AIIG is going on pause. It’s not a decision I’ve made lightly and has weighed on me for several months. But I simply don’t have the time and mental bandwidth that this newsletter deserves. Is this the end of AIIG? I don’t know. I’ll look at my options down the line. But for now, I need to step away from these responsibilities.

A huge thank you to you guys, the readers. AIIG celebrates great smaller games and brings them to the attention of people who enjoy such games. Your responses in reads, comments, likes, and shares validated that vision.

Also, a giant thank you to the writers who have contributed to AIIG: alphabetically they are Christena Maurer, Gonçalo Santos, Grant Wilson, Josh Vasquez, and Trip Harrison. You guys are all super-talented and really passionate about finding and profiling good games. There have been disagreements, not the least around my tendency for heavy editing, but these guys never let me down. Go check out their newsletters.

There is a legion of great gaming newsletters here on Substack. Maybe I might rise out of my sabbatical to produce a profile on some of them. But for now, here’s a list to check out:

• Just One More Turn: Part science about games, part turn-based tactics gourmand. Top of my list for a reason.

• Good Game Lobby: An indie game newsletter on the same standard and level as AIIG, if not above it.

• GameDiscoverCo: My favourite newsletter about the gaming industry.

• Infinite Lives: This newsletter is part of the future of game journalism.

• Margot Plays Video Games: Margot loves her Steamdeck and smaller games, evident through her enthusiastic reviews and game reporting.

• Reconnect Recap: There are many gaming newsletters on Substack. But only a few brings them together, and this is one of the best.

• Over Powered Game Marketing: A great source for game marketing wisdom, though it has been a bit quiet lately.

• Gamedev Relay: One of the OG gaming newsletters here with excellent news roundups and insights.

• Cybercade: Cybercade profiles upcoming games and has revealed plenty of gems to me. Currently dormant, but the archives are worth exploring.

• Exploring The Games: Plenty of news and reviews on great indie games. Another great source of info for discerning gamers.

• The Solo Gamedev: Want to make games or just curious about indie development? This is the best Substack newsletter on that topic, IMO.

• Pixels For Breakfast: Another excellent indie games newsletter with reviews, previews, and news.

• Damage Per Second: I don’t really indulge bigger games anymore unless I get them really cheap on sale, but DPS helps me keep a toe in that pond.

• Bosskey: A fun mix of mainstream gaming culture, news, and stuff about upcoming and new games.

• Game File: I admit I didn't read this newsletter often. But it is arguably the pinnacle of Substack gaming publications.

• Jesse Plays Games: Whenever I want something weird, obscure, or surprising in the indie gaming world, I found it here.

• oya’s game hub: Another indie game super fan who loves sharing her passion and discoveries.

If I skipped someone, I apologise! And if you want even more candidates for good Substack gaming writing, go look at the recommendations on these sites.

For now, thank you for patronising Adventures In Indie Gaming, and happy gaming!

We’ve reached the final edition, part 4, of AIIG’s 2025 Gift Guide! These are games that launched during 2025, featured in AIIG, and have a Positive rating on Steam. As this series implies, these game might be neat gifts for others (or yourself), and deserve a little attention.

Since AIIG focuses on upcoming games, it’s nice to look back and see how some of them have performed. Also check out part 1, part 2, and part 3, as well as previous gift guides.

Hollywood Animal

For players who know it’s not personal, it’s business

“0/10 Dont download it will literally suck your life away 11/10” - Steam review

Build a movie making empire during the early days of Hollywood. Greenlight and manage movie projects, get your films into cinemas, and produce those hits. You might also occasionally clean up after some actor’s scandal, or perhaps threaten a rival with bodily harm. But hey, that’s show business!

Steam score: Rated ‘Mostly Positive’ by 2,645/3,605 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Spilled!

For players who hate garbage but love feeling cozy

“Cute little game I bought for the grandkids, they loved it.” - Steam review

The oceans are stagnant with oil slicks and floating garbage. Bring back their lustre in this adorable busywork game. Pilot a little boat and scoop up the pollution, watching the world and its creatures emerge into the sunlight. So, so satisfying.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 3,784/3,996 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Slots & Daggers

For players who bring slots to a sword fight

“Completed the game in 7 hours. It was a fun game. Looking forward to DLCs. I wanted to play D&D, I like the randomization mechanic. But, it also a bit of skill,” - Steam review

Game developer Friedemann loves creating simple but animated and engrossing experiences. Roam a dark world and battle a series of opponents in lethal combat. But instead of swinging arms, you spin the wheels on a slot machine! It’s weird, but really fun.

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 4,326/4,568 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Keep Driving

For players who can hum Willie Nelson’s On The Road Again

“An adorable cozy game. The soundtrack is amazing and the storylines are entertaining.” - Steam review

The road is calling your name in this laid-back turn-based RPG. But there are not fights or fantastical creatures. Drive your car cross-country, navigating obstacles, meeting hitchhikers, and finding enough money to fill the tank. Super chill, with an epic soundtrack—which road will you take next?

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 4,710/4,976 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Is This Seat Taken?

For players who like finding order in chaos

“a puzzle game with just the right amount of difficulty and a simple and fun storyline. + whimsical visual and sound design.” - Steam review

Why can’t we be friends? Well, because this one smells and that one left all their popcorn on the seat. Seat arrangement becomes a clever puzzle game where you must put the right people next to each other. It’s silly, inventive, and a bit of a brain teaser!

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 5,159/5,286 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Cast n Chill

For players who just want to chill

“Cast n’ Chill is basically one of those super chill games you open when you just want to relax and not think too hard.“ - Steam review

A contender for the year’s best-looking pixel art game, take your boat out on a series of lakes and see what you can haul in. The better the catch, the more you earn to upgrade your gear. Very simple, yet so alluring. No pun intended.

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 5,421/5,681 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Absolum

For players who prefer to swing first, ask later

“Absolum is one of my personal picks for GOTY” - Steam review

Usurpers have seized the throne and declared war on all rival magic. The last few warriors rise up to fight back, delivering a stunning solo and 2-player brawler. Crush your enemies while looking great in the crisp comic art animations.

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 5,998/6,389 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days

For players who like some zombie in their apocalypse

“I think its a great game for everyone who likes games like This war of mine. Reminds that game a lot, but this is with zombies.” - Steam review

3D games are naturally immersive. But a game like this shows how sidescrollers can also suck you in with real atmosphere and a sense of place. Play as survivors in a zombie-infested world, scavenging to survive and build a base. Bring in others to expand your characters. But don’t try to help everyone…

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 6,042/6,891 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

The Precinct

For players who investigate grand theft auto incidents

“The Precinct surprised me in the best way. Averno City feels alive — neon lights, rain, crime popping off everywhere — and patrolling it as a rookie cop is genuinely fun.” - Steam review

Hit the streets as a 1980s beat cop, bringing law, order, and civility with you. Take on various roles every day, from helping civilians and writing tickets to chasing down criminals and getting into a couple of scrapes. A bit more intense than your average top-down adventure, but really immersive.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 6,629/7,654 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Roadcraft

For players who look at natural disasters and say, “I can fix that”

“I love this game. Easy to play solo but way better with friends. There’s just enough detail to keep it entertaining.” - Steam review

When natural disasters devastate a place, you are sent in to pick up the pieces. Pilot a fleet of heavy machinery to move obstructions, pave roads, and build bridges. From cutting trees to laying cable, you do it all. An oddly satisfying experience in single and co-op multiplayer.

Steam score: Rated ‘Mostly Positive’ by 10,115/13,432 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

The Alters

For players who wonder about how life could have turned out

“I really enjoyed this low paced psychological game with some resource management.” - Steam review

Cloning yourself is complicated in the best situation. Making multiple clones, each with an altered timeline to change their abilities, is just desperate. But that’s what it’s going to take to run a mobile base and try escape from a deadly planet. This is one unique game…

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 13,305/14,696 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

CloverPit

For players who want to beat the (hell) house

“Like if Balatro, Buckshot Roulette and Mouthwashing had a baby and it came out Handsome.” - Steam review

Stuck in a cell, your only salvation is to spin the wheels on the slot machine. come up short and you plunge into the abyss. But win enough and you might get another chance, especially if you have the right charms on your side. And when you fail… there’s always time for another run!

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 16,385/18,165 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

We’re closing in on the bigger games of AIIG’s 2025 Gift Guide. These are games that launched in 2025, also previously featured on AIIG, and have a Steam rating of Positive or higher.

Coincidentally (because I didn’t plan it), part 3 starts at a watershed.

Ranking is determined by a game’s number of Steam reviews, starting with the smaller titles in part 1 and part 2.

All the following games have more than 1,000 reviews, which is significant. Steam review to sales ratios are a cryptic topic, but these titles likely sold between tens and hundreds of thousands of copies.

Driftwood

For players who want to play in traffic

“Nice chill game, once you get used to the controls it’s pretty easy to get into a groove. Plenty of challenge if you want to try get all goals at once or just pick one each run to be able to make consistent progess.” - Steam review

Nothing is as cool as a sloth cruising along scenic routes, gliding their longboard along curvy roadways while listening to a lo-fi soundtrack. Just make sure you don’t cruise into oncoming traffic. A chill game that still gets you to dial in and focus.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 1,122/1,203 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Winter Burrow

For players who love cozy sweaters and winter wonderlands

“This is a very cozy, melancholy take on survival games, which I really enjoyed. The gameplay is about 10 hours, maybe 11-12 if you like to complete all achievements.“ - Steam review

What could be more snug in winter than a warm cottage? But if you want to survive, you need to brave the outside to explore and find resources. This game is a creative blend of cozy and survival gameplay, presented in a gorgeous storybook-style world.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 1,364/1,537 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Voyagers of Nera

For players who love the beach, but hate the sand

“This game has a somewhat similar vibe to Valheim, but it’s a lot less grindy. I appreciate the cool magical abilities that you get and the focus on exploring the world, which is well crafted and full of interesting places to visit.“ - Steam review

Explore an ocean world solo or with friends. Clamour over islands and dive beneath the waves, exploring the secrets of a long-lost civilisation. An easy-going survival game that still offers lots of danger and adventure.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 1,329/1,543 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

FUMES

For players who shoot first and ask later

“Great open world post-apocalyptic car combat game. If you loved the vehicle combat in Mad Max you’ll love this.” - Steam review

Post-apocalyptic lore tells us the best way to survive the wastelands is in a souped-up vehicle armed with guns and other lethal surprises. Strap that idea into a 90s-era 3D aesthetic and throw it into free-roaming maps for total arcade action chaos.

