To say that this summer was packed with new releases is putting it lightly. Regardless of if you were looking for something blood-soaked (The Blood of Dawnwalker and Marvel’s Wolverine both fit the bill here) or a more strategic experience, such as the one offered in Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, there seems to be something for every type of player lately. But while we’re sure you’ve heard a lot about Summer 2026’s biggest games by this point, we’re here to remind you that sometimes the best gaming experiences come from unexpected places.
A 90-minute horror game about brain mold, a heartfelt action-platformer filled with Kingdom Hearts-like visuals, and an intricate job simulator where you play an advice-dishing modiste are just a few of the games we at GameSpot couldn’t put down this month. Below is a roundup of our favorite new releases from the last few months, with an emphasis on hidden gems and titles you might have missed.
Dressmaker
I assumed that, similar to how I operate with oh-so-many cozy games, I’d play Dressmaker for a few hours, find it to be a cute yet predictable experience, and then quickly move on to a different game. Afterall, in a month packed with several massive and critically acclaimed new releases, I couldn’t really foresee myself pouring that many hours into a narrative-light job simulator in which you play an advice-dishing modiste.
And yet, Dressmaker might very well be the game I opened up most this September, as it’s the perfect game to play whenever you have a free hour or so and want to spend it doing something calming and creative. Though I am certain it streamlines the dressmaking process immensely, the game still seeks to replicate the intricacy of designing and creating wearable art, and ends up feeling shockingly tactile and satisfying as a result.
Moreover, this game made me want to be more creative, both within and outside of the game and with no desire for any reward or sense of productivity. Though Dressmaker’s tremendous success on Steam has (pleasantly!) surprised me, it is entirely justified–this game is absolutely lovely. — Jessica Cogswell
Aniimo
I know, I know–another gacha game. But hear me out. While many games in the genre can make progression feel increasingly tied to how much you’re willing to spend, Aniimo keeps the focus on the gameplay loop, meaning optional microtransactions actually feel optional. You can explore the stunning world, discover adorable Aniimo, and follow the storyline without feeling like your experience is locked behind spending money.
Aniimo’s world is absolutely gorgeous. Its environments feel like stepping into a story book, meaning exploration feels like a treat rather than a chore. Its progression systems, beautiful world, and cute creatures work together to encourage curiosity and experimentation, making Aniimo one of the rare gachas where the business model doesn’t overshadow the actual game. — Cheri Faulkner
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
When it comes to games, storytelling isn’t what draws me to my controller. I’m all about the feel of a game–I need gameplay that can convince me to spend my precious hours on digital entertainment. The new Onimusha excels in the gameplay department, as Capcom has successfully brought the feeling of steel clashing on steel to the flatscreen, resulting in a gloriously kinetic ballet of blades and Oni powers.
It’s also the perfect game to check out if you’re craving soulslike combat without any of the punishing baggage attached to the genre, with several accessibility options that will make you feel like a bona fide swordmaster until you find your groove. In terms of pure, polished gameplay, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is one of the best action-heavy experiences of the year. — Darryn Bonthuys
Duskfade
Duskfade largely flew under the radar and was noticed mostly for its visual similarities to Kingdom Hearts–and you know what, fair. The hero is a spunky kid carrying a giant Keyblade-looking sword and the fashion looks very Nomura-inspired. Chains, a-plenty.
Beyond that, though, this is a delightful little action platformer with a big heart. The story is a simple, well-told fable about loss and grief, and it carries that theme into the boss designs in inventive and sometimes poignant ways. The environmental design is truly stellar, with a rich color palette that continued to wow me all throughout.
Oh, and that Keyblade-like weapon is actually supposed to represent a clock hand, as the game’s focus on time–and enjoying the time we have–weaves throughout the story and world design beautifully. It’s a real gem that deserves more attention. — Steve Watts
Star Wars Zero Company
There is arguably no bigger franchise on Earth than Star Wars, but Zero Company isn’t just another action-adventure game or first-person shooter. And while those have a pretty huge built-in audience already, it’s harder to find a huge audience with the turn-based-tactics genre, and Zero Company deserves it.
Taking the basic framework established by the XCOM series, Zero Company cleverly finds ways to make use of quintessential Star Wars elements, like a Jedi padawan who can force-pull enemies out of cover or send them soaring off the edge of the map. It also smartly interweaves story moments from the prequel trilogy into the original narrative, and despite being a fairly casual Star Wars fan, I found myself completely unable to stop playing until I hit the credits. — Gabe Gurwin
Graveyard Keeper 2
You won’t catch me playing pixel-art games very often, but I make an exception when I’m playing on my Steam Deck, which feels like the perfect platform for such games. Graveyard Keeper 2 is my latest title of choice and earns some extra appeal for being a zombie game, though it’s unlike most of the others I’ve included in our best zombie games list.
