Game Releases This Week — April 20, 2026 to April 24, 2026

After last week, it's safe to say that most players could probably use a good break for their wallets and backlogs. Thankfully, that's precisely what we're in store for over the next 7 days, with the slate of game releases this week much less jam-packed than it's been for the rest of April (and, really, 2026). That's not to say there's nothing to look forward to, though. The week starts off strong with a couple of really exciting indie titles that are perfectly positioned to be two of the year's sleeper hits, then there's a slow but steady cascade of some interesting titles that should definitely be on the radars of fans of their respective genres. But, again, after last week giving us Mouse, Replaced, and Pragmata one day after another, a little bit of a slower week is all the more welcome.

Pratfall

Release Date — April 20, 2026
Developer — Quad Head
Publisher — Quad Head
Genre — Physics, Party, Co-Op
Platforms — PC

Imagine last year's viral hit, Peak, flip the direction that players travel together, and you pretty much have Pratfall in a nutshell. Rather than using hilarious physics and communication to scale vertical heights like in Peak, Pratfall is a co-op game where a group of friends descends underground together. But as you dig deeper and deeper beneath the surface, you have to be wary of various traps, weak points, and other dangers that could spell both danger and hilarity for your expedition. Peak excelled by being a fun and simple enough co-op game that just about anyone could get into with a group of friends, and Pratfall seems like it'll be much the same...except, you know, downwards instead of upwards.

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege

Release Date — April 20, 2026
Developer — Lillymo Games
Publisher — Lillymo Games
Genre — Action-Platformer
Platforms — PC

Every so often, Steam gets a new retro-styled 8-bit action-platformer that clearly pays homage to the greats of the NES era, like Castlevania, and the latest title to fit that bill is Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege. Saint Slayer is a lot like WayForward's excellent Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon games in that it leverages old-school sensibility with some new-school design choices to deliver an appropriately retro action-platformer with quality of life features that make it a little bit easier to play (and more accessible, as a result). The real kicker, though, is that Saint Slayer features full local co-op, allowing two players to have a go at the game's campaign together, transforming what's typically a solo affair into something you can tackle with a friend.

Foreign Sun

Release Date — April 21, 2026
Developer — Final Scene Dev
Publisher — Final Scene Dev
Genre — Metroidvania
Platforms — PC

Tuesday this week delivers some exciting new releases for fans of a wide variety of genres, with Foreign Sun being first up as an intriguing new Metroidvania. While the visuals and animations of Foreign Sun are heavily reminiscent of Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance-era action platformers, its parry-centric sword combat and moment-to-moment gameplay look surprisingly similar to the excellent Nine Sols, which should immediately raise an eyebrow or two among Metroidvania fans. If Foreign Sun can back up its intriguing premise (including use of branching paths, factions, and impactful player choices) and atmosphere with some rock-solid melee combat, it could very well be another of the year's great Metroidvania games.

Hillshade Farm

Release Date — April 21, 2026
Developer — New Acre
Publisher — New Acre
Genre — Simulation, Cozy
Platforms — PC

Another of the more exciting games dropping this Tuesday is New Acre's Hillshade Farm. Hillshade is yet another farming simulator, but it's one that seemingly places a premium on being a relaxing, play-as-you-please farming experience rather than one where players feel pressure to commit to all sorts of busy work and tedium. If you're looking for something that sits halfway between Farming Simulator 25 and Stardew Valley, Hillshade Farm might be it. Ahead of its Early Access launch this week, there's a free public demo available on Steam for players to check out and decide if Hillshade Farm is the kind of "back to the land" fantasy they're interested in.

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard From Vampire Survivors

Release Date — April 21, 2026
Developer — poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
Publisher — poncle
Genre — Roguelike, Deckbuilder
Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S

One of the week's biggest releases closes out a trio of great-looking games arriving on Tuesday, with Vampire Survivors developer poncle's next game, Vampire Crawlers, launching on PC and all modern consoles. Vampire Crawlers is a sort of sequel/spin-off to Vampire Survivors, where the moment-to-moment gameplay transforms from action roguelike horde survival to a first-person dungeon crawler with deckbuilding combat. Having played the demo for this one at the February Steam Next Fest, I've been eagerly awaiting its launch for months now, and Vampire Crawlers has all the pieces in play to be yet another huge indie roguelike hit in the same way that Vampire Survivors was. Plus, it's going to be the first roguelike deckbuilder capable of pulling me away from Slay the Spire II.

Masters of Albion

Release Date — April 22, 2026
Developer — 22cans
Publisher — 22cans
Genre — Simulation, God Game
Platforms — PC

Game developer Peter Molyneux is notorious for overpromising and underdelivering in many of his games, guilty of building up unrealistic hype for projects using hyperbole. So when you read that he feels the upcoming Masters of Albion is the "culmination of my life's work", take it with a grain of salt. That said, it does seem like a sort of "greatest hits" of god game mechanics pulled from throughout Molyneux's career, and as the man responsible for creating the genre, there's at least some gravity to what Masters of Albion is promised to be. Plus, it just looks really cool. Masters of Albion is a god game where you both shape the world and take an active hand in it, guiding your followers and intervening in worldly affairs to ensure that civilization develops as you see fit.

Tides of Tomorrow

Release Date — April 22, 2026
Developer — DigixArt
Publisher — Deep Silver
Genre — Adventure
Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

After a mostly successful demo and public playtest, co-op narrative adventure game Tides of Tomorrow launches this week for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, bringing something new to the table as far as cooperative experiences go. It's an adventure game set in an aquatic post-apocalypse (think Waterworld but far less bleak), and one where players' choices direcly impact the world and help to shape the experience for other players. And while everyone is working toward a shared goal of ensuring that the mysterious Plastemia plague doesn't wipe out what's left of the planet's organic life, the ways that they choose to do so (including which factions to side with, what items to bring along, and more) will ultimately impact how that goal takes shape.

'83

Release Date — April 23, 2026
Developer — Blue Dot Games
Publisher — Blue Dot Games
Genre — FPS, Tactical Shooter
Platforms — PC

This Thursday finally sees the launch of tactical FPS '83 into Early Access, which seems like it could be a must-play for fans of tense and realistic shooters. '83 imagines what a full-scale conflict during the Cold War between the Eastern Bloc and Western nations might have looked like, and it aims to place an emphasis on realism and brutality above all else to showcase the very real horrors of war. It's worth mentioning, too, that '83's intense gameplay features massive 40v40 squad matches that are more strategic in nature, emphasizing communication and coordination over the classic "spray and pray" of other online shooters.

Kiln

Release Date — April 23, 2026
Developer — Double Fine
Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
Genre — Party, Brawler
Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Leave it up to Double Fine to create one of the more interesting and offbeat titles arriving this week courtesy of Kiln. Kiln is an online multiplayer brawler/party game from Double Fine in which players take on the role of spirits that craft ceramic armor using a pottery wheel and then work together to douse the kiln of the opposing team. As you might expect, Kiln has the trademark unique visual style and sense of humor that are prevalent in Double Fine's games, and the player response to the recent beta was largely positive. It doesn't hurt that Kiln is cross-play, so you can get friends to join you in the mayhem regardless of their platform of choice.