The weekend’s finally here, and what a week it’s been!
The Steam Summer Sale may have wrapped up, but don’t worry if your wishlist is still overflowing, there are plenty more sales around the corner.
As always, there have been far more rogue games releasing, announcing demos, and dropping updates than anyone could reasonably keep up with, which is why we’ve started this weekly roundup.
Every weekend we’ll be looking back at the stories that stood out, the game to watch, and a few extra recommendations to help you discover something new before Monday rolls around.
So, grab a drink, put your backlog on hold for just a few more minutes, and let’s take a look at what happened this week.
News of the Week
It feels like every week rogue games find another way to surprise us, and this one was no different. We’ve covered some real upcoming gems this week, like Fleshforge, whose latest trailer looked like something pulled straight from a body horror nightmare.
We also covered Gear Up Einstein, which somehow manages to combine time travel, historical figures, and roguelite chaos into one very entertaining package. Then there was my personal favorite – Vegelypse, the upcoming, ridiculous looking hand-painted vegetable apocalypse beat ’em up.
Alongside the new reveals, we also saw plenty of familiar faces receiving updates. Killer Bean, Feywood Wanderers, and Caves of Qud all rolled out patches this week, giving players even more reasons to jump back into games they already love.
If we had to pick one story that stood above the rest, though, it would be Arcane Ascent finally reaching version 1.0 after years of development.
Watching an indie roguelite make the leap from Early Access to a full release is always something worth celebrating, and Arcane Ascent feels like one of those success stories. Its combination of spell crafting, deckbuilding, and fast-paced action has been winning players over throughout development. Now, after years of updates and community feedback, it’s finally undergone its full launch.
We always enjoy covering a game reaching that milestone, especially when it’s been such a long journey for the developer to get there.
The One to Watch – Hellforged
Every week there’s at least one game that makes us stop scrolling and immediately hit the wishlist button. This week’s pick is Hellforged.
The game hasn’t even launched yet, but it’s already building serious momentum. During its recent playtest, more than 66,000 players jumped in to see what all the excitement was about, while Steam wishlists have already climbed beyond 50,000. Those are impressive numbers for any indie roguelite, especially one that’s still only available as a demo.
It’s easy to see why people are paying attention. The game combines extraction mechanics with fast-paced action, letting you venture into dangerous runs, gather valuable loot, and make the difficult decision of whether to extract safely or push your luck for even greater rewards. Every successful escape strengthens future expeditions, but every extra minute spent exploring risks losing everything you’ve collected.
Extraction roguelites have become one of the genre’s fastest-growing trends this year, and Hellforged already looks like one of its most promising examples. If you haven’t tried the demo yet, we’d definitely recommend doing so and keeping an eye on this one before it launches later this year.