Steam Hype Playlist: July 2026

Keeping up with all the new games on Steam can be a job unto itself, and potentially disappointing if you're rushing to grab stuff the second it launches. That's why every month we wait for the dust to settle before picking the best new Steam games we've played and adding them to our Steam Hype Playlist. These are the July 2026 Steam games we think genuinely deserve your time.

This month, we had several Early Access long-haulers (including one of the original VR killer apps) launching in full, a pair of old-school point-and-click adventures hitting it big, and what might be the last Doom release we see out of Id software. Give it a look yourself, and see what you reckon is worth a place on your backlog:

Palworld PC

Despite Nintendo's best efforts (well, closer to questionable patent trolling), Pocketpair's massive sandbox creature-collector left early access in July, and skyrocketed back into Steam's top ten most-played games. The secret? Cute creatures aside it's not really much like Pokémon at all. Instead, Palworld is cribbing most of its design notes from dinosaur survival sandbox Ark: Survival Evolved. Only with a lot more quality-of-life features, less grind, less cutthroat PvP, characters that don't automatically poop on the floor and a well-paced main quest. It's just a cozy, easygoing time, and even better playing with friends.

Scrap Mechanic PC

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts might be the most influential yet widely reviled game ever made. Case in point: Scrap Mechanic, leaving early access after a full decade of development to widespread praise and acceptance. Like a more open-world version of Nuts & Bolts, it splits its action between town-building, farming, building customized utility vehicles with scavenged/crafted parts and on-foot combat in high-tech dungeons patrolled by renegade robots. While you can play this one solo, the vehicles that a team of friends can build (and pilot) are something else.

Denshattack! PC

Pure gleeful style and an unhinged concept. Ever wished you could kickflip a train over a giant anime robot? Clearly, you're not dreaming big enough. While some have described this one as Tony Hawk on a train (in a train?), the actual experience is more like an entire game made out of the rail-grinding sections in a modern Sonic The Hedgehog, with all the pace and spectacle that implies. Despite its breakneck pace, Denshattack is a shockingly beefy experience, racing across the rails through a lengthy, twisting story mode. Even if fighting for your spot on the leaderboards isn't your main motivation, there's still plenty to love. Especially the soundtrack, which is pure toe-tapping joy start to finish.

Endacopia PC

Funded on Kickstarter and making its debut in the last days of July, Endacopia is a gem of an old-school point-and-click adventure. Part whimsical comedy (inspired by kids games like the Putt Putt series), part unsettling horror, you can never be sure what it's going to hit you with next. Building tension, then releasing it equally with gags, whimsy, jumpscares and some great musical numbers. It won't take an experienced adventure gamer long - around 6-7 hours for most - but there's enough secrets and non-linearity to give it rare replay value in a genre not known for it.

The Mermaid Mask PC

So far, little indie studio SFB Games are five for five on great releases, including retro-styled survival horror game Crow Country and Halloween management sim Haunt The House. The Mermaid Mask is the latest in the fantastic Detective Grimoire series of murder-mystery adventures. This time, the sassy, titular detective and his sidekick Sally are here to investigate a murder aboard the most locked-room environment possible: An eccentric captain's luxury submarine. Great writing, voice acting, character animation and a good mix of whodunnit and classically gamey logic puzzles to keep your brain ticking over.

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations PC

Hit with massive layoffs just as this expansion launched, if Revelations is to be the swansong for Id Software, then they went out on a high note. Doom: The Dark Ages was a great game but felt a little bit restrained compared to the absurd agility of Doom Eternal before it. Revelations lets players trade out their heavy, reliable shield for a magical spear that allows them to zip around in the air, giving its fights a whole new feel. It's a big expansion too, with a decently long main story followed by a lengthy series of endgame challenges, culminating in a dramatic throwdown against a true final boss long after the credits have rolled. Plus, the title isn't joking - it does reveal the last few secrets left unanswered.

Mesmalie PC

A short but oh-so-sweet narrative adventure with many endings and secrets to discover. After developing magical powers and accidentally setting your apartment on fire, you seek the help of a local Witch's coven to help you control your skills. Unfortunately, the only one in today is Mesmer, a terrifyingly chaotic (yet weirdly likeable) young witch who offers to help you if you help her complete a ritual she's been working on. There's more going on than she's telling you, but does she even know what's happening? Prepare to roll back the clock and explore alternate paths to unravel the truth here.

Sephiria PC

And lastly, one more early access game hitting v1.0 with force and purpose. Sephiria is a surprisingly big and challenging hack n' slash roguelite action-RPG starring a cast of incredibly tiny little pixel critter-folk. On each run, your skills and stats will be determined by some creative inventory Tetris, with the gear in your backpack synergizing with stuff around it in interesting ways that demand some clever rearranging. While you can go it alone, roping in friends for online co-op or just matchmaking with strangers is as easy as it gets here, making for an even grander-feeling adventure.

Desktop Explorer PC

A mystery-filled puzzle box, part haunted computer adventure, part traditional point-and-click puzzler, and all a test of how computer literate you are. You’ll be picking through directory trees, poring through .TXT files and using smartly overlapping desktop applications to reveal hidden data as you search for secrets within an old computer that your character has inherited from their uncle. Not to spoil TOO much about the game, but this one swerves into more traditional point-and-click adventure territory as you progress, unveiling extremely haunted games within less haunted games.

And there we have July's best and brightest! Of course, this is just our picks, and there's hundreds of games coming out in any given month. Think we missed something essential or just want to praise our amazing taste? Get over to that comment box below and commence the hooting and/or hollering.