In 2023, Steam welcomed over 14,000 new games. You won’t play them all, and beyond the big AAA releases, plenty of hidden gems slipped under the radar. This article shines a light on titles that didn’t dominate the chatter but deserve a closer look.
Lumencraft
- Average lead time: 20 hours;
- Genre: action, exploration;
- Rating on Steam – 853 reviews, mostly positive;
- Cooperative – yes;
- Is there Russian language?
Lumencraft arrived early in 2023 and follows a miner’s journey on an unexplored world. Players chase a elusive resource, delving into procedurally generated dungeons where natural enemies and beetle swarms lie in wait. Co-op play exists, though it unfolds on a single screen, so it changes pace rather than core mechanics.
Lumencraft
- Average lead time: 30 hours;
- Genre: action, exploration;
- Rating on Steam – 6,240 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – no;
- Is there Russian language?
Wall World takes a smaller, tighter approach while still delivering a sense of scope. The story set in a settlement perched on a cliffside fuels a desire to push toward the edge. Before an expedition, players hunt for upgrades hidden in caves and face hostile creatures on the surface. The premise is simple, but the world-building keeps the narrative alive as the character grows.
Other New Year’s items and tops
Starship Troopers: Extermination
- Average turnaround time is 20-60 minutes per session;
- Genre: action, science fiction, shooting game;
- Rating on Steam – 23,082 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – yes;
- Russian language – no.
The slogan “a good bug deserves a good shot” echoes a familiar sci‑fi universe. Starship Troopers: Extermination is a 16-player PvE multiplayer shooter where hordes of insects surge in waves. Teams adapt to ever-changing objectives, making teamwork essential for survival. It’s a nostalgic pick that delivers a fun, cooperative blast with friends.
Bread & Fred
- Average lead time: 15 hours;
- Genre: adventure, puzzle;
- Rating on Steam – 2,245 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – yes;
- Russian language – no.
Test your nerves with two penguins, Brad and Fred, as they attempt a mountain ascent tethered by a single rope. The game leans on physics-based obstacles rather than an ironclad story, so the challenge feels organic. Despite the absence of narration in Russian, players rely on the shared effort of navigation and timing to reach the summit.
Seeker
- Average lead time: 10 hours;
- Genre: puzzle, platformer;
- Rating on Steam – 4,424 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – no;
- Is there Russian language?
Seeker is a quirky puzzle platformer that rewards unconventional thinking. If you’ve enjoyed brain-teasing titles like Superliminal or The Witness, you’ll likely be drawn to Viewfinder’s unorthodox approach. There are no fixed rules; players can complete levels in a multitude of ways, with no guide hovering over every step.
Which genre do you consciously skip?
Remnant 2
- Average lead time: 50 hours;
- Genre: action, adventure, Souls-like;
- Rating on Steam – 31,809 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – yes;
- Is there Russian language?
Some dismissed this sequel as a safer, louder echo of the original. Yet Gunfire Games refined the foundational mechanics, layering in fresh systems that broaden the experience. Remnant 2 stands as a strong, standalone project that appeals to veteran players and newcomers alike, offering robust combat and intriguing world design.
Heretic’s Fork
- Average lead time: 50 hours;
- Genre: arcade, strategy;
- Rating on Steam – 1,810 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – no;
- Is there Russian language?
Wading through hellish corridors, players defend a central tower by placing defensive structures and wielding random cards. What appears simple at first quickly blossoms into a strategic bagel that wields humor and a twisty plot, offering a playful break from the daily grind.
We Were Here Expeditions: The Friendship Ship
- Average turnaround time: 4 hours;
- Genre: puzzle, adventure;
- Rating on Steam – 623 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – yes;
- Is there Russian language?
Two players team up in a cooperative puzzle adventure, using walkie-talkies to describe their surroundings and solve a sequence of challenges. It’s the shortest entry in the We Were Here series but captures the essence of collaboration and communication that defines the franchise, laying the groundwork for later installments.
The Invincible
- Average lead time: 8 hours;
- Genre: adventure, science fiction;
- Rating on Steam – 2,103 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – no;
- Is there Russian language?
Forty years before the next big cosmic rush, a retro-futurist atmosphere and a story-first design draw players into a quiet, reflective experience. The Invincible borrows its naming from the iconic Stanislaw Lem novel and leans into narrative depth rather than combat, delivering a literary feel wrapped in stunning visuals and moody, atmospheric moments.
The game invites players to engage with ideas rather than action—an approach that suits those who crave a thoughtful sci‑fi journey rather than nonstop shootouts.
Microcivilization
- Average lead time: 20 hours;
- Genre – clicker, idle, base building;
- Rating on Steam – 582 reviews, very positive;
- Cooperative – no;
- Russian language – no.
Microcivilization offers a quirky take on the incremental genre. You oversee a growing settlement, balancing resource management with occasional boosts that reset the world for a fresh start. It isn’t: a true plot-driven game, yet it captures the appeal of long-term strategy wrapped in a visually pleasing package.
Which of these games have you already played?
These picks come from personal hands-on experience and affection for titles that deserved more attention in 2023. If you stumble upon another overlooked gem and feel it deserves recognition, share it in the comments. Conversations like this help the community discover unexpected favorites.
Note: ideas and descriptions in this list reflect the author’s impressions and are meant to guide curious players toward experiences that feel fresh and engaging in a crowded year of releases.
This top contains games that we personally played, which we really liked, but lamented their unpopularity. If you find an interesting project that was unfairly little talked about in 2023, but is just as cool, please tell us about it in the comments.
Readers are encouraged to consider these suggestions as a starting point for exploration and to look for similar titles that align with their preferred game tastes.
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All descriptions and impressions are shared to spark curiosity and conversation among players. The commentary aims to help enthusiasts uncover games that might otherwise be overlooked in a crowded year of releases.
[Cited from VG Times, with community inputs and personal testing compiled for this overview]