The next evolution of tactical RPGs has arrived. Annulus is available now across Steam, the App Store, and Google Play, bringing a bold new entry to the modern strategy RPG landscape. Blending innovative battlefield design, deep strategic gameplay, and striking visual direction, Annulus sets out to redefine the genre with a fresh, art-driven approach to tactical combat.

Reinventing Tactical Combat from the Ground Up
At the heart of Annulus lies a distinctive battlefield system - a bold departure from traditional design. This new structure transforms how players approach positioning, movement, and control, turning every encounter into a dynamic tactical puzzle. Rather than relying on static strategies, players must constantly adapt—anticipating enemy actions, optimizing spatial advantage, and executing carefully timed decisions. The result is a combat system that feels both intuitive and deeply strategic, rewarding foresight, creativity, and precision at every turn.

Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate and for whatever reason, Wednesday this coming week is crammed full of new releases. We kick off the week with a Finnish hardcore post-apocalyptic survival game, which is unlikely to be everyone's cup of coffee. Monday kicks off with what might end up becoming a lawsuit with Nintendo, followed by a dark fantasy dungeon crawler and by Wednesday we take a hard left with an action adventure game that also includes racing. Thursday we veer right with a tree city builder and the week ends with trying to end humanity. We got a few more games that didn't quite make the list, of which most are early access games.

Road to Vostok / This week's major release / Early access / Tuesday 7 April
Road to Vostok is a hardcore single-player survival game set in a post-apocalyptic border zone between Finland and Russia. Survive, loot, plan and prepare to cross the border into Vostok, a permadeath zone where one mistake can end it all. Steam link

Hooded Horse, Unfrozen Studio, and Ubisoft are excited to announce the news that everyone has been waiting for - Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era will release on PC via Steam Early Access and the Microsoft Store (via Game Preview) on April 30, 2026. It will also be coming to PC Game Pass day one.

Made for series veterans and newcomers alike, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is built on the familiar foundations of one of the most critically acclaimed strategy series of all time, introducing new and classic game modes that will let people play solo or with friends however they please. Engage in strategic empire building, epic turn-based tactical battles, and in-depth RPG mechanics, all while exploring a vibrant, never-before-seen land full of secrets and dangers.

There were rumors of a new The Lord of the Rings game in development late in 2025, but not much else was known about it other than that it had a sizeable budget of around $100 million and was to compete with Hogwarts Legacy when it came to game design and mechanics. Now, Insider Gaming has reported that the new The Lord of the Rings game is being developed by Crystal Dynamics, not Warhorse Studios, although the report claims that there may be another LOTR game in development at Warhorse.

The game said to be in development at Crystal Dynamics is a third-person action RPG that was claimed to be funded by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and it has already been in development for a while. Neither Crystal Dynamics nor Embracer Group have confirmed that the game is in development, but it may be welcome news to The Lord of the Rings fans that were looking forward to the Lord of the Rings MMO that Amazon recently cancelled.

Welcome to the final few days of March and the first few days of April. We kick off this week with a very shiny looking game that wants to freak you out. This is followed by cleaning up the neighbourhood, killing off some vampires, getting the Star God's blessing, being a very smart octopus and finally playing jenga with a city in the ocean. We also have a bunch of other games that might appeal to you this week as well.

Subliminal / This week's major release / Tuesday 31 March
Subliminal is a psychological horror game inspired by the urban legend of The Backrooms. Bleeding edge lighting and rendering, handcrafted open-ended levels, light and perspective-based puzzles, nostalgic spaces, unfamiliar faces, and a rotting feeling that something is not quite right. Steam link

V Rising is one of those indie games that found a niche and excelled at delivering what its player base asked of it, earning a Very Positive Steam user review score of 89%. That being the case, players have been clamoring for a sequel or its successor. In a recent blog post, however, Stunlock Studios revealed that it would not be making a sequel to V Rising, stating that "the journey to Dracula is a complete one as it stands." Instead, the game studio is working on a new game in the same universe as V Rising, although it's still early days, so it did not share much else about the game.

