Why hello there! It’s been a minute, huh? Since the last dispatch I’ve been and returned from TGX in Melbourne, Australia. I’ve caught a chest infection and recovered. My son started nursery school which was, and continues to bring me sadness. Oh, and I just turned 39 on Wednesday. A lot an happen in three weeks, right? So apologies for taking an unexpected break there, but life got incredibly busy.

I have managed to play some games during all of this, the main one being Esoteric Ebb, which has utterly captivated me. If you played the demo during Next Fest, you probably walked away thinking that Ebb was nothing but a facsimile of Disco Elysium, just in a colourful fantasy world. Some 15 hours in, that statement is still true in some regards.

Yet Ebb managed to ape out its own unique existence as you dive further, and further into the twisting philosophical questions that are hiding within the thoughtfully written quest design. I want to write something more concrete once I roll credits, so expect to hear. more about my esoteric adventures at a later date. What I would say is that if you like adventure games and Disco didn’t land with you, I would still give the demo of Esoteric Ebb a shot. It might be my favourite adventure in recent memory, even surpassing the incredible Citizen Sleeper, which I did not see coming.

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Anyway, let’s take a look at what you should check out this week.

What came out this week?

TAMASHIKA

Developer: quicktequila
Steam rating: N/A
Store Link

First up this week is the hyper colourful corridor shooter TAMASHIKA from quicktequila, the developer behind the blissfully chaotic Lovely Planet. Keeping in line with their arcade shooter leanings, TAMASHIKA is a visual feast with hand-drawn animations, and a style that is unlike anything else I’ve seen. You have access to a semi-automatic pistol, and a short tanto blade, and you run through a procedurally generated level that changes every 24 hours. The game takes 10 minutes to complete, and there are specifically no checkpoints, unlocks, or cutscenes.

Stylistically alone, this one shot to the top of my list. The Steam store description hints that there may be more than we are seeing in the trailer waiting for us though, so I am interested to see what depth TAMASHIKA will bring. Definitely keeping an eye on this when it drops tomorrow.

Final Sentence

Developer: Button Mash
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Link

Sometimes an indie game gets thrown my way that I feel was custom made for me. Final Sentence is one of those games - a Battle Royale typing game with a weird World War II aesthetic and super impressive typewriters.

40 typists awaken in a darkened hanger with a masked guard holding a revolver to their heads. You type out a bunch of text, with each mistake causing your guard to fire the revolver. Is there a bullet in the chamber? Eventually, the answer will be yes. Out-type your enemies to live to type another day. The whole thing is dripping with a super serious meets ridiculous tone that I just can’t get enough of.

Multiple game modes. Private lobbies for friends. Detailed typing analytics to help mark your progress. Typing of the Dead may have finally been surpassed as the best action typing game.

DarkSwitch

Developer: Cyber Temple
Steam rating: Positive
Store Link

If your favourite part of Return of the Jedi was the Ewok tree village then DarkSwitch might be the game for you. A fantastical city builder where you need to build and protect a city in the trees from the impending doom hidden in the veil.

Mixing the city building of Frostpunk with some tower defense and exploration elements, DarkSwitch has a 20+ hour campaign with branching narratives and quests to complete. There are 80+ buildings to construct, technologies to unlock, and the style here is really something else. It’s certainly an interesting take on the city builder, one that I think a lot of will want to dive into.

Added to my wishlist. I am pretty new to the city building genre, but I definitely want to add some combat into the mix. DarkSwitch looks like the perfect place for me to start.

Spark in the Dark (Early Access)

Developer: Stellar Fish
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store Link

Spark in the Dark is a medieval dark fantasy capital D Dungeon Crawler that looks super slow and methodical, something that is not typical of the genre these days. I remember seeing footage of this somewhere eons ago, and now it has finally crawled its way into an Early Access release, and the buzz seems quite positive already.

Spark in the Dark definitely is taking a bigger inspiration from Dark Souls than Diablo. The grim corridors of the dungeon will pit you against standard enemies like big spiders and skeletons, and the combat looks to be heavy and considered. There are already five classes of heroes, each with unique skills that level up the more you use them.

The reviews on Steam are mentioning a lot of interesting things, like how the mix of RPG and survival horror is a unique element that the genre has never seen before. That sounds pretty promising to me. They all mention that this game is HARD AS NAILS though, so get prepared if you plan on diving into the darkened abyss.

The Occultist

Developer: DALOAR
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store Link

I am a sucker for the Eldritch or Detective games, and The Occultist looks to combine the both. You are a paranormal investigator who arrives on an abandoned British island in search of his missing father. The wrinkle being that this island used to be home to an infamous cult back in the 50s, and it also just happened to be the place where our dear old dad spent his formative years as a child.

Armed with a mystic pendulum, you will need to solve puzzles, investigate the dark corners of the shrouded island, and survive in this narrative adventure. There is no combat in The Occultist, just you and a bunch of very normal cool paranormal things, and you’ll need to make your way through the muck in order to survive.

There was significantly good buzz surrounding the demo for this one, which is still up if you want to try before you buy, and the reviews are still trending strong after release, so if you want something a little spooky this weekend, this one has you covered.

sunset visitor 斜陽過客 announce Prove You’re Human

The folks behind 1000xRESIST, one of the wildest narrative games I have ever played, just dropped a trailer for their next project. The tagline for the game on Steam immediately sells the vision of what this wild ride is going to be:

An AI dares to dream she is human. You’ve been hired to put her in her place.

Insanely excited to see this one when it drops sometime in the future.

That’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Drop me a line on Bluesky or something!

See you next week - Steve

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Enough about my trip though, let’s get to the good stuff.

What came out this week?

Planet of Lana II

Developer: Wishfully
Steam rating: Positive
Store Link

Kicking things off this week is the LIMBO-like sequel, Planet of Lana II. I never played the first game, but I know the a bunch of folks (site cohort Pat is a fan I am sure) were really into the emotional journey of the first puzzle platformer when it launched a few years back.

You play as the titular Lana with their loyal companion Mui, as you explore gorgeous hand-painted landscapes in a world where machines and nature have collided. As the technology continues to bring progress, the greed and uncertainty that comes with it has started to cause tensions to rise between the various tribes across the planet.

One of the more interesting things about Planet of Lana II to me is that there is no dialogue. Everything is inferred from an indecipherable alien language, relying on the strong visuals and audio design to sell the emotions.

If you are like me and haven’t played the first game, don’t worry! Planet of Lana II has been built as a standalone story. Lana is older and more agile, and while you may get more out of the experience if you have played the first game, this is a very reasonable place to jump right in. They also state the game is a cool 6-8 hours, which makes is an immediately easy recommendo for me.

Slay the Spire II (Early Access)

Developer: Mega Crit
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store Link

Look. When Mega Crit announced “hey, we’re going to do it again”, I was pretty bloody skeptical. How can you really improve on a genre-defining release that is single-handedly responsible for at least 45% of new games flooding Steam on a daily basis? With grace and poise apparently, because even after a handful of runs it is immediately apparent that Slay the Spire II is bigger, and better, and will once again set a new standard.

Taking place 1,000 years after the first game, the Spire has awoken and is devouring all who attempt the dark ascent. The game opens up with the ol’ reliable Ironclad coming back to do his song and dance, and it immediately feels like coming home after a long trip, but everything is faster and smoother now, and there’s lots of new abilities and toys to play with.

The biggest addition (which I haven’t had the chance to try yet) is the addition of up to 4 player co-op. Now you can work on synergies together as you face off against the wicked evil that awaits each and every run. There was another roguelike deckbuilder called Across the Obelisk that was a “Spire-like” but with 4 Player co-op and it was a blast, so I can’t wait to get some friends together and try our how the OGs have implemented it.

Even in the first Early Access drop, Mega Crit claim that Slay the Spire II already has more content than the first game, and they will be dropping regular updates. This is a team who supported their first release with a lot of attention and care, with a strong community focus. I expect more of the same for the sequel, and I am totally here for it.

Esoteric Ebb

Developer: Christoffer Bodegård
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store Link

I spotted this one in Steam Next Fest last week, with no idea it was dropping so soon. The self-proclaimed “Disco-like” is a single-player CRPG inspired by fantasy tabletop adventures. Esoteric Ebb asks you to become the world’s worst cleric in its post-Arcanepunk world. You are a goon for the government, and five days before the first-ever election you are sent in to investigate a tea shop that just exploded in the heart of the city. It seems like everything is going to go downhill from there.

A lot of interesting dialogue and D20 dice rolls are the order of the day in Esotetic Ebb. The developers are trying to capture the unbridled freedom that comes with running a DnD campaign, while smooshing that together with the deep storytelling prowess of Disco Elysium, and it looks to be a great time.

The art style and just vibe of this trailer is outstanding, and the Steam reviews are absolutely glowing. Even though I never got around to finishing Disco Elysium (it is on my backlog to play this year, I swear), I actually might grab this for my flight to Aus and get to work. When I spotted it last week I couldn’t get it out of my head, but now there’s no excuse for me not to jump in, except for the aforementions Spire climbing I have to do.

Ratcheteer DX

Developer: Shaun Inman
Steam rating: N/A
Store Link

I bought a Playdate, the little console with a crank from those weirdos (positive) over at Panic. When season one launched for that thing, one of my favourite games was this top-down Zelda adventure starring a little mechanic armed with a big wrench. Well now that same game is getting the deluxe treatment, coming to Steam as Ratcheteer DX.

In Ratcheteer DX the surface of the Earth has been claimed by an Impact Winter, but below the ice the remains of humanity is in hibernation. You are an apprentice mechanic who awakens in the dark, only to realize that the Power Plant is offline, and the water treatment is out too, and that the entire colony is now in danger.

From there you set out to restore the services needed to keep the colony in hibernations. There are 8 tools to master as you fight off the dangers in the dark caverns, and explore the secrets of the colony. On the Playdate this was an absolute gem, and now seeing it in colour and with an updated CD-quality soundtrack, I hope it really translates well to traditional controller formats.

Desynced

Developer: Stage Games Inc.
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Link

CALLING ALL FACTORIO AND SATISFACTORY SICKOS (hi there Blue and Rice from the community)! There’s a new build a well oiled machine time sink game out this week called Desynced, which apparently had a stint in Early Access before hitting a 1.0 release this week.

This sci-fi strategy game has you messing around with fully customizable units, where you can also customize their behaviours. Your ship has been damaged so you sent a bunch of drones to the surface of the planet to build the facilities required for repairs, but you also want to learn about the mysteries of the planet.

A proud automation game without belts, Desynced relies on AI drones to perform the complicated logistics required for the operation. You can build your perfect workflow solo, or with friends as you explore everything this one has to offer.

My brain is too smooth for this one, but I know a bunch of you will be brewing pots of coffee and getting to work.

Adam Boyes talking about pitching your game on The Jeff Gerstmann Show

I like Adam Boyes. If you don’t remember, he was the face that we all saw gleefully twist the knife into the guts of the Xbox One with the now infamous game sharing video. As a lifelong Giant Bomb fan, I have seen this dude be part of some truly golden moments, but also watched with a keen eye as his career has taken him into the upper echelons of “the game biz”. After leaving Iron Galaxy, he is now running a consulting firm as he tries to guide teams towards success, while also discovering what the hell is wrong with our record money making industry that can’t seem to actually sustain itself.

Anyways, he was on the latest episode of The Jeff Gerstmann show, and he talks a lot about how VC firms actually work when it comes to investments in games, but he also had this nugget to drop about the positive echo chamber that puts a lot of developers on the back foot.

I always say to people, I often meet with young studios and they will say “yeah, everyone loves it”, and I will say “well who have you asked?”. I always try to say there are 4 people you should pitch your game to:

You start with your friendlies, your Mum and your aunties, your best friends, and they will tell you how much they love it.

Then next best group to pitch to are the rejectors, the people who are gonna hate it, they aren’t even your target audience, you just want the most vitriolic, nasty, negative feedback.

Then you go to outliers, which are ones that are a long shot.

Then your final group is your target market.

What I find is people try to go “I just need this one meeting” and I go “no, you actually need the 30 meetings beforehand to make sure that the pitch is dialed in, and your positioning is dialed in.”

I myself can’t understand, it’s bias enhancement. If you’re around people and the leadership team is trying to protect the team... it doesn’t help.

It’s a great episode that is worth a listen. I have embedded the episode below.

That’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

I haven’t played Mass Effect in a hot minute. This is my third time playing the seminal sci-fi RPG, a rarity for me as I barely play any game twice, let alone three times. Even after all these years later, it astounds me just how well the original Mass Effect onboards it’s players into a high stakes political thriller where humanity is trying to be taken seriously. From the opening moments where Shepard immediately calls out that the mission he is on doesn’t make sense, and asks the brass to level with him on their true intentions, it sets the stage for a world where no one can be trusted, and humans are never at the top of the food chain. Shepard is the best we’ve got, and he’s trying to just do his part to complete his mission, and hopefully show the rest of the galaxy that we aren’t all assholes.

Except if you’re playing Paragon I guess.

This is kinda rambly. Did I mention that I’m really tired? But I am rounding the corner on the final hours of the game and while it certainly is dated in may aspects, there is just such a dense and interesting story throughout the campaign that feels timeless, and also hasn’t been surpassed in many ways. When I look at the state of AAA games today… where did it all go wrong? Don’t even get me started on where it all went wrong for BioWare. And hey, maybe there’s an argument to be made that terrible industry conditions but also renewed scrutiny on worker’s rights means that we don’t get these insane pressure cooker games that were built on the hearts and souls of endless crunch anymore, and that is why everything is so bland and by the numbers now? There is a thought in here, I am sure, but I am far too tired to work it out right now.

