems like an obvious choice.
These games were released between 05/01-05/07. The first page of this list is updated every Sunday and previous weeks are archived on the following pages. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