Being that the new Vampire game will still take place in the same universe as V Rising, it seems logical to conclude that it will be a spiritual successor, but Stunlock also calls the new game "our most ambitious project yet in our 15-year history of making games." Not much else has been revealed about the successor to V Rising, but the studio has also commented that the new game is being designed around the studio's ambitions, commenting that "while the core workings of V Rising are strong and have allowed us to construct a wonderful bastion of dark Vampire delights, that foundation can also be limiting." This suggests something more than a few extra mechanics, better graphics, a longer story, or a bigger world, and the game studio later said that "Our next game will invite you to explore your darkest whims in a world of greater depth, danger, and mystery than ever before," suggesting that there will be more to it than the current survival RPG genre V Rising slots into.

Soon, fans of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will be able to don the armor of a Pinkwater mercenary and experience part of the game themselves. Starting April 22, the closed beta will be available on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 to everyone who purchases the Collector's Edition or Miller's Pack on the website. The closed beta will give players a feel for the game's combat, movement in the zero-g environment, and dealing with life and death on a remote space station. Additionally, Owlcat Games revealed that the game will launch in Spring 2027 on PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG) and on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, with a Day 1 launch on Xbox Game Pass. Fans can wishlist the game now.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is a story-driven action RPG set in The Expanse universe with focus on companions, player choices, and dynamic third-person combat. As a Pinkwater Security mercenary who survives a catastrophic incident on Eros, players have to build a team to fight back against Protogen and their experiments. Though the game is set in the same universe as the books and show, it focuses on its own story and characters.

Hooded Horse is proud to announce a new title joining its roster of world-class strategic and tactical games, developed by industry veterans who have worked on everything from StarCraft to Guild Wars. Announced at the Xbox Partner Preview, Lost Lake Games' debut title, Vaunted, is an upcoming tactical RPG that challenges players to seize the ultimate score.

Vaunted throws players into a galaxy where chaos reigns supreme, and a millennium has passed since the fall of the last galactic empire. A galaxy where mercenaries and treasure hunters scrap over priceless imperial relics buried in far-flung ruins. Join dysfunctional frenemies Dyse, Gendril, and Kyvaath as they battle against ruthless rivals, monstrous aliens, and giant robots in search of the ultimate score. That is, if they can get their angry benefactor off their backs!

During the Xbox Partner Showcase, NACON and the studio Teyon, acclaimed for its previous game RoboCop: Rogue City, were pleased to unveil their new project set in the World of Darkness universe: Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish. One of the most iconic licenses in the role-playing game world returns 20 years after the release of the last video game in this universe. In this first-person, single-player action RPG, players take on the role of a monster hunter in an expansive version of New York, tracking their prey among citizens unaware of the secret world surrounding them. Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC Steam in summer 2027.

Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish immerses players in a dark New York where vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural horrors lurk and scheme in the shadows. Players assume the role of a Hunter, or humans who have discovered the horrifying truth that monsters secretly rule our world and decided to track them down. Players customize their Hunter just like the tabletop RPG, and explore the city at their own pace, searching for clues and side quests that may give them an edge against enemies as powerful as they are dangerous.

Square Enix previously revealed that it would be leaning into generative AI tech for coding and bug fixing, aiming to rely on the tech for as much as 70% of its QA and debugging by the end of 2027. It seems as though the game publisher is experimenting with AI in a much more public way, according to a new report by The Sankei Shimbun. The Japanese publication reports that Square Enix announced a new AI integration into the Japan-exclusive Dragon Quest X MMORPG, which will take the form of a ball of slime—appropriately named Chatty Slimey—in order to help players feel less lonely and guide them through the start of the game.

The AI chatbot will receive text input, combined with the context of the player's on-screen content as context, and will respond with a generated voice when called upon. There will also be instances where the chatbot will appear without being summoned, like when the player beats a particularly difficult enemy or obtains a rare item—presumably this will help players learn about the game's systems and loot. Square Enix says that, despite Dragon Quest X's large player base, the game has a particularly steep learning curve, which can be a barrier to entry for new players, which is why it was chosen for the AI chatbot. It's unclear if similar tech will be introduced in other games at the time of writing, but given the studio's previous interest in AI, it seems likely that this test, which is currently seeking beta testers, will inform future implementations.

