Hey there! Welcome to our weekly indie games roundup. We’ve got lots to get through this time, including some news before we highlight some brand-new games you can play right now.
Indie journal publisher Lost in Cult is moving into physical game releases with a label called Editions. The focus here is on preservation — all of the games that it releases will be available to play offline, with no updates required. Physical game preservation team Does it Play? is playtesting each release. There are premium, limited-edition versions of each game with a slipcase cover, essay booklet, poster and more, as well as retail copies.
There will be new releases every month, and the first batch includes a couple of humdingers: Immortality and Thank Goodness You’re Here. The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow, a point-and-click folk horror game rounds out the trio of debut titles. Really looking forward to seeing where Editions goes from here.
The latest Six One Indie showcase took place this week. I’ve mentioned a game or two that was featured in it below (Game Informer has a list of all the announcements), but I just want to call out a couple of things here.
The score for 1000xResist, one of the best-received games of 2024, is getting a vinyl release in October. Pre-orders are open now. Also, the game that closed out the show has somehow flown under my radar. Dinoblade is an upcoming hack-and-slash action RPG that puts big blades in the jaws of big dinosaurs. Hell yeah. Meanwhile, the folks behind the showcase have set up their own publishing label, Six One Indie Publishing.
We’ve got a ton of other gaming showcases coming up over the next few weeks as Summer Game Fest bobbles on the horizon. Fans of brainteasers may want to catch the Thinky Direct showcase from the Thinky Games community. The hour-long stream starts on May 29 at 1PM ET (just as the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase begins on Steam) It will focus on, you guessed it, puzzle games and other titles that should give your brain a workout. You’ll be able to watch the stream on YouTube.
Meanwhile, a fun showcase of spy games just premiered. The 25-minute video highlights games across several genres that are largely about snoopin’ and sneakin’. All of them, including a bundle of the I Expect You To Die VR trilogy, are featured in the Spy Video Game Rendezvous festival on Steam.
New releases
Deliver At All Costs was among this week’s newcomers. It’s an action game in which you play a courier in the ’50s. As the name suggests, your primary goal is to deliver your cargo, no matter what. Reviews are mixed for this one but, hey, it’s free on the Epic Games Store until 11AM ET on May 29. You can also get it on Steam for 10 percent off the regular price of $30 for the time being. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Speaking of vehicle-oriented destruction, it can be a chore to get the first few Grand Theft Auto games running on modern hardware. I live for chaos and Maniac, from Transhuman Design and publisher Skystone Games, reminds me a bit of those early, top-down GTA entries (which were made in my hometown, fact fans). It’s out now on Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, a little over a year after debuting on Steam. I can’t promise it’ll tide you over for a year until GTA 6 drops, but Maniac will run you just five bucks.
Lynked: Banner of the Spark is a co-op action RPG that just came out of early access on Steam and landed on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. With its colorful visuals, it reminds me a bit of Hi-Fi Rush, aesthetically. There’s a town-building aspect to this as well. I didn’t get around to digging into the game during early access. Reviews have been pretty solid so far, though, so I’m hoping to try out Lynked (from FuzzyBot and publisher Dreamhaven) soon.
A few seconds into the latest trailer for Tales of Seikyu, I spotted a centaur, which was enough to catch my attention. This yokai fantasy life sim from ACE Entertainment and Fireshine Games is out now in early access on Steam. You can morph into other forms (including a slime!) to help with navigation and combat in this one. Centaurs and slimes, what’s not to love?
Here’s one for the turn-based strategy/history enthusiasts out there. Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution (the debut game from Studio Imugi) sees you take control of units like a giant commandant mech in a battle for the future of France. Expect some political intrigue from this one, which is out now on Steam early access.
Upcoming
Chrono Odyssey has picked up plenty of momentum, as more than 400,000 people have already signed up to try it out. The horror-tinged, open-world MMORPG from Kakao Games and Chrono Studio will have a closed beta on Steam next month. It’s also set to be featured at the Summer Game Fest Live showcase on June 6. The latest trailer looks deliciously creepy.
Any game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi is worth paying attention to. Even more so when publisher Annapurna Interactive is on board. And when it’s a game that has a “call unicycle” button, I’m triple sold. Life-sim To a T tells the story of a teenager whose body gets stuck in a T-pose, with their arms stuck out to the sides. Thankfully, they have a cute pup who helps them actually do things. A delightful demo is out now on Steam, and the game will hit PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 28. This one will be available day one on Game Pass.
We’ve mentioned The Wandering Village a few times over the years and the game is finally coming out of early access on Steam on July 17. It’ll also hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on the same day. This is a city-building sim that takes place on the back of a giant creature.
I do enjoy the voxel destruction of sandbox heist game Teardown. So I was happy to hear that Tuxedo Labs and Coffee Stain are set to release another expansion next month. This time, we’re going to space, as all great franchises (i.e the Leprechaun movies) eventually do. The Greenwash Gambit DLC will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on June 24. It’ll cost $8, but owners of the season pass and ultimate edition will get access at no extra cost.
Artis Impact’s pretty pixel art made an immediate impression on me during the Six One Indie showcase. It took Malaysian solo developer Mas four years to make this cozy RPG, which is “set in a decaying world ruled by rogue AI.” Although the game has a main, linear main path, there are side quests, hidden interactions and random events to experience. A demo for Artis Impact is out now, and the full game is coming to Steam on August 7.