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 1,517/1,569 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Eclipsium

For players who want to see reality bend

“At its core, it’s a straightforward walking sim, but its audiovisual style is so compelling and at times downright hypnotic. A easy recommend if you’re tolerant of obscure, atmospheric games.” - Steam review

This game is eerie on so many levels. You hopelessly wander around through surreal and sometimes hellish locations. Reality seems broken in a world where things can change at a moment. And the gnarly visual style is disturbing yet hypnotic. A unique horror experience.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 1,771/1,924 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Star Birds

For players who get excited about production lines

“Chill and satisfying strategy/puzzle game. I like creating production chains to combine basic elements into complex compounds.” - Steam review

Lead the birds into space and conquer the stars! More specifically, complete levels by mining asteroids. Build infrastructure on the space rocks and link them together to create production lines. Get it right and your crew will venture where no flock has gone before.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 1,913/2,040 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Strange Antiquities

For players who pay attention to details

“Fantastic and fun puzzle game with an eerie/cozy atmosphere. A very worthy sequel to Strange Horticulture and actually adds elements to the game that make it more fun to play as it goes on. Highly recommended” - Steam review

When people require some magical help, they trust the person at the shop knows what they’re doing. That’s your job in this narrative puzzle game: pay attention to what people need and peruse your store’s interesting items for the right trinket.

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 2,045/2,112 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Mandragoria

For players who like a good fight

“Really an amazing souls-like game. I think the difficulty of the main game had the right curve that it never felt too difficult and never felt easy. “ - Steam review

Explore a dark and fallen fantasy world, fighting enemies in combat that requires timing and strategy as much as good reflexes. Beautiful visuals and vivid soundwork add the punch to this side-scrolling action roleplaying game.

Steam score: Rated ‘Mostly Positive’ by 2,182/2,961 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Hell Clock

For players who love facing hordes and bosses

“An excellent game! I binged this over a few weeks and unexpectedly loved it. Diablo lite, with fun and powerful runs that go quickly.” - Steam review

The try-again work ethic of a roguelite meets outrageous hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, with a surprising dash of historical fact-meets-fiction to give it weight. Get vengeance, fight mobs of monsters, and take down the bosses. But you’ll have to die a few times to succeed.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 2,632/3,134 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Tavern Keeper

For players who prefer hospitality over dungeon crawling

“Um, it’s awesome.” - Steam review

After a long day surviving the threats of a fantasy world or getting rich raiding its dungeons, where does everyone go to relax? Your tavern, of course! Design and manage a rustic medieval tavern, welcoming all sorts, even Orcs! Just make sure the beer keeps flowing.

Steam score: Rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ by 3,270/3,417 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Welcome to part 2 of AIIG’s 2025 Gift Guide, a look back at games previously featured here. AIIG is about upcoming games, so it’s an opportunity to see how those games performed after they launched.

The following games were released in 2025, with a Steam rating of Positive or higher, and each game features a blurb from a Steam review. This list is ranked according to a game’s total number of reviews, starting with the fewest.

Part 1 of the Gift Guide is already available. Read parts 3 and 4 next week.

Deliver At All Costs

For players who don’t see walls as obstacles

“If you just have too much money to spend, I would recommend this game for its really cool and satisfying destruction physics, as well as its fun and creative missions. Be warned, though — the story can, in the blink of an eye, turn ridiculous and completely nonsensical.“ - Steam review

Race through a semi open-world, delivering packages and goods by any means possible. If that means driving through a few walls, so be it. A manic and action-packed isometric driving game, full of 1950s goofiness and Cold War paranoia.

Steam Score: Rated ‘Mostly Positive’ by 252/331 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Of Life and Land

For players who like simulation in their colony builders

“Enjoyed it a lot. Some achievements need better clarification, other than that I have no objections. The dev responds to suggestions, so it will probably get even more polished as time goes on.” - Steam review

Some city building games just let you carry on with no thought about the surroundings. But this game’s fully simulated world requires players to find balance if they hope to succeed. That’s not easy, but it’s a great challenge for serious fans of city builders and colony sims.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 285/330 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Rosewater

For players who want an adventure out on the frontier

“Incredibly fun game and a great example of branching paths done right. Was definitely worth the multiple playthroughs to see all the possibilities and get all the achievements. Also, Leeza Lou was very cute.” - Steam review

An intrepid reporter travels to the wild frontier in search of a story. She’ll find that and more as she teams up with a motley crew of characters to try and find a mad scientist’s hidden lab. This game revels in classic point-and-click adventures with modern touches in an exciting western/science fiction hybrid.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 333/360 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Primal Planet

For players who want to run with dinosaurs… and aliens

“its an awesome game. you can co op too which is too rare these days. tons of secrets and its a beautiful game” - Steam review

The world out there is dangerous, which is why every cave family should stick together in this beautiful, pixel-art side-scrolling adventure. Explore the world with classic platforming action, and avoid becoming dinosaur food or alien abductees.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 353/388 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Wheel World

For players who always play the racing sections in open world games

“Really fun game with a lot of soul behind it! Racing customization options are near endless, the soundtrack is a total bop, and everything feels incredibly smooth/polished.” - Steam review

If, like Queen, you want to ride your bicycle, step on the pedals in this fantastical exploration and racing game. Cruise around on your enchanted bicycle, meeting the people of this weird world and beating them in heart-pounding races.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 536/598 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Big Helmet Heroes

For players who likes dishing out damage from a couch

“Big Helmet Heroes is a great little beat-em-up to jump into with a friend. It gave off some Castle Crashers vibes but it’s got its own personality, and that’s part of what makes it so fun.” - Steam review

No job is too big for these heroes and their giant helmets. This is a super-slick brawler for solo and co-op gamers. Battle the monsters that invaded the kingdom, switching between different heroes in real-time for maximum impact.

Steam score: Rated ‘Mostly Positive’ by 481/613 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Galactic Glitch

For players who take their battles one arena at a time

“Been playing roguelikes for over a decade. this ones physics system is genuinely new. it’s well added into core gameplay, and a lot of fun.” - Steam review

A rogue AI needs help escaping from its computer prison, so it created a glitch to find a way out. Play as the glitch in this twin-stick arena-battler, dodging and defeating the computer’s defences manifest as various enemies. You’ll die, but every time you come back a little stronger.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 544/621 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Airborne Empire

For players who prefer moving the base, not the world

“I really enjoy the pacing of this game. You can speed-up or slow-down the game. Great for a stress-free relaxing evening of gaming.” - Steam review

Great cities don’t need foundations when they can float across the sky. Navigate your growing metropolis across a world that needs your help, fighting off air pirates and other threats with your guns and air force. Explore the map for resources and new missions, forging an empire in the sky.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 574/631 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Herdling

For players who need a cozy quest through an alpine wonderland

“♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. What can I even say? The soundtrack and artstyle of the game is absoloutely incredible. Incredibly immersive. This game is a work of art-- Especially for animal-lovers. 100% try this game, it is fantastic. Really, really gorgeous.” - Steam review

A lost soul joins up with a herd of beasts and helps them find their way home in this charming adventure. Herd the beasts along scenic vistas and hazy forests, using their help to overcome obstacles and puzzles.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 640/672 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Necrophosis

For players who like creepy but safe stuff

“Short but excellent. Simple puzzles, no jump scares or chases or time limit events. Breathtaking and disturbing at the same time. If you’re into Lovecraft and H.R. Giger, don’t miss this. It sucessfully left me with a sense of cosmic horror and awe at the same time.” - Steam review

“That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.” Enter a world that has long decayed and is in its final days. There are no threats, just a macabre landscape of lost dreams and empires. Be witness to the end of time in a morbid but mesmerising adventure.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 616/674 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Old Skies

For players who like to talk about time travel

“Time travel stories are usually not my favourite, but this game handled the whole timey-wimey shenanigans very nicely, and even made me THINK (!) about the metaphysical, philosophical, personal, and political implications of time travel. The gall!!” - Steam review

In the future, time travel is a business, and it’s up to agents like Fia to make sure the timeline stays mostly intact. But keeping clients safe and undoing their time-altering meddling is a tough task in this stunning point-and-click adventure.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 780/825 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Deck of Haunts

For players who are not in danger; they are the danger

“Played a couple of rounds so far and I can say that the game is stunningly beautiful. I love the strategic elements and the unique direction this game takes playing as the house as you try to end its visitors. Definitely a fun, deck builder roguelike. Fully recommend!” - Steam review

Haunted houses are not to be trifled with, but they keep coming anyway, eager to explore its hidden depths. Don’t let them reach the mansion’s corrupt heart in this turn-based strategy game. Build rooms, add curses and traps, bring in ghosts and demons, and make sure that those who enter will never leave…

Steam Score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 826/959 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Yup, it’s Gift Guide time again! I go back into the AIIG archives and see which of those games had launched in 2025.

To keep things simple, all the gift guide’s games score ‘positive’ or higher on Steam, and each game has a blurb from a Steam review to complement my gushing but brief pitches. Over 40 games made the cut, which will feature across 4 newsletters.

Keep an eye out for part 2 this Friday, and the last two parts next week.

To make things interesting, games with the smallest number of reviews get to go first.

(Post reviews on Steam of your favourite indie games. It really makes a difference!)

Deepest Well

For players who like it when things escalate quickly

“A great roguelike deckbuilder with a very fun gameplay loop and unique bosses.” - Steam Review

Fight waves of enemies while descending a well in this fast-and-frantic bullet-hell shooter. Choose a new power card after every wave of enemies, which you can stack and combine to create even more devastating powers. Simple to play, but requires nimble skills to defeat.

Steam Score: Only 9 reviews, so no Steam Score yet, but most recommend it.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Tiles & Isles

For players who love leisurely gameplay with real consequences

“I bought this because first of all I just love hex tiles games and I have rarely been disappointed so far and secondly because the graphics are just my cup of tea.” - Steam Review

Build a settlement by playing the cards you draw, placing building and land tiles to get different resources. But be smart about it, because every card has a price. Can you place your lands to generate your resources wisely?

Steam Score: Rated ‘Positive’ by 9/10 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

ARKOS 2

For players who know the world needs more fantasy-themed boomers shooters

“Cute and short retro fps that does what it should ;)” - Steam review

Battle an evil cult and stop the end of the world in this shooter inspired by the genre’s fantasy classics. But it’s thoroughly modern with a 3D Voxel engine that makes most surfaces and objects destructible. Even though it’s technically a sequel, new players won’t feel lost.

Steam Score: Rated ‘Positive’ by 32/34 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

E-Lich: Corporate Souls

For players who want corporate with their bullet heaven

“This game combines the thrilling chaos of a bullet-heaven with sharp, underworld humor. It captures the addictive progression of Vampire Survivors, the roguelike depth of Rogue Legacy, and the dark wit of Grim Fandango, which makes it a fresh new experience.” - Steam review

Fight off hordes of angry villagers out to smite your undead ghoul, a lowly office worker trying to work their way up the undead corporate ladder. It’s pure bullet heaven/survivorslike action, dodging growing mobs you annihilate with increasingly insane powers.