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Just know that Mass Effect is still great. It makes me incredibly happy to see that it still stands the test of time, and it makes me long for a time where AAA games were interesting and doing cool things. But it also makes me sad that with each retirement, and studio closure, we are getting closer and closer to AAA just not existing. Maybe that is a good thing. This is an indie-focused website, and I am an indie developer myself. But there is also just something about the spectacle of a AAA game that I don’t want to go away fully.

Enough of this though. Let’s talk about what happened this week.

What came out this week

dicey roguelites

Guilds of Greybrook

Developer: Brava Games
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

Kicking things off this week is roguelike management sim Guilds of Greybrook, a digital dice and card game that has you managing a guild in a fantasy world. Rather than playing as the heroes, you will need to recruit and pay them to complete your quests, negotiate contracts, and decide what side of the power struggle you want to be fighting on.

You will need to hire the very best, train them up for the challenges ahead, and upgrade their dice faces to try and tip the odds in your favour. The art is VERY tabletop coded, and I am totally here for it. This looks like a pretty fun game to sit down and noodle around with. I have always been a huge fan of games where you play as the supporting cast rather than the adventurers, so if you like tabletop games like Lords of Waterdeep, this one might be for you.

They Killed Your Cat

Developer: Vekaria
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Did you ever think to yourself “wow, I wish QWOP had some guns in it”? They Killed Your Cat is basically that premise. Some goons killed your cat ala John Wick, and now you are running down corridors murdering those responsible. You are controlling movement of each leg manually, you are reloading your weapons

A short but relentless first-person shooter featuring manual reloading, walking, and blinking, with settings that let you customize your experience. Every “normal” action has some kind of friction, for example, to reload your gun you need to pop out the magazine, insert a new clip, then slide back the safety before shooting. You need to reach a computer terminal and interact with it in order to save. And yeah, you need to take each step individually. This looks stupid, but in a fun way, and the reviews definitely seem to be saying exactly that.

Nested Lands (Early Access)

Developer: 1M Bits Horde
Steam rating: Mostly Positive 
Store page

I spotted this one on the release schedule and immediately thought of Pyxel from our community! Nested Lands looks to be a survival medieval combat game, taking a little bit from War of the Roses, a little bit from Valheim, and a touch of Manor Lords. Billed as a settlement-building RPG in the middle of a plague-ravaged world, this dark and gritty combat game has you looking for peasants to join your settlement, as you assign jobs and crafts for them to help you continue building up your town.

The trailer does seem to focus mostly on the combat though, which could be a good thing if you wanted less sim and more clashing of swords. It does have a vibe though, and while it isn’t for me, it is getting a good rap from folks on Steam and it could very well be a game you want to check out if this is your kinda thing.

Dice A Million

Developer: countlessnights
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

The next “let’s take a random thing and roguelite it” is here, and it’s called Dice A Million, a roll ‘em up that has you trying to roll 1,000,000 with a set of dice. As the numbers grow you will be unlocking more dice with crazy unique effects and modifiers, and getting some cool powerup rings for your hand. Speaking of the hands, there are 10 to choose from which indicate your player class. Also, the developer wants you to really notice their “cutting edge next-gen graphics”, which were all drawn on Microsoft Paint.

I dunno. Personally Balatro was cool but it never really grabbed me like it seemed to grab everyone else in the world. These games are just not for me, which is weird because I love deckbuilders so much. But I am sure that many of you will want to check this one out and lose countless hours to it.

Rise of Piracy (Early Access)

Developer: IrishJohnGames
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Nauticual politicians searching for booty should look no further than Rise of Piracy, an action adventure RTS that has you comdicey roguelitesmanding a small fleet of pirates as you rise to control the seven seas. You will start with a very small ship and some coin, but as you progress and build notoriety, you will be sinking vessels, getting big barrels of loot, and building out a fearful fleet that will engage large colonial fleets in naval ship warfare.

Why did I mention nautical politics? Because you don’t HAVE to be a pirate in Rise of Piracy. The campaign is very sandboxy and allows you to create your own story as you visit ports, trade with merchants, and build relations with other factions. Perhaps you are just a land baron who is looking to sell goods rather than find bountiful loot? It seems like Rise of Piracy will allow you to do that.

The game is in Early Access and they have a very comprehensive roadmap. It is also published by the reboot of Microprose, one of the rare publishers that have come back from the brink of obscurity and they just seem to GET IT. They have a flavor of games, and they take interesting swings. If you’re into RTS and are thinking about getting an eye patch, this might be more interesting than Windrose for your pirate dreams. 

And that’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

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Hey folks! First of all, big apologies for any spelling errors, and nonsensical musings in this newsletter. I am running on approximately 2.5 hours of sleep due to our game AWAYSIS being featured in Indie Fan Fest. Getting into these showcases is great for any developer, you need all the help you can to get in order to drive those wishlists, and hopefully sales on launch day. The one thing that really sucks about most of these showcases taking place in the US is that I am living in Japan, which means 10AM PST is 3AM Japan time. It’s a good problem to have, but I am bloody tired right now.

Here’s the trailer, and if you want to check out the thing I have been working on for the past year, the demo is live right now on Steam!

Anyway, let’s get to the recommendos so I can get some slumber!

What came out this week

LOVE ETERNAL

Developer: brika
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

When I first booted up LOVE ETERNAL this week, I am ashamed to admit I thought to myself “oh, it’s another one of these” as I started to run and jump through it’s macabre castle hallways. It took all of about twenty minutes for my opinion to do a full 180, and before long I found myself entranced in this psychological horror platformer.

You play as Maya, a child whisked away from her family by an ancient god into a horrific castle realm that is filled with spikes, pits, and lasers. You will be running and jumping your new pixel friend through 100 screens of these literal deathtraps, but LOVE ETERNAL has a trick up its sleeve. Gravity in the underworld is optional, so you can literally switch from jumping to free-falling as you glide endlessly into spikes, over and over again.

The story is pretty wild, Lyncian meets Junji Ito in a very unsettling way. The atmospheric soundtrack is both zen-inducing but also industrial at times, which is a stellar mix. There aren’t enough Steam reviews to give this a rating, but all the reviews are trending positive. I will say that I just hit a WTF moment in a very good way, and I need to see this through. I highly recommend checking this one out if you are fan of Celeste, Super Meat Boy, or VVVVVV.

Demon Tides

Developer: Fabraz
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

Us Platformer fans be feasting right now, huh? Demon Tides is an incredibly sharp 3D platformer that follows Beebz and her crew across the vast oceans of Ragnar’s Rock. You can explore the open seas at your leasure, completing unique challenges at every structure and uncovering the myriad of secrets that have been hidden there, with some of the smoothest movement I’ve seen in a while from the genre.

Expressive player movement is the focus of Demon Tides, as you can dash and wall ride your way around challenging levels with an ease that seems would make Nintendo jealous at times. You can unlock a lot of movement options like hookshots, and gliders, and more, which will make traversing the ocean at speed. The other really cool thing is that you can set your own checkpoints, which is a quality of life feature that I wish more games would deploy. If you were disappointed with that Yooka-Laylee remake from a wild back, this might be the 3D platformer you have been waiting for.

Super Battle Golf

Developer: Brimstone
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

It may be easy categorize Super Battle Golf as yet another Friend Slop game, and that might be somewhat true. This chaotic free-for-all rush towards the green battle golfing game for 1-8 players looks delightfully silly, as players fight each other across the course as they try to be the first one to sink a putt and get as many points as possible and emerge victorious.

There are 27 different courses to fight across, with a barrage of offensive and defensive items to use against your pals. If you grew up playing Worms, then you will probably get the vibe going on here. It’s a little bit Peak meets Worms, and I mainly say this because putting a landmine into the path of your friend zooming towards you in a golf cart just for some reason puts memories of Worms 2 in my head that i didn’t even know I had.

Fashion to unlock. Public and private servers to compete on. Voice chat. Super Battle Golf has the works. If I can convince some folks in our community to dive in, I definitely want to check this one out.

Horripilant

Developer: Alexandre Declos, Pas Game Studio
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

I stumbled across this one while scoping out the Quebec Games Celebration this week, and the weirdness of the art immediately had me scribbling down notes like a madman to include this in this week’s dispatch. Horripilant is an incremental dungeon crawler (which I THINK is a fancy way of not saying “Roguelite”), with a strange pixel art style that also somehow manages to feel like hand painted ink nightmares with a dot matrix vibe. Yeah, it’s a lot.

Rather than do my usual distillation of what the story is here, I am going to just drop a quote from the store page:

You awaken. An old, battered knight, lost in the darkest corners of an abandoned dungeon, with no memory of how you got there. The stench of decay permeates the thick air. The walls seem to whisper your name.

A strange tree catches your eye. Barely a sprout, growing in defiance of the dark. The voice demands you hit it. A twig breaks off onto the ground. The first of many.

Distorted moans echo from an empty staircase. Beckoning you. You must go down. It is your purpose...

Encounter bizarre characters, solve cryptic puzzles, and survive the horrors that lurk in every shadow. Will you escape this living nightmare, or will it consume you?

There are apparently over 1000 floors in the dungeon, filled with horrific baddies, and puzzles to solve. You’ll also need to “Meet God” and “Become worthy”. I think I might be up for that. There are literally no user reviews for this just yet, but the comments on the YouTube trailer are mostly nice and supportive. I definitely want to try and find some time for this one, will pick it up when I get paid at the end of the month.

Dobbel Dungeon

Developer: Gamepie
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

The last recommendo this week is a digital tabletop game called Dobbel Dungeon, that comes from a two-person team out of the Netherlands. This light fantasy romp has you assembling a party of three before you venture out armed with your dice. At the start of a turn you roll the dice, and then power up your abilities. There are no chances to hit or misses in Dobbel Dungeon - as long as you have the numbers you can perform your abilities and defeat your foes.

Of course you will be unlocking items and buffs and interesting ways to juice those numbers. I am an avid tabletop gamer, so Dobbel Dungeon immediately stood out to me. This beautiful pudgy clay aesthetic really stands out, and immediately feels like a fun, cozy adventure. This one is on my backlog, because I’ve got a few other games on my docket right now but I do look forward to checking it out.

And that’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

I am sitting here late on Friday night, exhausted from a week of intense work and battling the flu. Despite the tiredness, there is a ridiculous smile on my face because I also have managed to sink a few hours into Mewgenics, and I am not going to lie, that has been an incredibly good time.

↑ Excerpt ↑

There’s another reason though… we got our logo sorted! If you didn’t notice it at the top of the page, Pat has been working tirelessly between fighting fires at work to get something together that we are both very proud of.

The idea behind the logo was to marry the idea of deliveries, and gaming. Why deliveries? We got stuck on the idea of telegrams, and newspapers, and then we were talking about race car liveries from the 70s and 80s, and then we started jamming on this idea here. I think it started when we started talking about DHL and FedEx, and somehow Pat concocted this magic.

The colours are classy and warm, heavily inspired by the colour scheme of the Famicom. I’m really proud of what we have here, and I hope you all agree that Pat deserves a beer or two.

We also changed the name of the newsletter to be Indie Dispatch. Pixels for Breakfast still lives on, but we feel this name better reflects what we are doing on a weekly basis.

Anyways, enough about the logo, let’s look at what you all came here to see.

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What came out this week?

Mewgenics

Developer: Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store link

I can’t believe after over a decade of waiting, Mewgenics finally arrived this week! The next release from dream team Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel of The Binding of Isaac fame, surprisingly mashes up the grotty vibes of Isaac with the tactical mastery of Into The Breach, starring the most batshit crazy cast of cats you’re ever likely to see.

Mewgenics has you breeding a bunch of kitties, and then sending them out on a cat adventure as you fight other strays and random beasts in the world. Along the way you will find items, and level up your cats, all in the hopes of getting them back home so that they can retire in your modest abode, get their freak on, and shoot out a prodigy that hopefully takes the best traits from their parents into the next run.

Like The Binding of Isaac, Mewgenics has a seemingly endless number of items and surprises that will make each and every run unique. For better or worse, Mewgenics is VERY McMillen coded. If you can’t get on board with the grotesque and dark humor of his hack catalogue, you ain’t going to change you mind here, despite the cats. A lot of people (including myself) are very into Mewgencis, and Glaiel announced that they made back development costs in just 3 hours via Bluesky, so it’s nice to see such a success story in a year where constant layoffs are still plaguing the industry.

Rogue Point (Early Access)

Developer: Crowbar Collective
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store link

The folks behind the excellent Half-Life re-creation Black Mesa have just released their next wholly originaly game, a 4-player co-op shooter called Rogue Point. Your squad will set out on intense missions as you need to plan things out, adapt to the ever changing conditions, and survive.

You start your mission by planning out a strategy, ala Due Process, and then you set out with nothing more than a starter pistol and armored vest. Through teamwork and a laser focus on completing your objectives, you’ll earn much needed cash to upgrade your arsenal and build out your Rogue. The game is really emphasising teamwork, so work with your pals to compliment each other’s loadout to get the operation done successfully.

In the Early Access there are four environments, and it seems that the game procedrually generates the levels to make each mission’s layout unique. With plenty of gear and attachements to unlock, it seems that Rogue Point is already off to a good start and should keep players busy for quite some time.

Circle Empires 2

Developer: Luminous
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store link

Small Scale RTS seems to be a thing these days, and Circle Empires 2 looks like a pretty interesting entry in that space. Taking place in a world made up of round battlefields, each world is procedrually generated with unique flora and fauna, which will change the battle conditions each time.

