Returning to our monthly series, we're happy to announce Steam's Top Releases for the month of March. As always, we look at every release for the month, highlighting the Top 20 games and Top 5 DLC releases based on their first two weeks of revenue. We also highlight the top 5 free-to-play games, ranked by the number of unique players they acquired after launch.

The Top Releases of March 2022

With the first of many Steam Deck shipments arriving in March, it's been a treat to watch players unbox the new hardware and experience it for the very first time. For those players who have been on Steam for years, it's also exciting to see them accessing their Libraries in a whole new way, including many of the Top Releases they've collected through the years. Along with continuing to test and verify games in Steam's back-catalog, this month's Top Releases demonstrate that many brand new releases will be supported as well. With roughly half of this month's Top Releases tested and confirmed as Playable, fans can enjoy brand new hits like Tunic and Core Keeper from home, or while discovering the many places that are perfect for a Steam Deck.

It’s also no coincidence that one of March’s Top Releases is Aperture Desk Job. Designed as a free playable short for Valve’s new Steam Deck, Desk Job walks you through the handheld’s controls and features while not being nearly as boring as that sounds. Aperture Desk Job is also playable on PC with a controller.

In our efforts bring more games to the Steam Deck, we've continued adding new features and support for Steam Input. On top of allowing more games to be played on the Steam Deck, these updates give developers more options and control when integrating controller support with their games. This was on full display in March, with most of the month's Top Releases supporting controller options beyond a keyboard and mouse. So whether you're on the top rope in WWE 2K22 or trying to save Japan from the supernatural in Ghostwire: Tokyo, you can take control with the device that is suited to you.

We'd also like to congratulate the teams who are shipping a game on Steam for the first time. A huge amount of work goes into to making a Top Release, and these teams did it with their first launch on Steam. A big welcome and congrats go out to these successful Steam debuts.

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If you're curious about previous months, here are more Top Release lists:

• September 2021
  
• October 2021
  
• November 2021
  
• December 2021
  
• January 2022
  
• February 2022

Steam is Going Rogue from May 2 - 9 with a Festival of Persistence that features discounts on current and upcoming roguelike games on Steam. Check out the official Going Rogue fest page.

But is it roguelike? RogueLITE? How do other subgenres like Metroidvania and Souls-like fit in (if at all)? It's confusing, we get it. (You should see our internal notes getting ready to write this, for example.)

Most all share a common thread of featuring some level of RPG elements and perma death (or perma-ish-death). They also share a common debate: Are these true sub-genres, or does each theme just represent a shared set of mechanics? Honestly, we'll leave that up to you – we just think they're all super fun games that share just enough DNA to be grouped together for a cool event. We thought we'd leave you with this brief guide, though, in case it helps:

Let's start with the OG, if you will:

In 1980, the video game Rogue launches. Mixing fantasy and elements of role-playing games (RPGs) with randomly generated maps and perma death (no respawning where you left off in THIS game, pal), Rogue sends players crawling through dungeons (hence it being a dungeon-crawler) along levels and objects that are randomly generated and get increasingly harder.

The procedural content and other elements of Rogue serve as inspiration for many games that follow, hence their categorization as Rogue-like. Roguelike games feature the same complexity and random maps along with perma death, as well as some of the many other familiar tenets we'll outline again below.

Though the procedural and design aspects of Roguelikes imitate those of the original Rogue, they also can fall into one of several themes. That's why you'll also see terms like Action Roguelike when browsing.

But as time went on, not all roguelike games followed these sensibilities to the same degree. Roguelites borrow from these elements a tad more loosely, with perma death not-quite-so-permanent: You can often earn points, upgrades, or objects that you bring with you even when you die, for example.

Games are increasingly more likely to technically be RogueLITE, and yet Roguelike continues to be used by many as an umbrella term. Because of this, people actually created a strict definition of Roguelike (although it has been hotly debated ever since.)

