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.
Battle Axe
Steam page
Release: April 29
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Launch price: $25.49 | £21.24 | AU$36.50
Battle Axe is a Gauntlet-style top down hack and slasher with absolutely gorgeous pixel-art, coming across as a blend of Children of Morta and The Lost Vikings. As one of three classes you'll hack, bash and cast your way to "the malevolent sorceress" Etheldred, who is making life miserable in the land of Mercia. You've seen it all before: from felled enemies you pick up gold which you can use to buy a handful of power-ups and tools, and it can be enjoyed both solo and with two other friends in local cooperative play. What it seems to lack in new ideas it more than makes up for with its pixels. You've just got to love them.
HammerHelm
Steam page
Release: April 30
Developer: SuperSixStudios
Launch price: $15 | £11.39 | AU$21.50
HammerHelm launched into 1.0 last week after a stint in Early Access, and it seems to have landed well. It's a blend of third-person action-adventure and "strategic town building," which basically means that you're plotting out a new home for your dwarf community, while also embarking on quests to both gather resources and protect it. And yes, that involves fighting through "dungeons, caves and mines." It looks a like a pleasant affair, with 45 structures to create in your dwarf town, and its an entirely single-player experience too, which is refreshing for a game like this.
DeadOS
Steam page
Release: April 29
Developer: Benn Powell
Launch price: $6 | £4.79 | AU$8.50
Launched into Early Access last week, DeadOS is a fascinating project that lets you simulate a zombie outbreak. Basically, you set the parameters of the outbreak: do you want fast zombies or slow ones? Do you want smart defending humans, or do you want them to suck? "Nearly every element of the simulation is adjustable," so reads the Steam description, and in concert with the eerie retro art style it definitely looks like the kind of sandbox you could get lost in. The Early Access stint will probably last two years and is all about deepening the simulation, as well as adding more features.
Obsidian Prince
Steam page
Release: April 29
Developer: Unleash the Giraffe
Launch price: $12 | £9.11 | AU$17.20
Close, but we're not getting through this week's column without a roguelike. Thankfully this one looks really fun: an isometric tactical RPG with a voxel-based art style reminiscent of 3D Dot Game Heroes and Minecraft Dungeons, to pick two examples out of thin air. As you'd expect the dungeons and loot are randomized, though this looks like it'll provide longer runs than most other modern games in the genre, being a fairly detailed turn-based affair. Obsidian Prince is in Early Access and will stay there for "1-2 years" while new features are added, including new locations, bosses, a campaign story and heaps more.
R-Type Final 2
Steam page
Release: April 30
Developer: Granzella Inc.
$40 | £35 | AU$54.95
R-Type is a side-scrolling schmup series that has kicked around since the '80s—you can buy the first two arcade instalments in a bundle already. This latest game is the first new R-Type game since 2009 and, compared to the arcade classics, then 3D art style lacks a tiny bit of charm. But by all reports it's an incredibly gratifying shooter, and if you're not a high level player you'll probably find this more accessible than most in the genre, with its "performance-based difficulty system." Its' a bit on the pricey side, and there are probably indies out there that do it better, but if you're a fan of the series or schmups in general you probably won't pass it up.
These games were released between April 26 to May 3 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.
