Five new games you may have missed last week, including a dogs-only party, a VOIP wizard 'em up, and open world cycling
Best of the best
2025 games: Upcoming releasesBest PC games: All-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest MMOs: Massive worldsBest RPGs: Grand adventures
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 2025 games that are launching this year.
Wheel World
Steam page Release: July 24Developer: Messhof
From the creators of Nidhogg comes something completely different: a stylish open world cycling game. Racing is the dominant concern in Wheel World, but there's a lot of exploration involved too, not only to find new "elite cycling teams and quirky rivals" but also to hunt down new parts to upgrade your two-wheeler. Somehow all this racing and bike-upgrading will help protagonist Kat save the world, too. It's a gorgeous looking game, and better still, the soundtrack comes courtesy of Italians Do It Better, the label behind this all time classic.
Discopup
Steam pageRelease: July 26Developer: Parry Mechanics
I don't know what you look for in videogames, but one thing I love about the medium is its potential to tell stories heretofore untold. Which is why I was immediately drawn to this game about a seal trying to gain access to a dogs-only disco. What would a seal do under these circumstances? Mope off into the streets? Look for a seals-only disco? According to the logic advanced by Discopup, the seal would roam the world in search of the perfect disguise, all the better to gain access to the disco, whether those dastardly dogs want you in there or not.
Mage Arena
Steam page Release: July 25Developers: jrsjamsHere's an unimpressive-looking game about sorcerers and warlocks doing battle. Don't let your eyes deceive you, though: a lot of people are playing it, and many are saying it's great. It's a first-person PvP affair, but the twist is that you need to use your voice to cast the spells. As you can imagine, this becomes chaotic very fast. As one Steam reviewer describes it: "Lots of people screaming fireball at each other in increasing desperation". Sign me up.
s.p.l.i.t
Steam pageRelease: July 25Developer: Mike Klubnika
From the creator of the brilliantly disturbing Buckshot Roulette comes a terminal hacking game about gaining "root access into an unethical superstructure". While you'll spend a lot of time typing commands into a DOS-like OS, s.p.l.i.t. also has you leaving your desk and navigating a grimy looking workshop that could very well be situated in Silent Hill. This is a short and sweet narrative driven affair from a solo dev who knows how to make richly atmospheric horror.
and Roger
Steam page Release: July 24Developer: TearyHand Studio
and Roger is a short visual novel with a bizarre, vaguely discomforting premise. One morning a young girl wakes up and finds that her father has been replaced by a complete stranger. She promptly leaves the house. I've got no idea what happens next, but if the storytelling in the game is anywhere near as good as it is in the Steam description (seriously, go have a look), this one will definitely be worth the hour it takes to complete.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
James Cameron has no plans to step away from directing Avatar 4 and 5, but he's not ruling it out: "I might not be able to do that"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Legendary director James Cameron has every intention in the world to helm the next two films in the Avatar franchise, the fourth and fifth. With the series' third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, on the immediate horizon, Cameron is assuring fans he's planning to ride it out till the end. That said, he's also offered the caveat that he might not have the energy to spend years making them. "I mean, there's no reason not to. I'm healthy, I'm good to go," Cameron tells Empire, before qualifying his answer. "I'm not going to rule it out. I mean, I've got to make it in a vigorous way, to handle the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years. You know what I mean? I might not be able to do that." Cameron is 70, and it seems he has no plans to slow down whatsoever, with an Avatar animated anthology series on the way alongside the pair of sequels. Meanwhile, Fire and Ash is being hailed as "pure James Cameron wow." And with both films so far reaching the absolute pinnacle of box office receipts - in the billions - it's incredibly likely that all three of the next films will rake in piles and piles of cash. But if Cameron does wind up having to step back from directing Avatar 4 or 5, he's already got a model in mind for the kind of relationship he'd like to have with whichever filmmaker might replace him. "I had a great working relationship – and I'm using this as an example, not as an answer - with Robert Rodriguez on [Battle Angel Alita]," Cameron states, making it clear he's not naming Rodriguez as his potential Avatar successor. "He honoured what I had written. We worked very collaboratively. If I can, I'll just do it." Avatar: Fire and Ash arrives in theaters on December 19. In the meantime, check out our guide to this year's other biggest upcoming movies. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
NYT ‘Connections' Hints For Wednesday, August 6: Today's Clues And Answers
