The best games coming to Steam in May

The delayed Lord of the Rings: Gollum game, the System Shock remake, and Redfall are just some of the highlights coming to Steam this May.

Curious what games are landing on PC this month? We've taken a look over the upcoming releases arriving on Steam this May, and bought together the highlights for you here.

Last month saw the arrival of titles such as the Mega Man Battle Network Collections, a new Minecraft game, episode two of talking sim Coffee Talk, and of course Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Over the next four weeks we've got a slew of fresh highlights that you'll likely want to add to your wishlist, including LEGO 2K Drive, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and the anticipated System Shock remake.

You can find the full list of our May Steam picks below. Let's get to it:

✨ May 2023 Steam Games

Redfall

🗓️ Release: May 1
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: Verified

This open-world first-person shooter is set on a small island town that's been overrun by vampires. Players can 'slay alone' or team up for cooperative battles to take down the countless blood-sucking enemies.

Redfall is Steam Deck verified too. However, those hoping it delivers a bloody good time (sorry) - may want to check the early review as they aren't particularly positive.

➞ Redfall on Steam Deck

Age of Wonders 4

🗓️ Release: May 2
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

Tactical combat/warfare meets empire-building in this high-fantasy turn-based strategy game that sees you control a growing faction, and rule over a magical realm.

➞ Age of Wonders 4 on Steam

Showgunners

🗓️ Release: May 2
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

This one mixes third-person shooting action with strategic turn-based tactics in a setting where you play as a contestant on a high-stakes futuristic reality game show.

You'll need to "survive a dangerous urban environment packed with traps, confounding puzzles, and heavily armed psychopaths". There's a demo available now.

➞ Showgunners on Steam

Super Dungeon Maker

🗓️ Release: May 3
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: Playable

This one has been in early access for a while, but it finally hits 1.0 this week with an official release on both Steam and the Switch.

It's the answer to the question: what would a Mario Maker style experience for Zelda look like? Build your own 2D pixel art dungeon, complete with secret rooms, traps, and items to find.

➞ Super Dungeon Maker on Steam Deck

KAKU: Ancient Seal

🗓️ Release: May 3
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

A 3D semi-open world action-adventure game with an ancient fantasy theme that is set in "a world on the edge of collapse".

You play as the titular Kaku who’s tasked with going on a journey across a sprawling continent to restore balance to the land (with the help of your pet pig).

➞ Kaku: Ancient Seal on Steam

Tape to Tape

🗓️ Release: May 3
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

It's a roguelite hockey sports game, with a neat visual style and four player multiplayer. This is the Early Access launch.

➞ Tape to Tape on Steam

Darkest Dungeon II

🗓️ Release: May 8
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

This sequel to the 2016 original arrives on Steam on May 8, bringing its unique look and roguelike "road trip of the damned" action to a new audience. Expect dungeon crawling turn-based tactics as you "set off across the decaying landscape on a last gasp quest to avert the apocalypse".

➞ Darkest Dungeon II on Steam

Occupy Mars: The Game

🗓️ Release: May 10
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

Occupy Mars is a resource management, base-building survival experience that's set on the planet Mars.

It's described as a "highly technical, open-world sandbox game" in which you build and upgrade your base, discover new regions of the red planet, conduct various mining operations, retrieve water, generate oxygen, grow crops, and more.

➞ Occupy Mars: The Game on Steam

Mechabellum

🗓️ Release: May 11
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

Mechabellum comes to Early Access on May 11 — it's a PvP auto battler strategy sim set on a 'Far-Away' planet that's newly colonized. You take control of an army of mechs in various massive battles. "Customize and level up your units, strategically place them on the battlefield and watch them destroy your enemies".

➞ Mechabellum on Steam

Far Cry 6

🗓️ Release: May 11
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

First released in 2021, this sixth mainline entry in the long-running Far Cry series finally arrives on Steam following a period of exclusivity on PC at the Epic Games store.

If you're not familiar, it's a first-person, vast open-world 'guerrilla revolution' action game, featuring the voice talents of Giancarlo Esposito as Antón Castillo, the antagonist dictatorial ruler who you face off against.

