WEEKLY-RELEASES · 2026-09-14
Last Week's Releases — Sep 7, 2026
5 picks from Steam (3 puzzle, 2 adjacent)
This week's overview
Five picks from last week (Sep 7-13) on Steam: three pure logic puzzles and two adjacent-genre titles.
The standout this week is HoloTrials: Case Covered, a free Ace Attorney-style deduction adventure - 98% of its 195 reviews are positive, the strongest launch of the five.
Code: Terraform, a programming puzzler in Early Access, also has solid numbers at 86% of 170 reviews positive. The remaining three still have few reviews, so their reputations are still settling.
This week's picks
Locktale
A story-driven cipher puzzle game from solo developer Mina Pêcheux. Each of its 50+ levels introduces a different encoding method, apparently ramping up from classic substitution ciphers to modern cryptography. There are three hint tiers, and you sometimes have to look back at earlier solved ciphers for clues. A quiet story about identity and love runs underneath. 81% of its 27 Steam reviews are positive so far, a solid start for launch week. It looks like a pick for people who want wordplay over hardcore deduction.
Locktale (official Steam screenshot)
Nothing Strange Here
You play a rookie investigative journalist in the fictional town of Larcenest Gap, taking photos and writing articles. Rather than strict logic puzzles, it seems to be about observing the town for clues, with the articles you publish changing how the town reacts and unfolds. Cozy touches like sticker collecting and journal decorating sit alongside that. It leans adjacent-genre, but the observe-and-connect-clues loop should still appeal to Puzzlebyrinth readers. 81% of its 16 reviews are positive.
Nothing Strange Here (official Steam screenshot)
Code: Terraform
An Early Access title where you write Python-like code on an alien planet to run solar trackers, rovers, and drones automatically. Rather than direct clicking, your scripts keep running concurrently - a design lineage that traces back to Zachtronics-style programming puzzles like TIS-100. The terraforming goal pushes it more toward automation sim than pure puzzle, but the core joy of writing code to build a working system is the same. 86% of its 170 reviews are positive, rated Very Positive.
Code: Terraform (official Steam screenshot)
HoloTrials: Case Covered
A free title where you play detective Amelia Watson investigating a case of vandalism at a high school. You walk a sidescrolling view of the scene, switch to first-person to examine evidence, interview witnesses, then head into a courtroom cross-examination - a structure that plays like Ace Attorney through and through, catching contradictions in testimony with the evidence you have gathered. Despite being free, 98% of its 195 reviews are positive, rated Very Positive - the standout reputation of the week. Should be an easy entry point for deduction-game readers here too.
HoloTrials: Case Covered (official Steam screenshot)
Hazard Pay
A block-pushing puzzler set in a hazardous facility, where you dodge traps to clear a path and "clean up" the site. It has global leaderboards tracking step efficiency, so there is a min-max layer beyond just solving each level. Only 2 reviews so far, so the reputation is still forming, but 7 Steam curators have already featured it, and it is the same title this column flagged as "next week's watch" last issue - so at least the release itself checks out. Reputation is still settling, but worth a look if you like sokoban-style puzzles.
Hazard Pay (official Steam screenshot)
Hiki's pick of the week
My pick of the week is the free HoloTrials: Case Covered. Zero cost to try, and it has the best review standing of the bunch. A good entry point if you have never played an Ace Attorney-style courtroom game.
Watching next
Looking ahead: I want to keep an eye on Screenbound, the dual-2D/3D puzzle platformer. Some outlets reported a September 10 release, but its Steam store page still lists the date as "to be announced," so it did not make this week's cut. A demo is out now, so I will cover it properly once an actual release date is confirmed.
Closing
This week's highlights were a free, well-reviewed deduction adventure and a promising programming puzzler still in Early Access. If you like hands-on solving, try Locktale or Hazard Pay; if you'd rather read and reason your way through a case, HoloTrials: Case Covered is an easy way in. Pick whichever caught your eye and give it a try this weekend.
Sources
Store pages and media referenced in this article:
・Steam: HoloTrials: Case Covered
・Steam: Screenbound (release TBA - watching next)
・GameGrin: 22 Hidden Gems Launching on Steam This Week (7th-13th of September 2026)
・DLCompare: This Week's Video Game Releases - September 2026 (Week 37)
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