Here we are again for our usual Saturday roundup, taking a look at all the latest RPG and strategy game releases on this hot, actually, scorching July day.
This week brings a handful of noteworthy releases. There are several new RPGs with roguelite mechanics, a JRPG making its way to Nintendo Switch 2 after launching on PC and PlayStation, and, most notably, a Jagged Alliance-inspired RPG that finally reached its full 1.0 release this week after spending quite some time in Early Access.
There are also several smaller releases worth investigating, including a narrative cyberpunk RPG powered by dice, a Chinese-inspired tactical roguelike, and the surprisingly substantial free demo for Guildrun. Here are all the new turn-based RPGs and strategy games you can play this weekend.
STARBITES – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
- Developer: IKINAGAMES
- Publisher: NIS America
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
- Release Date: July 14, 2026
- Nintendo eShop
I own the Collector’s Edition of STARBITES, and, unbelievably, I still haven’t opened it or even tried this incredibly stylish JRPG that, after a short delay, has completed its journey across platforms with the release of its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
The story-driven sci-fi RPG follows Lukida, a young salvager desperate to escape Bitter, a desert planet littered with the remains of an interstellar war. Players cross its wastelands aboard customizable Motorbots, recruit a party of unlikely allies, and fight in accessible turn-based battles built around character synergies, and mechanical upgrades.
This new edition preserves the original adventure while offering higher resolution and improved frame rates on Nintendo’s latest hardware.
Urban Strife – Version 1.0
- Developer: White Pond Games
- Publisher: MicroProse Software
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 14, 2026
- Steam Page
I’d been eagerly waiting for the full release of Urban Strife, and this week, this survival RPG finally arrived in its definitive 1.0 version, completing its post-apocalyptic campaign with the final confrontation against the Atlanta horde.
This ambitious survival RPG combines XCOM-like turn-based encounters with open-ended exploration, faction diplomacy, resource gathering, and the gradual reconstruction of a survivor shelter.
Its combat simulation tracks individual projectiles, cover materials, penetration, body-part injuries, noise, and environmental destruction. Outside battle, players recruit survivors, develop their base, negotiate with rival groups, and prepare for the siege that brings the campaign to its conclusion.
Fogpiercer
- Developer: Mad Cookies Studio
- Publisher: Hooded Horse
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 17, 2026
- Steam Page
Fogpiercer puts humanity’s future aboard an armed train racing through a wasteland swallowed by a mysterious fog.
Locomotives, carriages, and drivers determine the cards available at the beginning of a run, allowing players to build a convoy around artillery, defensive shields, hacking tools, ramming attacks, or other specialized strategies.
Battles unfold as compact tactical puzzles in which enemies reveal their intentions, giving players an opportunity to push vehicles into hazards, redirect attacks, or trigger destructive chain reactions.
With more than 170 cards, branching routes, and numerous carriage combinations, it blends deckbuilding with the positional problem-solving of a turn-based tactics game.
DAICE
- Developer: Aeterna Ludi
- Publisher: GrabTheGames
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 16, 2026
- Steam Page
Dice become ammunition, fuel, and defensive tools in FTL-Inspired DAICE, a sci-fi roguelite centered on a constantly evolving AI Core.
During combat, players assign their rolls to weapons and ship systems, deciding whether to attack, intercept incoming missiles, maneuver into position, or save resources for a more effective combination.
Between encounters, equipment must be arranged inside a limited inventory grid, where chips and upgrades can strengthen adjacent components. Twenty unlockable ships, weapon overcharge abilities, multiple AI Cores, and a four-act campaign provide plenty of room for experimentation beyond the luck of each roll.
Dead Weight
- Developer: Klukva Games
- Publishers: Klukva Games and Spaghetti Cat
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 16, 2026
- Steam Page
I first played a demo of Dead Weight a long time ago; I honestly can’t even remember how long it’s been, and since then the developer has come a long way, culminating in the release of this tactical roguelite that sets sail across a steampunk world of floating islands, ancient ruins, and awakening gods.
A flying pirate ship acts as the base for each roguelite expedition, requiring players to manage fuel, hire crew members, collect equipment, and choose which islands are worth the risk. When trouble begins, combat moves to unusually small turn-based battlefields where every step can affect attack ranges, escape routes, and opportunities to control enemies.
Four playable characters, extensive skill trees, ship upgrades, and numerous equipment combinations support different builds as players push deeper into the procedurally assembled world.
