Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 13, 2020)

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 new games of 2019.

Soviet Jump Game

Steam page
Release: January 20
Developer: Fantastic Passion
Price: Free

Soviet Jump Game is a free-to-play sidescrolling battle royale (think Mario Royale) with a charming hook. Basically, 50 players compete online, collecting power-ups and coins, while trying their damnedest not to have their heads caved in by leaping adversaries. As the name implies there's a Soviet theme – indeed, the game itself is positioned as a long lost Russian-developed pioneer of the battle royale genre. Poking fun at the ye olde Soviet Union via the medium of video game is definitely getting old, but this does look like a lot of fun. It's in Early Access, mainly for testing, and will launch properly within three months.

MMORPG Tycoon 2

Steam page
Release: January 6
Developer: Vectorstorm Pty Ltd
Price: $24.99 | £19.49 | AU$35.95

If there's one thing indisputably true about MMOs, it's that they never please everybody. MMORPG Tycoon 2 is game for anyone who has ever griped about an MMO online – here's your chance to make your own! You'll be responsible for shaping the world, designing the monsters and balancing combat, all the while trying to ensure that, uh, at least some of your players are happy. You can even get into the nitty-gritty of quest design, and drop the ban hammer on cheating subscribers. The Early Access game has been in development for a while and it fully-playable, though VectorStorm reckons it'll be working on it for some time to come.

The White Door

Steam page
Release: January 9
Developer: Rusty Lake
Price: $3.99 | £2.45 | AU$5.95

The White Door is a point-and-click adventure about Robert Hill, who has been mysteriously detained in a "Mental Health facility" with a relentlessly mind numbing routine. Having lost his memory, Hill must slowly acquire snatches of recollection as he undergoes his daily assigned tasks (eating, hygiene etc). The White Door has been getting great reviews, and is created by the folk behind Cube Escape and the Rusty Lake series.

Wienne

Steam page
Release: January 7
Developer: Creeepling
Price: $4.99 | £3.99 | AU$7.50

Here's a nice, short adventure game about manipulating pre-determined events in order to save protagonist Wienne from certain death. It's all about player choice, except events aren't determined by the usual menu prompts (at least, not always): according to studio Creeepling the game "features a unique branching system" which lets you "affect the flow of the story at any point in time".

ReversiQuest2

Steam page
Release: January 7
Developer: Yokogosystems
Price: $19.99 | £15.49 | AU$28.95

ReversiQuest2 is a retro-styled tactical JRPG with a neat diorama-esque art style. More importantly, instead of the usual turn-based tactics, you've got combat inspired by the strategy board game Reversi. "Advance through board game-like fields full of gimmicks in a sandbox world drawn all in quarter view and pixel art," reads the description. Definitely worth a look if you pine for something retro, but with ideas of its own.

These games were released between January 6 and 13 2020. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.