From developers attending the International Roguelike Development Conference in 2008 comes this strict set of design parameters, called The Berlin Interpretation:

1. Random map generation
   
2. Perma death
   
3. Turn-based combat
   
4. Grid-based movement
   
5. Complexity to allow multiple solutions
   
6. Non-modal (all actions can be performed at any time)
   
7. Resource management
   
8. Hack-n-slash combat

It should be noted however, that there have been critics (on the internet?! No way!) who find such a narrow definition unnecessary when it comes to games of such an open genre. Again, we're not here to pick a favorite kid – we love them all equally.

Much like Roguelike starting with a game called Rogue, Souls-like started with a game (series) called Demon's Souls. Released in 2009, Demon's Souls was followed by the Dark Souls series. The series of action role-playing games (action RPGs) is, much like its rogue-counterparts, known for its high level of difficulty. Games that borrow from these sensibilities also tend to have the same dark, medieval-fantasy setting. Yes, there's lots of dying and starting over, but players can improve their abilities permanently in ways that carry over into their next lives: each repeated play increases a player's skill level.

Well, these games take their cues from not one but TWO game franchises: Metroid (the first game came out in 1986), and Castlevania (also 1986). With roots in action platformers, games that are classified as Metroidvania contain elements from both franchises that include non-linear gameplay, science-fiction, and gated progression. Unlike the themes mentioned above, Metroidvania games are more about continuous play as opposed to perma death sending you all the way back to square (platform?) one.

Note: You may also see the term Roguevania, which refers roguelike games that borrow tenets from Castlevania only (and not also Metroid). Just to keep you on your toes, of course.

They're all rooted in elements of RPG fantasy or action, and persistence means success. Oh, and they're all stars of Going Rogue: A Festival of Persistence! running from May 2 - 9th on Steam.

Visit Going Rogue Official Page

What February lacked in days of the month, it more than made up for with a fresh helping of Top Releases. As always, we look at every release for the month, highlighting the Top 20 games and Top 5 DLC releases based on the first two weeks of revenue. We also highlight the Top 5 free-to-play games, ranked by the number of unique players they acquired after launch.

The Top Releases of February 2022

It's hard to overstate the success that Lost Ark and Elden Ring achieved on Steam in February. Both RPGs generated tremendous anticipation, and both delivered on expectations for the millions of players who jumped into these worlds on day one. Success for a Top Release is nothing new, but this is the first Top Release list where two games were able to come out of the gates to chart-topping audience size. Not only did both games see their player counts peak as the most played new releases of 2022, but they also secured the #2 and #6 largest player peaks of all time on Steam! 

February also included prominent remasters of timeless genre-defining games. After becoming an RPG staple on consoles more than 25 years ago, the epic story and soundtrack of Final Fantasy VI is now fully remastered and available to a whole new generation of players on Steam. Meanwhile, the award-winning narrative adventure Life is Strange Remastered also returns with a sweeping visual overhaul, complete with updated art, enhanced mocap animations, and a host of other bonus content. We're happy that players can revisit these classics with all new content and polish, but the real thrill comes from seeing players who are lucky enough to experience them for the very first time.

We'd also like to welcome the teams that are releasing their first Steam product. Some of these developers have made games before on other platforms, while some are making the commercial debut. A big welcome and congrats go out to these development teams on their successful Steam launches.

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If you're curious about previous months, here are more Top Release lists:

• August 2021
  
• September 2021
  
• October 2021
  
• November 2021
  
• December 2021
  
• January 2022

Remote Play

• Fixed washed out colors streaming D3D9 games

Library

• Fixed some game launches becoming stuck due to Cloud sync error dialogs not being shown
  
• Added the '+' back into the Create New Collection button

Now through March 21, save big on hundreds of JRPGs. From classic pixel turn-based RPGs made in Japan to 3D action RPGs set in fantasy realms, this collection of titles shows off the breadth of the JRPG genre.

https://store.steampowered.com/category/rpg_jrpg/

General

• Fixed missing or non-localized text in some dialogs
  
• Fixed occasional crash when navigating to collections in the library
  
• Fixed display of pending gifts in notification menu

Steam Input

• Fixed PS4 controllers on macOS
  
• Fixed Bluetooth Steam Controllers when Xbox Extended Feature Support is enabled

Remote Play

• Fixed streaming from a Windows PC to a Mac

Linux

• Fixed steamwebhelper crashes on certain installs