➞ Far Cry 6 on Steam

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return to Rome DLC

🗓️ Release: May 16
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: Unsupported

A notable bit of downloadable content (DLC) for the 2019 definitive edition of all-time classic Age of Empires II. This new 'Return to Rome' expansion pack brings the original Age of Empires game that started it all, into Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as a brand new self-contained experience.

You'll get the original sixteen civilizations to play through, along with a new Southeast Asia 'Lac Viet' setting.

➞ Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return to Rome on Steam

Tin Hearts

🗓️ Release: May 16
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: Playable

Tin Hearts first launched on the Nintendo Switch last month, but now it's making its way over to PC with this Steam debut. It's a 3D narrative puzzle adventure/platformer in which you have to guide a troop of tin soldiers through a toy-filled, magical setting.

It's looking like Tin Hearts will likely be Verified for the Steam Deck too.

➞ Tin Hearts on Steam

Humanity

🗓️ Release: May 16
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

You may remember this one from a recent State of Play as this is also coming to the PS5. Humanity is a third-person puzzle-action platformer (with VR support) about managing a massive, marching crowd to a set goal — kinda like Lemmings.

➞ Humanity on Steam

The Outlast Trials

🗓️ Release: May 18
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

A new "mind-numbing" first-person survival horror experience from the Outlast series that's hitting early access this month. Set during the Cold War, you'll find yourself trapped in a facility having to hone your stealth capabilities. There's co-op play here too if you'd rather not go it alone.

➞ The Outlast Trials on Steam

I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival

🗓️ Release: May 18
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: Playable

A 'cozy' take on post-apocalypse life. This colourful sim game sees you craft, farm, fish, cook, and more all on your own little plot on top of an abandoned skyscraper. There's a demo available.

➞ I am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival on Steam

LEGO 2K Drive

🗓️ Release: May 19
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

A family-friendly open-world/sandbox racing game set in 'Bricklandia' that lets players race, customize, and build their very own vehicles using a variety of LEGO blocks.

There's seemingly plenty of tracks and challenges to take on in the single player, and there's online multiplayer too.

➞ LEGO 2K Drive on Steam

Inkbound

🗓️ Release: May 22
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

From the creators of Monster Train comes Inkbound, a turn-based fantasy co-op roguelike set in "the magical, dangerous books of the Atheneum Library". It's online-only so requires an internet connection in order to play.

Although not yet mentioned on the game's Steam page (at time of writing), the devs did say on Twitter that the game is playable on Steam Deck.

➞ Inkbound on Steam

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

🗓️ Release: May 23
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

I love the visuals here. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is an action FPS with an explosive, fluid style thats like a 90s retro shooter on steroids — plenty of big sprites and chunky pixels flying all over. You're gonna wanna see this one in motion.

➞ Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun on Steam

Bread & Fred

🗓️ Release: May 23
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

What would Nintendo's Ice Climbers look like in 2023? Maybe something like this. Bread & Fred is a challenging, yet wholsesome looking co-op 2D platformer featuring two cute penguins who are tasked with climbing a mountain, Celeste style. There's a demo available.

➞ Bread & Fred on Steam

Amnesia: The Bunker

🗓️ Release: May 23
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

A 'difficult' first-person horror experience that's set in a desolate WW1 bunker. You have to explore, experiment, be resourceful, and find your way out.

➞ Amnesia: The Bunker on Steam

Miasma Chronicles

🗓️ Release: May 23
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

Miasma Chronicles is a detailed 3D tactical adventure set in post-apocalyptic American wasteland.

➞ Miasma Chronicles on Steam

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

🗓️ Release: May 25
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

Originally due to arrive in 2022, this story-rich J.R.R. Tolkien adventure was delayed into 2023.

The stealth-action fantasy game sees you take control of Gollum on a journey through Middle-earth, climbing the mountains of Mordor — and it's hoping to steal some of your precious time when it arrives in late May.

➞ The Lord of the Rings: Gollum on Steam

System Shock

🗓️ Release: May 30
🎮 Steam Deck compatibility: TBC

A remake of the 1994 cult sci-fi classic featuring "all-new HD visuals, updated controls, an overhauled interface and all-new sounds & music". System Shock is a first-person horror experience that sees you battle against a rogue AI in space.

➞ System Shock on Steam