ranzware
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.
Elroy and the Aliens
Steam page
Release: April 3
Developer: Motiviti
Elroy and the Aliens is another harkening back to the simple days of pointing ‘n’ clicking, with an art style reminiscent of ’90s cartoons (the protagonist is a dead ringer for Shaggy). It follows the zany adventures of rocket scientist Elroy and journalist Peggie as they investigate the suspicious disappearance of the former’s father. This quest inevitably takes them into far flung space, which is naturally full of amusing aliens and taxing puzzles. This is a big adventure: with over 60 characters and 60 locations, it’ll take you roughly 10 hours to complete. If you’ve got insatiable hunger for ’90s nostalgia, this should help block out the present for a spell.
Gnomes
Steam page
Release: April 5
Developer: Dystopian
I adore the art style of this turn-based tower defense roguelike, which is all about gnomes decimating droves of goblins. Not just for fun: the gnomes need to protect their crops, ideally holding out long enough to warrant the attention of the goblin king, whose death is a requirement to win. Thankfully the gnomes are a wise bunch, because not only are they adept at exploiting the benefits of relics and the environment, but their plants have abilities of their own too. This looks debilitatingly more-ish; definitely something to investigate if you’re ready to finally uninstall Loop Hero.
LiDAR Exploration Program
Steam page
Release: April 3
Developers: KenForest
LiDAR Exploration Program is about a poor soul stuck in a perfectly dark world. No biggie though, because this poor soul has a lidar scanner for some reason, which is a real world tool that uses light to measure the dimensions of spaces. Using the scanner, you’ll substantiate the world as you explore, encountering mysterious structures and bizarre objects along the way. There are horror elements here, and the resemblance to Scanner Sombre is very obvious (the dev gives it a shout out), but there are some neat ideas wrapped in an eerie ‘n’ icy atmosphere.
Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced
Steam page
Release: April 5
Developer: Holistic Design, Inc.
First released in 1997 in a fairly buggy state, Emperor of the Fading Suns is a 4X strategy that has grown a small but passionate following ever since, mostly thanks to the remedial work of modders. It’s easy to see why its players loved it: it’s a strange hybrid of science fiction and fantasy that drastically tweaks a lot of the systems that had, by the mid-’90s, become rote in the 4X genre. This ‘enhanced’ edition has “new features, modernized gameplay, and immersive visuals designed to expand on the already treasured strategy game”. There’s a demo too, if the prospect of a ’90s 4X feels a bit intimidating.
Vaporwave Pinball
Steam page
Release: April 5
Developer: Jamie D, Mixtape Games UK
It’s vaporwave pinball.
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Kurt Indovina
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