I have never heard of the original game, but the Steam page says that this sequel includes a boatload of new units, improved AI strategies, and co-op or competitive multiplayer to really spice things up. There’s a demo if you want to try before you buy, but this does look like a bit of fun for strategy fans looking for something a little lighter.

Roadside Research (Early Access)

Developer: Cybernetic Walrus
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store link

Grab some friends and run a gas station as undercover aliens is a pretty compelling pitch, and that’s exactly what Roadside Research is selling this week. Pretend to be very normal humans as you set up and upgrade a roadside gas station, and then gather as much data on regular human activity as you can without raising the suspicion meter too much.

At night you will begin to plan for the next day, managing two upgrade paths. You need to keep adding facilities to the gas station to entice more humans to stop by, while also upgrading your alien tech so you can get more data on how to be very cool humans.

This looks like a good bit of fun, and while the Steam page does say you can play this solo, I just don’t see that being the goal here. All I need is a free weekend, and some friends to check this one out with.

Lunar Ascendant

Developer: Darts Games
Steam rating: N/A
Store link

I found this one digging through the release calendar on SteamDB, and it spoke to me. Lunar Ascendant is a sci-fi political simulation were you are filling the shoes of the first mayor of ARTEMIS, a Lunar colony. You’ll be making decisions and fulfilling the needs of the colony, shaping policies and laws that will effect citizens, the use of AI, and dealing with interplanetary issues.

This looks like one of those “we got a lot of menus and text for you to read” games, but the theme and strong inclusion of fake corpo logos really got that part of my brain that is obsessed with Netrunner firing.

This is a bit of a punt on my behalf, as there are no Steam reviews. However the studio’s first release Do No Harm has a Mostly Positive rating, so here’s hoping that they handle the political content with nuance, and have created something compelling here.

No ICE in Minnesota itch bundle

If you somehow don’t know, there’s some real shit going on in Minnesota right now. As a non-American, I sit here in disbelief that the country that is supposed to be the leader of the free world is doing this to their own people. If you want a succinct look at what’s going on, I suggest this great video from the folks over at MinnMax, and the latest episode of the excellent Heavyweight podcast.

Anyways, if you want to support those in need and grab some great indie content at the same time, head on over to the No ICE in Minnesota itch page and for $10USD or more, you can get over 1,000 items and support a very worthwhile cause.

Remap Radio interview with Edmund McMillen

Patrick Klepek always manages to get an interesting take when he does an interview, and maybe it’s a bit of bias here because I have been lucky enough to chat with McMillen myself and I know he’s a genuine person, but this latest interview on Remap Radio was particularly insightful. McMillen talks a lot about the creation of Mewgenics, and how real life often got in the way, but also drastically informed the game design, and despite his stature in the industry, he was still nervous whether or not this game would be successful enough. You already know it managed to cover it’s dev costs in just 3 hours, so I am guessing he is probably a little relieved, but I thought this was a great interview and it is well worth a listen. Note, the article is paywalled but the audio version there is fair game!

And that’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

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I did managed to spend some time playing Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot that I included in the dispatch a few weeks ago. I’m new to the auto-battler genre, but this charming collecting of little drawrven folks charging head first into an onslaught of Orcs has brought me many moments of joy during brief 10 minute pockets of down time while waiting for builds to cook. The meat and potatoes of the game is definitely in assigning gear, and forging upgrades, because as the game goes on your small crew will be facing impossible odds. Creating interesting combos of healing priests backed by fire wizards and the big slammy hammer guys is the only way you can make a dent, and sometimes even survive.

It’s a fun game, and the reviews on Steam seem to say it’s a great one of these. I am not super qualified to say that, but I can say I am having a lot of fun, and for the price, I definitely think it’s worth checking out if you are curious.

What came out this week?

MENACE (Early Access)

Developer: Overhype Studios
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

This one was brought to my attention by Pyxel from our community, and quickly shot up to the top of my list. From the creators of the beloved Battle Brothers, MENACE is a squad-based tactics game set in a grounded sci-fi universe. You command a strike force of marines, mercs, and sometimes criminals, who are fighting on frontier worlds against pirate warlords, corrupt corpos, and shitty governments.

MENACE is a very open-ended game where your tactical decisions really matter. You will need to pin down enemies with suppressing fire, and have another squad flank effectively to get the drop. There are multi-operation missions where your command decisions will drastically change the challenges that await you. Do you take out their air support in the first op so you can land your tanks in the later levels, or do you risk it all for a full-frontal assault, those kinds of things.

This one is getting a lot of positive buzz, but I am seeing a lot of YouTubers and media say it is “X-COM 3”, which after reading the reviews on Steam, it most certainly is not. Sure, it has turn-based tactics, but it’s more of an open-ended decision making RPG where you are building squads, not dice rolls and overwatch moments like you would expect.

Tactics games are my new obsession, so this is what I will be playing this weekend.

Dead Pets: A Punk Rock Slice of Life Sim

Developer: Triple Topping, Akupara Games
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

When I came across the trailer for Dead Pets: A Punk Rock Slice of Life Sim, I was immediately charmed. A unique blend of rhythm game, narrative adventure, and a life sim, Dead Pets follows Gordy, an almost 30-something year old who’s life is in shambles, and their punk band Dead Pets is taking their one last shot at success before the weight of real life brings their dreams to a crushing halt.

The art is absolutely incredible, and the soundtrack has a real bite to it that reminds me of the riot grrrl classics. Dead Pets is described as a feminist, management-lite, minigame-heavy, slice-of-life, narrative game. It also warns that it has a major storyline the relates to sexual assault, but there are plenty of warnings before it happens, and you can skip over the scene if you wish. It’s awesome to see games tackling this stuff at all, let alone with this level of care and forewarning, so I am pretty excited to see how this tale unfolds.

Dead Pets is out tomorrow, so there are no Steam reviews just yet, but this game has been around the festival circuit for a while, and definitely has some buzz.

Jackal

Developer: Transhuman Design
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

Combine Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with the gameplay of Hotline Miami, and add a heavy layer of smoke and jazz, and you have Jackal. This frenetic hyper-violent top-down shooter throws you back to Vegas in the 70’s as a drug super-powered hitman, who is cleaning out casino hotels run by the mob. Utilizing a bunch of melee weapons and iconic guns, you will shoot your way through randomly generated raids that will force you to be creative with the items you find along the way.

While Jackal is certainly set in the 70’s, it has some supernatural elements that will see you unlocking new spells that can be used to fuel your quest to murder all the baddies. And for those who are score chasers, there are leaderboards, and mutators that can keep the challenging ramping up long after the credits roll.

I was kinda interested in the vibes and story of this one. I am in the mood for a stupid throwback to a Hotline Miami-esque time. However, most of the Steam reviews praise the intense and creative combat, but also call out that the story leaves something to be desired. Having saying that, the vibes here are pretty strong, so maybe I will check this out regardless.

Master of Piece (Early Access)

Developer: I M Game
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

I found this one as part of the Tiny Roguelikes festival on Steam, and I am so glad I did because this looks to be incredibly my jam. Master of Piece is an easy-to-play turn-based tactics auto-battler, that has a striking art style that feels like an old fantasy board game from a dark realm. You deploy your band of mercenaries on the board, taking into account their traits, their speed, and try to stack the odds in your favor. Then the pieces battle it out, as you go deeper and deeper into the fog.

The developers use this very simple graphic, which I think immediately tells you if Master of Piece is for you.

I am into all of those things, and while I am starting to really get a grasp on the strategy genre now, I could use something that’s a little lighter to play when I am not able to sit for a long thinking session. I absolutely adore this gritty art, that reminds of Darkest Dungeon, just without the gunky Eldritch residue.

Master of Piece has won a bunch of awards on it’s way to Early Access, including Best Indie Game from the 2025 Game Development World Championship Summer Season. There is a free demo available if you want to try before you buy, but this is an immediate get for me personally.

Dead Letter Dept

Developer: Mike Monroe, Belief Engine
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

Another game that I found thanks to an obscure festival on Steam, this time the Typing Fest. Dead Letter Dept. is a psychological horror mystery game where you play the role of a data entry clerk who types up and transcribes lost mail that has nowhere to go. As the days and night go on, the content starts to get weirder and weirder, and your sense of reality will surely come into question.

You actually need a mouse and keyboard to play this one, because you really are typing into database as you play. There are multiple endings and secrets to find during your playthroughs, and due to the volume of content you will be sifting through, no two playthroughs are exactly the same. The devs also did us a solid, and mentioned that a single playthrough is approximately 2 hours, so that gives you a solid sense of the time commitment on this one.

I am a sucker for narrative games where you are the character, inputting data via a fake computer screen. I mean, I worked on Hacknet and Orwell, two games that had you sifting through people’s personal files to learn more about the world. Dead Letter Dept. feels as though it was made specifically for me to lose my mind over, so that’s what I intend to be doing this week. Keen to see how this one is received.

Kromlech is hitting Early Access March 5

You probably haven’t heard of Kromlech, because let’s face it, discovery for indies in 2026 is pretty bad. Hey, that’s why this newsletter exists. I am throwing this great looking viking adventure onto your release radar because it comes from a small studio in the Czech Republic called Perun Creative, and it just so happens that one of our community members Pyxel is one of the developers over there.

These folks have been toiling away for years on this game, and it’s finally getting a release into Early Access. Give the team some support and throw it on your wishlist.

That’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

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As a result of the insane task ahead of me, I didn’t actually play many games. I am actually playing through A Link to the Past again, which has brought me a lot of comfort during these long rendering waits. I have a few games I plan to tackle this weekend, including the first game in the dispatch this week, so let’s get to it!

What came out this week?

Cairn

Developer: The Game Bakers
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

While Peak may have set the world on fire with it’s comedic take on climbing mountains, Cairn from the folks over at The Game Bakers looks to be delivering a more serious take on mountaineering.

You play as Aava, a climber who is determined to be the first to reach the summit of Mount Kami. The conditions are brutal, so as you climb you will need to manage your supplies, plan your climbing route, and survive the elements. Thankfully you will have a little friendship on the way as you meet companions, and discover the history of Mount Kami along the way.

While Peak was a very silly affair, Cairn is more akin to something like Jusant, but even further down the simulation route. You will be managing not just climbing materials, but your hunger and thirst too. What is super neat is you can climb anywhere on the mountain, so you really need to consider your options before committing to a route.

The steam page says that each wall feels like a boss fight, and considering that the developers were behind the excellent Boss battler Furi, I think they know a thing or two about creating some high tension moments. The art style is also gorgeous, and I am a sucker for this mix of realism meets robotic future vibes that they have going here. I am intrigued to learn more. I’ll see you on the summit.

THE SPIRIT LIFT

Developer: prettysmart games
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

While every third email we get these days is spruiking their version of a roguelike deckbuilder, something about THE SPIRIT LIFT really grabbed me when it landed in my inbox this week. This charming 90’s romp takes place in Lucid Falls, where eight teens have wandered off from the graduation party and discovered a magical elevator that takes them through 13 floors of nasties in the haunted Vexington Hotel.

Fights take place in the fashion that you would expect, but having three party members, each with their own items and perks does seem like an interesting prospect. There are four deck focuses to build with too, which makes me think there’s a lot of variety awaiting those who have the brains and patience to make interesting builds.

What really got me interested however was the in-between parts of THE SPIRIT LIFT. It looks like you will get to explore the hotel and search for clues and unravel a mystery while learning about the backstories of your party comp. That seems like a nice little twist to what is becoming a very well-worn genre. I am cautiously optimistic about this one, let me know how it is if you do pick it up.

Earth Must Die

Developer: Size Five Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

I have a soft spot for the ole Point-and-Click Adventure genre, and the very stylish Earth Must Die seems to be getting quite the positive reception this week. I had never heard of this one until I did a scout about on Steam, but this sci-fi comedy about an alien dictator who has sworn to wipe out Earth after the Terranoids took over his kingdom. You know, regular stuff.

Reading the Steam store page, which is all written from the perspective of the dictator, I was starting to get worried. The humour wasn’t landing for me personally, but after watching some videos and reading the Steam reviews, I think I am on board. Apparently it is very British, which we don’t often see in games so I am keen to give it a shot.

The voice cast is apparently pretty stacked with well known British comedians, but the only name I recongnized was Ben Starr, so your mileage may vary. But it’s great to see another high production value Adventure game out so soon after Dispatch dropped last year.

Roots Devour

Developer: Rewinding Games
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Roots Devour is probably the most interesting game I found this week. This is a strategic exploration game that unfolds a sprawling scenario based on how you connect cards together using twisted roots powered by an ancient god that has a thing for blood.

As you connect cards and watch the chaos unfold, you will explore four distinct regions, each with their own dark secrets to uncover. Part resource management, part deck builder, Roots Devour seems to wrap all of this up in a Lovecraftian package that seems incredibly compelling.

A very different style of game, it does remind me of The Horror Of Highbrook that was also a spooky narrative game where the story was crafted via a deck of cards. Roots Devour looks to have more gameplay and puzzles to it though, but I am very interested to see more card games try interesting new mechanics like this.

Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party?

Developer: Sting
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

I am not going to lie, I don’t fully understand what Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? Is doing, but after reading the Stream reviews it seems to have a very dedicated fan base who are praising it’s unique mashup of RPG mechanics, deck building, and strategic decisions. A virtual board game, Viractal is a procedural board which means each time you venture out alone or with friends, the flow of the game will always have something exciting to keep you on your toes.

There’s a lot of vibes in this one, like a classic Japanese franchise like Dragon Quest fell into an interactive board game or something. One Steam review says “It’s like if Mario Party, D&D, and Slay The Spire all had a baby”, and I can’t even parse in my head what that means, but I am pretty interested to check it out.

