Five new games you may have missed last week, including an occult CRPG, and a kart racer inspired by Crash Team Racing.

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 2025 games that are launching this year.

The Necromancer’s Tale

Steam ‌page‌ ‌
Release:‌ July 17
Developer:‌ Psychic Software

The Necromancer’s Tale is a horror CRPG following a noble’s descent into scary occult shenanigans. It’s a story-focused adventure set predominantly in 18th century Italy, with a top-down perspective and turn-based combat, most of which revolves around increasingly grizzly spells (or Dark Necromantic Arts). The fully-customizable player-character has acquired a great spellbook, and the loose objective is to figure out how to use it towards your own possibly dubious ends “without losing your mind or being strung up by the townsfolk”. The Necromancer’s Tale looks like the real deal: there are over 180 characters to speak with, a detailed Trust system measuring your relationship with the game’s different populations, and a beautifully haunted art style.

The Karters 2: Turbo Charged

Steam‌ ‌page‌
Release:‌ July 18
Developer:‌ Pixel Edge Games

Developing a kart racer without some major franchise attached to it seems daring, to put it mildly, but The Karters 2 has received over 200 positive reviews since it launched on Friday, and looks pretty fun too. Taking cues from Crash Team Racing, it’s as much about on-track combat as it is about placing first, and the graphics share the same chunky cartoonish quality as that still-revered racer. While this is an early access launch, there’s already a lot: a singleplayer campaign, 16 tracks and six battle arenas, full online and split-screen support, as well as Steam Workshop integration with an already huge amount of mods.

Kaizen: A Factory Story

Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson

Steam page
Release:‌ July 17
Developer:‌ Ritual Studios

Fretless is a retro-style RPG with a rhythm game combat. The protagonist is Rob, presumably named after the guitar YouTuber whose “musical rock world” the game is based in. As Rob (Scallon), you’ll take the fight to the boss of Super Metal Records company, who is using underhanded means to gain control over musicians and their work. I mean, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek makes this baddie look downright benevolent, but never mind that: this looks like a fun romp if you’re into pixels and shredding.

He is Coming

Steam‌ ‌page‌ ‌
Release:‌ July 17
Developer:‌ Chronocle

Launched into early access last week, He is Coming is an auto battler roguelite, and yes, I understand if you’re tired of hearing of those. But the art style here is magnificent, reminding me of the ye olde Gold Box Dungeons & Dragons games. There are over 350 items to discover, all the better to optimise your avatar as they seek to face off against the Demon King. This EA build has over 30 bosses too, and over the course of the year a bunch of new stuff will be added.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.