Today, the tactical roguelite RPG Valor of Man, developed by Legacy Forge and published by Numskull Games, launches on PC via Steam. Valor of Man combines tactical turn-based CRPG combat with the popular roguelite format to deliver a unique replay experience filled with meaningful choices and tactical complexity. With this 1.0 launch, the game introduces two new systems: Chaos Mode and Masteries.

In Chaos Mode, players can select from unlockable modifiers to create their own difficulty, allowing for more challenging or accessible experiences. Masteries are a collector's dream; the menu shows players which items, abilities, conditions and artifacts they've successfully beaten a run with, adding a meaningful long-term measure of achievement for all skill levels.

Welcome to week 12 and a jam cram packed week of rather big new releases. We kick off this week with a AAA release which is an open-world action-adventure that supposedly takes place in a desert, yet apparently not at all. This is followed by a very blocky looking RPG, several deadly sins, a cube of some kind, a walking simulator that apparently takes place on a beach and finally an ARPG that takes place after an asteroid destroyed the world. There are some additional games this week as well, as there were just too many releases this week.

Crimson Desert / This week's AAA release / Thursday 19 March
On the continent of Pywel, the rival factions of Pailune maintained a tense balance. At Kliff's side stood his steadfast Greymane comrades, but a devastating ambush in the deep of night by their sworn enemies the Black Bears leaves members of the Greymanes dead or scattered across the continent. Kliff—having lost his family in all but name—is determined to reunite with the survivors and rebuild the faction. Steam link

NACON and the Spiders studio are pleased to announce that the narrative RPG GreedFall: The Dying World is now available on PC (Steam), as well as for all owners of the digital Deluxe Edition on consoles. A new video also shows players everything they need to know in under two minutes. The title will be officially released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S this Thursday, March 12.

The story of GreedFall: The Dying World takes place three years before the events of the first opus. The Old Continent of Gacane is in agony, ravaged by a mysterious disease and incessant conflicts. Torn from your native island of Teer Fradee and taken prisoner, you must navigate this world of rival factions to regain your freedom. Use cunning, diplomacy, or combat, explore vast lands, and forge alliances with companions who can become friends, lovers, or rivals. Your choices will shape the course of your adventure and seal the fate of two worlds.

Two Cakes Studio announced that Tactical Turn-based RPG Fight Life: Vanguard in a pixel-art dark fantasy world developed by StartImpulse, is coming on Steam April 10, 2026. In honor of this, the final playtest is launching with expanded content and invites players to participate. The playtest will be available until April 1, 2026.

This playtest will include the latest demo build, additional content, and a continuation of the story of the squad that accepted the challenge of a powerful Necromancer, offering 60-90 minutes of gameplay. This gives you enough time to master the combat system, experience the tactical depth, develop strategies around character abilities, and get genuinely invested in the story.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe today announcedEchoes of Aincrad, a new action RPG set in the breathtaking floating castle of Aincrad from the Sword Art Online universe where every battle could be your last. Players will get to create their own hero and dive into the game, facing the many challenges ahead by mastering dodges, parries and well-timed attacks. Echoes of Aincrad will launch on 10 July 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam.

Echoes of Aincrad invites adventurers into a dynamic and vibrant world filled with challenges and unforgettable encounters, becoming a "player" in the game through an extensive avatar customization will place them as the true hero of this story. As the story progresses through quests and missions, players will be able to adapt and upgrade their equipment, weapons, and attributes, and select special skills to match their preferred playstyle while growing stronger as they level up. But they will not journey alone, the outcome of real-time combat will also rely on the chosen partner for each outing, deciding the stance they should take during fight, more aggressive or supportive, and as that bond deepens, players will unlock their partner's powerful abilities.

As we enter the second week of March, we got plenty of new games launching once again. We kick off the week with a John Carpenter game that doesn't include vampires as this week's major release. As for the other games, we kick off the week with a friendlier theme where you have to make a dead planet alive again, followed by taking on the job as a park ranger. Next up we have a game about a wolf and princess, which is followed by a magical, turn-based tactical RPG. Next up you get to hunt some monsters and finally we have a Saturday release that puts you in charge of a tank. We also have a couple of additional games at the end that didn't quite make the list.