Instead of a shooter or survival game, Graveyard Keeper 2 is a simulation game–think one part Stardew Valley, one part Factor.io, and a dash of tower defense, too. Whether it can juggle all of those things for the long haul, I’m still determining, but so far, it’s been a pleasant–and for me, novel–experience. The endgame seems to be about getting the undead to automate your entire village’s workflow. I’m not sure where I land on the imagined ethics of that, but for now I’m gonna keep ignoring it and just enjoy some time with this game in my evenings. — Mark Delaney
Moldrise
I love a tight 90-minute horror game, and Moldrise didn’t disappoint.
It has a phenomenal premise: Your foot is infected with some kind of evil fungus, it has traveled to your brain, and it wants you to go to the roof of your apartment building–like now. But while you need to satisfy the compulsion to ascend, the mold in your foot is also actively killing you. You need to find ways to stave off the infection so that you can answer the call that has invaded your skull, and along with a few other survival mechanics, that conflict helps create a constant feeling of anxiety in Moldrise. You’re climbing as fast as you can before you die, but you’re also continually stopped to buy questionable vending machine food and slurp water from disgusting drinking fountains.
If you figured a horror game whose premise is about listening to the mold infecting your brain isn’t completely serious, good for you. Moldrise is less spooky than it is unsettling in a body horror kind of way, and despite its simplicity, it includes a fair amount of fascinating world-building and some fun characters. Your awful apartment building is home to some absolute miscreants, and when you run across problems like a broken elevator or a locked gate, you’re forced to knock on their doors and interact with them.
It leads to great moments and multiple endings, since a few people have their own agendas, several appear to also be infected and in very bad shape, many are completely oblivious, some are just really terrible people, and a few are fully aware of what’s happening and just trying to survive.
I wrapped Moldrise in less than two hours, unlocked a few different ways to complete it, and had a bleak, panicky blast racing up the stairs as I scrounged for anti-fungal cream to keep my foot from falling off. — Phil Hornshaw
Truck-kun Is Supporting Me From Another World
September had me racking my brain for how to pull off the perfect turn in Star Wars: Zero Company and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and agonizing over every detail in Control Resonant. So this summer’s Truck-kun Is Supporting Me From Another World is a wonderful complement to that, letting me largely turn off my brain and indulge in this pint-sized blend of Crazy Taxi, GTA, and RPGs.
You’re essentially playing two games at once: an open-world driving game and an idle RPG. Driving is your primary focus, as you spend short runs (90 seconds, though you can extend your timer) fulfilling a random array of objectives: make deliveries in the style of Crazy Taxi, sideswipe other cars, launch yourself through rings suspended in the sky. You simultaneously want to run over pedestrians (there’s a sarcastic narrative rationale for this) and objects in order to both provide enemies and energy to your RPG character companion.
This all amounts to utter chaos that doesn’t require a whole lot of brainpower, unless you’re really trying to maximize a run, and with the ability to just casually drive through almost anything in your way, I find it quite cathartic. It may not have the same heart as another compelling open-world driving game, 2025’s delightful Promise Mascot Agency, but I’ve nonetheless had a great time taking it for a spin. — Chris Pereira
TCG Card Shop Simulator
Chances are you’ve come across a genre that’s exploded on steam called “management simulators,” or games where you are put in charge of a store or theme park that draw inspiration from classics like Roller Coaster Tycoon. But rather than a top down, god-like perspective, you run around in the space in first person and need to do all the labor yourself, like stocking shelves or running the cash register.
There are a ton of this on Steam and my current favorite is TCG Card Shop Simulator, which just left early access on September 14. As the name implies, you run a humble little card shop, stocking shelves and selling booster packs of Tetramon, a card game heavily inspired by Pokemon, with a little Yu-Gi-Oh mixed in. In a genre that is unfortunately highly susceptible to AI art, I really appreciate that each Tetramon card is drawn by a real human artist, and seeing the variety of styles on display is a real joy.
Where TCG Shop sets itself apart is in the ways it taps into what makes collectable cards so appealing. At any time you can pull a booster pack off the shelf and crack one open. The thrill of checking each card, hoping to pull a high value one, triggers the same rush of endorphins you get opening a pack in real life. You can then choose to sell any rares you find for profit, or keep them in your binder to fill out your collection, giving the game an alternate goal to strive for outside of expanding your shop.
As someone that loves the IDEA of trading cards but finds the hobby far too expensive to regularly participate in, TCG gives me some of that feeling, without needing to pour ungodly amounts of money into it. The game is a perfect pick up and play for small chucks at a time, and has been a nightly routine for me on my Steam Deck. — Jean-Luc Seipke