If you are unlike me and don’t want to take a punt on an unknown board game however, Steam is running their Board Game Fest right now, so you can find plenty of digital tabletop goodness that might be more your speed. For me though, I want to see what Viractal is all about.

That’s a wrap

Quickly before I sign out, things are progressing really well here on the Indie Dispatch front. Patrick is days away from finishing the logo, which I have to say, looks pretty spiffy. While he has been doing art, I have been setting up some interviews with some developers for March, which is pretty nerve wracking as I haven’t done any interviews in about two years now. I am excited though, it’s going to be fun.

I am also working on a couple of reviews for Pixels for Breakfast that you folks might be interested in. Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot which we included in the dispatch last week, and another upcoming indie game for later in Feb that I am excited to check out. The plan is to keep reviews over on Pixels so we can focus on the dispatches and interviews here, but I will start doing some indie quick looks from time to time whenever we can get that setup sorted.

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We are also trying to raise some money for server hosting costs and a few games, so if you enjoy the posts perhaps consider buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

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But why launch a new website separate from Pixels for Breakfast? The reality is that in the past few years the Indie Dispatch is the one thing that managed to get some real traction. Patrick and I are both indie game devs ourselves, and these past few years it has only become more apparent that discovery of neat indies on Steam is just an insanely brutal task. Creating a space that specifically focuses on doing that is just our way to try and help support games and teams that we are interested in.

So what can you expect to happen here at Indie Dispatch? There’s the weekly newsletter (sign up to get this in your inbox at the bottom of the post) for now, and starting April we are planning to have a developer interview once a month. These won’t always be game developers - we’re interested in talking to people working in indie development funding, sound designers, voice actors, basically everything alongside the game devs that we want to get to know better.

Longer term we are also going to do some quick look style videos of new indies that we think you should check out, and then just see what happens next. It’s a slow start that hopefully ramps up to an interesting outlet that you want to share with your friends.

Oh, and we will have a logo. Patrick is working on it as we speak. So now, let’s get to the games.

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What came out this week?

TR-49

Developer: inkle ltd }
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Kicking things off this week is the narrative deduction adventure TR-49 from Inkle, and from the jump it is immediately intriguing. You stumble upon a World War II-era machine hidden in a church basement. It begins calling your name, and asking you to find a stolen book that holds a world-changing secret.

You will be doing a lot of reading and listening in TR-49 as you scan through the computer’s archives which contain journals, letters, and obscure books. Everything is coded, and through the powers of deduction, eventually you will be able to crack the mystery.

There are very few studios that I will just drop everything and play their games, and Inkle is one of them. Their ability to weave an intriguing narrative no matter the time period or genre is second to none, and TR-49 looks to be no exception. They call out Her Story, The Return of the Obra Dinn, and The Roottrees Are Dead as inspirations, so if any of those games struck your fancy, you will want to check this out ASAP.

MIO: Memories in Orbit

Developer: Douze Dixièmes
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

If you wrapped up Silksong last year and are craving your next Metroidvania fix, I think we might have found it in MIO: Memories in Orbit. You are the titular MIO, an android who finds themselves aboard a technological ark drifting through space known as the Vessel. The AI is rogue, and Mio needs to upgrade their abilities as they explore the vast areas of this gigantic ship, rescuing robots along the way who can help shed light on what actually happened here.

Like all good Metroidvanias, you will be unlocking new abilities, finding secrets and shortcuts, and facing off against a cavalcade of bosses. MIO: Memories in Orbit has over 30 enemy types, and 15 bosses, so it sounds like there’s plenty of content in here to keep you busy.

The art and animation in the trailer pulled me in immediately. I had never heard of the studio behind it, Douze Dixièmes. Turns out they are a collective of game devs and animation experts, which explains why the art is so stunning. Their debut title Shady Part of Me also has a Very Positive rating on Steam, so it seems like this is a studio to keep an eye on.

BroomSweeper

Developer: BandsWithLegends
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

If you grew up in the 90s, chances are you spent way too much time playing Minesweeper on your parent’s PC, most likely never actually learning how to play the game, instead just looking to pass some time. Well, BroomSweeper is here to bring some Roguelike elements to the classic game, throwing you in the headquarters of TentaTech for your scheduled night shift of cleaning. You hear some strange noises from the offices as you make your rounds, and before long you are fighting against living dust bunnies, as you try to just earn a living and keep your job.

With 5 playable characters, 7 bosses to defeat, and over 100 items to help you mop up the baddies, this seems like quite a bit of fun in a Balatro kinda of fever dream way.

LORT (Early Access)

Developer: Big Distraction
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Following in the wake of Megabonk’s eye-rolling humour is LORT, a 1-8 player co-op roguelite that challenges you and your pals to create a ridiculous God Run that will be spoken throughout the realm for years to come. It’s kinda like Risk of Rain 2 but in a fantasy setting, but it seems to have some interesting mechanics going on with constructing your runs.

It seems like you can choose your quests before hand, and those choices will randomize which locations, enemies, and insane bosses you are likely to encounter. When you are on the run you are able to freely switch between swords, bows, wands, guns, and more. Build and stack powerups for your favourite combos, while also complimenting your team comp to give you the best chance to survive the encounter.

Sure, it has a lot of chatter about slapping goblins into next week, and item names such as Trophy of Swole. It’s not my favourite schtick, but it didn’t bother me in Megabonk because it featured incredible gameplay. It looks like LORT might be following the same track.

The trailer is very keen to tell you this is under $10. Might try to convince some folks in our community to join me on a quest.

Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot

Developer: Hamma Studios
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

I found this one in my Steam review queue, and I am so glad I did because Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot looks like an absolute banger. A mix of RPG, Roguelike, and auto battler, you command a group of bloodthirsty Dwarves who are chasing the glory of loot. The allure of loot is so strong that they are willing to be reckless, ready to embrace the glory of death.

Your army start small, but after each encounter you can expand your army, equip them with gear, and set your formations for the escalation that awaits ahead. That’s the main focus of the game - building up your Dwarves and making sure your formations are suitable for the battles ahead. Stacking stats won’t be enough, you will need to learn how your enemies act, and adapt accordingly.

Auto Battlers are not my thing, and I normally skip them. But the trailer was so charming, I definitely am throwing this on my wishlist.

We lost our YouTube channel

This past week Patrick and I have been spending our lunch breaks sketching out what we wanted to do with Indie Dispatch. Our notebooks are filled with ideas, and our task management board is filling up. Then at around 4PM on Tuesday one of my co-workers casually asked “hey Steve, why did you take down the Pixels for Breakfast YouTube channel?” and my heart started pounding. With no warning, and no reasoning why, 8 years of content is just gone. No way to be recovered, and like an idiot I don’t have backups of the content. The countless reviews and live streams I don’t care about so much, but interviews with Greg Kasavin, Chet Faliszek, Xalavier Nelson Jr, Thomas Hegarty, and my video essays - that stuff hurts a lot.

We will be kicking off a new YouTube account for Indie Dispatch, but this whole experience has really fueled my long-running desire to de-Google and start using a lot more open software. We just launched forums like it’s 2001 to get off of Discord, and I will be investigating the viability of using PeerTube for video content in the future, if for no reason but having some redundancy.

I wrote a thing on my personal blog about how I felt about all of this happening if you care. But yeah, a big blow that ultimately led us to launching this new site a lot earlier than we anticipated. But hey, I am choosing to look at that as a positive.

That’s a wrap!

Thanks so much for reading, and please tell some friends to subscribe! We’re trying to raise some money for server hosting and to get some more indie games to start making some video content, so if you have a dollar to spare, considering buying us a coffee. Got something that we should be playing? Let us know on the forums or shoot us an email below - we do read them!

See you next week - Steve

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So I hoarded that time. I spent most of it playing Demonschool. I think you should probably go play Demonschool. That game is rad. But I also managed to spend some time with ARC Raiders, Void Crew, and I revisited Sam & Max Save the World for the first time since it released, which was honestly such a great time.

But enough about me. Let’s take a look at what you should be playing this weekend.

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What came out this week?

Pathologic 3

Developer: Ice-Pick Lodge
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Kicking the dispatch off this week is a hardcore plague doctor immersive sim in Pathologic 3. A mysterious plague has started to spread in the town, and as the leading doctor you have just 12 days to stem the spread, and deal with the repercussions of your choices.

You will need to wander the town, assess the sick, and work out who is telling the truth and who is trying to hide their symptoms. You’ll be making difficult decisions at every turn, as you try to keep it all together while maintining your sanity.

Pathologic has always been one of those cult janky narrative stews that I’ve always wanted to jump into. I guess now could be the perfect time.

CASSETTE BOY

Developer: Wonderland Kazakiri inc.
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

CASSETTE BOY asks a pretty poignant question - does the moon cease to exist when I’m not looking? This isometric puzzle RPG has you exploring a Game Boy-esque green tinted world searching for the missing moon. The gimmick here is that you needd to rotate the world to change your perspective, and find hidden paths and items that will lead you down a winding path of adventure.

I had spotted CASSETTE BOY at BitSummit, where it took out the Grand Jury prize, so I am very excited to finally go hands on with it. The soundtrack sound perfectly cozy, and it gives me slight Fez vibes, which reminds me of a much simpler and enjoyable time.

Big Hops

Developer: Luckshot Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If you like jumping and swinging on stuff, Big Hops is a rad new 3D Platformer where you play as an adorable frog who just wants to go back home and see his family. Unfortunately they have been kidnapped by a trickster spirit who needs the young frog’s abilities to complete an important mission.

BIG HOPS is all about movement options for the player. There’s free climbing, tongue-swinging, belly slides, rail grinds, rolling, diving, crouch jumping. They say they are heavily inspired by Mario, Sonic Adventure, Breath of the Wild, and after watching the trailer I can definitely see those points of inspiration.

There are three worlds to explore, each with a self-contained story, and a fun cast of characters to hang out with. BIG HOPS looks to be a fantastic time, and after a lengthy six years of development, it really looks like Luckshot Games has put their heat and soul in this one.

Confidential Killings

Developer: BRANE, Lorenzo Boni
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

I spotted this one while browsing the Steam Detective Fest the other night, and it immediately clicked for me. Set in Hollywood, Confidential Killings throws you into a series of shocking murders that need to be solved. In the same vein as Curse of the Golden Idol, you will be sorting through evidence, case files, diagrams, and locking down a list of words that can be used to solve the case.

While Golden Idol is more a supernatural theme around a cult, Confidential Killings is going for that gritty 80’s vibe, delivered via some heavily inked comic-style panels that fit the vibes well.

I was going to pick up L.A Noire, but I might go with this one instead.

One Turn Kill

Developer: DenDen
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

Another game I spotted at events here in Japan, One Turn Kill has just released and it seems to be pretty interesting. A PvE card game where you engage in high speed battles, so fast in fact that you only have one turn to defeat your foes.

That means that OTK is all about deck control. You need to ensure that you build a deck that is going to give you the mobility and attacks you need, and it all needs to work within the 20 card deck limit.

What really interests me about this one is the short battles. I wonder how long a run is, because that is my biggest problem with Slay the Spire or Fights in Tight Spaces these days now I have a kid running around - a run takes a significant chunk of time. If this is a quick fire version of those games, I would be sold.

It took out an award at the Tokyo Indie Game Summit last year, so I will be checking this one out regardless.

That’s a wrap this week. Thanks so much for reading. As always, if you like this post please share it with a friend, or on social media if you use it. If you really want to support us, buy us a coffee to help purchase some indie games and pay our server hosting. And if we missed something that we should be playing, let us know in the comments.

See you next week!

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Rather than lament on the fact that I have yet to play a Metroid Prime game, I instead continued to dive into my recent “understanding” of the Search Action genre. I managed to devour Hollow Knight entirely, and instead of moving onto something more relaxing, I decided to give 2019’s Catholic Guilt Simulator, Balsphemous a go.

I thought Hollow Knight was a fun, sometimes a little challenging, memorable game that kept me focused but was easy enough to deal with. Blasphemous absolutely KICKED MY ASS at every turn. Often described as “2D Dark Souls”, this Search Action game centred around the Spanish Inquisition is horrendously brutal, both in theming and challenge, but I honestly could not put it down. I managed to finish it in just over a week, which for me is pretty unheard of these days, and while I definitely feel a little battered and bruised, crushing that final boss was a high I will not forget any time soon.

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But while I certainly enjoyed the flow of exploration and the challenge of Blasphemous’ combat, what really kept me here was the theme. This is one of the darkest games I have ever played, really diving into the anguish and twisted views of a certain brand of catholicism that was born out of the Spanish Golden Age. There’s a really great piece about the art of the game and the age it was inspired by on playthepast that I recommend reading for those who may be interested. Now I have to add the sequel to my wishlist, but to be honest this has now just really inspired me to play INDIKA and Pentiment to keep this thread of dark religion going.

But enough about my weird obsessions, let’s take a look at what’s waiting for you this weekend.

And what came out this week?

Flick Shot Rogues

Developer: Butter By The Fish
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store

Physicality is not something I associate with many games, especially those that are not wobbly physics based, but just one look at Flick Shot Rogues I can already feel the satisfying clunk of flicking a character into position to pull of amazing combos.

Flick Shot Rogues is a tactical Roguelike that has you chaining impressive combos on small battlefields by flicking your heroes into position. You will unlock new characters, items, talents, and even some curses on each run. When you die you’ll rack ‘em up and start again, this time more powerful than the last time.

To me, it really feels like an interactive homage to the tabletop game Flick ‘em Up! simply trading in the cowboy theme for a pirate theme, and with tonnes of exciting combos to uncover. Very excited to check this one out.

