It’s that time of the week when we take a look at everything new to play in the world of RPGs and strategy games. As you probably know, the Steam Next Fest is happening right now, bringing with it a flood of new demos to try out.
Since there aren’t many full releases this week, and I already had a list of 20 demos lined up, I decided to dig a little deeper and find a few more interesting ones worth checking out.
Lords of Ravage
- Developer: Synthetic Domain
- Release Date: October 15, 2025
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
Let’s start with the only new release of the week, which is really interesting. I’m talking about Lords of Ravage, A tactical RPG with roguelite elements that puts you in the role of various evil lords doing exactly what evil lords do: destroy, plunder, and expand the forces of darkness.
It launched this week on Steam, and there’s also a free prologue available so you can see if it’s your kind of game.
The Killing Stone
- Developer: Question
- Release Date: TBA
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
First demo to mention for this recap is The Killing Stone. It is a narrative deckbuilder from Question (The Blackout Club, The Magic Circle) that pairs first-person exploration with ritual card battles set in the 17th-century Arctic.
You play a masked Maven investigating the Svangård estate, piecing together the family’s curse between matches by talking to relatives and animal familiars inside a painterly, walkable mansion.
Battles unfold on a ceremonial board centered on the Fanghella, the “killing stone”, with animated figurines, spells, and incantations. The core twist is a Reserve system that lets you stage units and buffs above the battle line, then drop them in later to chain effects or flip a losing exchange.
The demo includes a tutorial led by One Eye, an opening story slice, and a full Ritual you can replay after a clear to try different mixes of Creatures, Incantations, and Chants. Full release is “coming soon” on PC via Steam.
WARHAMMER 40,000: Mechanicus II
- Developer: Bulwark Studios
- Release Date: TBA
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
- Steam Page
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II expands Bulwark’s tactics formula with two fully fledged campaigns, one for the Adeptus Mechanicus led by Magos Dominus Faustinius, and one for the Necrons under Vargard Nefershah.
Battles are turn-based and unit-focused, but the layer above them matters: you fight for control of a whole world, capturing and defending regions, generating resources, and managing garrisons before picking squads for each sortie.
The key mechanical shift is environmental play. Mechanicus units are encouraged to work with cover, while Necron forces can tear the battlefield apart, changing lines of sight and safety as the match evolves.
Each side fields a broader roster than in the first game. On the Mechanicus path, you deploy and upgrade Tech-Priest leaders and supporting troops; on the Necron path, you build a court of nobles and deathless constructs. Narrative events thread through both campaigns, and choices feed into the outcome. A demo is available on Steam, but there’s no release date info.
Journey to the Void
- Developer: RuneHeads
- Release Date: January 2026
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
The next one is an interesting and new hybrid roguelite strategy deckbuilder where the hero stands at the center of a grid and enemies press in from all directions.
Each turn in Journey to the Void is about sequencing cards to stack damage, trigger abilities, and lean on elemental effects while you reposition to manage lanes and angles. Between fights, short encounters force tradeoffs that can buff a run or saddle it with risks, and many of those choices persist into future attempts.
The updated demo includes two starting regions, Firelands or Tundra, plus 50+ cards and items, 40+ events, five arenas, and two bosses. The full release lists January 2026 on Steam.
Dr. Alb’s Prodigy
- Developer: Super Tiny Studios
- Release Date: TBA
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
Dr. Alb’s Prodigy is a game I tried personally a few days ago. It’s a post-apocalyptic roguelike action RPG that mixes real-time encounters with turn-based fights, shifting cadence based on enemy type and your damage output.
Each run is procedurally generated, with randomized levels, loot, and ability upgrades, and you pick up side quests from NPCs as you push the map forward.
The presentation leans on pixel art staged within a 3D scene, lighting, and VFX give it a retro-futuristic 2.5D look without losing clarity in combat.
The hybrid combat is the hook. Real-time pressure favors mobility and timing, kiting groups, spacing to avoid multi-hits, while turn-based transitions create pockets where you can plan target order and mitigate risk with stronger abilities. One to try for sure.
Guild of Hunters
Guild of Hunters is a turn-based RPG about running a medieval monster-hunting guild under a spreading miasma. You recruit and train hunters with distinct specializations, form parties, and take contracts across regions.
Between missions, you manage the guild’s economy: negotiating prices with merchants to stretch budgets, upgrading gear, and deciding which expeditions to fund next. Choices feed back into your roster and the world state, pushing you to balance short-term survival with longer-term growth.
Presentation leans on a top-down, 2D pixel look, but the focus stays on readable combat and resource tradeoffs rather than spectacle.
A playable demo is available now, with a planned release window of Q4 2025 on PC via Steam.
Re:Night
- Developer: Seahorse Games
- Release Date: Q4 2025
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
Another demo to try is Re:Night. A roguelite deckbuilder built around three-unit, grid-based tactics. Every battle has you pilot a compact squad at once, setting a front/back line, flanking, body-blocking, and using terrain for cover, then sequencing cards to push damage or stall until a finisher is safe.