Steam score: Rated ‘Positive’ by 49/50 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Sacre Bleu

For players who love kicking ass in side-scrollers

“Very fun and dynamic. The game engages from the first moment. The art is very beautiful and makes you want to go around every corner. The use of the blunderbuss is brilliant. Very fun game so far!” - Steam review

Villains have captured glorious France, so the captain of the guard must escape the Bastille with his trusty sword and slow-motion blunderbuss. It’s an action-packed ride with crazy enemies, manic combat, and gorgeous art.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 57/58 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Beacon Patrol

For players who want to sail to the edge of the world

“I‘m really enjoying this puzzle board game matching tiles together. I find the game relaxing like I’m putting a jigsaw puzzle of the sea together but with movement tokens and new ships and such to unlock.” - Steam review

Lay down tiles to form a map that you explore with your little boat, trying to score as high as possible before you run out of tiles. Smart combinations get you more points, and other players can join in for a co-op session.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 66/69 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Rhythm Storm

For players who think mayhem is a genre

“Geometry Wars + Vampire Survivors seems like an awesome idea for sure, but it’s not just a good idea - the quality of the execution here is outstanding.” - Steam review

A slick soundtrack, vibrant explosions, and electric insanity collide in this throwback top-down shooter. Swoop around and open fire in 360-degrees, trying to stay alive as long as possible. A frantic modern take on an arcade classic.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 72/77 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Grandma, No!

For players who are just sweet old ladies who won’t do anything crazy ever

“A short but wholesome adventure as a granny. There was always something to do, something always blowing up, and something to look forward to. This game was as colorful as it was chaotic, and I had a blast playing. Not much replayability but glad I played it through to the end!” - Steam review

Grandma has a few chores to do around the house while she looks after her grandchild. Nothing serious. Hardly anything will catch fire or explode in this over-the-top cartoon adventure.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 74/85 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Garden Trills

For players who want to explore the world as a cute little bird

“I had a lot of fun with this game. I liked the platforming mechanics, piecing together which flower you need to make a jump was a great time. I highly recommend this game if you’re looking for a casual 3d platformer with a little challenge.” - Steam review

It’s a new home for a little bird and her parents. She can’t fly far, but that’s enough to help get settled in while exploring new maps and meeting her neighbours in this charming and whimsical platforming game.

Steam Score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 91/92 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

An Amazing Wizard

For players who probably would have gotten expelled from Hogswarts

“I bought this game and then literally played it for 8 hours straight. Finally defeated the boss, completing 1 full run. This game is like Dead Cells meets Magicraft/Noita. It’s still only in early access and it has SO MUCH content already. So many different spells and builds. “ - Steam review

Mix dozens of spells, enchantments, and artefacts, waging war against monsters and demons in this side-scrolling roguelite. Explore the map, opening up new areas as your powers grow. But die and you start over, maybe with a few new extra perks.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 119/138 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

To A T

For players who want fun without playing too hard

“Fantastic story driven game from Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari. It’s aimed at a younger age group for sure but the game is still really endearing. The style, concepts, and music all work together to be one whole cute vibe.” - Steam review

A quirky and heartwarming adventure about an odd-shaped character, this game is lighter on gameplay than vibe and story. But it does so very well and is easily one of the most unique gaming experiences in recent memory. Follow the story as it threads through mini-games, running around a charming little town, and meeting its inhabitants. Not a challenge, but very charming.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 165/188 reviews

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

Reviver

For players who like to explore consequences

“It was cool to go in the past and fix your mistake and then the next scene would change to something better or worse, depending what you did. It was a cute story” - Steam review

How do choices matter? How might they reshape destinies? Travel through time and make those decisions for two characters, where even manipulating objects can change the direction of events and the narrative. This puzzle adventure explores consequence, but it’s also a very cozy hidden object game with a storybook charm.

Steam score: Rated ‘Very Positive’ by 189/205 reviews.

• Steam Page • AIIG Review

‣ Alpha Nomos
From: RibCage Games
Platforms: PC
Release: 2026
Genre: Roguelite Arena Rhythm Brawler
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

What if all the humans on Earth disappeared overnight while dolls and plushies inexplicably came to life? Add on some funky songs to this mildly terrifying premise hiding behind a veneer of cuteness and you get Alpha Nomos, RibCage Games’ first title.

In this action rhythm roguelite, you play as Cello, an adorable clown doll who wields an instrument as a deadly weapon. No, it is not a cello, but a saxophone fused with a sword, a SaXword. Cello wields it mostly as a regular sword, but she can break into an impressive sax solo when holding the special button.

Alpha Nomos is an arena roguelite brawler. When Cello enters a battle, the area cordons off and waves of enemies spawn. Once they are all defeated, the barriers drop and Cello can move on.

She can do a variety of combos which will damage her enemies and, if done right, stagger them out of their own attacks. She can also launch them in their air (starting aerial combos), charge a powerful special move, and dodge.

But to do real damage, Cello follows the beat, and so do her enemies, the SCRUBs (Surprisingly Combative Really Ugly Bastards). Beyond looking cool, this presents you with the game’s main premise, spelled out by Teddy, the fearsome plushie bear who speaks exclusively in rhyme: “You listen and swing with the beat./Time with the music you’ll bring the heat!”

Cello’s attacks reach their full potential when you deliver them on beat. Attacking in a steady rhythm that matches the soundtrack deals double damage and builds your combo meter. The same goes for your Special move. Dodging on beat gives you invincibility frames through attacks instead of away from them.

You can attack on every beat for a quick combo, but you can also skip a beat between each attack for a slower, more powerful combination. Dodging on beat between attacks gives you the option to stay safe while building the more powerful combo. Holding your special for two or three beats empowers it and allows you to hold your combo for longer if an enemy isn’t close yet.

The combat system gets even deeper through enemy variety. You’re mostly fighting SCRUBs in the demo, but they come in multiple versions. Some are melee only, others shoot lasers out of their eyes, others function as elites and are tougher to kill while also hitting you harder.

Fighting to a beat might sound complicated. But good rhythm games have a unique ability to place you into a trance, an altered state of mind in which you begin acting on beat even without thinking about it.

This is further incentivized by the fact that there is a seemingly endless supply of variations for the music depending on how you hit (or miss) your combos. When you reach that flow state, you become one with Cello and Alpha Nomos shows you what a fantastic experience it can be.

If you’re reading all this and thinking that you’d love to try this but you suck at rhythm games, fret not. Alpha Nomos has a fully customizable setup for visual and auditory aids to help with the timings.

You can turn a clicker sound on to function like a metronome, choosing between four different options. If you prefer visual aids, you can also have an indicator that shows the timings, also giving you four choices. You can have both turned on at once, opt for one of them, or none at all, up to you.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Battle time

Defeat is also not the end. Instead, Cello respawns at a game hub where she can start a new run and, during the runs, she can collect random powerups and buffs that aid her in combat. The hub will offer permanent upgrades and items from its residents and shops; they didn’t offer anything yet in the demo.

But Alpha Nomos is still in an early state, so expect a few bugs and some unfinished areas. Still, what is already here is a fantastic rhythm action game. It takes a while to master but rewards you handsomely when you get into its groove.

Alpha Nomos releases in 2026 on Steam.

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:17 A saxophone sword?

• 📽 1:22 Get some rhythm

• 📽 3:14 Learn how to fight

• 📽 5:40 First fight

• 📽 6:14 The nutcracker

• 📽 9:10 Battle time

• 📽 13:04 Defeat is not the end

• 📽 18:45 Risk for reward?

• 📽 22:47 Buy from the shop

• 📽 30:25 Keep on fighting

• 📽 37:11 The final brawl

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ Truckful
From: MythicOwl, Pocketpair Publishing
Platforms: PC
Release: 2026
Genre: Side-scrolling delivery adventure
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

Driving my old red truck down a backwater byway—it doesn’t get more country road than this. Just keep following the road, navigating the bumps and curves, and see what the next bend reveals.

I’ll take some detours, honk at sheep, and help out the locals with deliveries. But it’s all blissful (at least until nightfall), being stuck in my truck in Truckful.

The demo doesn’t explain why I’m stuck. It’s hardly more than a passing plot point. After all, you are basically the truck, steering it through the side-scrolling maps.

Truckful is 3D, but the camera keeps a sideways perspective. Accelerating or reversing moves the truck toward the right or left of the screen. Steering left and right navigates bends and obstacles in the road, and turns the truck around to go in the opposite direction.

Each level has a start and a finish, with tasks to do in-between. The roads meander in a linear way, but the journey isn’t so straightforward. Obstacles such as fallen trees or a flock of sheep can block the way, prompting me to find a detour, like a muddy track that links to a different road. Eventually, the truck can get upgrades to remove obstacles, opening new areas. This gives a sense of exploration, even though the maps aren’t open-ended.

The game also provides a sense of purpose with encounters. I meet a stranded courier and agree to help her make a delivery, starting a simple packing mini-game where I arrange packages in the back of my truck. Then, I gingerly drive to the destination down a slippery detour track and along a disused tar road. But I take a corner too fast, sending a package flying. Failure. I’m forced to start the trip again.

Fortunately, there are regular checkpoints along the road, disguised as lamps, so I don’t go that far back to try again. Upon reaching the destination, I’m rewarded with a car horn that will get the sheep to move out of my way.

But, warns the mechanic, don’t go out at night!

Of course, I go out at night and discover Truckful’s scarier side. The road is now blanketed in darkness, so I pop my headlights on to see. Good thing too, because the next moment a hellish big rig comes barrelling down the road! Painted black, glowing red, and spewing sparks, its horn blares demonically. I don’t think I should pull over.

Now it’s a race for survival along the same roads I navigated leisurely earlier, but now at breakneck speed, trying to stay ahead of the monstrosity. I fail several times but eventually get away.

Dropping the courier at her now-fixed vehicle, she declares the chase was the last straw, and she’s done with this job. But not me. My journey’s just getting started.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Don’t drive at night!

The hellish big rig was a surprise. But it didn’t feel out of place, which surprised me. Usually, a game with horror elements has an undertone of dread, that something’s not quite right with this place.

Yet, Truckful is undeniably a cozy experience. It’s welcoming with bright colours and gorgeous surroundings that flow with the purr of the truck’s engine. But it’s also an arcade game. The truck moves with a sense of weight, and controlling it on the bumpy roads takes a little focus (and a bit more during a chase).

This is a curious but effective blend, and I’m intrigued with what Truckful will be. The demo delivers the gameplay and visuals, but is too short to show where this is heading. How much of the game will involve stacking packages, going off the beaten track, or beating whatever prowls the roads at night?

Still, whatever direction Truckful takes, it should be fun. A compact and entertaining game with a few simple ideas that could combine into something really memorable.

Truckful releases in 2026 on Steam.

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:24 Go for a drive

• 📽 2:38 Help the courier

• 📽 3:36 Pack your truck

• 📽 8:50 Taking a detour

• 📽 12:20 To the repair shop

• 📽 13:25 Ready to go!

• 📽 15:53 Don’t drive at night!

• 📽 18:47 Can we escape?

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ AiliA
From: IceToad Studio LLC, Gamirror Games
Platforms: PC
Release: Coming soon
Genre: Mirror-logic puzzle platformer
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

[This week’s article was produced by Christena Maurer—SFF author, engineer, coach, gamer, and mom. She spends far too much time in the manuscript revision trenches, fueled by tea, video game scores, and dog snuggles. Her short story, “Riftwork” can be found in Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls Who Invent and Imagine. Follow her on Substack.]