Wobbly Life

Developer: RubberBandGames
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store

After a successful Early Access period, the folks over at RubberBandGames have hit 1.0 on their sandbox physics open-world adventure, Wobbly Life. Supporting 1-4 players online or locally, this family-friendly sandbox is packed to the gills with secrets, toys, costumes, cars, and more.

Grandma has had enough! She decides to kick you out into the world, demanding that you get a job. Sounds a little boomerish to me, but that’s the premise as you squiggle around the bouncy world. What really appeals here is the online play, and with Steam Workshop support, this could be a great game for those of you with families looking for a weekend game for the next few months.

LAN Party Adventures

Developer: Pchujoy Games
Steam rating: Positive
Store

I am old, OK! I actually used to run my own LAN in my terrible country Australian town (shout out to any TAN LANners out there!) as an excuse to pull the nerds of the region together for what should have been an illegal amount of Red Bull, and a lot of Team Fortress 2 and Quake III. Immediately after seeing the beige screens in the trailer for LAN Party Adventures, I was sold.

Your friend has gone missing, but the LAN party awaits! You have to set things up, make sure all the computers have the right software installed and updated, and perhaps solve a mystery along the way. This one is only going to hit for a certain kind of reader (me for instance), but I really like the nostalgia on display here. Perhaps some of you will learn the joys of sorting out CAT5e cables and daisy chaining switches, while not tripping the circuit breakers too!

Arctic Awakening

Developer: GoldFire Studios
Steam rating: Positive
Store

Fans of Firewatch need to pay attention, because Arctic Awakening definitely has the same vibes, but set in the unforgiving Arctic circle. A narrative walking sim (I’ve always hated that term btw), your plane goes down in a snow storm leaving you stranded with a therapy drone. Before long you’ll be venturing out into the harsh conditions to find your co-pilot, and perhaps find some mysteries awaiting in the great white unknown.

The art direction is beautiful, and the vocal performances seem pretty solid here too. I am calling it now - this has SOMETHING to do with trauma. The therapy bot kinda gives that away, but it feels like it is taking a very different direction to where Firewatch went, so I am very excited to see this one unfold. They claim that there are big story moments that will effect the outcome of the narrative as a whole, so I am also interested to see how meaningful those moments are.

Easy Delivery Co.

Developer: Sam C
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store

DO YOU LIKE PS1-STYLE GAMES WITH CREEPY CHARACTERS THAT HAVE NOTHING GOING ON? That’s the sales pitch for Easy Delivery Co., a self-proclaimed “relaxing driving game with, with definitely no secrets.”

You drive around making deliveries in your cool polygonal white truck, earning a “living wage” while paying for overpriced gas and other items. You’ll also learn the town and meet with all the quirky inhabitants along the way, and may I once again remind you, there are DEFINITELY no secrets here.

This one looks like a vibe, one that I can definitely get with.

That’s a wrap!

Thanks for reading as always. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please share it with a friend. If you really enjoyed it, please consider dropping a few dollars in our Ko-FI cup.

See you next week with some new reviews, and another Indie Release Dispatch.

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I don’t like search action games. In fact, I can’t name a single Search Action game that I have enjoyed, let alone played to completion. In the continuing quest to broaden my gaming palette, I decided to really give Super Metroid a real go last year. I put in a few hours but I just could not connect in the way that so many people do. I hate backtracking in games. I also really hate being lost and not knowing where to go in real life, and I hate it doubly so in video games. Those two things are major pillars of the genre, so I guess my own anxieties are the reason why I can’t seem to gel with these types of games.

That was until Hollow Knight. 8 hours in after just beating the Mantis Lords, I can finally say I get it. I think the main reason is simply the fact that the game doesn’t present you with a functional map at first. You have to find the cartographer in the word to get your bearings, and then via your own exploration, you complete the map yourself. During those first 30 or so minutes when I had no map at all, I quickly learned to just let go, and fall down the endless maze of bug holes to explore the Forgotten Crossroads. By the time I had the map, I was no longer compelled to use it as a “where am I” tool, but rather a “where are there gaps?” tool as a propellent to fuel my need for exploration.

I am hooked. I understand why you folks love Hollow Knight now. Now I guess I am going to be jumping on that Silksong train when I roll credits on the original, and I may even branch out and try a few more of this elusive genre that everyone seems to hold near and dear to their hearts.

Anyways, enough about what I am playing. Let’s take a look at what you should be playing this week.

And what came out this week?

Hell Is Us

Developer: Rogue Factor
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If you like the idea of exploring a world that has no quest markers, no compass, and no hand holding, then Hell is Us is definitely something you should be checking out. It is a third-person action game that definitely looks like it is taking inspiration from Dark Souls in terms of its combat, but it is this weird world where a calamity has happened, the dregs of humanity have entered a civil war, and weird supernatural beings have arisen who are impervious to modern weaponry. Honestly, it seems kinda cool.

I do think there is going to be some division on this one. I am sure some will REALLY love the exploration element, how the world really feels like something that you have stumbled across, rather than a linear experience. I am sure that others will absolutely dread the idea of being dropped in the thick of things with no clear direction. I would be in that camp, but perhaps my recent revelations playing Hollow Knight means I am ready for this challenge.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Developer: Team Cherry
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

The most wishlisted game on Steam has finally been released. Eight years after the launch of the original that grew into a fan favorite, the long memed Silksong has been unleashed on the world. Despite the hefty claims from the most diehard fans, it seems to be “more Hollow Knight”, but much more refined and filled to the brim with exciting things to uncover.

This time around you play as the lethal hunter Hornet, who has been captured and taken to the fallen kingdom of Pharloom. You will have an entirely new collection of combat options, including the ability to craft tools and traps, which sounds like it will really up the ante when it comes to the challenging combat that the series is known for. Not to mention there are more than 40 bosses for you to encounter throughout the adventure.

I am sure most of you are picking this one up. I am excited to be right there with you… when I finally finish the first game of course.

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel

Developer: Games Farm/ARTillery
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Look. I am not a big fan of “it’s like X game but it does THIS”. That happens a lot, and more often than not, it seems to be the minimal effort versions of these games that make a splash. Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is like Vampire Survivors, but it is set in a Viking world, and it has an interesting set of roguelike mechanics.

Unlike the standard survivors formula, your runs will have quests and objectives to complete, and there’s a whole meta-progression element that will have you unlocking persistent buffs and upgrades that will allow you to get further next time. Make it far enough, you’ll even have to face down some rather brutal bosses in order to earn the divine blessings of the gods.

Not my kind of joint, but it does look very well made and has a pretty glowing set of Steam reviews. It had a bit of an Early Access period, and it’s v1.0 seems to be pretty strong.

JETRUNNER

Developer: Riddlebit Software
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

The Steam description of this one made me take a second look. “Trackmania meets Titanfall”. That is the dream that JETRUNNER is selling, and I am here ready for it.

JETRUNNER serves up 60+ unique arenas for you to jump, slide, wall run, and grapple hook through to be the best that ever ran. There’s a campaign mode, but the real exciting part for me would be the challenge mode, and chasing your friends on the leaderboard.

This one is probably for those sickos out there who played Neon White for months on end, holding me back as I struggled to keep up with them.

Mortal Sin

Developer: Nikola Todorovic
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

Mortal Sin is a boomer looter? OK. I don’t have a good term. But it’s chasing that dragon that the boomer shooters have been pulling off successfully, but this time in a fantasy melee combat, laced with plenty of gore. It’s all about chaining your slashes and kicks to set up gib-tastic finishers.

There are over a dozen classes, each with their own unique weapons and abilities, and a fully procedural world filled with enemies that react and try to counter your furious violent sprees. This is a solo dev project that has been getting a lot of good press during it’s Early Access period, and has finally hit that coveted 1.0

Oh, did you see our Dice Gambit review?

The extremely talented hosomeowa spent some time with Dice Gambit a few weeks ago, and was really happy with the glittering style of the tactical dice roller.

One of the biggest compliments I can pay a video game these days is that it’s coherent. It looks and moves as a whole, not like a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey come to life. Nothing about Gambit’s choices feels tacked-on or random. Everything coheres. And it was probably the highlight of my BitSummit, even if I didn't get to trap any souls.

Please go ahead and read the full review here.

That’s a wrap!

Thanks for reading as always. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please share it with a friend. If you really enjoyed it, please consider dropping a few dollars in our Ko-FI cup.

See you next week with some new reviews, and another Indie Release Dispatch.

This week my limited game time has been spent with The Drifter - a really interesting and modern take on the LucasArts brand of point-and-click adventure schtick. The dynamic menus for for using, combining, and crafting items proves that the genre still has room for innovation. But the deeply personal exploration of family, relationships, and grief - that’s the good shit that I crave. OH! And there’s some wild sci-fi future stuff going on too that’s super rad. I’ll write something up soon once I see where it takes me.

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And now let’s see what you should be looking at this weekend.

What came out this week?

Herdling

Developer: Okomotive
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

If you ever dream about escaping city life and just living in the hills herding beautiful creatures to pass your days, then Herdling is a way to try the lifestyle before you commit. Created by the folks behind the FAR series, Herdling will set you out on an alpine adventure with a herd of delightful beasts. Your job is to guide them to the summit, deal with the obstacles that litter the winding mountain paths, and perhaps unravel a mystery or two along the way.

The trailer has big “this game will make you cry energy”, and the fact that one of the marketing beats is “An emotional, wordless tale of trust, survival, and companionship during a great crossing through a fallen world”, I bet you’ll be reaching for the tissues by the time the credits roll.

The big draw here is that Panic are the publisher. These folks have a knack for finding truly interesting games. Seriously, it is criminal that you (YES, YOU READING THIS!) have not played Arco yet. Go check that out, and grab Herdling while you’re at it.

Sword of the Sea

Developer: Giant Squid
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

The movement wizards over at Giant Squid are back with another Journey-like in Sword of the Sea, a culmination of everything the studio has learned since ABZÛ, and The Pathless. Billed as an atmospheric surfing adventure, you will be surfing across the sands and waters to restore a lost ocean. Sounds like a pretty epic time.

The world is constantly flowing with pulsating waves. When I say that I’m not talking just about the water areas, the sand dunes also ripple which creates this sensory overload of constant flow state. Paired with the chilling soundtrack from Austin Wintory, it’s easy to see that this will be more of what Giant Squid are known for, but it feels like there are some mechanically interesting additions to the flow state this time around.

Oh, and it looks absolutely gorgeous.

OFF

Developer: Mortis Ghost
Steam rating: Overhwhelminly Positive
Store page

I like to consider myself pretty clued into the history of gaming, especially from the early 00’s era as that is when I started writing professionally. So when I saw that “One of the most influential RPGs of the last 20 years is finally coming to Steam.” and had no idea WTF it was, I was immediately intrigued.

OFF is a quirky classically-inspired RPG that was originally released in 2008, entirely in French. It wasn’t until 2011 that it received an officially sanctioned fan translation, and in 2013 it was the sixth most reblogged game on Tumblr. Yeah, that tumblr.

The Player controls The Batter, a man in a baseball uniform who has been sent on a mission to purify the world. You make your way through four bizarre world zones, smacking spectres and other meanies in the face with your bat, and some other very strange things. Think Earthbound or Undertale. I think we are playing in that space.

This remaster is a collaboration between the creators and Fangamer to bring an updated version of the game to modern platforms. So if you want to play a cult classic that you probably haven’t heard of, this one has a lot of devoted fans.

Stick It to the Stickman (Early Access)

Developer: Free Lives
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

Those folks over at Free Lives are back at it again after last year’s Anger Foot with Stick It to the Stickman, a physic-based brawler where you rise up the corporate ladder of bad assery to become the boss. What does the company do? They do the thing. Can you do the thing? Is the thing kicking red stickmen in the face? It sure seems that way. And it seems like so much fun.

Free Lives have an incredible track record. Broforce, Terra Nil, the aforementioned Anger Foot. With plenty of room for new additions in Early Access, this one is definitely calling for my wallet this week.

Whisper Mountain Outbreak (Early Access)

Developer: Toge Productions
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Technically this came out last week, but I haven’t seen many people talking about it and it’s SO MY JAM that I needed to share it. Whisper Mountain Outbreak is a co-op survival horror where you work with up to three friends to collect clues, explore the various locales, and find a way to escape and survive the horrofic curse unleashed upon the Mountain.

Featuring proximity voice chat, there seems to be a lot of teamwork required to survive, and while there is the room for goofiness, I am very into the idea of a heavily cooperative experience to ramp up the tension as opposed to the “friend slop” that we see in this genre often. It looks like Project Zomboid and Resident Evil mashed together with some escape room elements, and that sounds like a delightfully fun time with some friends.

There are six classes with randomized traits at the start of each run, and being in Early Access I bet there will be a suite of new things to explore with every update.

And that’s a wrap

Thanks for reading as always. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please share it with a friend. If you really enjoyed it, please consider dropping a few dollars in our Ko-FI cup.

See you next week with some new reviews, and another Indie Release Dispatch.

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But the main thing that has dominated my brain space is this competitive tabletop game called Pagan: Fate of Roanoke. This 1v1 game set in the 1800s pits a deadly Witch who is spreading secrets and deception across a town, and a Witch Hunter, who is desperately trying to gather evidence, determine the Witch’s identity, and eliminate them before they can complete the dark ritual. What unfolds across an hour is a very hectic game of cat and mouse, misinformation, and deathly decisions. It’s SUPER fun. I can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe I should start writing about board games again here. Who knows?

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But you aren’t here for board games, so let’s take a look at what you should be playing.

And What Came Out This Week?