Imperial Ambitions
- Developer: aoiti
- Publishers: aoiti and Electronic Sheep Games
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 13, 2026
- Steam Page
TBL was created to support indie projects, the passionate, deeply personal kind that often have years and years of hard work and sacrifice behind them, and Imperial Ambitions is definitely one of those.
After roughly five years in development, it finally makes its debut as a turn-based 4X strategy game set during the Age of Discovery and Renaissance, placing a European power under the player’s control as it expands through trade, colonization, diplomacy, and war.
Instead of managing everything through conventional menus, many actions are performed by specialized agents who establish trade routes, negotiate treaties, discover resources, or undermine rival territories.
Armies can form columns, split regiments, and create crossfires during tactical battles, while the economic layer tracks more than 40 goods and a population divided into distinct social classes. Hunger, disease, education, unrest, and shifting loyalties can all disrupt an empire long before an opposing army arrives.
Celestial Return
- Developer: Metaphor Games
- Publisher: Shoreline Games
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 14, 2026
- Steam Page
Over the next few days, we’ll be getting to work on our review of Celestial Return, a fascinating project that heads into the neon-soaked streets of Netherveil City for a narrative RPG that combines cyberpunk noir, cosmic horror, and tabletop-inspired dice mechanics.
Detective Howard and his talkative sentient rose investigate a disturbing string of suicides, interrogating residents and uncovering the influence of powerful corporations along the way. Dice are a limited resource used to unlock dialogue options, take risks, bribe characters, and influence key moments, while Howard’s developing personality determines which approaches remain available.
The result is a heavily branching investigation where choices reshape both the protagonist and the route through the story.
The Hollow Alchemist – Early Access
- Developer and Publisher: Soul in a Flask
- Platform: PC
- Early Access Release Date: July 17, 2026
- Steam Page
I’d never even heard of it until today, one of those games that, every now and then, somehow slips past my usually reliable radar. In any case, The Hollow Alchemist begins its Early Access journey with a mix of narrative adventure and roguelite deckbuilding with an impressive art style.
Its protagonist, Fumiko, is a homunculus born without sin who travels through a damaged world in search of a better understanding of humanity. Battles use dice-generated mana and cards tied to fire, water, earth, and wind, with buffs and debuffs reacting to one another to create elemental combinations.
The current build includes three explorable nations, companions, relics, branching events, and several embodiments of sin to confront, while the full version is planned to expand the journey to thirteen nations over the course of development.
Guildrun – Demo
- Developer and Publisher: Leyline
- Platforms: PC and macOS
- Demo Release Date: July 16, 2026
- Steam Page
I introduced Guildrun a few hours ago on TBL, and even if it may only have a demo available, there is already a considerable amount to explore in this PvE roguelite autobattler.
Players recruit heroes, equip items and relics, and decide how each unit evolves before watching the assembled party confront waves of creatures. Characters are not locked into rigid roles, so healers can become frontline tanks and ranged fighters can be rebuilt for close combat through branching specialization paths.
The demo features 25 heroes, over 300 relics, more than 100 items, eight difficulty levels, and an Endless mode with online leaderboards, all without timers or competitive PvP restrictions.
Solnox – Grimoire of Seasons
- Developer and Publisher: ByteRockers’ Games
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 15, 2026
- Steam Page
Solnox – Grimoire of Seasons is a dark fantasy roguelite deckbuilder in which seasonal magic is the last defense against a force of supernatural corruption.
Rune stones function as cards on a hex-based battlefield, making positioning and terrain manipulation just as valuable as direct damage. The active season shifts as battles progress, changing the available bonuses and forcing players to reconsider combinations that worked only a turn earlier.
Three Wardens and multiple starting decks support different approaches, while failed runs unlock additional runes and tactical possibilities for future attempts.
The Hidden Scrolls
- Developer: Red Dragon Studio
- Publisher: 2P Games
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: July 15, 2026
- Steam Page
Let’s close my weekly recap of new games to play with a project inspired by China’s Spring and Autumn period. The Hidden Scrolls blends historical figures, supernatural folklore, and turn-based roguelite expeditions within a distinctive mixture of ink-wash and oil-painted artwork.
Parties can be assembled from thirteen classes before venturing across five regions filled with monsters, bandits, demons, and more than ten major bosses. Retainers can gain confidence or collapse under fear during combat, and permanent death makes failed rescue attempts especially costly.
Between journeys, players return to town to construct buildings, recruit new fighters, research upgrades, and prepare equipment before setting out to recover more bamboo slips and uncover the source of the demonic calamity.