There’s something about mirrors that feels inherently supernatural. Something about seeing our familiar world in reverse that feels unnerving. So, it’s not surprising that mirrors and mirror worlds appear in their fair share of fantasy and horror fiction.

AiliA is a puzzle game that combines visual puzzles with physical manipulation of a scene—the perfect game mechanics for a demo involving a mirror world.

I’ve seen games combine visual puzzles with the physical manipulation of those visuals before. But I love the added brain-twisting (brain-reflecting?) aspect that the mirror mechanics incorporate here.

The basic premise of each level is simple. We need to get Ail from a start point to a goal point on a given screen, following the path that rises out of a dark background void (at least to start out. The setting shifts as the game and story progress).

Even by the second level, this gets more complicated. A section of path falls away just before Ail steps on it, leaving her stranded with no way to access the goal point. Here, the game introduces a mirror, which can be moved into a few distinct positions to show a mirrored version of the path.

It’s similar to the visual/physical puzzles in the game Paper Trail. There, the player “folds over” parts of the map as if it’s a piece of paper in order to make paths on the front and back of that paper line up.

In AiliA, we move the mirror to make paths where their reflections meet. By lining up the mirror correctly, we can cover obstacles in Ail’s way (like the gap in the walkway we saw in that second level) with their unobstructed, reflected paths.

However, as Ail moves forward, the reflected path may have its own obstacles, requiring another movement of the mirror to create a new path without any barriers. Little by little, we move Ail forward, shifting the mirror as we go to line up new paths that get her around obstacles and closer to her goal.

The mirror mechanics also tie into the storyline. What Ail sees in the mirror initially seems to be her own reflection. However, she soon realises that the person staring back is her sister, Lia.

As we continue through the demo, we learn more about Ail and Lia’s relationship and how they got into this strange mirror-world. It’s an intriguing hint at what promises to be an interesting and emotional storyline that requires each of them to face fears and painful memories. Their need to work together is also pulled into the mechanics, where some levels require Ail’s mirror-sister, Lia to reach the mirrored version of the goal point instead.

The AiliA developers did an excellent job of creating an ethereal ambience to the demo to match the mystery surrounding Ail and Lia’s story. The demo levels show a world of dark purples and blues, as if the scenery fades into the eternity of a night sky. The Steam page also shows screenshots from some later worlds. One shifts to a pale blue palette dotted with lilypads, as if Ail’s journey has stranded her in the middle of a neverending pond. Another includes trains and station signs, suggesting she’s lost and alone in a place that should be crowded with other people.

In each of the settings, there’s a common factor. Ail and Lia are the only people there, and the way each scene fades into solid-coloured-nothingness at the edges is a striking visual of loneliness and isolation.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Stepping over

The music is simple, more ambience of ethereal uncertainty than a more complicated accompaniment, which is fitting for the feel of loneliness (and I’m curious to see how it will change through the different world-stages).

My favourite part of the sound design is a subtle one, though. When we move the mirror to a new position, or Ail moves to a new spot on the path, we hear a distinct note. So, when a few movements are strung together, it stands out as a distinct melody against the background ambience, creating a feel of musical progress as Ail is physically moving forward.

Even with just this short introduction to Ail and Lia’s story (and that with some translation errors and/or typos adding some confusion), I really enjoyed the time I spent playing this demo. It does really neat things with a unique puzzle idea, and I’m looking forward to learning the rest of the sisters’ story when the full version comes out.

AiliA is listed as Coming Soon on Steam.

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:15 Where is her sister?

• 📽 4:36 Into the void

• 📽 6:24 Tower of Beholding

• 📽 12:05 A shift in perspective

• 📽 16:42 Pieces

• 📽 21:32 Stepping over

• 📽 25:27 Amping things up

• 📽 32:26 Navigate the stairs

• 📽 37:17 Almost there

• 📽 38:59 A tragic story
  
  

This review was written by Christena Maurer from C. W. Maurer Writes:

C. W. Maurer Writes

A weekly look into the video game soundtracks and movie scores that make up my writing playlist, along with periodic interruptions for thoughts on writing, gaming, and storytelling.

By Christena Maurer

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ MENACE
From: Overhype Studios, Hooded Horse
Platforms: PC
Release: 05 February 2026
Genre: Turn-based Tactical RTS
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

[This week’s article was written by Gonçalo Santos. He’s typing mostly coherent gaming thoughts over at Button Musher. Follow him for reviews and coverage of relevant (albeit sometimes only to him) topics. Follow him on Substack.]

Can you lead your troops to victory against aliens and galactic pirates, or is humanity doomed? Welcome to the Wild West of space, in a system outside of the presumably peaceful Core Worlds. Your job is to fight outlaws and keep the peace, whatever the cost.

Step up to command a militia group made of marines, mercenaries, and criminals in Menace, a serious turn-based tactics battlefield game.

In Menace, you control full platoons of soldiers instead of single characters. Battles have a large scope, units are squads and not individual characters, and vehicles play a crucial role. This emphasis on managing units across a larger area defines the main gameplay dynamic. When your units take damage, they don’t just lose points on a health bar— they’re losing soldiers, lowering effective DPS and weakening the unit.

This makes positioning the most crucial skill to develop in order to master Menace. Position always matters in turn-based tactics games, but here it goes into some detail. Soldiers should be behind cover, vehicle weak points must be hidden, and the many gadgets available to you must be taken into account, especially because the enemy also has an arsenal of their own.

Selecting and preparing units is a substantial part of your potential success. What units will you take on a mission? The more you take, the less currency you have to equip them. Take too few units, though, and you risk being overwhelmed by raw enemy numbers.

Customisation is nearly limitless. You can choose primary weapons, special weapons, vehicles, and equip those vehicles with their own guns. Squads can have armor, that armor has pouches which you can fill with items or passive effects like extra ammunition.

Squads also have a signature skill which is always online, and they have exclusive skill trees that make them excel at specific actions. In which will you invest?

The enemy squads are ruthless. Even in the base normal difficulty, Menace is genuinely difficult. The AI is smart and will punish any mistakes you make. You need to plan your approaches, lest you risk losing entire units or having them pinned down for multiple rounds in a row, effectively neutralised.

This pinned down mechanic follows a staple of the genre, which is the suppress, but takes it to a new punishing level. Suppressed units will lose a portion of their Action Points (AP), but once the suppressed bar reaches its max, units will become Pinned Down, which will prevent them from doing any action other than crawl away. They’ll remain like so until they manage to evade enemy fire long enough to reduce their suppressed status.

The cherry on top of this bulky Menace cake are the procedurally-generated missions and maps. Missions in the demo range from holding your ground to rescuing units to forcibly removing some pirate warlords from a base that they had taken over. The maps are visually and thematically varied as you go from planet to planet creating allegiances and helping others fight the overwhelming threat of “pirate warlords, questionable corporations, and fractured planetary governments”.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Get them before they get you

Menace looks excellent, accentuated by its visual diversity. This Unity-built game has a striking style which manages to make a colorful take on grounded realism. Units can be identified by equipment, vehicle types, and color-schemes. The impressive visuals are paired with great sound design and a good soundtrack.

But the star of the show is the fantastic animation work which makes everything feel alive. Soldiers duck in response to enemy fire, cover their ears when an explosion lands close to them, and dive to the ground when the suppression meter reaches the pinned down status. Impressively, these animations look excellent whether you’re fully zoomed in or fully zoomed out.

Every playthrough will differ, at least slightly. You can have a taste of it in the demo, which will start with different missions every time you press New Game. Use this to experiment with different builds, max out units which you might have overlooked, and more.

If you’re up for a challenge and have been craving a tactical experience mixed with some grand strategy elements, I highly recommend you give Menace a try.

MENACE releases on 05 February 2026 on Steam.

Button Musher

Mashing away some mostly coherent thoughts about games and other things that might've pressed my (right) buttons.

By Gonçalo Santos

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:15 Lock n load

• 📽 6:39 Start the defence

• 📽 15:55 Situation is kinetic!

• 📽 23:58 Victory!

• 📽 25:47 Rescue & Disengage

• 📽 37:50 Fire mission underway

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ Morsels
From: Furcula, Annapurna Interactive
Platforms: PC
Release: 18 November 2025
Genre: Top-down sewer action
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

[This week’s article was produced by Josh Vasquez—he write about games and their surrounding culture from streamers, industry trends, and online communities. He publishes critiques of various games but is particularly interested in RPGs and how they allow for player creativity. A native San Franciscan, he studied English and Journalism, met his wife while streaming, and moved to a small East Coast town to be with her. Follow him on Substack.]

As humans, we love lists. The dopamine response from completing open world side quests, battle passes, and of course, capturing adorable creatures, propels us through our journey itching to fill the empty spaces of our collection.

Morsels, the upcoming roguelike creature-collector, begs the question: what if those creatures were disgusting little freaks controlled by a sewer rat? Will our biological propensity for lists and collecting help us trudge through the sewage and collect them all? With a little help from customizable combat through your collected creatures called “morsels” and a truly visceral art style, this one may just be worth plugging your nose and diving in.

You’ll begin each roguelike run with a choice between two morsels. These are the creatures you’ll collect along your journey, each with their own unique powers. The more you collect, the more options you’ll have for combat and each morsel acts as an additional life for your sewer rat.

The gameplay is a spin on top-down twin-stick shooters. Using the right stick, your morsels attack in any which direction with their abilities. The run ends when all your morsels have been defeated, but like any good roguelike you’ll gain permanent upgrades making the next run that much easier. Starting your next run is as easy as a single button on the game over screen, true to Morsel’s fast paced, “act first, think later” style.

Different morsels are better suited for different combat scenarios necessitating switching your morsels out as the situation requires. You’ll have a maximum of three in your party at any time and can switch between them instantaneously by hitting their corresponding face button.

Meet Gomsel, one of the starter Morsels you can choose to begin your runs. Gomsel could honestly be considered cute, a pink piece of chewed bubblegum discarded and stepped on by a wizard. It shoots bubbles which deal damage and block projectiles for a fairly safe and consistent playstyle. Enemies are strong and relentless with bullet hell-esque projectiles. Dodging with the right trigger and blocking are imperative to survival.

Bamsel is my favorite, but also one of the trickiest. Lob bombs at enemies dealing damage to take out most regular foes in a couple hits, but if they’re too close to you, Bamsel takes damage as well.

Giving morsels equal time on the battlefield is encouraged as they level up and evolve with use, giving them stronger abilities for later areas.

Between levels a random event will occur, offering healing or other upgrades in exchange for the shooting star currency or playing a mini-game, but in this early demo area, some upgrades seemed unnecessary, or their value was unclear. There were times I was running around with an admission ticket over my head, assuming it had some unknown use. When it eventually flew away, I was unsure if I had lost anything of value.