Inkshade

Developer: Studio Vezelle
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

Playing right into my recent tabletop binge, Inkshade is a deeply mysterious turn-based tactical board game where you play against an otherworldly GM. All the pieces are carved out of wood, and the movement looks so visceral, it really is trying to capture the feeling of sitting at a chess board, but with a lot more Eldritch tentacle shit going on.

Inkshade has some roguelite elements going on. You will unlock new pieces during your run, and while the board state and challenges may change, the tactics and strategies that you learn along the way will prepare you for what comes next.

I love the concept, it leaves me filled with intrigue. But DAMN is this trailer dark, and the screenshots are too. I feel like it might cause some severe eye strain, but I am ready to give it a go regardless.

Dice Gambit

Developer: Chromatic Ink
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Tabletop and tactics fans get a treat this week with Dice Gambit, a dice-rolling RPG tactics game that has a smidge of visual novel in there to drop a well rounded experience. Your noble family is deep in debt, and it is up to you to complete quests for your rivals, grow your relationships, and manage your family bloodline to creator unlikely alliances, and powerful heirs that expand your skills as you fight to rid the city of the evil chromatic monsters.

It seems like Dice Gambit has a lot to dive into, especially with the family management aspects. You will be upgrading your skills with over 200 to unlock, mashing together passives and stats to create an everlasting legacy. Honestly, on paper it actually seems a little overwhelming, but the trailer has a vibe that is really welcoming and I love the idea so much that I hope that the onboarding is strong enough to carry a smooth brain fool like me through.

I never thought we’d see a spiritual successor to Double Fine’s generational-spanning tactics game Massive Chalice, but the folks over at Chromatic Ink have somehow delivered a very specific mash-up of interests that somehow feel precisely tailored to my needs. I love throwing a handful of dice and just seeing what happens. I feel like for some tactics fans the RNG might be a little frustrating, but this is so up my alley.

The Scouring (Early Access)

Developer: Orc Group
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If you are craving some classic Blizzard-inspired RTS action, you might want to check out The Scouring from Orc Group this weekend. This classic strategy game pits Orcs and Humans against one another in a classic battle of dominance, but The Scouring has a few interesting takes on that well-worn formula. For one, it is very focused on Steam Workshop for mods for new maps and game modes. It also features competitive multiplayer for up to 8 players, with dynamic action that will demand you adjust your play style as the situation demands it.

But the really interesting thing here, at least for me is Hero Mode. This is a separate game mode where you play as a hero unit with crazy skills as you dungeon dive, collect items, and issue commands to your army from the front lines. The RTS is happening around you, and you get to be the main character. That sounds pretty interesting to me, a fairly new RTS player, so I’m definitely excited to check it out.

Early Access means that things are a little rough around the edges, but the developers have dropped a pretty concise roadmap that doesn’t seem too crazy to complete. Big shout out to the folks over at Nextlander who mentioned this in their latest podcast. Otherwise this would have slipped by me this week.

Monster Mop Up

Developer: Terahard Ltd
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

Did you like Viscera Cleanup Detail? Do you have kids now? Monster Mop Up is the family friendly version of that game, but with a lot of nice modern extras.

Your job as a Custodian is to rescue Ragamuffins from the Human world, then mop up the evidence so that their existence remains a secret. You will be rewarded for your hard work by unlocking new high tech gear to make cleaning easier, and new items to expand and decorate your home with between the missions.

With support for up to 6 players, Monster Mop Up genuinely looks like a fun zen-like experience for a group of family and friends.

Abyssus

Developer: DoubleMoose Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

I know, there sure are a lot of co-op Roguelite FPS releasing every week, but how could I refuse the world’s first Brinepunk game a spot on this week’s list?

Abyssus puts you into the boots of a Brinehunter, a warrior tasked with exploring the ruins of a sunken civilization and dealing with the horrors that await. All of this is in the name of finding Brine, a mystical resource that powers up your weapons, and other gadgets as you become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

There’s a lot of content to plow through in Abyssus, with over 64 handcrafted levels that are then procedurally generated to create unique runs every single time. I think it’s important that they want you to know that they were first handcrafted. It makes me feel like this one might feel more intentional than other games in the genre.

Sign me up. I am ready to enter the salty Brine.

And that’s a wrap

Thanks for reading! As always, if you enjoyed it please share it with a friend. If you have a spare dollar or two, it would mean a lot to throw it into our Ko-fi cup. I am currently working on a piece about Wildgate, a game that I love dearly, but if you try and read Reddit, is already dead on the vine and doesn’t have a future. Hopefully the piece turns out ok.

Did I miss a good game this weekend? Let me know in the comments so I can check it out!

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Life, as it does for us all, threw some interesting curveballs these past two months. The good news is that we finally announced the game that I am working on at 17-BIT during Summer Games Fest, and we showcased it at BitSummit last weekend here in Kyoto, so it’s been two months of long, sweaty nights, as the team banded together to showcase our game for the first time.

AWAYSIS is a revolutionary, physics-fueled throwdown where you’ll jump, slide, and collide in a cooperative dungeon brawler with a competitive spirit. It features a full campaign for 1-4 players, with local and cross-platform online. Alongside that it also has a pretty neat PVP mode where you can beat up you pals in a variety of game modes and stages. It’s set for release early next year, and I am super excited for people to get some hands on with it later this year.

The bad news that hit us this month was that my wife was let go from her job unexpectedly while on maternity leave. A very cool development that makes me super excited that I took a pay cut to drop back into the historically stable games industry. So if you have ever considered dropping a tip into our Ko-Fi cup, now would be the time folks.

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Anyways enough about me, let’s get to the games.

And what came out this week?

Wheel World

Developer: Messhof
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Nidhogg, Nidhogg 2, and Flywrench have long been absolute favourites of mine. Many a night have been gleefully spent yelling at screens while playing the intense and memorable action that Messhof have delivered time and time again. While those games are very visceral, providing deceptively simple base mechanics that have impossible skill ceilings to create fun, the studio’s new game looks like a wild departure that seems to create a cozy but competitive cycling game in Wheel World.

Now I am a cyclist myself, so I this hits me in a particular way. Cycling mixed up with strange visuals, a beating synth soundtrack, and from one of my favourite indie developers of all time? Of course I am on board here. But even if cycling isn’t your jam, Wheel World looks to have a bright and intriguing world to explore on two wheels, blending the looks of Sable with a little Risk of Rain 2 to create some strange goth punk aesthetic mixed with some Tour de France.

While racing is a big part of the game here, you are encouraged to roam around the open world to find magnificent vistas and hidden secrets, and unlock the legendary bike parts needed to perform The Great Shift ritual that will save the world.

I am very much looking forward pedalling this one whenever I get a chance.

s.p.l.i.t

Developer: Mike Klubnika
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

A hacking game with terminals that use real commands? You folks know I worked on Hacknet right? I am basically obligated to cover this one.

s.p.l.i.t is a short narrative horror game that puts you in front of a screen as you try to cooridnate a malware attack with your IRC buddies. Featuring a fully diegetic UI interface, this looks incredibly neat and just the right level of spooky to make you question your actions if you start playing in a dark room.

The store page mentions several times that it is short, so it’s great to know that you can get it done in a weekend and have some fun.

Pile Up

Developer: Remoob
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Pile Up is a neat little city builder when you need to place and manage buildings on a small island to make beautiful and functional cities. The cool thing is you are often building upwards, which creates a fun verticality challenge as your cute bouncy cities really start to come to life. Think Dorf Romantik meets Against the Storm, with building synergies and placements that will keep your strategies changing as your city develops.

There is a surprising amount of production put into this game, which was put together by a team of highschoolers from Turkey, which is an incredible achievement. If you are looking for a chill strategic game to bring some calm this weekend, this is the one for sure.

The King Is Watching

Developer: Hypnohead
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

The King is Watching is a roguelite kingdom builder with tower defence elements where players will need to decide how they manage their resources wisely to survive the threats to their court. Do you double down on resources to power your armies and Tesla towers? Do you train a stronger army to fend off your foes? And how will you adapt your strategies to handle the unpredictable challenges that await? Oh, heavy is the head and all that I guess…

It has a charming look and looks to have quite a bit of strategic depth. If I had a guess, I would think our boy Blue from Pixels for Breakfast would be interested in this one. He just finished up marathoning his way through OMD, and he does love a good tower defence. Maybe I can ask him to write a little something about this one. There’s a demo on the Steam page if you do want to check it out before you drop some cash on this one.

Wildgate

Developer: Moonshot Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

What do you get when you start a new studio filled to the brim with ex-Blizzard developers under the stewardship of a publishing / developer house run that was founded by a former Blizzard co-founder? You get Wildgate, a competitive PvP shooter with fun characters, lots of colour, and a distinct whimsical vibe that feels very Overwatch-esque… in a good way.

The setup is that you and your crew of Prospectors are on your neat little space ship. Each round you arrive at The Reach, a procedrually-generated map that features traps, obstacles, and sweet loot for the taking. You’ll be fighting off other players while you’re at it, and the key is to actually board their ships while they are out looting and wreak havoc so that they don’t stand a chance.

Everyone is searching for The Artifact, and the first team to snatch it and get out through the Wildgate will reap the rewards. While it doesn’t say Extraction Shooter anywhere on the steam page, it sure sounds like an extraction shooter, just without the standard PvE elements. The reviews so far are glowing, and there doesn’t seem to be any kind of weird F2P stuff going on as it is a priced product, so high hopes that this one can maintain a player base and turn it into something fun and long-lasting.

And that’s a wrap

Thanks so much for reading. If you can, a tip in our Ko-Fi cup would go a long way at the moment. I’ll also happily put some of it towards Wheel Word and write up some words. Hell, who knows, maybe I could even swing a video review?

Thanks again, and if you can share the newsletter with a friend. It really does help!

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It's been a time folks. A good time. But a busy time.

I am super stoked to announce that I am a producer at 17-BIT in Kyoto. It's super strange to me that I somehow ended up here. A lifetime ago I remember playing a lot of Skulls of the Shogun on my iPad working my very boring IT support job before I was working in the games industry. I loved that game, and it kept me company during many very boring service calls across rural Australia as I waited in public nursing offices to fix computers. Fast forward a few years after that, I was playing a lot of GALAK-Z while on my lunch breaks at a then fledgling publisher Fellow Traveller, while we were working on our first games for release. I loved the movement and just good vibes of it, and at the time having a voice acted indie game was pretty rare.

I had no idea that the studio was based out here in Japan. A desperate share of my resume on Bluesky landed in the inbox of the studio heads here, and after some interviews they were gracious enough to give me a chance to join them as a producer on what is a much bigger project for the team. I am super excited to be back in games, but I am even more excited to be working with such a passionate and devoted team. I can't wait to share what we are working on when the embargoes are lifted.

But enough about me, let's take a look at the games.

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And what came out this week?

Survive the Fall

Developer: Angry Bulls Studio
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

First up this week is Survive the Fall, an open-world action survival game that has you rebuilding society and managing your settlement while scavenging for loot. Unlike most other apocalyptic games, this one doesn't centre around a zombie apocalypse. Instead a meteor strike has brought civilization to a standstill, and after a period of struggle against unpredictable climate events, it's up to you to rebuild.

Scour the world for valuable loot, manage your growing settlement, and rebuild society as you see fit. Watch out for rival settlements, and wild animals, and other baddies who are trying to stand in your way.

Seems like a neat survival game that has some good themes. The Steam reviews are pretty positive on this one, so if Project Zomboid has finally run its course for you, you might want to check this one out next.

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping

Developer: Happy Broccoli Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Despite being about a depressed and recently divorced duck, Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping looks like a mighty cozy detective game. Building on the success of Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, this 2-3 hour mystery will have you questioning suspects, finding clues, and putting everything together to "quack" the case. Get it...? Because he's a duck.

If games like Curse of the Golden Idol or Return to the Obra Dinn are a little too challenging for you, or you just want something light to pass a rainy day, this one should be at the top of your wishlist.

Monster Train 2

Developer: Shiny Shoe
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

Deckbuilders out there will be getting their tickets to board Monster Train 2 this weekend I am sure! The sequel to the highly lauded tactical card-based Roguelike has arrived, bringing with it all new game modes, new cards, enemy factions, new clans, and much more.

This time around powerful beings known as Titans have take control of Heaven. The demons and angels need to set aside their differences, creating new clans to take on these ultimate foes. Seems like a neat idea, and the gameplay of the original Monster Train was seriously addictive. This one is on Gamepass for those of you who subscribe, but if you're hankering for Slay the Spire 2 and just can't wait, this one will surely keep you entertained for quite some time.

Worshippers of Cthulhu

Developer: Crazy Goat Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If you are into city builders, you are FEASTING these days. Worshippers of Cthulhu is yet another twist on the genre, which has you building a cult township to garnish favour with the Old Ones, and to eventually cause the rise of the big ol' squiddy boi himself.

Build a city to harbour the cultists, and perform dark rituals to bring your gods to life. This one has some really, really dark themes on display, so it certainly won't be for everyone. But I can't resist a decent spin on the Cthulhu mythos,

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown

Developer: Strange Scaffold
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

Strange Scaffold have made a name for themselves making small, weird, indie games. You know, cool shit, like Clickolding, and I Am Your Beast. When they announced that their next joint was going to be a tactical take on my beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I was pretty shocked but also incredibly excited.

Adopting a tabletop board game aesthetic, this XCOMish take on the turtles has a tonne of interesting narrative crammed alongside some pretty nifty tactical gameplay. All backed by the quippy turtles, this is definitely my game of the week. Sure, it might not be an indie property, but this feels like a small and bespoke project from one of the more exciting indie teams out there at the moment, so it makes the cut.

And that's a wrap.

