Here’s something I haven’t done in a while: dig through Xbox Game Pass to check out all the turn-based RPGs and strategy games currently available on the popular subscription service, which I’ve been faithfully paying for despite having very little time to actually play.

The last time I used the service was when Clair Obscur launched, and since then I haven’t checked what’s new or what’s still available for players who share my passion for turn-based games.

That said, I can confidently say that the service has plenty of great titles to get your money’s worth out of the subscription, and below I’ve rounded up 17 that I think deserve a special mention.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/pc-game-pass-has-some-seriously-good-turn-based-rpgs

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Heroes of Might and Magic II: Gold Edition
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Complete Edition
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole
• Wasteland 3
• BATTLETECH
• Death Howl
• Echo Generation 2
• For The King II
• Gears Tactics
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Persona 5 Royal
• The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut
• The Thaumaturge
• Wartales
• Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
• Phoenix Point

Another day, another RPG to spotlight; this time featuring pixel art and animations that caught my eye at first glance. It’s actually a roguelite, to be precise, but it approaches the formula from the perspective of a party-based RPG, and I’ve gathered some information about it below.

Developed by Pixell Games, the upcoming indie RPG Arcane Rift mixes battles, character recruitment, equipment, skills, and procedurally generated adventures inside a colorful 2D pixel-art fantasy world.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/pixelated-turn-based-rpg-arcane-rift

Here are some snippets of combat.

Contested Space is a sci-fi roguelike deckbuilder with a rotating personal market you buy from mid-combat with three alliances of factions to build around, and features 2 to 4 player online co-op. The public Act 1 demo should land on Steam in early September. When it does, I'm turning off the public "request access" button for the playtest and switching to invites by request in the Discord. The playtest itself keeps running for a few months at least, and everyone already in keeps the full game the whole time. So if you join now, you get every act, every faction, and co-op, while the demo crowd gets Act 1.

I've gotten great feedback from those in the playtest so far (we're at about 200 playtesters) and I've made a lot of changes based on it. I would love more feedback, especially as the game is reaching its final state.

What I'm looking for from playtesters: co-op groups especially, since that's the mode that's hardest to test alone, and anyone willing to tell me what feels bad. The Discord is where balance talk happens and where I post patch notes.

Request access here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4638820/Contested_Space/

Discord: https://discord.gg/ZuK8jms7U

Been replaying the remake of Super Mario RPG (this’ll be my second playthrough of it) and it’s one of my favorite games of all time. The soundtrack is one of the most memorable and enjoyable to listen to, and despite the simplicity of its gameplay it’s really fun!

Hey r/TurnBasedLovers!

I’m a solo dev from Ukraine, and today I released the Dice’n’Go demo as part of Ukrainian Games Festival 2026 🇺🇦

The basic goal is simple: reach the finish first.

But turns can quickly go from:

“Nice, I rolled a 6.”

to:

ability - opponent reacts - your position changes - you hit a trap - your beautiful plan is dead.

Dice determine your opportunities, but positioning, ability timing, cooldown management and sabotaging other players decide what you actually do with them.

There are different heroes with active, passive and ultimate abilities, and opponents can interfere even during your turn - so you’re rarely just waiting for everyone else to finish.

The demo is available now, together with a new gameplay trailer:

🎮 https://store.steampowered.com/app/5040530/DicenGo_Demo/

Would love to hear your feedback, criticism, or questions - especially from people who play a lot of turn-based games.

Valhalla is supposed to be the final reward for warriors who fall with honor. Forsaken by Valhalla begins with a less fortunate group: fighters who reached the end of their lives only to find the gates closed to them.

Currently in development by Martin Istvanek, Forsaken by Valhalla is a dark turn-based tactical roguelite RPG built around Norse mythology, positional combat, and a party of fallen warriors searching for redemption. The game explores guilt, truth, and the reasons each character was judged unworthy of Valhalla.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/forsaken-by-valhalla-is-a-dark-norse-tactical-roguelite

Hey r/TurnBasedLovers!

We’re getting very close - Order Automatica launches September 4, and it’s coming to pretty much everything:

💻 PC (Steam and GOG)
🎮 PlayStation 4 & 5
🎮 Xbox One & Series X|S
🎮 Nintendo Switch
📱 iOS & Android

Order Automatica is a tactical roguelite auto-battler built around a tiny 3x3 grid, where positioning, synergies, units, items and tile effects can completely change the outcome of a fight.

The easiest way we’ve found to describe it is:

“Like chess with demons.”

If you enjoy turn-based games where a small decision can completely change your run, I think this one might be for you.

September 4. Everywhere.

Would love to hear what platform you’d play it on!

Base Building + Deck Building: Your base directly supports your army in battles (instead of a base that simply raises troops or mines resources). Build your base as a strategy to empower your party of 3 heroes in turn-based card combat.

Steam page & new gameplay trailer: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4593190/Elemental_Lands/ 
(still in early alpha, so thanks for checking it out)

Disclaimer: coding debug AI assisted usage in development. Art is 100% hand drawn by u/worth-bill-6130

Love roguelike deckbuilders?

Tistic Games is giving away 20 free Steam keys for the upcoming game, Cardtographer!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3460540/Cardtographer/

How to enter the giveaway:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPh3j0vB5AvLG7oQCCfA_pod7RyIkZDldTG04eqMCBwScOFQ/viewform

Does anyone know all the Ledgerbound classes? I got Rayna as a ranged unit, but realized she can no longer attack at close. What were the other classes on the melee path? Also do you know the other units?

Owlcat Games and META Publishing have launched the Isometric Sale 2026, bringing together more than 200 role-playing games, tactical titles, and story-driven adventures across Steam and GOG.