Morsels expects you will run the same levels with their randomized upgrades and layouts several times and learn what each item does over time. This can be frustrating early on when you are at the end of a level and you have to quickly choose between two upgrades, not knowing what each does. I selected one and quickly scurried to the end-of-level ladder only to find it was an upgrade for a Morsel I didn’t have in my party.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Fight through the sewers!

Everything about Morsels is fast. Act first, think later. As a result, you might pick up an upgrade you can’t use, or a Morsel you don’t like, but as you complete runs, the confusion is ironed out, and getting back into the game after a loss is near instant.

The true stars are the morsels themselves. Collecting, finding your favorites, and learning about them in the Guidebook scratches that itch of completing your list. In sewers as frantic and dangerous as these, you’ll need all the help you can get. I look forward to meeting more morsels to fight alongside in the game’s full release.

Morsels releases on 18 November 2025 on Steam.

This review was written by Josh Vasquez from Attack. Item. Run.:

Attack. Item. Run.

Writings about the games, films, books, and art that inform and inspire my other writings.

By Josh Vasquez

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:32 An invasion

• 📽 1:31 Into the gutters

• 📽 2:14 Pick your fighter

• 📽 3:47 First run!

• 📽 5:01 Second level

• 📽 6:20 A mini boss fight

• 📽 7:51 Fight the mobs!

• 📽 9:13 Onto level 3

• 📽 10:30 Another run

• 📽 12:04 Bird business

• 📽 15:22 Dodge the traffic

• 📽 17:16 The fourth level

• 📽 20:38 Face the cat boss

• 📽 21:56 Defeat!

• 📽 22:17 Let’s try again

• 📽 23:30 One more run

• 📽 24:33 Next level!

• 📽 27:26 A strange encounter

• 📽 29:19 Let’s try the boss again

• 📽 30:40 Victory!

• 📽 31:35 The game’s creatures

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ Dispatch
From: AdHoc Studio
Platforms: PC
Release: 22 October, 2025
Genre: Story-Rich Superhero Manager
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

Being a superhero isn’t glamorous. The hours are terrible, the uniform is uncomfortable and smelly, and there is no dental insurance. Sometimes, yearning for the swivel chair, a stable internet connection, and the thrill of data capturing may be just what you need.

Welcome to Dispatch, the superhero workplace comedy where you call the shots.

You play as Robert Robertson—once the mighty hero Mecha Man, now a semi-retired office drone. After a catastrophic accident left your power suit on the fritz, you trade saving the world for answering phones at the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN).

From your cubicle, you wield a headset and a computer that resembles an Atari had a miserable child with Windows 95. Your mission: delegate assignments to a bizarre roster of C-list heroes and reformed villains, hoping they can handle the city’s problems without causing too many of their own.

The core gameplay centres on a city map. Notifications pop up requesting aid. These missions range from mundane to high-profile, saving a balloon from a tree to investigating a robbery.

Every hero possesses a pentagon of abilities: Charisma, Mobility, Strength, Defense, and Intelligence. Missions require specific skills: catching thieves is a Mobility check, while kicking out drunken louts could take Strength or Charisma. Matching the hero’s skills to the mission gains you more experience. Some missions require technical expertise, triggering a hacking mini-game and allowing you to switch off that angry bidet or bypass an impregnable security door.

The fundamental strategy is choosing the right hero for the job, a decision that determines your progression. For instance, sending a clay monster with a vanity complex to a fashion show is probably not the best call. Catching jewel thieves, however, sounds like a job for someone who can fly or phase through walls.

Dispatch is a post-modern take on superheroes. The characters are flawed and their actions have consequences, channeled through game’s dialogue. The natural, humorous (and often adult) conversations shine through every line, thanks to a witty voice cast, led by Aaron Paul, breathing authentic comedic life into the script.

This is self-aware humour done well: Dispatch satirises the absurdity of the superhero genre, acknowledging the superhero fatigue we all feel. It pokes fun at itself with clever and subtle jokes, not just punchlines.

Both dialogue and mission choices have consequences, especially with the characters who can also act independently based on their personalities and relationship with Robert. Making friends might give you the edge, but be careful that it doesn’t mean compromising your moral compass. The choices aren’t always straightforward. After all, would you bro-fist a large Maori man at the urinal? You’ll have to decide.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Flambe says he didn’t start that fire

The demo throws you into Robert’s first day at SDN. It’s a blend of interactive cutscenes, presented in a striking art style that is inspired by comics and episodic game—fitting since the developers are veterans of that genre (Dispatch aims to have weekly episodic story updates).

Dispatch is a stealth narrative game with a solid emergency management foundation. You quickly learn the most crucial lesson: saving the world is the easy part—dealing with heroes and their drama is the real emergency.

Dispatch releases on 22 October 2025 on Steam, with new episodes releasing weekly thereafter.

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:43 Starting a new job

• 📽 1:22 Orientation

• 📽 2:51 Urinal banter

• 📽 5:02 An old friend

• 📽 7:12 Meet your squad

• 📽 10:47 Get to work!

• 📽 12:31 A quick tutorial

• 📽 13:10 Rescue a balloon

• 📽 13:37 Send a bodyguard

• 📽 14:26 Hacking a bidet

• 📽 15:50 Help out the bar

• 📽 16:28 Retrieve the stolen boat

• 📽 17:52 Flambe says he didn’t start that fire

• 📽 18:23 Museum robbery

• 📽 18:45 Promote the SDN

• 📽 19:37 Special ability revealed

• 📽 20:06 Sonar is batty

• 📽 20:41 Stop the pickpocket

• 📽 22:00 Find the stolen art

• 📽 22:49 Upgrade your heroes

• 📽 25:01 What’s happening at the donut shop?

• 📽 25:39 Full game trailer

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ Slots & Daggers
From: Friedemann. Future Friends Games
Platforms: PC
Release: To be announced
Genre: Gambling Roguelike Battler
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

“The next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing.” So said Nick “The Greek” Dandolos, one of the most famous gamblers in modern history. He cautioned that gambling isn’t about chasing fortune but for the thrill of the game. Maybe that’s why he held such wisdom.

Not me. I’m a terrible gambler. I play to win and I’ve never taken the losses well, so I generally avoid gambling, especially if it involves my money. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed the demo of Slots & Daggers. It’s got all the thrills and spills without the risk. Especially when a chunk of cheese can change my luck.

That cheese is a power-up that adds to my health. It’s very useful in this new fantasy-themed addition to roguelike gambling combat games, which mixes a familiar gambling system (roulette, poker, slot machines) with combat elements and buffs that can turn the odds more in the player’s favour.

In Slots & Daggers, you are a warrior travelling through morbid regions and fighting monsters. Combat is simple: Spin the dials and see what comes up. A weapon lands a blow on your enemy, a shield adds to your health, and coins give you money to spend on things like health increases and attack upgrades.

You can also buy new icons for the dials and decide which symbols are in play, affecting your attack, defence, and income. A sword does more damage than a dagger, but it can fail whereas the dagger is a guaranteed hit. A bow and arrow will do critical damage if you succeed in an aiming mini-game. A healing spell will recover some of your health.

All of your icons do something useful—the challenge lies in hoping the right icons show up. Fights have a slim margin for error. Your opponents often have powerful attacks that can drain your health very quickly. You need to do more damage to them, heal when you can, and still make sure you earn enough to buy upgrades (if you survive the battle). So, stacking your dials full of icons isn’t helpful if they appear at the wrong time. A health spell means little when you need attacks.

Therein lies the strategy. You are at the mercy of the random spins (though it is possible to time them if you are quick enough). You affect the outcomes with your choice of icons and buffs.

At first, it’s tough. The base weapons do little damage and the early enemies are effective. However, each time you die, you unlock new icons to purchase and you can add permanent advantages that increase your resistances to certain attacks. With every defeat, you become a little stronger and better. Eventually you start winning.

This formula makes Slots & Daggers a lot of fun. The enhanced low-fi graphics, intuitive interface, and easy-going soundtrack wrap the bow on a great experience. It’s intense yet relaxing—a simple game where all the attention went to the right places.

But I’m not surprised. Slots & Daggers is from Friedemann, who specialises in simple games with captivating mechanics, such as his previous game SUMMERHOUSE. He achieves such charming and compelling gameplay again. The combat is engrossing and the slot machine’s dings and rings keep you in your seat.

My sole criticism is the balance. While the game is tough at first, you can become overwhelmingly powerful in later runs and start sweeping enemies aside. Hopefully, the full game will have a steeper difficulty curve.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Maybe the big sword is better…

Slots & Daggers is a worthy addition to gambling roguelikes. There are other slot machine games in that stable (like the excellent CloverPit). But this newcomer brings a different angle to that one-more-time allure. I kept going back for one more turn. Each victory was satisfying while each defeat was a reason to try again.

Maybe that’s what Nick The Greek meant by winning and losing. It’s not about the destination, but the journey: in this case, fighting monsters in a grim fantasy world, packaged in an entertaining and compulsive slot machine game.

Slots & Daggers releases on 24 October 2025 on Steam

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 0:26 Let’s go!

• 📽 0:50 The plains of pain

• 📽 2:21 Victory!

• 📽 4:17 Land that arrow

• 📽 6:30 Defeat!

• 📽 7:27 Another run

• 📽 9:09 Defeat again!

• 📽 9:39 Let’s use the big sword

• 📽 13:01 Victory!

• 📽 15:09 This guy’s tough

• 📽 18:17 Buy some upgrades

• 📽 23:15 Defeat, again!

• 📽 23:58 The winning run

• 📽 24:13 Eggo

• 📽 26:06 Mothgul

• 📽 27:47 Hammer Goblin

• 📽 29:03 Crabtaur

• 📽 30:04 The Queen of Snakes

• 📽 31:42 The Black Cemetery

• 📽 32:03 Skinless Walker

• 📽 33:17 Burster

• 📽 35:09 The Cleaver

• 📽 36:32 Snatcher

• 📽 38:11 The Butcher of Kul

• 📽 40:03 Final victory!

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

We’ve reached the fifth and last AIIG roundup for Steam Next Fest October ‘25! Thank you for your support, especially the likes and shares. It takes a bit of time to compile these emails, and it’s always great to see people enjoy the outcome. I hope you found a few games you can try this weekend.

There is a bonus for email subscribers: a few extra emails listing some games that didn’t make the list. Keep an eye out for those in a few hours, and enjoy Next Fest until it ends on Monday!

A special thanks to the list’s contributors: , , , , , and Werner Francis.

NOTE: You can disable the Steam Next Fest newsletters at indiegames.substack.com/account

Happy gaming!*

*AIIG’s Next Fest roundups are based on impressions from gameplay footage and descriptions, not demo gameplay.

Shadow of the Road (Steam link)

Steampunk mixes with medieval Japan in this alternative-history RPG where magic and science co-exist. Lead your band of warriors in combat and protect a special child who could help end the civil war. Exploring a vast world, meet eclectic characters, and forge your path forward. Shadow of the Road is an atmospheric CRPG with detailed art and a great soundtrack.