Thank you as always for reading. If you liked the newsletter, please share it with a friend. If you really liked it, consider dropping in a few dollars into the Ko-Fi cup. I will use that to pick up some indies and start writing a few features here and there.

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But hey, things are looking good. I think we found a place, and now we will begin the process of packing up our house and moving to Kyoto. Exciting times ahead!

Anyways, let’s look at what you should be playing this weekend while I have a long conversation with myself as I try to bring myself to throw away old tech that is taking up space before boxing up my life.

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And what came out this week?

Urban Myth Dissolution Center

Developer: Hakababunko
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If you like occult mysteries and chunky pixel art, I definitely think that Urban Myth Dissolution Center is worth a look this week. Created by a small team in Japan, this blend of visual novel meets adventure game puts you in the role of Azami Fukurai, a researcher at The Urban Myth Dissolution Center. Your job is to solve cases surrounding a variety of curse relics, inter-dimensional anomalies, and haunted rental properties. There will be plenty of characters to speak to, and you will be scouring social media posts to find your next targets.

The art is really outstanding. This kinda reminds me of a WORLD OF HORROR, but scoped out into a narrative rather than the tough-as-nails RPG that was unfolding there. It is also Steam Deck verified, so maybe I will play this whenever I have a spare moment or two.

Mind Over Magic

Developer: Sparkypants
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Colony sim enthusiasts will have a chance to build out a magic school this week, with the release of Mind Over Magic. You will need to build all the finest facilities for your students, keep your Mages inspired, and train them for combat in the dangeround Underschool that holds the key to liftting a terrible curse.

There looks to be quite a bit of meat on the bone here, as you will also be raising magical beasts alongside your students. If you dream of running your own Hogwarts someday, this one should very much be in your queue this weekend.

Door Kickers 2: Task Force North

Developer: KillHouse Games
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

If you are a fan of dudes with beards and guns, but also impeccable planning and tactics, Door Kickers 2: Task Force North is finally here for you! The long awaited sequel to the hit tactical real-time-with-pause SWAT game brings with it a new coat of paint, and a whole suite of new features that will make sure this one has legs.

Some of those new and improved featurees include multiple squads to deploy. Instead of just a single SWAT team, missions will have you deploy as the U.S Army Rangers, or the CIA for instance, each with their own playstyle. There’s a random misison generator once you kick down the doors of the 90 or so main misisons available. Steam Workshop support and a robust level editor will no doubt birth some pretty horrifying scenarios. 4 player online co-op is here too, which actually sounds like a pretty good time.

I feel like you kinda already know if this is your jam. I remember the original Door Kickers being a brutal, but ultimately rewarding tactical treat. It looks like they have ramped it up for 11 for this sequel. I am less into the “oorah” games these days, but I still might pick this one up on the Steam Deck when I get a chance.

Astral Throne

Developer: Zero Sun Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Sticking with the tactics theme, Astral Throne looks to be a throwback SRPG that is cribbing from the older Fire Emblem games. Yet not content to just bring the Fire Emblem formula to the PC, Astral Throne adds some Roguelike elements that makes it feel like a “pocket-sized SRPG campaign every run” as you make your way across the randomized overworld map.

It’s not all random encounters through. There are handcrafted pockets of story as you uncover the mystery of the curse that has spread througout the land. You will be recruting party members and making the perfect squad to vanquish your foes as you try to make your way through it.

I love the aethetic here - not quite pixel-art, not as muddy as the PSX resurgence that we are seeing a lot of, but somewhere in the middle of those two things. The writing looks pretty interesting… I mean, someone shitting their pants in your trailer has to raise a few eyebrows.

Steam reviews are looking good. I’m throwing my Game of the Week post it note on this one.

A Game About Digging A Hole

Developer: Cyberwave
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

It’s a game about digging a hole in your backyard in order to get resources to sell, to dig a bigger hole, to get more resources, to sell, and eventually maybe discover a secret.

That’s it. You dig a hole. Apparently it’s kinda theraputic, and apparently it’s a pretty good time. The price is right, so if you are looking for a potentialy meditative experience to forget what is happening in the world, this could be what you are looking for.

That’s a wrap

Due to the aforementioned packing up to move across the country, I don’t have anything cool to share this week. But hey, you should go watch Pixel for Breakfast contributor Blue’s stream. It’s a good time as he plays whatever obsession is on his mind.

If you enjoy the newsletter, please share it with a friend. We have seen quite a bit of growth lately on Substack recently, so that to all the readers there who are sharing the good word. If you are interested in reading more than just the weekly dispatch, our website also has a signup for a newsletter. The difference is that newsletter will include our conversation series, and reviews as they go live.

If you REALLY enjoy the newsletter, consider dropping a few dollars in our Ko-Fi cup to help pay for new indie games, and our server costs. And finally, come hang out with us on Discord. We just wrapped up our first Game Club, and I think after I move we can spin up another one for some fun times.

See you all next week!

So I am skipping over the usual “this is what I’ve been playing” segment because I honestly have been playing not much at all. Dabbled with some more Citizen Sleeper 2 (it is VERY good), and I am making my way through Onimusha: Warlords on the PS2. But largely this has been a week lost to the admin of life.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

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What games came out this week?

Keep Driving

Developer: YCYJ Games
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

A fun summer road trip across the country to hit up a festival in the early 2000’s sounds like a dream right about now, and that is what YCYJ Games are serving up in their management RPG about life on the open road in Keep Driving.

Your goal is to make it to the music festival on the other side of the country. How you get there… that’s up to you. Along the way you can pick up hitchhikers, complete odd jobs, explore dusty country roads, or stick to the highway. It’s totally up to you! However your choices could be the difference between having a great time at a festival, or never arriving there at all.

Keep Driving has multiple endings, taking 1-4 hours to complete which makes this sound like a really fun game to kick back with on a weekend. The vibes look incredible on this one, and I feel like this is going to scratch that “I want a strategy game but also want a narrative game… oooh you have some random elements here” thing that is going through my brain right now.

SWORN

Developer: Windwalk Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

I have been following Windwalk Games for a while now. A team formed from former League of Legends developers, I spent quite a bit of time in their debut title Enemy on Board, which was fun albeit a little basic. Seems like they are really ramping things up with their second game however, because SWORN feels like a much bigger project.

SWORN is a 1-4 player action Roguelite, that sends your party into a fallen Camelot where you will face off against corrupted members of the the fabled Knights of the Round Table, and eventually, King Arthur himself. I know that Snark and Blue have a love and understanding for the legends, whereas my expsoure was largely based on my time with Pendragon a few years ago,

The art really leaps off the screen, and that is largely thanks to the fact that the team has partnered with famed comic artist Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy, artist on B.R.P.D and many others). Sure, it maybe has a little bit of some “Hades, but co-op” juice going on, but I’m definitely not against it.

Welcome Back, Commander

Developer: S.C 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

This one actually came across my desk via Bluesky (you can follow us there too), and I just really loved the name for some reason. Turns out this is a neat little strategic tactics combat game with some randomized events and multiple endings. Military + Lovecraftian horror? Sounds pretty good to me.

You will be managing resources between combat encounters with the beasties, and there are multiple achievements to grab during your runs. Each run is apparently quite short, with an emphasis on replayability and the randomness to keep you coming back for more.

This is part of an ongoing series from this team, who have a few games under their label now. Color me curious.

FlyKnight

Developer: Wabbaboy
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

Our weekly obligatory “it’s a PSX-era art style” slot, this time we have FlyKnight, a classic dungeon crawler with a strange setup. An evil witch has performed a curse that has prevented everyone in the realm from growing wings. That’s a bit of a problem, seeing you are a fly in shining armor.

Yes… a fly. The big point here aside from the robust 2-4 player co-op, is that FlyKnight’s combat is limb-based. You will be trying to chop off arms and legs, and heads, and each weapon will need to be considered when you are facing off against the enemies that await you.

This looks kinda crazy, but in a very cool way. I need to make time for this one.

HOLE

Developer: NEGAFISH
Steam rating: Very Positive

Another game that I saw on Bluesky this week (thanks Megan Fox!) this week was HOLE from Japanese developer, NEGAFISH. Labelled as a “Casual & Hard FPS. Be careful with jam”, HOLE seems to be a lo-fi extraction shooter with short levels that ramp up the tension with jamming guns and hardcore gameplay.

I would type out some more, but I am just going to put a screenshot of the store description because… well… I think it’s perfect.

And that’s a wrap!

Nothing new or extra to report this week. However I will say that the next month or so, I may have to skip a release or two. We are gearing up for a big house move across the country, which is going to take a lot of planning and spinning of plates, and the Indie Release Dispatch may suffer as a result. I shall do my best! We will have another “convo series” piece going up next week for sure, so we won’t be entirely radio silent.

Thanks for reading as always. Feel free to join us over on Discord to talk about cool things, and perhaps make fun of our dismal choices in our Fantasy Critic league. If you really enjoyed the newsletter, please share it with a friend. If you found it super useful, consider dropping a dollar or two in our Ko-Fi cup.

Hopefully see you next week!

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This week we wrapped up our Game Club playthrough of Citizen Sleeper. I rarely visit games a second time, but coming back to Citizen Sleeper after a few years has been an absolute treat. The way it has crafted a narrative that instantly makes you feel like you are part of a community, but everyone is using you for their own gains, and still makes you feel like you are "home" is quite impressive. I think Pat from our Discord nailed it in our discussion:

It was such a good time. I learned a lot. I found some endings and stories that I missed my first time around. And now I am more than primed for the sequel!

Anyways, let's take a look at what's good this weekend!

And what games came out this week?

It was such a good time. I learned a lot. I found some endings and stories that I missed my first time around. And now I am more than primed for the sequel!

Anyways, let's take a look at what's good this weekend!

And what games came out this week?

The Headliners

Developer: KAFI
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

In the latest spin on the Lethal Company / Content Warning / let's make a game about making content genre, this week we have The Headliners arriving on Steam.

New York (or the Big Apple as locals like John from our community like to call it) is under attack by mysterious creatures. The only way to inform the public is to fly into the hotzone, getting all those delicious scoops and reporting them to the news networks.

The standard 1-4 co-op adventure with laughs and mystery awaits. This actually looks like a lot of fun, and I am infinitely jealous of every one of you lovely readers who gets a chance to play this. No way I can make time for these kind of shenanigans right now.

Kiosk

Developer: Vivi
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Keeping on with the horror vibe, Kiosk is a neat little "serve-em-up" that mixes the pressures of Overcooked with a weird horror experience. You are a night shift worker at a small food kiosk. Your boss has vanished mysteriously without a trace, and during your shift weird stuff starts to happen. Piece together the clues and find out what happened, all while cooking bacon and eggies for the hungry masses who visit you in the middle of the night. Oh, and why is it always raining?

Keen to see where this one goes. It has a Story Mode, and Endless Mode with online leaderboards, and a Relax mode. I might make use of that third option during the late night shifts.

Eternal Strands

Developer: Yellow Brick Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If climbing beasts is your jam, then you might want to put Eternal Strands on your radar. This beautiful fantasy action game is the debut title from Yellow Brick Games based out of Canada, founded by industry veterans. That probably means that they got some funding because DAMN does this game look like a AA joint.

The ideas on display here are pretty cool too. The combat is based around using powerful magic and parts of the world as your weapon. Heat and fire spreads, and ice chills and immobilizes foes, and you can hurl environmental hazards at your foes using telekinesis.
The big example they show is climbing onto a dragon mid-flight, and freezing it's wings so it crashes down into a ball of pain. That's super neat. Oh, and you can climb beasties, just like Shadow of the Colossus (I assume, I have never played it).

This is unexpected, and looks really great. I hope this is a win for the new studio. We need more games playing in this AA space.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

Developer: Jump Over The Age
Steam rating: N/A
Store Page

Quick disclaimer - I used to work at Fellow Traveller, and I did work on Jump Over The Age's first release, In Other Waters. However that was years ago, and when a game is just this good, I can't not recommend it, you know?!

You saw above that we did a Game Club playthrough of the original, and tomorrow Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is launching on all platforms, including Game Pass. What you will find here is more of the same incredible writing, but almost everything else about the game is transformative in a good way.

The mechanics are still the same. Each day (called a Cycle) you roll some dice, and you can then assign them to do different tasks. Unlike the first game, you are not locked down to a single hub area. In Starward Vector you will be flying around the stars, visiting new stations, and taking on new contracts as your ragtag crew fight to make their way in this harsh existence.

Yeah, you have a crew this time! They bring with them special skillsets, and it is a super dynamic addition to the gameplay that I have been enjoying a lot. The game is also harder, with more consequences, which forces you to be more strategic with your choices. If you're just here for the story though, don't worry, there's a difficulty setting for that.

I'm only a few hours in, but after just finishing the original again I can safely say that Citizen Sleeper felt like the beginner's guide to a single-player tabletop RPG. It had all the building blocks, and it kept it simple to ease you into the mechanics and intricacies of the world. Citizen Sleeper 2 feels like the GM just bought the core rule book and some of the expansions and is throwing new things at you thick and fast, and I love it. If you missed the first game don't worry, the sequel is a self-contained story. I highly recommend picking this one up if you are into narrative, or sci-fi at all!

Whispers of the Eyeless (Early Access)

Developer: Venris, Evil Gingerbread Studio
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

Coming from a team that has created a bunch of Total War: Warhammer mods is Whispers of the Eyeless, a strategy RPG where you are raising a cult in the bowels of a crumbling city. As you gain followers in the name of Wrath, Desire, or Madness, your cult will amass unspeakable powers that will help face the darkness of the city.