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando / This week's major release / Thursday 12 March
Pick a character and team up with three friends 'cause it's time to save the world. Experience intense FPS action as you obliterate hordes of terrifying monsters! You may not be on the best team of mercenaries, but you are… a Toxic Commando. Steam link

Welcome to the last week of February and this week we kick off with a AAA release from a franchise that started 30 years ago and it's the 9th major game about an umbrella manufacturer that turned evil or something like that. As for this week's other releases, we have a game about vermin, but they want to be royalty, a bunch of pirates that want your bounty, a chance of experiencing life in the medieval times, a new take on spellslining where everyone's flying and finally a remake of an action JRPG.

Resident Evil Requiem / This week's AAA release / Friday 27 February
A new era of survival horror arrives with Resident Evil Requiem, the latest and most immersive entry yet in the iconic Resident Evil series. Experience terrifying survival horror with FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, and dive into pulse-pounding action with legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy. Both of their journeys and unique gameplay styles intertwine into a heart-stopping, emotional experience that will chill you to your core. Steam link

Gather your warriors, a song of swords awaits…Tripwire Presents, the publishing division of Tripwire Interactive, and developer Arctic Hazard today announced the release of their Viking turn-based tactical game set in Dark Age Norway, NORSE: Oath of Blood, on Windows PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Good Old Games (GOG). The standard digital edition is available for $34.99 and a Special Edition, including the in-game Kievan War armor set and unique Ulfberht sword, is available for $44.99, with both versions discounted 15% on all storefronts, including as part of the Tripwire Interactive Publisher Sale on Steam, through Tuesday, Feb. 24. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions remain in development and will launch this Spring.

"I'm thrilled to say, 'The Vikings are here!' Creating NORSE: Oath of blood has been a saga in its own right, one that has brought many challenges, forged new friendships, and highlighted the spirit, dedication, and passion of everyone involved," said Terje Lundberg, CEO and Creative Director at Arctic Hazard. "We will continue to work on and support the game as it makes its way into the world, and we truly hope people enjoy playing it as much as we have enjoyed making it."

Of all the action-RPG franchises to make you work for an epic moment, Monster Hunter is up there among the ones that push you hardest, and the Monster Hunter Stories series is no exception to the rule. You take on the lowest rank Monsters, you get pummelled into the dirt until you learn how to beat them, and then you excitedly hurry back home to build a new weapon and a cool set of armor from the creature you've just murked, ready to go through the entire process again with a slightly harder monster. It's a rewarding battle, but a tough one, and Monster Hunter's greatest secrets are often reserved for those that take the time to fully embrace its many systems.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection shows you right from the start that things are going to be a little different around here. In the first minute of my hands-on session with the game, my Rider (not a Hunter, but we'll get into that later) is sprinting down a cliff at warp speed before leaping right off the edge, only to be caught mid-air by her pet Rathalos and, together, they soar across a glittering lake, in what may be the most breath-taking introduction to a Monster Hunter game I've seen yet, inviting you, the player, to immediately take the reigns of this majestic creature - who, for once, isn't a foe to be conquered, but a friend. It's a stark contrast to the opening of Monster Hunter Stories 2, in which you carry a Rathalos egg around for hours before it hatches. This introduction feels like the culmination of a spin-off that's ready to step out of the shadow of its mainline series, and show us exactly what it can do.

As we enter the third week of February, things are slowing down a bit again, but it doesn't mean we don't have a bunch of new games for you. The week kicks off with a bunch of vikings doing viking stuff, just a bit slower than your typical viking game, as everyone has to wait for their turn. The rest of this week's games start with you being an alien that crash lands on Earth when Neanderthals were still a thing, followed by you uniting five tribes of sentient forgotten objects. Next up you get to take command of a famous spaceship, at least if you're into the Star-whatever shows. If that's not for you, then you have the chance to play a goblin assassin in the fourth game in a series and we round off the week with an action RPG that supposedly takes place in the Nordics.