Hermit and Pig (Steam link)

Happy to live in the woods, a hermit and his truffle-sniffing pig becomes entangled in a big conspiracy. Now they have to talk to people. That social anxiety makes Hermet and Pig’s conversations more consequential than the average RPG. The turn-based JRPG combat doesn’t hold back with combos keys and countdown timers. Or you can just turn those off and glide through.

High Times (Steam link)

With a title like High Times, is this about running a shop serving ‘medicinal’ products? No, you serve donuts, making them from scratch and selling them to your customers. This game is also a visual novel, so deal with your exes who confront you about your past. Good thing you can manipulate people by inducing specific emotions through the donuts. Wait, what?

YAPYAP (Steam link)

“Friendslop” games are the current big thing, inspiring a lot of contenders to repeat the glory of games like Peak and Lethal Company. That competition also means more originality, like 6 players playing almost-useless wizards hired to vandalise an archmage’s tower. YAPYAP blends physics gameplay and magical artefacts with voice-activated spellcasting for utter mayhem.

Forestrike (Steam link)

Fight like the masters of kung-fu cinema, moving effortlessly and striking with precision in vastly outnumbered fights. But to get that right for real, you first fight consequence-free in your mind, perfecting the best sequence to victory. Once you are prepared, attempt the actual battle. But defeat means game over, so make sure you are ready. That is the Forestrike way.

Love You To Bits (Steam link)

Kosmo, a clumsy rookie space explorer, is scouring the cosmos to find the pieces of his robot girlfriend Nova and rebuild her, aka. Love You To Bits, a creative adventure game with puzzles and other surprises, hidden among numerous and unique alien worlds. It feels big and looks adorable. Kosmo might be heartbroken, but his game looks like a great time.

Big Hops (Steam link)

Stuck in a far-away fantasy realm, Hop works on a way back home in this 3D platformer that nods to the greats of this genre while adding a bunch of new ideas. Run on walls, grind rails, and use Hop’s tongue to swing or grab distant objects. If you get stuck, use special vegetables to create new paths in the level. Big Hops has big ideas, but it seems to pull them off.

Rebel Engine (Steam link)

Ascend up a vast tower complex and take on the Concrete Corporation to free your robot peers in Rebel Engine, a manic shooter that mixes old-school FPS gameplay with intense melee battling. Grab the enemy, throw them around, land punches and kicks, fire your weapons, and end them with flashy combo finishers—lead the rebellion!

Valorborn (Steam link)

Valorborn is truly vast. Step into a medieval sandbox where you choose what to do and where to go. Will you be a warrior, an assassin, or someone else? Will you stay in comfortable towns or rough it in the wild? Will your next encounter make a friend or enemy? Will you go look inside that cave and face what it hides, hoping it doesn’t eat you? It’s all up to you in this immersive RPG.

Adorable Adventures (Steam link)

Boris is a cute baby board, but he’s been separated from his family! Help find them again in the cozy exploration game, Adorable Adventures. The title says it all: explore a hand-crafted to do tasks, meet new friends, and make exciting discoveries. This game looks stunning, from woodlands to open fields and shaded paths. Designed to be easy-going, indulge in adventure at your own pace.

Cloudheim (Steam link)

Explore the realms and fight enemy hordes in the action-packed Cloudheim, a game for up to six players where you travel on the back of a giant flying turtle, warping to different regions to find treasures and resources. It’s a hostile world, so thankfully you can fight, mixing it up with different classes and weapons in beat-em-up combat. Chain combos, unleash special attacks, and fight alongside friends. Just be prepared to face the gods…

Consider leaving a tip at AIIG's Ko-Fi

It’s almost at the home stretch! The goal of these roundups is quantity. Regular AIIG articles are based on playing the demo, but when Steam Next Fest comes around, there is no time to play! Sure, I could play a few games, but that would mean maybe five or so games to tell about. With the roundups, you get a nice wide range of games. Some might not be so great, but they looked promising and at least you got to try them for free!

Besides, these roundups are produced by one person, so playing demos isn’t an option, not until all five editions have been put to bed! That being said, a really big thank you to a special thanks to the list’s contributors , , , , , and Werner Francis. They all suggested games to consider.

Stay tuned for the final edition, part 5, tomorrow, plus two bonus emails of games for email subscribers.

NOTE: You can disable the Steam Next Fest newsletters at indiegames.substack.com/account

Happy gaming!*

*AIIG’s Next Fest roundups are based on impressions from gameplay footage and descriptions, not demo gameplay.

Earth Must Die (Steam link)

VValak is having a hard time. He inherited a kingdom that he swears he built himself (mostly), then accidentally surrendered it to the pesky Terranoids from a planet called Earth. This requires revenge! With the help of his childhood nursing bot Milky, he’ll get back his throne in Earth Must Die, a quirky adventure game with an amazing ensemble of British comedians behind the voices.

Spooky Express (Steam link)

Help the citizens of Trainsylvania reach their destinations in the track-building puzzle game, Spooky Express. Transport monsters like vampires and zombies to their coffins and graves, and help lost humans get out of there! But your train only has space for one passenger, so lay down tracks that ensure riders hop on and off at the right times without eating each other.

Dark Fracture (Steam link)

Edward works at a decomposition research facility while nursing his fragile sanity. But strange things start to happen and soon it’s not always clear what’s real and what’s a nightmare. Is he losing his mind or is the fabric of reality coming undone? Choices matter in the psychological horror Dark Fracture, and procedural paranormal events keep the terror fresh.

MENACE (Steam link)

Only smart battle strategies will lead to victory in the turn-based tactical RPG MENACE. Land your strike force on planets across a lawless frontier to answer distress calls, and fight alien threats by commanding your soldiers. Use your mobile base, the strike cruiser TCRN Impetus, to travel between battles and develop new technologies to help improve the odds of victory.

The Berlin Apartment (Steam link)

The Berlin Apartment takes us into the many stories that took place inside an apartment. Dilara joins her dad as he refurbishes the place, uncovering relics and clues about previous tenants and what happened. An engaging and story-rich treasure hunting game, as she discovers more, her dad shares the stories he’s heard. Rich in narrative and pretty visuals, prepared to get lost in the past and maybe even the future…

All Hands On Deck (Steam link)

Play with a friend as Lefty and Righty, the two colorful hands working together to overcome obstacles and solve puzzles in the 3D platform game, All Hands On Deck. All the plushies in the daycare are missing, so use hand shapes and combine co-op powers, including a novel take on rock-paper-scissors, to find them and figure out who took them.

Seek & Sail (Steam link)

Become the new terror of the seas with a fierce pirate crew in Seek & Sail, a roguelike deck builder with swashbuckling action. Recruit pirates from across the islands, attack other ships, and build your crew’s skills as you pillage goods and treasures. Blessed by the goddess Myria, even defeat is not the end and you can rise again to set sails for a fresh and unique run.

Paper Traces Whisper (Steam link)

A combination of hidden objects and puzzle building, Paper Traces Whisper is a cozy game with a bit of challenge. Explore colourful worlds and levels to find fragments of puzzles, then assemble simple to pretty detailed puzzles and create new stickers for your scrapbook. It looks beautiful, making that effort all the more rewarding.

The Séance of Blake Manor (Steam link)

You only have 48 hours to find a woman who’s gone missing before The Séance of Blake Manor, an event at an isolated hotel. Investigate the staff and guests, trying to figure out what’s going on. But every action you take moves the clock forward, so choose wisely! This Victorian-era thriller with supernatural undertones looks captivating with a rich story and real mystery.

Barkour (Steam link)

Agent T.H.U.N.D.E.R. is a tail-wagging canine with a knack for parkour, gadgets and barking at villains. That Steam synopsis describes Barkour perfectly: you are a super agent dog in a 3D platforming game. Sneak around, use spy gadgets and jetpacks, knock out bad guys, and run on walls. You know, like parkour but with a dog? BARKour? Yup, this game does not take itself seriously, except where it counts.

Consider leaving a tip at AIIG's Ko-Fi

The biggest E3 event, once the pinnacle of video game expos, was in 2018 and attracted just shy of 70,000 people who could witness and sometimes try out around 300 games.

Steam Next Fest February had over 2,000 games, and I’m pretty sure that number gets bigger every time Next Fest returns. That’s insane. Maybe Steam should consider making this event two weeks long!

Stay tuned for part 4 tomorrow, and a special thanks to the list’s contributors:

, , , , and .

NOTE: You can disable the Steam Next Fest newsletters at indiegames.substack.com/account

Happy gaming!*

*AIIG’s Next Fest roundups are based on impressions from gameplay footage and descriptions, not demo gameplay.

Goodnight Universe (Steam link)

It’s tough being Isaac, a 6-month-old baby who is also the smartest person around. Luckily, he develops mysterious psychic powers that will let him help his family. But an evil corporation wants to kidnap him, so this little tot has his work cut out in Goodnight Universe, a creative adventure game with a unique control system.

The Legend of Khiimori (Steam link)

Travel the vast lands of 13th-century Mongolia as a courier rider and her trusty horse. Travel far to deliver important messages, and stay alive with guile, hunting, crafting, and breeding horses. The Legend of Khiimori looks gorgeous, with sweeping landscapes, historical settings, and weather effects for all seasons.

Bloodgrounds (Steam link)

It’s glory or death in Bloodgrounds. Build up your team of gladiators and send them into the arena in this turn-based tactics game with management layers, diplomacy systems, and fighter upgrades. Mix close-quarter, ranged, and magical combat to win the day. But lose a fighter, and they’re gone forever.

Anarchy Road (Steam link)

Falling debris, flaming obstacles, and deadly mines are just some of the things you dodge in the action racer Anarchy Road. Race against manic drivers, blast your competitors to pieces, and even fight giant bosses. Yup, this is no middle-of-the-road arcade racing game.

ANGST: A TALE OF SURVIVAL (Steam link)

Find your way out of a vast and frozen wilderness in ANGST, a serious survival game where you endure with your wits. Presented in a striking top-down art style, follow quests and uncover mysteries while hunting, gathering, and crafting to survive the elements and the deadly entities that roam this forsaken place.

S.E.M.I. – Side Effects May Include… (Steam link)

Trapped in a special clinic, you and three other players pop experimental pills and develop strange powers. Then try to escape S.E.M.I., a wacky co-op game full of insane traps, brutal security guards, moving walls and other surprises. The maps and special medicines are random, making each play-through uniquely insane.

RemoteSpace: First Settlement (Steam link)

Get into the technical depths of running a space colony in RemoteSpace: First Settlement, a base-building game with orbital mechanics. Explore an alien solar system while managing fuel, ore, energy, and the tedium of deep space as you mine a crucial mineral for humanity’s future. But there is something else out there, so stay vigilant!

The People of Sea, Sun & Salt (Steam link)

From laying the earliest foundations, create a Mediterranean island civilisation. The better you do, the more the waters recede, but beware the rising tide when things go wrong. Place over 100 unique buildings and follow progress across 15 eras. A compact city and colony builder with a lot of scope and replayability, can you lead The people of Sea, Sun & Salt?