It has a strong Darkest Dungeon vibe, but with a lot more culty-madness rather than straight up Lovecraftian influence. The devs claim that there are various play styles that will allow you to either focus on the building and management aspect if that's more your jam, or creating powerful teams to venture out and tackle the darkness. It seems pretty promising, and has earned a spot on my wishlist for when I am feeling like something a little more strategic.

Adam Boyes talks about the future of the industry

I listen to the Jeff Gerstmann Show every week, and while I can totally appreciate why some folks may not tune in to what is usually a solo podcast, I find his measured cynicism towards the industry to be just the right amount. This week he had former PlayStation Indie boss Adam Boyes on the show, who is currently spinning up a new consultancy looking to combat the trash fire that is the AAA space right now.

Obviously he is trying to sell his takes on the new consultancy, but he has A LOT of great takes about how we got here, and why it is a problem. There are so many misconceptions about how we "fix" the industry from armchair developers, and a lot of them are bad. I am not saying I have all the answers, but I do know that it is not as easy as piling up more live service fodder for the graveyards, or cancelling Fortnite or whatever. Anyways too many good moments to pinpoint, so just give the whole show a listen when you get a chance.

That's a wrap

Thanks as always to everyone who read the newsletter. If you liked it, please share it with someone else. If you REALLY liked it, consider dropping a few dollars into our Ko-Fi cup. There's a chance that I might not be able to get a dispatch out next week, but we will have a conversation piece hitting so if I can't make the dispatch happen, I will send that out to the Substack feed instead.

Stay safe, and see you next week!

I played waaaay too much Towerfall on the Ouya (yes, I had one. Yes, it was a massive disappointment). I played through Celeste with great delight last year and fell in love with its tight platforming. Earthblade looked like it would be a cool new release from an accomplished team, but it seems that some IP disputes and internal fighting has seen everyone walk away from the project.

That kinda sucks, but the real tragedy is the knock I am going to take in our Fantasy Critic competition on Discord.

Anyways, let’s look at games that are actually out.

And what came out this week?

Into the Emberlands

Developer: Tiny Roar
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Cozy Roguelite explore-’em-up Emeberlands hits 1.0 this week after a steady Early Access period. As the chosen Lightbearer, you must venture out into the dangerous miasma and rescue the villagers who are lost in the darkness, while also collecting resources to rebuild your village.

The problem is that your magical ember-burning lantern is not infinite, so if you run out of light while out there exploring, the mysteries of the darkness will swallow you whole. This one has a great art style and looks to be a mix of city builder and Roguelite-combat which could be a good time.

Mika and The Witch’s Mountain

Developer: Chibig, Nukefist
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Keeping with our cozy vibes this week, legally distinct Kiki’s Delivery Service fantasy adventure game, Mika and the Witch’s Mountain has soared through the skies to deliver a lovely coming of age story to your platform of choice.

You are a witch who delivers packages. You explore the island and probably learn a lot about the townsfolk. And the island is beautiful, and reminds me so much of Windwaker. Need I say more?

I don’t have time for it this week, but I have added this to my wishlist for when I want something to just relax with.

ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist

Developer: Adglobe, Live Wire
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store page

I’ve long heard that ENDER LILIES is one of the better indie Search Action games out there, and now it seems that a sequel has just dropped immediately to rave community reviews.

Taking place decades after the original, ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist throws you into the Kingdom that has been decimated. You must work with the Homunculi and the humans in order to save them all, as you explore colossal factories, secret laboratories, and abandoned cities.

The animation on this one is super striking, and if you’re into this kind of chibi/anime style, it’s probably one for you.

Settlements Rising

Developer: The Catalyst Crew
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

If Manor Lords 3D space was too much for you to manage, perhaps this weekend you might want to sit down with a cup of coffee and give Settlements Rising a go. This classic isometric city management game has you building a medieval colony, with a focus on villager professions.

The simulation side has villagers moving through life from birth to death, as they get education, professions, and skill up with knowledge and traits. They also have hunger, wants, needs, and all the other good stuff that will keep you frantically clicking around the screen for hours.

It also has an enhancement card system which can be played once off to greatly increase aspects of your colony. It’s a pretty cool system that has a lot of variety.

This one was in Early Access for a short stint, but was running a lot of updates so I suspect that there will be more additions over the coming months.

IDUN - Frontline Survival

Developer: IDUN Interactive
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Billed as a “defense-based RTS”, IDUN - Frontline Survival is a tower defense game where the turrets can move around at will. Your job is to mine some valuable resources and get out of there, holding off waves of space bugs that are just a little overwhelming to look at.

It’s a Rogue-lite experience, so there are tonnes of upgrades and things to unlock for your subsequent extraction attempts. This comes from a small team of ex-Battlefield developers and while the humor doesn’t work for me in the trailer, I definitely like the fun art style and just vibe of it all.

Maybe after I finish Kunitsu-Gami I will graduate to this as my foray into tower defense.

How does the Switch 2 fit into the landcape in 2025?

Continuing our new Convo series, Blue and I had a bit of a chat about the Nintendo Switch 2, and how it potentially faces competition this time around, where it was an unexpected entry last time.

Sure, I will play the hell out of some Mario Kart. 3D platformer Mario? Yes please! Splatoon 4 will surely come and I will be there on day one. But will I play Slay the Spire 2 on it? Probably not. The games are cheaper on Steam. I can take them with me now, albeit not as easily, but now that extra WOW factor of the Switch is kinda a little less of a selling point. Even if I didn't have Steam Deck, we are seeing a glut of handheld gaming PCs from major manufacturers like ROG, Asus, MSI, and a bunch of the Chinese market are breaking in too.

You can read the piece over here.

We hit 100 subscribers on Substack! 🥳

Ok so if you are reading this on pxls.jp this might seem weird, but I also post the Indie Release Dispatch (almost) every week on Substack. We just got the email yesterday that we finally hit 100 subscribers! Thank you, each and every one of you beautiful readers.

“Wait, there’s a website?” Substackers might be asking. Yep, we also have pxls.jp where you can subscribe to the newsletter there too. Why would you want to do that? Because all of the Pixels for Breakfast content is mailed out as it goes live. Reviews, video essays, convo pieces, all in your inbox. Why did we split it like this? Some people are only interested in the Indie Release Dispatch, and we’ve been running an online site since like 2011, we aren’t going to stop now!

And that’s a wrap

Thanks for reading! Share it with a friend if you liked what we had to say. If you want to help support us with new indie games and to pay for our email and server hosting, consider dropping a few dollars into our Ko-Fi cups. Big shout out to Andysaurus who dropped a donation last week, appreciate it my good friend!

We’ll see you next week!

The big question I am now asking myself however is, do I need to play the new Mario Kart on day one? Probably not. When the original Switch was released, the drive to buy it was having this great portable gaming system that could be docked. I could play massive adventures from Nintendo, but also carry around my favorite indies to and from the office, and play them however I liked. That was super appealing back in 2017, but in 2025… maybe not so much?

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I work from home now. I rarely leave the house. But I also have a Steam Deck that plays all of my AAA and indie games, and also docks to my TV. The Switch 2 is not going to be bringing anything new to the table outside of Nintendo’s first-party offering, which is kinda working in my favour. I can sit back and wait for a new 3D Mario, or Splatoon, and then take the plunge. I say this now, but chances are I will regret this line of thinking and want to grab myself one as soon as possible because, well, because I am a tragic early adopter.

And the smile from my face at 4AM was wiped clean off when I woke back up around 7AM to find out that David Lynch had passed away. Even if you were not a huge fan of his work, his unique command of surrealist storytelling has had a huge impact on games. Alan Wake is essentially a love letter to Twin Peaks, not to mention Deadly Premoniton from the weirdly wonderful Swery65. Time for me to begin the bi-annual rewatch of Twin Peaks I guess.

And what games came out this week?

Age of Darkness: Final Stand

Developer: PlaySide
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

The folks over at PlaySide have been working on Age of Darkness: Final Stand for a while now, and after a stint in Early Access it has reached 1.0 this week. If you liked They Are Billions, then you may want to pay attention to this one.

A dark fantasy survival RTS where you need to build up defenses and hold off the hordes in the darkness. There’s a single-player campaign for those solo commanders, but co-op multiplayer seems to be the big draw from my perspective. Oh, and the game can render over 70,000 enemies on screen at once… so I guess it’s going to feel pretty dire at times.

The Roottrees are Dead

Developer: Robin Ward
Steam rating: Positive
Store page

Okay, so it looks like this one started out as a free detective game on itch.io a while ago, but has since had an extra layer of polish and an entirely new mystery added for this week’s Steam release. It’s 1998. A private jet carrying the filthy rich Roottree family crashes, leaving their fortune to be distributed to their blood relatives. That’s the problem. Where there’s money, there’s dodgy “family” members who come out of the woodwork. You need to work out the family tree and see that their wealth is given away fairly.

Kick the dial-up modem into high gear as you scour the net for evidence to see who are the true beneficiaries. As you start to fill out the evidence, it will become harder and harder to solve as the connections become more blurred and convoluted.

I am super into this whole detective / deduction genre. While this doesn’t look super polished like Curse of the Golden Idol, it seems to have the DNA that I am looking for, so onto the wishlist it goes.

Heroes of Hammerwatch II

Developer: Crackshell
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Weirdly I mentioned Heroes of Hammerwatch in a piece on the site earlier this week, and a few days later Mesmaa on our Discord messaged me to let me know that the sequel has arrived. I didn’t even know there was one in the works!

If you haven’t played the original, Heroes of Hammerwatch is a top-down pixel ARPG mixed with a Roguelite where you dive into the dungeons, get loot, and try to complete a run. Some gear and stats are permanent, which will set you up for success on subsequent runs. The dungeons themselves are randomly generated too, which keeps things interesting. There’s a whole mechanic where you rebuild and upgrade your town to unlock new starting gear and character upgrades, and that seems to have been expanded meaningfully here in the sequel.

The real fun is the 4-player co-op which just makes the runs utterly ridiculous as various skills and spells are bouncing off the walls every few seconds. That’s my favourite way to play Heroes of Hammerwatch, and I can’t wait to get that fix again in a brand new adventure.

Clear your schedules Blue and Snark!

Age of Water

Developer: Three Whales Studio
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

If Skull and Bones didn’t scratch that itch for you last year, you may want to check out Age of Water which has rolled out their v1.0 update this week. This is an online PvP/PvE crafting survival game on the high seas, where you build and upgrade ships made out of discarded parts and explore the sunken depths of cities that have been swallowed up whole by the ocean.

It has a pretty neat art style that strikes the line between Fortnite-chiq and rusty apocalyptic grunge. It’s been out for a while on consoles and Steam in Early Access but I have never heard of this one. Reviews seem pretty positive, and the thought of grabbing some friends and doing some scavenging does sound like a pretty good time.

Blade Chimera

Developer: Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

Cyberpunk meets the ocult in Blade Chimera, a search action game set in a demon-infested Osaka as you try to uncover the truth about your shrouded past.

I am typically not a fan of the genre, but there is something about the weighty movement of the demon hunter Shin that is super appealing. The crunchy art too, it just really calls my name a bit. 2024 was the year I got into JRPGs, maybe 2025 I can finally embrace the Search Action genre?

Metroidvania aficianados, please report back to me your thoughts on this one!

The joy of hidden gems in your backlog

This week Blue and I started a new series. Due to my working schedule and being a new dad, our plans to bring back the podcast for real this year were kinda put on the back burner. That’s when I was inspired by the letter series over on Remap Radio, and I thought that Blue and I could try our hand at turning some of what would normally be podcast conversations, into some longer form writing.

Our first is something I am sure many of you can relate to - the drive to buy new games, the ever growing backlog, and whether you find gems waiting for you years after the fact. Here’s an excerpt from Blue.

The impulsive urge to buy a new game gets fewer and further in between for me these days. And I think the reasoning for that is pretty simple; I am more in tune with what I want out of games and what marketing chooses to showcase than ever before. I think the adage "don't judge a book by its cover" is often slightly misconstrued. Media literacy involves knowing how to look at the way a product presents itself to get an initial idea of what experience is waiting for you if you take the plunge. The final judgement should be delayed until after you've dived in, but covers and trailers are how we decide what to give a chance in the first place.

You can read the piece here. Ko-Fi subscribers will get access to these letter series a few days early, and have a chance to ask their own questions to be considered for future editions.

We are doing a Citizen Sleeper Game Club!

I keep mentioning the Discord, but I really do think it’s a great little community we have going there. J mentioned that they were wanting to play Citizen Sleeper, and a few other folks also had it on their backlog. So we decided to make it a thing! We are going to collectively play and discuss Citizen Sleeper, aiming to finish it by the end of Feb and be ready for the sequel!

So if you want to talk about all things Citizen Sleeper, or want to play along with us, join the thread on our discussion section.

A very good Batman Forever: The Arcade Game speed run

Blue is very into the AGDQ. I know next to nothing about AGDQ. But he and Snark were posting constantly on Discord and they were very excited about people playing games, I assume, very quickly. So I am going to throw this one over to him!

Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2025 has just passed us by. For those unfamiliar, this is a weeklong 24 hour charity event that raises money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Think of it as the modern day telethon that managed to raise over 2.5 million USD. In a herculean effort of scheduling, hundreds of speedrunners go up on stage on the twitch stream to perform runs for the viewing audience. Interested in a taste of what this looks like? Each run is uploaded to the gamesdonequick youtube channel as individual videos, but if you're interested in one of the zanier games on display check out this run of Batman Forever: The Arcade Game by LRock617. It's a fast paced beat 'em up based on the movie of the same name. It's full of high energy roars from the commentators and audience, and chock full of "what am I watching?" moments.

That’s all folks!

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