Steam Hype Playlist: May 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. We're declaring a mayday for your wallet as we pick through May 2026's must-haves.

Subnautica 2 PC

Despite being at the center of a dramatic legal battle between developers Unknown Worlds and once-publisher Krafton, Subnautica 2 launched into early access this month to massive commercial and critical success. Yet more survival, exploration and adventure in an alien adventure, this time with a focus on changing yourself to become more suited for the ecosystem, installing alien gene-mods on top of the gadgets and vehicles available in the previous games. This one's an early access long-hauler, with at least two years, maybe three planned before the game leaves early access, but it's a big adventure already.

Dead as Disco PC

Even in early access, this musical brawler is a fantastic time - the story of an undead disco star, fighting through his former band members to find who sold him out for their own stardom. Imagine the combat of the Batman: Arkham series, synched to the beat, every fight looking like a choreographed setpiece, so long as you move with the music, instead of against it. Better yet, the game lets you play your own music in arcade mode, semi-automatically synched, but with a little tweaking you can make sure that it first perfectly. The full release in 2027 almost assures another appearance in a playlist yet to come.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight PC

The legacy of the Arkham games is strong this month. A collaboration between TT Games (who do almost all of these lightweight comedy LEGO spinoff games) and Rocksteady (the Batman: Arkham team), both teams have clearly brought their best. This is a proper semi-open-world Batman game with satisfying, punchy combat, but also is light enough for kids to enjoy and absolutely packed to the gills with great jokes for all ages, deep-cut references for the comic nerds, and plenty of low-brow sight gags and willy situations for the younger set. It also has co-op, but split-screen/remote play only, so bring your best Robin.

Forza Horizon 6 PC

The latest in Playground Games' series of massive-popular automotive sandboxes. Less traditional racing, and more just a huge open world for you to drive your tricked-out dream car around, set in and around a gigantic nationwide motorsports festival. This one's set in Japan, so expect a bigger focus on drift-racing through narrow mountain passes and some neon-lit street racing. Weirdly though, there's no Eurobeat, which is a severe mark against it. Plus, of course, not to be a downer, but Forza still falls under the BDS boycott, so please consider spending your money elsewhere.

007 First Light PC

The Hitman team takes on a different kind of espionage, and the result, while slightly rough-edged, is the best James Bond game since Goldeneye. Split into two halves - a cinematic, setpiece-heavy origin story for Bond himself, taking him from his induction into MI5 to the end of his first major mission - and the ongoing TacSim mode. The latter being an ever-expanding Hitman-inspired series of stealth and combat challenges, exploring the existing maps in new ways with fresh gear. The game has already grown significantly since release and shows no sign of slowing. It might not last forever, but this one's a diamond.

Mina the Hollower PC

The long-awaited second title from Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club. A surprisingly non-linear hybrid of retro Zelda-like adventuring and Souls-like precise, high-stakes combat. Set in a creepy-cute gothic world full of funny critter-folk, the tone here is more Nightmare Before Christmas than Bloodborne, with the game's entire economy based around bones. Something that Hollowers (professional graverobber-adventurers) specialize in gathering. While this one has been the subject of much debate about how difficult game should be, there's a mountain of gameplay customization options available, just at the cost of disabling achievement tracking.

Stonemachia PC

A smaller experience than many souls-like games, but all the sweeter for it. Inspired by classic Italian religious medieval art, and with a cast largely based on chess pieces, Stonemachia is a visual treat. There's very little fat on its stony bones, the action funnelling you from one environment and offbeat boss battle to the next without much time to linger, and it's all the stronger for it, with fine-grained buildcrafting traded in for switching forms, each with their own defensive techniques. A great example of a small indie studio taking limited resources and going all-in with them.

Alabaster Dawn PC

And lastly, one of the most promising early access debuts of the year. With a whole new setting and aesthetic, this is an unmistakable followup to the excellent sci-fi action-RPG CrossCode. A fast-paced, Zelda-ish fantasy adventure with some of the prettiest segmented 2D sprites you've ever seen, and with great, snappy combat built on top of surprisingly robust RPG mechanics. This one's going to be a long-hauler, with episodic updates expected to be dropping periodically for at least two years more, but this is already an excellent game, with a replayable roguelike mode to help fill the gap between new story chapters.

The Adventures of Sir Kicksalot PC

Before Dishonored and Prey (2017), Arkane gave us Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. A rough-edged but action-packed take on the immersive sim genre, giving you a world full of precarious ledges to cast slippery ice spells on and pointy spike traps to punt orcs into. The Adventures of Sir Kicksalot is a tribute that fully embraces the silliness of Dark Messiah’s funniest moments. Don’t care about the story? Kick the very first character into the ocean - kicking is its own motivation! Sneak around wearing a barrel, Solid Snake style. Snack on bananas to create traps for enemies, or yourself if you double back. And all while looking like some kind of high-end Minecraft mod.

This month was packed, and picking out just nine games took some real soul-searching. Multiple AAA big-hitters, several massive early access debuts and long-awaited indie releases. The top of the iceberg. Which of these peaks have you been climbing this month? Which do you think we so-unfairly snubbed? There's room in the comments mosh-pit for everyone.