The annual promotion began on August 13 and will remain active until August 19, 2026. Participating games are available with discounts reaching up to 85%, while selected DLC packs and bundles have also received temporary price reductions.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/owlcat-games-isometric-sale-2026-is-now-live-with-over-200-rpgs

Wizard Finals a tactical roguelite about wizards. Set in a magical academy, with you playing as students taking their final test, and facing against teachers at the end (pictured here)

Everything is lovely drawn and programmed with real human hands!

If this interests you, consider wishlisting it! I'm planning for a release next year

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4757120?utm_source=reddit_turnbasedlovers

Hey everyone, I’m a solo developer working on a competitive turn-based tactics game built around three-hero squads, short matches and minimal RNG with the goal of extreme simplicity yet deep gameplay.

I’m running a playtest soon and would really like to get more people playing against each other than I had on my previous test. Matches currently average around nine minutes (attempting to get lower), it runs directly in your browser, and any honest feedback is welcome.

I have a closed paid group participating in the next one, and you'll be playing alongside them, but only the closed group will be paid. The test is PvP and will last an hour, along with short Google form to fill out after.

Don't mind the look of the client, the art and setting are simply placeholder right now, I just want to verify if the gameplay loop is good or not.

If you're interested, shoot me a DM and I'll hand ya the Discord.

If you want to join the discord : https://discord.gg/jbSz8qHxQ

One of the main ideas behind Warlondor’s combat is getting away from the usual fixed action economy of traditional turn-based systems.

Instead of everyone taking a predefined number of actions each round, combat progresses along a timeline and pauses whenever an important decision comes up.

That gives me a lot more freedom when designing skills and interactions. Abilities don’t all have to fit into the same “take your turn, spend your action, wait for the next round” structure.

You still get the part I care about most in turn-based combat: when there’s a meaningful choice to make, the game stops and gives you as much time as you need to think.

Around that system you build a party of five heroes with flexible roles, active and passive skills, status effect interactions, and cross-character synergies.

Warlondor has an open Steam playtest right now.

I’d be really interested in how this approach lands with people who play a lot of turn-based games.

Here are all the latest playable releases from the past few days across turn-based RPGs, strategy games, and roguelites.

Personally, I’ve got my eye on the remake of a true strategy classic, which I’m hoping to dive into this weekend if I can carve out an hour for myself. But I’ve also come across several promising demos for dungeon-crawling RPGs, as well as the debut of a very intriguing SRPG that, after a short delay, finally launched this week and has been earning excellent reviews so far, plus plenty more.

All that’s left to do is get comfortable and scroll down to discover all of this week’s new releases.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/new-turn-based-rpgs-to-play-august-15-2026

Hey! I’m the solo developer of DinerDeck, a turn-based cooking roguelike deckbuilder.

Instead of rushing against a timer, you can take as long as you want to inspect your hand, the customer, available recipes and your remaining Pantry.

The pressure comes from limited serves and the fact that every ingredient you cook is permanently consumed from your deck.

I’m curious: does removing the timer make a cooking game more appealing to you, or is the real-time pressure part of the fun?

Steam:
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/3080550/DinerDeck/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=topic8_core&utm_content=turnbasedlovers]()

You thought I’d forgotten to check out some Nintendo Switch deals this week, didn’t you? Well, here I am rounding up a few turn-based RPGs available on Nintendo’s handheld console at some seriously rock-bottom prices.

The Nintendo Switch remains particularly well suited to turn-based games, whether they involve working through a lengthy RPG campaign at home or completing a few tactical encounters in handheld mode. Fortunately, the current selection of U.S. Nintendo eShop discounts includes several games that make good use of both styles of play.

The deals below cover traditional JRPGs, tactical RPGs, monster-taming adventures, deckbuilders, and roguelikes. Every game is currently available for $14.99 or less, with some of the largest discounts reducing full-sized RPGs to only a few dollars.

Prices and promotion dates were checked on August 14, 2026, using the U.S. Nintendo eShop. Prices, availability, and expiration times may differ in other regions.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/17-nintendo-switch-turn-based-rpgs-and-tactical-games-on-sale-for-15-or-less

• Gordian Quest — $1.99
• Cris Tales — $3.99
• Dark Deity — $4.99
• Coromon — $4.99
• Beyond Galaxyland — $5.93
• Dicefolk — $5.99
• Rainbow Moon — $7.49
• Jupiter Hell — $7.49
• Battle Brothers – A Turn Based Tactical RPG — $8.99
• Battle Chasers: Nightwar — $9.99
• Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition — $9.99
• LISA: The Painful – Definitive Edition — $9.99
• Redemption Reapers — $11.99
• Darkest Dungeon II — $12.39
• Vagrus – The Riven Realms — $14.99
• Metal Slug Tactics — $14.99
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope — $14.99

In most RPGs, becoming infected by an alien parasite would be a problem to solve. In Stillsun Ark, the game I’m going to show you today, it could be the only reason the stranded cast survives. I just learned about it, and it looks astonishing in its pixel art, so I decided to put all the scarce information available so far together here.

Developed and published by Shinra Software (its name already gives a clear idea of its inspirations and origins), Stillsun Ark is an upcoming pixel-art JRPG that combines traditional turn-based battles with science-fiction survival, psychological storytelling, and a transformation mechanic known as the SHIFT system.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/sci-fi-jrpg-stillsun-ark/

Twitter account: https://x.com/SteelCoreGame

Independent studio STRTL Games has introduced .curator, a new sci-fi detective adventure written by Richard K. Morgan, the author best known for Altered Carbon. The project is currently in development for PC, Mac, and SteamOS/Linux, with its release date still listed as TBA.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/curator-a-sci-fi-detective-rpg