January is traditionally a quiet month for new game releases, with fewer noteworthy launches compared to the previous year. After 2025, which brought gamers several high-profile titles every month, this New Year’s lineup may seem modest — but it still offers some exciting games. Among the upcoming games this month are a sequel to the cult classic Pathologic, the second instalment of Code Vein, a unique mountaineering simulator, and several other notable PC and console games.
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DuneCrawl
Why it’s interesting: a cooperative multiplayer game set in an endless desert on a giant robotic crab.
In DuneCrawl, players explore vast sandy wastelands while piloting enormous mechanical crabs. The crab walker serves not only as a vehicle but also as a mobile, fortified base. Players can store resources onboard and use mounted weapons to defend against hostile desert creatures.
Along the way, you will encounter other crab riders — not all of them friendly. The developers promise intense PvP and PvE battles, including boarding actions and capturing enemy crab crawlers. Teamwork is key: some players manage movement and weapons, while others handle repairs, reminiscent of co-op ship battles in games like Sea of Thieves.
The mobile base is fully customisable. Players can swap out limbs, add new weapons and defenses, and apply cosmetic upgrades. The mechanical ecosystem goes beyond crabs, featuring smaller but agile machines like beetles and scorpions. Combat is not limited to vehicles — players can also fight on foot.
DuneCrawl currently has a demo available on Steam, making it easy for players to try the game before release.
StarRupture
Why it’s interesting: a sci-fi survival game inspired by Satisfactory, from the developers of Green Hell.
In StarRupture, players take on the role of prisoners serving sentences on the hostile planet Arcadia-7. Here, survival is harsh: mining for valuable resources under extreme conditions is essential, yet perilous. The planet’s unstable sun can suddenly turn a lush steppe into a scorched desert, while dangerous fauna — armored, sharp-toothed, and highly aggressive — roam the land.
Players can tackle the challenges solo or in co-op groups of up to four, gathering resources, constructing factories, installing drills, laying conveyors, supplying bases with power, managing production chains, and defending against aggressive wildlife. This resource management and base-building gameplay is reminiscent of engineering-heavy titles like Satisfactory and Factorio, which served as clear inspiration for the developers.
Despite similarities to these titles, StarRupture offers a unique identity. Positive playtest reviews and over 60,000 wishlists on Steam indicate strong early interest, suggesting it will appeal to fans of survival and strategy games alike.
Pathologic 3
Why it’s interesting: a sequel to a cult classic psychological adventure known for its depth and challenging narrative.
Pathologic 3 follows Bachelor Daniil Dankovsky, a talented young doctor obsessed with overcoming human mortality. His journey takes him to a remote provincial town rumored to house an immortal being. However, a mysterious plague threatens the population, and Dankovsky has only 12 in-game days to save the town from collapse.
Players must examine residents, make diagnoses, track symptoms, and attempt to develop a vaccine. Characters have personal motives and may not always tell the truth, influencing events across the city. Beyond medicine, Dankovsky can take on management and governance decisions: impose quarantines, enforce curfews, distribute limited vaccines, and suppress unrest. Choices are consequential — riots and harsh penalties, including executions, can result from player actions, dynamically affecting the town’s development.
Time management is a crucial element. Players can revisit key decisions, reshaping the story’s outcome. Meanwhile, Dankovsky’s psychological state is fragile. Guilt and inner conflict can trigger unpredictable consequences, reinforcing the game’s focus on moral ambiguity, emotional pressure, and player-driven storytelling.
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check
Why it’s interesting: a zombie survival simulation putting players in the role of a checkpoint officer during a viral outbreak.
In Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, players manage a security checkpoint in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. The primary task is to screen everyone attempting to enter a protected shelter, using specialised scanners, medical tools, and detection systems to identify signs of infection.
There is no room for error. A single misdiagnosis or showing too much leniency toward a symptomatic individual can allow the virus to breach the safe zone, endangering all survivors. Ethical dilemmas are central to gameplay: people with borderline or unclear symptoms may be sent for risky medical tests, decisions that yield critical information but also raise difficult moral questions.
Beyond inspection duties, players manage the shelter’s resources. Food, medicine, and electricity must be carefully allocated as the refugee population grows. At times, the role shifts from administrator to defender: when infected hordes attack, players can deploy drones and use handheld weapons to defend the perimeter and prevent a full-scale outbreak.
BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW
Why it’s interesting: a psychological horror game examining the impact of social media on teenagers’ mental health.
BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW follows Ann, a teenage girl facing cyberbullying and harassment at school. Over time, she becomes trapped in a distorted world formed by her own nightmares, inhabited by terrifying creatures that personify the trauma inflicted by her peers.
Combat is not an option. Survival depends on fleeing, hiding, and using Ann’s smartphone strategically to distract or outsmart these threats. The device, a familiar part of daily life, becomes both a lifeline and a symbol of the source of her suffering.
The game strongly emphasizes the role of social media and online harassment on mental health. Words on a screen can sometimes feel more damaging than physical harm. Player choices directly influence the story, which unfolds across multiple endings, reflecting different ways Ann’s struggle can resolve.
MIO: Memories in Orbit
Why it’s interesting: a vibrant metroidvania game from the creators of Shady Part of Me.
In MIO: Memories in Orbit, players take on the role of MIO, an android who awakens aboard the Ark — a colossal spaceship drifting aimlessly through space for years. Overgrown with vegetation and plagued by failing internal systems, the Ark is slowly falling into ruin. Its AI guardians, called Pearls, have shut down, and MIO is the only one capable of restoring them and saving the ship. Players must explore the labyrinthine interiors, locate each Pearl, and bring it back online.