Space Squad Survival (Steam link)

Space Squad Survival is a frantic and fun side-scrolling shooter with survival and crew management. Explore the universe, expand your ship and its tech, look after your crew, and get ready to fight alien creatures and space pirates. Keep exploring the dark reaches of space and remember, you can never have too much firepower…

UMIGARI (Steam link)

Fishing games with horror sub-themes are popular these days, but even by those standards, UMIGARI has a strange and creepy vibe. Make a living with harpoon fishing and explore the sea for new and lucrative prey. Follow legends to uncover the ocean’s secrets. But be careful, because not everything out there is friendly or even normal.

Consider leaving a tip at AIIG's Ko-Fi

Steam Next Fest October 2025 is in full swing—what demos have you tried out? Steam has added recommendation queues to the festival page, making it even easier to find games that fit your tastes. But before you try that out, first look at these ten titles…

Stay tuned for part 3 tomorrow, and a special thanks to the list’s contributors:

, , , , and .

NOTE: You can disable the Steam Next Fest newsletters at indiegames.substack.com/account

Happy gaming!*

*AIIG’s Next Fest roundups are based on impressions from gameplay footage and descriptions, not demo gameplay.

Tears of Metal (Steam link)

Lead a group of medieval Scottish fighters, slamming into the enemy with determined force and sending them flying with sweeps of your mighty sword. Tears of Metal might not be historically accurate (the hard rock soundtrack is a hint), but it is a glorious hack-and-slash brawler with great combos and fluid action. It’s a roguelike too, so expect to die and get a little better each time.

Don’t Wake Up My Dream (Steam link)

A dog drifts in and out of strange dreams, each unique and strange. But is there something that connects them? Explore these strange trips in Don’t Wake Up My Dream, a quirky and easy-going adventure game full of bizarre events, oddball characters, and surreal worlds that players can explore freely to discover multiple endings.

The Walking Trade (Steam link)

In zombie apocalypse lore, there are shops where survivors buy stuff to help manage the undead hordes. In The Walking Trade, you run that shop! Place shelves, stock them with goods, and start selling. Hire scavengers and rob people for new items. Just make sure you have weapons and barricades ready for those zombie raids. Bonus points for the distinctive art style.

Rubinite (Steam link)

Ruby might seem small, but she’s about to become the ultimate boss slayer. To help reclaim Ruby’s kingdom, players face off against a roster of different bosses, using a unique focus mechanic to spot their weak spots, then inheriting their powers when they fall. Rendered in gorgeous pixel art, Rubinite is the boss rush game for serious battlers.

SWAPMEAT (Steam link)

You are an employee of Rangus Meat, an intergalactic corporation that may or may not have caused severe mutant outbreaks on various planets. It’s sending you to clean up those messes with high-speed gun battles. The result is mayhem masquerading as SWAPMEAT. Keep ahead of the murderous onslaught by swapping your inferior limbs in real time with body parts harvested from fallen enemies.

Pure Badminton (Steam link)

Realistic sports games are still a rarity outside of large studio productions, so it’s wonderful to see a game like Pure Badminton. Create your pro, train them, and take on matches to rise to the top of this racket sport. Compete in the career mode or play with others in local co-op. Making an impressive sports game is demanding and usually not something smaller developers go for. But this game looks very promising.

Moonsigil Atlas (Steam link)

Most card games use action points or energy to manage what cards you can play in a round. Moonsigil Atlas instead takes inspiration from shape-based puzzle games. Play as many cards as you can manage by fitting their representative shapes onto the limited game board. Overlap and align the shapes to create game-breaking combos and unleash the true potential of your deck.

Prince of Darkness Jr. (Steam link)

They don’t call him the prince of darkness for nothing! Seriously, light is fatal to him, so when squatters move into Castle Darkness and turn on all the oil lamps, that’s a serious problem for this vampire! Navigate through each room in the block-pushing (sokoban) puzzle game Prince of Darkness Jr., moving boxes and furniture around to block the light, access new rooms, and not be vaporised.

FUR Squadron Phoenix (Steam link)

Fight the marauder menace in FUR Squadron Phoenix, an arcade on-rails shooter that wants to revive this classic genre. Fly through intense battles in space and on planets, blasting enemies while dodging incoming fire, then face the bosses at the end of the levels. Roguelike mechanics change level details between runs to keep the action fresh and unpredictable, and an epic story keeps you hooked.

Beneath (Steam link)

A cure for his daughter motivates veteran diver Noah to explore mysterious ocean bases and confront otherworldly horrors in the Lovecraft-themed survival horror game Beneath. This looks like a title with a strong first-person shooter foundation. But the developers also describe it as a survival horror, so expect something different from your typical gun-happy combat game.

Consider leaving a tip at AIIG's Ko-Fi

Welcome to part 1 of the Steam Next Fest roundups, October 2025 edition, with ten game demos you can try. The festival goes live in a few hours, but the demos listed below are already active.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow, and a special thanks to the list’s contributors: , , , , and .

NOTE: You can disable the Steam Next Fest newsletters at indiegames.substack.com/account

Happy gaming!*

*AIIG's Next Fest roundups are based on impressions from gameplay footage and descriptions, not demo gameplay.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion (Steam link)

Select from a roster of popular Marvel characters and stop alien invaders in this pixel-gorgeous retro side-scrolling beat ‘em up. Play solo or with friends in the demo, unleashing punches, kicks, and superpowers through a variety of combos.

Half Sword (Steam link)

Physics-based melee duelling games emphasise physics, technique, and accuracy. Half Sword takes that seriously. Fight duels and group encounters with 15th-century European armour and weapons, where a smart blow can quickly end the contest. Made by a team with a background in Historical European Martial Arts, this game focuses on precision and skill (and gore).

Perfect Tides: Station to Station (Steam link)

Step into the world of Mara, a new adult who navigates the big city while she figures things out. This gorgeous pixel-art point-and-click game, created by cartoonist and animator Meredith Gran, focuses on storytelling and artistry. The first game (2022) was praised for its depth, and Perfect Tides: Station to Station wants to carry that torch further.

Dogpile (Steam link)

Create a deck of adorable canines, then deploy them in a drop-and-match puzzle game. When you connect two identical dogs, they transform into a new dog! Advance your chances by creating new decks and customising your puppies with the cash you win. Bonus points for the cool and ridiculous art style.

Automatic Kingdom (Steam link)

Can you run the Automatic Kingdom? Play cards each turn, adding people, buildings, and resources to the gameboard. Keep expanding and rearranging your layout as your kingdom grows, fending off the game’s challenges like hostile armies and plagues while enjoying the colourful art and soundtrack, and rich game design.

The Secrets We Grow (Steam link)

I.R.I.S. is a gardening robot still active in a long-forgotten and overgrown world. Navigate through levels in this 2.5D side-scroller, bringing nature back into the collapsed cities by solving plant-based puzzles. The Secrets We Grow looks like an inventive and atmospheric game with fun physics-based brain twisters and interesting platformer gameplay.

Storebound (Steam link)

An intriguing take and creative departure from liminal-space horror games, Storebound locks you in a seemingly endless store. Play with up to two friends, using teamwork to escape to scavenge supplies .But be careful when night comes, and stay stealthy to hide from the strange “employees” trying to assist you.

Oceaneers (Steam link)

Oceaneers takes inspiration from various survival and colony management games, adding a vast water world. Organise your growing group of survivors to run a base, explore with rafts, scavenge for resources, and float lost islands. Keep everyone healthy, happy (enough), and busy. Survive, explore, thrive! Just don’t get eaten by the wildlife…

Wall World 2 (Steam link)

Return to the giant walls, crawling up their sides with your robospider and mining into the rock to find resources for upgrades. But be quick! The hordes will fly in to attack your base, so arm up. Wall World 2 picks up from the indie hit, offering new game mechanics, more environments and tech, and feistier enemies in this inventive side-scroller/base defence adventure.

Ember and Blade (Steam link)

Hack-and-slash meets bullet-heaven hordes in the explosive and meaty Ember and Blade. Prevent the archdemon Asmodeus from breaking free by fighting hordes of creatures converging on the demon hunter Fenrix. But he’s a formidable force, combining blade combat with automatic powers to defeat monster mobs and epic bosses.

Consider leaving a tip at AIIG's Ko-Fi

‣ Woodo
From: Tiny Monks Tales, Daedalic Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Release: To be announced
Genre: Narrative Hidden Object Puzzle
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

Change is scary. A new and strange place can be exciting but also intimidating, especially when you are used to your comfort zones. This is the problem facing Foxy, a tech-savvy, city-living teenager who gets shipped off to the countryside.

Why is Foxy suddenly in rural purgatory, dodging geese and looking for a WiFi signal? We’ll find out in Woodo, a delightful and heartwarming puzzle game where you fill in colourful dioramas.

Woodo is a story from Foxy’s childhood. An adult Foxy, voiced warmly by Miriam-Teak Lee, tells us the story of her countryside adventures. The experience feels like a children’s book with static scenes that follow this story. But the player brings each scene to life by dragging and dropping shapes and objects in their place, gradually turning monochrome dioramas into colourful and animated occasions.

Wooden toys are the inspiration, combining paint-by-numbers and hidden object gameplay. Players poke and peek around the scene, trying to match the objects in a sidebar to suitable spots. As things fill out, Foxy’s story pops up with new narration.

Teenage Foxy is clearly distressed and annoyed with this new chapter in her life, and the intimidating locals are not helping. Why are geese always so bossy?

But while Foxy might be stressed, the game runs at a leisurely pace. There’s no time limit or pressure as you put life back into Foxy’s world.

The demo features two short introductory levels and one full diorama of Foxy’s cottage, divided into several scenes around the building. After brief introductions to the gameplay mechanics and Foxy’s interests, we reach Foxy’s arrival, nervously stuck in a gaggle of curious geese. Complete this scene and we rotate to the next one, where Foxy tries to rescue her bag from a goat. In another scene, she sneaks past the sleeping guard dog and eventually finds a ladder that leads to an open window.

Once players fill in most of the individual scene, the full diorama becomes available to be completed, culminating in a vibrant three-dimensional set. They can then enjoy their work by exploring the diorama and taking pictures. Along the way, they enjoy Foxy’s story.

That’s the essence of Woodo: a storybook adventure where you advance the narrative by placing virtual wooden pieces, creating the story’s scenes. It’s simple yet so welcoming thanks to the heartwarming narration, art style, and easy-going gameplay mechanics.

If someone asks, “Why do we need indie games?”, point them to Woodo. While bigger games obsess about mass relevance, indie games can dare to be unique and interesting. Woodo is such a game.

You can feel the passion going into this project. The visuals are beautiful. Everything is lovingly created, from the distinct character designs and detailed dioramas to the warm colour palette. There is a palpable sense of curiosity and wonder.