Each day's game of NYT Connections goes live at midnight local time. Before we get to today's Connections hints and answers, here are Tuesday's: It's Wednesday, and you know what that means: it's time for another round of Connections! Earlier this week, a reader got in touch about one of my Connections hints. For clarity (spoilers if you haven't played Monday's game!), it was about my use of 'seer' as another example of a word that sounds like two letters. I agreed that it wasn't a great example. It referred to 'CR,' but that's hardly the most common way to pronounce the letter 'R.' I then swapped out 'seer' for "effects" (or FX). That's unquestionably clearer and more helpful. I'm human. I make mistakes. It's impossible for me to get everything right all the time. But I do want this to be the very best resource for Connections hints and answers that's out there. So, I deeply appreciate any and all feedback. Email and (especially) Discord are the best ways to get in touch with me quickly these days. If any hints seem weird or unhelpful, or you have any other feedback to share with me, please do! Speaking of which, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It's a fun hangout spot, and you're more than welcome to hang out with us. In addition, you can also read my weekend editions of this column at my new newsletter, Pastimes. Today's NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, August 6 are coming right up. How To Play Connections Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the NYT's website or Games app. You're presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part. There's only one solution for each puzzle, and you'll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them. Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay. Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and you're incorrect, you'll lose a life. If you're close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that you're one word away from getting it right, but you'll still need to figure out which one to swap. If you make four mistakes, it's game over. Let's make sure that doesn't happen with the help of some hints, and, if you're really struggling, today's Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, it's easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication's Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed. Aside from the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find our hints Google if you need them! Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or the answers to the search query. What Are Today's Connections Hints? Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today's Connections groups, I'll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them. Today's 16 words are... And the hints for today's Connections groups are: One Word For Each Connections Group Need some extra help? Be warned: we're starting to get into spoiler territory. Let's take a look at one word for each group. Today's Connections word hints are… What Are Today's Connections Groups? Today's Connections groups are... What Are Today's Connections Answers? Spoiler alert! Don't scroll any further down the page until you're ready to find out today's Connections answers. This is your final warning! Today's Connections answers are... I was very surprised that the boxing punches were the blues. I thought those were exceedingly obvious, and I don't even like boxing. Not complaining, though! The yellows were also pretty easy for me to spot and those were up next. NEEDLE and RIB then made the greens clear enough, despite the potential trap of SHAMMY and RAG. The purple didn't click for me right away, but it only took a few seconds to realize they all started with "s." Once I mentally removed those, the connection became apparent. Not too tough of a game today. Here's hoping for a bigger challenge tomorrow, even if it might put my current streak of 159 wins at risk. Here's my grid for today: 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 That's all there is to it for today's Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Thursday's game if you need them. P.S. I think Ren is an incredible artist, a true modern troubadour. So I'm absolutely delighted that he's releasing new music again. His latest is 'Vincent's Tale - Self Portrait.' It'll help if you've watched the video for 'The Tale of Jenny and Screech' first, as that ties into this one. But as a standalone piece of (admittedly sweary) art, this is still tremendous. Great storytelling, sublime musicianship and a video that beautifully harmonizes with the music. Once again, welcome back, Ren: Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love! Please follow my blog for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column at my new newsletter, Pastimes.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
PEAK Developers Say They'd Rather You Pirate It Than Play 'Roblox Slop Ripoff'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors PEAK is one of the biggest games on the planet right now, after the goofy mountain climbing game shot to mass popularity following its release. The multiplayer climbing game was released on Steam on June 16, 2025, but its popularity spiked a week later when it started appearing in Twitch streams and YouTube videos from popular creators. Since then, it's endured massive popularity with an all-time peak of 114,492 concurrent players on Steam, bigger than even some triple-A games. A screenshot of three players climbing to the top of a cliff in PEAK. A screenshot of three players climbing to the top of a cliff in PEAK. Team PEAK As often happens with popular viral games, imitators weren't far behind, and one such imitator caught the attention of co-developer Aggro Crab Games. The game in question is a Roblox game called CLIFF, which looks to have been developed by PewStudio. CLIFF, which seems to use artwork and imagery very similar to PEAK, and has over 4.8 million "visits" on Roblox. PewStudio also directly admits to being inspired by PEAKin its description, offering a "special thanks to those amazing creators." Aggro Crab Games didn't appreciate the special thanks, calling out the game on X (formerly Twitter) and encouraging players to pirate PEAK instead of playing the Roblox game. "tbh would rather you pirate our game than play this microtransaction-riddled @Roblox slop ripoff," the post reads, alongside screenshots of the game's lobby and store page. Fellow co-developer Landfall Games agreed, quoting the post with a simple "Cosigned." As with many Roblox games, CLIFF offers a number of microtransactions, which are the primary way that Roblox developers make money from their creations. CLIFF has microtransactions for five items, ranging from 49 Robux (roughly $0.60 USD) for a "parrot friend" to 200 Robux (roughly $2.50 USD) for a "climbing pickaxe." To buy all of the microtransactions in the game once would cost roughly $8 — which is how much PEAK costs on Steam up-front. At the time of writing, PEAK is only available on Steam, but both developers for the game have said they want to bring the game to consoles in the future.