Gameplay follows the classic metroidvania formula, with a focus on non-linear exploration. The world is divided into multiple biomes, with new areas unlocking as players acquire abilities. Previously inaccessible locations can be reached using tools such as a grappling hook, enhanced jumps, gliding mechanics, and other skills. Abilities are upgraded through parts collected from defeated enemies, encouraging both exploration and combat.
Myth of Empires
Why it’s interesting: a historical MMO sandbox set in Ancient China.
On 21 January, beta testing begins for Myth of Empires: Conquests, an updated version of the well-known MMO. This new build brings technical improvements, expanded content, and new gameplay features.
The sandbox experience transports players to 3rd-century China, where they can choose their own path. Some may focus on settlement development, mastering crafts, and building trade networks, while others may take up arms to become powerful warriors in a fractured empire.
Core gameplay revolves around survival in an open world, free construction, and a realistic combat system. Battles range from small skirmishes to large-scale conflicts and full-scale sieges. The game also offers accessibility features: characters below level 20 are resurrected at the place of death, reducing early penalties and easing entry for newcomers.
A seasonal system adds long-term structure. Each season lasts 2–3 months, and players can exchange earned season points for exclusive rewards in a dedicated store. Developers also plan themed in-game events tied to cultural traditions and historical celebrations, enriching the immersive experience.
Players interested in beta testing can register on the official website, with guaranteed access available through the purchase of early access packs.
Cairn
Why it’s interesting: a meditative mountaineering simulator focused on precision, strategy, and introspection.
In Cairn, players follow Aava, a professional mountaineer determined to conquer the legendary peak, Kami. No climber has ever reached its summit, and Aava is prepared to face extreme challenges and personal sacrifice.
Gameplay revolves around realistic rock-climbing mechanics. Players must coordinate arm and leg movements, find optimal handholds, maintain balance, and manage stamina. Preparation is as important as execution: food, medicine, and equipment must be carefully selected and efficiently packed into a limited backpack, adding strategic depth to the expedition.
The game also delivers a rich narrative experience. Along the climb, Aava encounters other climbers, reflects on past events, and uncovers traces of failed expeditions. The story explores themes of self-sacrifice, obsession, and the search for meaning. Around one hour of fully voiced cutscenes with more than a dozen actors supports the narrative, while the main campaign is expected to last approximately 15 hours.
For players seeking more challenges, an Expedition mode provides procedurally generated climbing routes and a global leaderboard, extending replayability beyond the main story.
The Midnight Walkers
Why it’s interesting: an extraction shooter set in a tense, confined zombie apocalypse.
The Midnight Walkers takes place in a world devastated by a zombie virus. Unlike many extraction shooters, the action is limited to a multi-storey complex, including a hospital, shopping centre, casino, and other themed areas. Levels consist of dark, narrow corridors, offices, and industrial spaces connected by passageways, creating a claustrophobic and suspenseful atmosphere.
Players face threats from both zombies and poisonous gas that randomly fills floors. Quick movement between levels using lifts and stairs is essential, but each transition increases the risk of encountering other players.
Characters are divided into specialised classes:
- Brick: a heavily armoured tank wielding a destructive hammer.
- Crow: a nimble assassin armed with daggers.
- Lockdown: a sniper equipped with a bow.
- Margarita: a support fighter who crafts healing and strengthening potions.
As in typical extraction shooter gameplay, loot is only retained if players successfully evacuate. Otherwise, all collected items are lost and may be claimed by other survivors, adding a high-stakes survival element to every mission.
Code Vein II
Why it’s interesting: the highly anticipated sequel to the vampire-themed soulslike from Bandai Namco.
Code Vein II continues the story of a post-apocalyptic world where humans once coexisted with immortal revenants. The sudden appearance of the mysterious Moon of Rapachis drives revenants insane, transforming them into destructive monsters that threaten all life. Players step into the role of a hunter of immortals, whose fate changes after meeting Lu, a girl capable of time travel. Together, they journey a century into the past to uncover the cause of the catastrophe and prevent total annihilation.
The combat system builds upon the original game, allowing players to absorb the blood of enemies to unlock new abilities. This system enables full customisation of fighting styles, letting players tailor combat to their preferences. Allies, including Lu, can join in battles, providing support and enriching strategic options. Between encounters, companions engage in conversations that reveal the deep lore and narrative of this dark, mysterious universe.
Vampires: Bloodlord Rising
Why it’s interesting: a vampire survival RPG set in a gothic medieval world.
In Bloodlord Rising, players become Dragos, a resident of the fictional medieval region of Sangavia who is transformed into a vampire after a fateful bite. As one of the children of the night, Dragos gains superhuman abilities, including heightened senses, flight in the form of a bat, and mastery over dark magic. Players must decide whether to embrace their bloodlust, terrorising the land, or uphold an oath to protect local inhabitants, shaping Dragos into either a benevolent ruler or a fearsome predator. These decisions directly influence the story and lead to multiple possible endings.
Gameplay follows open-world survival RPG conventions. Players explore the environment, gather resources, and expand their base. Multi-level castles can be customised with dozens of architectural elements, furniture, and decorative details—including a luxurious coffin for the blood lord. Cooperative multiplayer is emphasised: players can invite friends to explore Sangavia, build together, and rule as a team, enhancing the sandbox and RPG experience.
Madeline Miller love to writes articles about gaming, coding, and pop culture.
