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Notebookcheck’s September 8, 2026 roundup highlighted eight free Steam games, mostly released in late August. They span horror, platforming, racing, and strategy—but this is a dated selection, not a complete list of everything recently added to Steam. Player scores are snapshots that can change, and small review counts make some early percentages less conclusive than they look.
Which new free Steam games are highly rated?
The table summarizes the eight games in Notebookcheck’s September 8 roundup. Percentages below are the figures reported in that article, not guaranteed current scores. Where a later Steam listing check is available, it is noted separately; check the linked store page for the live price and rating before installing.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $54.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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| 3 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $105.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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$500 Apple Gift Card—Email Delivery | $500.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $206.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| Game | What it is | Rating context | Notable details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bomb Farm | Idle RPG with tradeable items and a player-driven economy | Notebookcheck reported 76% positive from more than 500 reviews on September 8. A later checked Steam snapshot showed 65% positive from 792 all-time reviews and 51% from 310 recent reviews. | Steam lists it as free-to-play. Its lower later score illustrates how quickly sentiment can shift. |
| Poncik’s Little Tragedy | First-person mascot horror set in an abandoned theater, with exploration and puzzles | Notebookcheck reported 89%. A later Steam check showed 92% positive from 26 all-time reviews. | Released August 26; the review sample is small. |
| Car D Game | Racing that combines roguelike deckbuilding, car modification, and turn-based tactical races | Notebookcheck reported 85%. A later Steam check showed 81% positive from 22 all-time reviews and 80% from 20 recent reviews. | Free-to-play Early Access. The developer says it is playable but still developing balance and variety; planned content may change. |
| Lost Light | Casual platformer | Notebookcheck reported 100% positive from 21 reviews. | Full controller support was noted in the roundup. A perfect score from 21 reviews is an early signal, not a broad consensus. |
| Solipsistic | Psychological horror built around manipulating game files as part of its puzzles | A later Steam check showed 100% positive from 23 all-time reviews. | Released August 28; the modest review count matters when interpreting the percentage. |
| Crawler | VR mech horde shooter | Notebookcheck reported 91% positive from more than 20 reviews. | Online co-op; designed for VR, so check the store page for current hardware and headset compatibility requirements. |
| Fall Queen | Precision 2D platformer | Notebookcheck reported 86% positive. | Controller support was noted in the roundup. |
| Battle Ranker in Another World | Auto-battler with RPG mechanics and a story | Notebookcheck reported 70% positive from 24 reviews. | A notably more mixed snapshot than most other games in the roundup. |
Notebookcheck’s figures are platform user-review snapshots, not controlled tests or independently sampled polls. Review percentages and counts move over time; for the four games with later store checks, the counts and scores above reflect those checks, not necessarily what Steam shows now. Sources: Notebookcheck’s September 8 roundup; Steam listings for Bomb Farm, Poncik’s Little Tragedy, Car D Game, and Solipsistic.
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For horror and puzzle-solving
Choose Poncik’s Little Tragedy for first-person exploration in a theater, or Solipsistic for psychological horror whose puzzles involve manipulating game files. Their later checked scores were based on 26 and 23 reviews respectively, so treat the high percentages as promising but preliminary.
#1 Best Overall
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
For platforming
Lost Light is the casual option and was noted for full controller support. Fall Queen is the precision-platforming pick, also noted for controller support. The roundup did not provide review counts for Fall Queen, so its 86% should not be compared directly with a score whose sample size is known.
For racing, strategy, or an idle economy
Car D Game is the most unusual racing choice: it mixes tactical turns and deckbuilding with car modification. Its Early Access label matters if you prefer finished releases, and the developer says balancing and variety are still in development. Battle Ranker in Another World offers auto-battling and RPG elements, but its reported 70% from 24 reviews was the most mixed result in the batch. Bomb Farm centers on idle progression, tradeable items, and a player-driven economy; its later score was lower than Notebookcheck’s earlier snapshot.
Rank #2
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
For VR and online co-op
Crawler is the list’s VR-oriented option and supports online co-op. It is designed for VR, so confirm the current system requirements and headset compatibility on its Steam page before deciding whether it fits your setup.
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They are reasonable candidates if their genres appeal to you, but “free” and “highly rated” do not guarantee a fit. Compare the review count as well as the percentage, check recent sentiment where Steam displays it, and read the current store page for price, features, and requirements. A 100% score from 21 or 23 reviews is much thinner evidence than a similarly high score backed by thousands.
Rank #3
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Is this the complete list of new free Steam games?
No. The September 8 roundup is a selected batch, mostly covering games released in late August; it does not establish that these are all the free games added to Steam or the newest releases as of October 4, 2026. A separate Notebookcheck roundup published August 30 covered an earlier group, including Nudge, Incident Archives – Flight 882, BattleTabs, Dot Clicker, Tung, A Hole In My Room, Blue Sign, Sands of Skullcreek, and Disturbing Fears – Workplace. Those titles belong to that earlier dated selection, not the September 8 batch. Read the August 30 roundup.
For broader discovery, SteamDB’s 2026 free-to-play filtered rankings page showed 100 matching products in its checked snapshot, ranking games by user reviews. The snapshot included 20 More, Somehow Even Smaller, Mazes at 94.64% across 1,984 reviews and Control, I’m Not Coming Back at 94.67% across 6,793 reviews. Rankings are another discovery aid, not a substitute for checking each Steam store page’s current price, recent sentiment, features, and requirements. SteamDB states that it is not affiliated with Valve or Steam.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Rank #4
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