The rules lean on an elemental crit triangle (Fire-Water-Grass): correct matchups trigger bonus damage, so target order and positioning feed directly into your hand decisions. Across runs, you assemble archetypes the page calls Aggro, OTK, and Control, with more than twenty build patterns emerging from class cards, items, and the elemental system.
Between fights, the campaign moves across varied maps with events and encounters; chrono shards act as the meta layer, unlocking new characters, cards, equipment, and story beats as you piece together why the world is stuck in a night loop.
There’s also a set of OTK challenge stages that function like puzzle levels, rewarding precise lines with exclusive unlocks, useful for testing interactions outside a full roguelike run. Planned release window is Q4 2025.
Dungeon Slayer Tactics
- Developer: LeeT Game
- Release Date: TBA
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
Another game with a tactical combat system is Dungeon Slayer: Tactics. Hex-based tactics game built around small-party missions, environmental hazards, and clear positional play.
The Steam demo includes four hand-crafted scenarios and three playable heroes: Warrior, Mage, and Knight. So you can test frontline control, ranged tools, and utility before the full progression system is in.
Combat leans on line-of-sight and tile effects: explosive or flammable barrels can chain damage, and fixed traps punish sloppy advances, so turns reward careful spacing rather than raw stat checks.
The demo is a vertical slice designed to show core rules, movement, skills, and environmental interactions on hex maps, while holding back advanced enemies and meta upgrades for the full release to be announced.
SPARK IGNITES
- Developer: Ignicorvus Studios
- Release Date: TBA
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
Let’s not forget about JRPGs and inspired ones like SPARK IGNITES, a 2.5D pixel fantasy RPG built around precise action order, class synergies, and character traits that shape difficulty and outcomes.
The story follows orphans Ash and Clover on a pilgrimage tied to the Star God’s centennial wish, with choices that influence companions’ convictions and fates across multiple endings.
Presentation leans on next-gen lighting over pixel scenes, and it reminds me of Octopath Traveler indeed. No release date, so go try the demo.
Stabjack
- Developer: Cosmic Cog, Sea Studio
- Release Date: Q1 2026
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
Something with a unique style is for sure StabJack. Never heard of it before, it is a roguelite deckbuilder with a blackjack core and a hard-boiled comic-noir look.
Every turn you draw to power one of three actions: Attack, Defend, or Prepare, aiming for a total of 21 for a strong effect and risking a bust if you push too far. Modifiers, backgrounds, and items shape the deck and let you specialize without breaking the 21-based risk model, so most decisions are about how greedy to be on a given action versus banking tempo for the next exchange.
Combat presents first-person knife fights with sharp animation and dramatic camera work; outside of battles, cases play out as investigation sequences where you examine wounds and scene damage to identify culprits, adding a light deduction layer between runs.
The story centers on Jack, a widower bound to a talking knife and a mounting trail of demons. If you want only the tactics, a checkbox trims most non-combat text and lets you focus on fights; you can restore full narrative at any time. Demo available and release windows set for Q1 2026.
Escape from Ever After
- Developer: Sleepy Castle Studio
- Release Date: Q1 2026
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
- Steam Page
A Paper Mario-style adventure RPG that swaps the usual fairy-tale quest for corporate satire. Flynt Buckler, a storybook hero, finds his dragon nemesis’s castle turned into Ever After Inc.’s offices and ends up partnering with the dragon to climb the company ladder from the inside.
Exploration jumps between themed storybooks, one scene has noir murders and Lovecraft-tinged chases, another pits you against a ruthless “Three Little Pigs” real-estate crew, and you can chat with coworkers, take odd jobs, and even decorate your office as you advance. A jazzy big-band score ties the tone together.
Combat is turn-based with action commands, rewarding well-timed inputs and clean sequencing. You build a party, equip badges, and upgrade character-specific skills to shape roles, while items and partners give you answers for different enemy types.
The demo delivers a playable slice of this loop, with the full game listing a Q1 2026 release window on PC and major consoles.
Stellar Freight: Echoes of the Void
- Developer: Satellite235
- Release Date: February 2026
- Platforms: PC
- Steam Page
If, like me, you loved FTL, maybe Stellar Freight: Echoes of the Void is a must-try. A survival-driven space RPG/sim about captaining a long-haul freighter where fuel, repairs, and time are the hard limits.
Each hyperspace jump advances the clock and rolls new events, pirates, faction encounters, distress calls, and station stops, so decisions about routes and spending have real consequences.
The ship is a build in itself: hull choice gates upgrade depth, modules raise key stats, and repairs eat into the same budget you’d use for fuel or improvements. Reputation ties encounters together, unlocking or blocking missions and changing enemy levels as you back certain groups over others.
Battles with enemy ships sit alongside trade, quests, and opportunistic detours, pushing a loop that weighs risk against distance left to travel.
Crew management adds structure to runs. A three-specialist team, Commander for combat bonuses, Engineer for repairs, Navigator for route access, levels over time, opening dialogue options and event outcomes. It’s a clean way to seed passive power into a game that otherwise pressures you to spend resources sparingly.
The full game’s planned release is February 2026 on PC via Steam. These are my picks for the week. Let me know what you’ve already played or what’s on your list to try. See you next week. Ciao