Norse: Oath of Blood / This week's major release / Tuesday 17 February
A Turn-Based Tactics game set in Viking-Age Norway. Build a settlement, forge alliances, and fight strategic battles. Manage a community of craftspeople, farmers, and warriors, as you grow strong on your path to vengeance in this story-rich saga. Steam link

Netmarble, a leading developer and publisher of high-quality games, announced today the official launch schedule for its new open world RPG The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin. Players on PlayStation 5 and Steam will be granted to play earlier beginning March 16, 2026. The game's grand launch follows on March 23, expanding to mobile so more players can experience The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin across platforms.

This staged rollout reflects a platform-first approach designed to support stable service and an optimized play experience. Based on Closed Beta Test feedback, the game is applying upgrades to controls, combat pacing, and overall UI/UX, with a more polished version set to roll out across all platforms at the March 23 grand launch.

KRAFTON today unveiled Project Windless, a new open-world action RPG set in the fantasy universe of The Bird That Drinks Tears novel series, with the debut of its first-ever trailer during today's Sony PlayStation's State of Play. This marks the first public reveal of the single-player title, currently in development at KRAFTON Montréal Studio, and introduces players to a vast world shaped by myth, war, and legendary heroes.

A New Premium Open-World Action RPG
Designed as a player-driven open-world experience, Project Windless centers on a continent-spanning conflict, combining epic storytelling with visceral, mastery-driven combat and massive real-time battles. Built with Unreal Engine 5, the game features a non-linear structure where player decisions shape alliances and the broader conflict unfolding across the world through exploration, combat, and interaction with key factions.

Hello, everyone! We just revealed Crimson Moon to the world in today's State of Play! In this PS Blog post, we're excited to share more details about this gothic action-adventure coming to PS5 in 2026.

A dark, gothic world
Crimson Moon is an action-adventure RPG set in a gothic world full of angels, demons, and ancient gods. Players will embody the Nephilim, a human-angel hybrid serving the Order of the Crimson Moon tasked with reclaiming the cursed city of Gildenarch from the evil that infests it. Mankind once stood on the precipice of extermination by the Infernal Legion's charge. Born from a forbidden union between man and angel, the Nephilim emerged and rallied humanity to victory, banishing the forces of darkness from their world. Now, you have been called upon once more to the city of Gildenarch, where a foul darkness has claimed the city. District by district and ward by ward, players must fight their way through the ancient, cursed metropolis, all the while facing down hordes of the undead, vampires, and the demonic Infernal Legion's return. Each cleared district pushes back the Legion's Hellgrowth and unlocks new challenges, culminating in a winner-take-all confrontation with the sinister vampire lord, Solomon Moore, the architect of Gildenarch's demise.

In a frontier where lawlessness and legend walk side by side, a new ARPG is revealed today. The Dark West is an occult Action RPG from the new independent studio Black Hand, a team of ARPG enthusiasts determined to restore the genre to its former glory. The Dark West takes place in a frontier where faith has worn thin and something sinister has seeped into the soil. Combat is brutal and quick. Define your builds through skills, itemization, and a poker-style deck system where forming familiar hands unlocks powerful effects.

"We made The Dark West because we love ARPGs and wanted to create the kind of game we have always wanted to play. From the start, we've included the community in every step of development. Their feedback is shaping the combat, the story, and the world. This is a game made with players, not just for them," said the Game Director at Black Hand.

A free trial for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection lets you get a taste of the game before its March 13, 2026 release. In addition to jumping right into the beginning of the story, you'll be able to customize your character, try out the battle system, and start collecting equipment and Monsties just like in the full version. You can transfer your save data to the full version and continue playing where you left off.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection—Trial Version
The trial version has only one save slot (the full version will have three). You can only advance to level 10 in the trial version. You can continue playing upon reaching the level cap, but you will no longer gain any experience points. The amount of Trade Points and Monsties you can accumulate are also capped. In order to carry over your progress to the full version, you must use the same account, with the save data on your PC.