3 new turn-based games for July

OK, technically two...

Coming Soon is a forward-looking series about new turn-based games, released monthly. It also coincides with my favourite day of the week: #TurnBasedThursdays, a weekly community list of game devs showcasing their turn-based games. Give them a follow on BlueSky and keep up-to-date on new turn-based games alongside my LFG: Learning from Games and Science Shorts series!

👋🏼Hello JOMT Reader!

I’ve got a handful of great games for you to checkout next month, one of them co-developed by one of my favourite content creators in the turn-based tactics game genre (or at least that’s how he started out). There’s a lot more turn-based games on the horizon, so keep checking back every month for my top picks of turn-based games that are releasing!

Every Day We Fight

🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1546080/Every_Day_We_Fight/
📅 Release date: July 10, 2025
🖥️ Developer: Signal Space Lab
📢 Publisher: Hooded Horse
🕹️ Platform: PC (Steam)

🎮️ The game

Turn-based tactics game with a roguelite twist, set in a 1950s era world being invaded by aliens.

🎯 Who it's for

• If you’re a fan of Christopher Odd (he’s a long-time XCOM YouTuber who is helping with the development of this game)

• You’re looking for an intriguing story with turn-based tactics combat

• You’re curious about how roguelite mechanics can be merged with turn-based tactics

‼️ What I'm excited about

This game has everything I love about turn-based tactics games, including deep tactical considerations (including completely misreading what the enemy AI will do), tinkering with equipment, and uncovering secrets in the numerous maps where battles and exploration take place.

One welcome departure from typical turn-based tactics games is the ability to take control of aiming during combat. Most games in this genre rely on percentages to hit, which can lead to frustrating misses for 97%-chance-to-hit attacks. Your attacks in Every Day We Fight are directly under your control, even during reaction shots (which thankfully happen in slow-motion), which keeps the action going even when it is the enemy’s turn.

Finally, I’m curious about how the story will unfold through the roguelite mechanics. The demo/opening mission will give you a good idea about how roguelite mechanics might affect the story — I’m excited to see how it affects the overall story.

Ascent of Ashes

🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2209140/Ascent_of_Ashes/
📅 Release date: July 21, 2025
🖥️ Developer: Vivid Storm Interactive
📢 Publisher: Vivid Storm Interactive
🕹️ Platform: Steam (PC/Mac)

🎮️ The game

Base-building in a post-apocalyptic world with real-time with pause combat.

🎯 Who it's for

• You love Project Zomboid but want control of more than one character

• You love hunting for resources, managing survivors, and building the best base

• Turn-based games are too slow-paced for your liking

‼️ What I'm excited about

I know, I’m cheating since this isn’t technically a turn-based game. But you can play this like a turn-based game thanks to real-time with pause combat. Between farming resources, building your base, managing survivors, and fighting off raiders and aliens, I think that pause feature will get a lot of use.

There’s a massive world to explore, which according to the latest devlog will be generated procedurally, complete with lootable items. The roadmap also shows plans for multiple, dynamic NPC factions that will fight against each other, providing a dynamic world to navigate.

Finally, combat is supposed to feature an environment that can be destroyed by your weapons. That will hopefully make the strategic side of combat feel even more like a tactics game, as your favourite hiding spot could be destroyed by a cleverly placed grenade!

Sector Unknown

🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2734270/Sector_Unknown/
📅 Release date: July 16, 2025
🖥️ Developer: Creative Storm Entertainment
📢 Publisher: Creative Storm Entertainment
🕹️ Platform: PC (Steam)

🎮️ The game

A Baldur’s Gate-like isometric sci-fi RPG.

🎯 Who it's for

• You love Baldur’s Gate but wish it was set in space

• You want to explore a handful of planets, each with their own factions and storylines

• You want to write your own story through the game

‼️ What I'm excited about

I played the demo for Sector Unknown and was immediately drawn into its world. Part of the charm of these games is exploration, and there is a lot to explore. You start off on a transport ship but quickly find yourself on a planet, discovering its mysteries. From there, the world can open up as the game promises several other planets that you can explore.

You can customize the look and stats for your character as any RPG will let you do, tinkering with specialized abilities that will affect the way you interact with the world.

I’m most excited to explore all the secrets these planets have to offer and how they’ll fit into the planet-spanning conflict story!

If you liked what you read, please consider giving this post a like! What games are you most looking forward to? Let me know below!