The whole game feels focused and polished, as if a large team is working on it. In reality, Woodo has two developers and a composer (with contributions from people who worked on the quirky music game, Oddada). Supported by community feedback, they have crafted a unique experience. Something special can happen when passion, talent, and focus come together in small but motivated teams, and Woodo is an example of that union.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Okay, Foxy, almost there…

Woodo is also a celebration of growing up. The toy-like theme and storybook vibes make it feel like a child’s game. But this is really more for older audiences. It’s about nostalgia. We follow the young Foxy on her harrowing adventure while the narrator, an older Foxy, reminisces on this chapter in her life.

The result is a relaxing and meditative game, honed expertly with warm and welcoming production. Not challenging, but never dull. Woodo won’t leave you stumped or train your brain. Instead, it tugs at your heartstrings and reminds you of simpler days when small problems seemed so complicated. Maybe you’ve never had to rescue your bag from a goat. But you’ve been where Foxy was, and you’ll have a blast helping tell her story.

Woodo hasn’t announced a release date.

Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:

• 📽 3:36 Welcome to Woodo

• 📽 3:55 Meet Foxy

• 📽 7:29 Foxy arrives in the village

• 📽 13:28 Catching a break?

• 📽 14:27 A stubborn goat

• 📽 16:40 Sort out the bag

• 📽 18:52 Don’t wake the dog!

• 📽 20:55 A ladder to escape!

• 📽 22:19 Complete the cottage scene

• 📽 27:29 Take some photos

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ Deepest Well
From: Smoking Cartridge
Platforms: PC
Release: November 2025
Genre: Bullet Hell Deckbuilder
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

[This week’s article was produced by Trip Harrison—information scientist, hobbyist programmer, and lifelong gamer whose weekly publication explores the artistic and cultural horizons of game design. Follow him on Substack.]

“Break the game” is an instantly compelling but always-risky instruction for game developers to give their players. To base a game around its own degeneration takes confidence, bravery, and not a little audacity.

In the case of Deepest Well, a forthcoming 2D action roguelike by developer Smoking Cartridge, the phrase “break the game” appears prominently on the Steam store page and is near enough the entire instruction manual.

At its core, Deepest Well is a wave-based shooter that takes place in an enclosed arena with an infinitely destructible floor, hence the title. The player character is a nameless sorcerer wielding an upgradable magic wand. Each wave spawns a set number of enemies, whose defeat rewards the player with one of four randomly drawn upgrade cards.

The player’s attacks are feeble and sluggish at game-start, and strategically collecting upgrades is necessary for keeping pace with the enemies’ own evolution. Some have relatively modest effects like increasing movement speed or fire rate. Others significantly alter the player’s tactics by, for example, adding new effects to wand attacks or causing enemies to explode on death.

Crucially, accumulating several copies of like upgrades will fuse their cards into a deliberately overpowered Ascension, which is the basis of any remotely successful run — the game’s high base difficulty and the enemies’ rapidly growing strength will put a swift end to runs with carelessly built decks.

The demo version implements about a half-dozen distinct enemy types that reveal themselves as waves are cleared. These include various flying enemies that fire projectiles or chase the player, as well as a ground-based type that delivers hard-hitting attacks if the player comes too close. All occasionally drop gold when defeated, which can be spent on re-rolling the random draws at the end of each wave.

Taking advantage of this is important to building Ascensions before the difficulty curve outpaces the player’s deck. The Ascension system is what ultimately breaks a well-played run: it can replace the wand’s projectiles with a flamethrower, allow infinite mid-air jumps, cancel the first few enemy attacks in each wave, and much more.

The number of Ascensions in a given run is unlimited, so a particularly good deck will inevitably snowball and make the game effectively unloseable.

The game’s overall presentation is peculiar in its simplicity. Spritework is uncomplicated and flatly colored. Enemies are entirely silent but for a sound like a popped bubble that emits when they’re struck or killed, and it was underwhelming at first blush.

But before long, several dozen enemies can crowd the screen at any given moment, and their subtle design compounds into electrifying conglomerations of bright colors as the increasingly cacophonous sound of many attacks landing at once begins to drown out the background music. And as the player becomes more powerful, attacks are imbued with elaborate particle effects. One doesn’t just break the game’s difficulty curve, but also the presentation itself.

📽 Demo Snapshot: xxx

On broad analysis, Deepest Well is a confident and easily enjoyable take on action platforming. Its sole flaw is how quickly the player’s power can snowball, which defangs the challenge after several dozen waves. But fixing this issue for the full version will be a straightforward matter of fine-tuning, and in any case it will only affect players who carefully manage upgrades after growing used to the full roster of sixty-one cards.

Until then, the difficulty curve is steep but fair, rewarding thoughtful tactics just as generously as it rewards raw skill. As-is, the demo is trivial to learn and difficult but satisfying to master. It’s an easy recommendation for any adrenaline-seeking gamer with a half-hour to spare.

Deepest Well is set for release in 2025, on Steam.

Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:

• 📽 0:30 Down the well

• 📽 5:18 Get some wings

• 📽 7:05 A magical barrier

• 📽 8:12 The lunatic sorcerer

• 📽 11:37 Things are getting intense

• 📽 14:32 Passive healing

• 📽 16:07 The crowds are growing

• 📽 21:24 The well dweller

• 📽 26:29 Exploding spells

• 📽 29:10 Bouncing spells

• 📽 30:01 Racking up the Ascensions

• 📽 31:21 The sorcerer returns

• 📽 32:29 Uber deflection

• 📽 37:46 Triple spell!

• 📽 38:33 The well dweller tries again

• 📽 39:10 Lasers are great

• 📽 41:08 Flamethrower? No, even better!

• 📽 42:27 Total dominance

• 📽 44:57 Add some spikes

• 📽 47:18 Time to end it

This review was written by Trip Harrison from The Spieler:

The Spieler

Incautiously probing the artistic horizons of game design.

By Trip Harrison

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now

‣ Absolum
From: Guard Crush, Supamonks, Dotemu, Gamirror Games
Platforms: PC
Release: 09 October 2025
Genre: Roguelike Beat’Em Up
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video

Another roguelike? Cue the eye rolls. The gaming market is over-saturated with titles where you're expected to try and fail constantly as you inch forward. I very nearly didn't bother with Absolum because, yup, it’s another roguelike.

But thank goodness for demos, because this beat 'em up is a real gem and a candidate for one of 2025’s indie hits. It’s frikkin’ gorgeous, delivers meaty combat, and yeah, even the play-die-repeat cycle makes perfect sense.

Beat ‘em up games are combat-heavy side-scrollers. Players move from one side of a stage to the other. Groups of enemies ambush them, which they dispatch with kicks, punches, and special attacks. Then they move on and are ambushed again, eventually squaring off with a boss.

Beat ‘em ups revolve around combining basic moves into impressive combos. In Absolum, you deliver light and heavy attacks, jump, and parry. Landing successive blows builds up to powerful combos and fills up power meters for special attacks.

Absolum offers a roster of characters with unique fighting styles, such as Galandra and her lean sword attacks and the dwarf Karl and his heavy fists and blunderbuss. The agile Cider also appears in the demo, and another character, Brome, will be in the full game.

Absolum expects players to fail. Our heroes are part of a wizard rebellion led by the enigmatic Uchawi, who has the power to resurrect fallen heroes. When a player dies, they are transported back to the rebel hideout, where they spend points earned during their run to unlock special skills for their next run.

Once ready, they head out again, now imbued with extra advantages. In roguelike tradition, they also unlock temporary skills throughout the run, adding boons such as modifiers and elemental attacks. They lose these temporary skills if they die, but they keep what they unlock at the rebel base and become powerful over time.

This blend of mechanics is intoxicating: repeating runs help sharpen your combat skills, the essence of a good beat 'em up, and the added buffs give you advantages to progress further, but not enough to make you too powerful. It's a fine balance between mastery and luck.

Repeating runs risks becoming boring. The developers compensate for this with branching paths that converge on a big boss fight at the end. These paths travel through different regions, delivering a shifting mix of enemies and bosses.

If you go through the forests, you encounter goblins and battle a giant orc as a boss. If you follow along the coast, you spend more time fighting human soldiers and their captain boss. Defeating the bosses can unlock new branches for future runs (for example, beat the Orc boss and the goblin leader agrees to stop destroying a certain bridge, opening access to a major city).

Each section becomes harder with tougher enemies, such as elite soldiers, undead miners, and very hostile ghosts. There are also bonus branches that you can discover, like a heist on a nearby treasury. You don't feel like you're just repeating the same sections over and over again, but you have enough familiarity to outsmart the game.

📽 Demo Snapshot: Nobody bears Gazord!

Absolum's stunning presentation also helps keep you engaged. Beautiful hand-drawn characters, animations, and backgrounds create striking levels of detail. The characters have great voice acting, and the soundtrack completes the experience with thematic music for different sections and boss fights.

You might be tired of roguelikes and their constant fail-repeat-fail antics. Perhaps you feel intimidated by the combo-frenzies of beat ‘em ups. But this makes them all fresh, interesting, and rewarding. Throw in the excellent two-player co-op (couch and online), and Absolum cements its place in the must-try games of 2025.

In fact, I hope we’ll see more beat ‘em ups that tap into that roguelike loop. I'll save my eye rolls for another title and a spot on my wishlist for Absolum.

Absolum is set for release on 9 October 2025, on Steam.

Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:

• 📽 0:42 Dark times

• ⭐ 3:26 The rescue

• 📽 8:34 The afterlife

• 📽 12:43 Let's go co-op

• 📽 14:24 Choose a path

• 📽 16:58 Free the shrine

• 📽 21:12 The green river

• ⭐ 26:14 Gazord, son of Zorg

• 📽 28:26 Defeat

• 📽 31:38 Buying modifiers

• 📽 32:34 Training

• ⭐ 35:55 A different path

• 📽 39:12 Cleanse another shrine

• 📽 41:06 Into the city

• ⭐ 44:54 Rudolf, captain of Stonedale

• 📽 47:00 Oof!

• 📽 51:12 Let's try the first path again

• 📽 53:29 Fighting with mounts

• 📽 54:53 A dark stranger

• 📽 55:51 The bridge is repaired

• 📽 56:47 Don't miss the raft

• 📽 59:25 Gazorg, round two

• ⭐1:00:59 Victory!

• 📽 1:05:38 A new branch

• 📽 1:05:58 Into the mines

• 📽 1:08:36 That's a big mushroom...

• 📽 1:08:51 Nope

• 📽1:14:07 Another run

• 📽 1:22:58 The Captain, round 2

• ⭐ 1:24:15 Victory!

• 📽 1:27:20 Meet Cider

• 📽 1:28:11 The haunted library

• ⭐ 1:34:54 The Underking

• 📽 1:36:19 No contest

• ⭐ 1:41:15 A new character

• 📽 1:46:37 Let's join a heist

• 📽 1:51:49 Take no prisoners

• 📽 1:55:03 The captain gets us again

Thanks for reading Adventures in Indie Gaming! Subscribe to receive new posts.

Subscribe now