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🔗Join the Gaming Club here: Good Game Lobby Discord

Wishlist XP | KAZ, Mysarium: Cozy Lo-fi Terrarium, D-topia

The trailer for KAZ is chaotic, and the developer was quite funny at one of the latest showcases for the game. It’s why I wanted to share the game, beyond the addicting-looking roguelike gameplay.

Dopamine-fueled minimalist grid-based game that pushes the boundaries of psychedelic visuals and fast reaction time. KAZ is an action roguelike arcade game where choice of items, buffs, and maluses allows you to unlock cool visuals and themes while showing everybody your skill on the leaderboards

🎮 KAZ on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 13th 2026

When it comes to Mysarium: Cozy Lo-fi Terrarium, I know I will most likely not play the game. It’s not so much my genre of game, but look at how cute this game looks. Okay, maybe I will play it.

Mysarium: Cozy Lo-fi Terrarium is a game designed to be your idle companion during your moments of focus. Compose and decorate a unique terrarium while you relax to lofi music. Gamify your workflow with Pomodoro sessions, unlock secret characters, and reveal hidden stories.

🎮 Mysarium: Cozy Lo-fi Terrarium on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 13th 2026

I played the demo for D-topia during Steam Next Fest, and I loved it. The visuals are minimalist and clean until you realize something darker lies beneath this polished world. Puzzle-solving gameplay and an eerie world hidden with secrets—I am intrigued.

Step into the world of D-topia in this gentle-paced puzzle adventure. In D-topia, life is curated by artificial intelligence to maximize happiness. As the newest Facilitator, it’s up to you to solve puzzles to keep the D-topia residents happy and the facility running.

🎮 D-topia on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 14th 2026

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Quest Vibes | Virtue and a Sledgehammer False Awakening (Demo Soundtrack EP) | fingerspit

I like that we received an EP for the Virtue and a Sledgehammer demo release. This is a great way to share more with fans. It does not disappoint, and I am very excited to check out the demo! Its dark, synth-filled vibe is hitting the spot.

🎵 fingerspit | Virtue and a Sledgehammer False Awakening (Demo Soundtrack EP)
🎮 Virtue and a Sledgehammer on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

Quest Loot | Phonopolis (Original Game Soundtrack) Vinyl | Floex

A few weeks ago, I shared the soundtrack for Phonopolis, which I adore. That is why I am back now sharing the vinyl release, which shares the same art style I have grown to love on a white and red record.

Everything included:

• Massive 332 gr kraftpak gatefold cover

• 2LP on 180 gr opaque red & white vinyl

• 7”EP 45rpm flexi disc with exclusive track ‘Ráchel’s Aria’

• Three large-scale 30 x 30 cm art prints by Eva Marková

• Download coupon to download the FLAC version of the album

• Pressed by Schallplattenfabrik Pallas in Diepholz, Germany

You can get it directly on Floex’s Bandcamp page using the link below.

🏪 Floex | Phonopolis (Original Game Soundtrack)
🎮 Phonopolis on Steam (out now)

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Gaming Club | Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Want to play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here. We chat about what we are playing, watching, share pet pics, and I share all my greasy food pictures, the Gaming Club picks, and more with a cozy group of gamers.

🎮 Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on Steam

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Gaming Club | Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Big Walk, and Firewatch

Every three months, my Discord Gaming Club comes together to nominate games, vote on them, and choose what to play going forward. Here are the next three games!

• July - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective—67% off on Steam

• August - Big Walk—out August 4th

• September - Firewatch—80% off on Steam

The best part is Steam’s Summer Sale is running right now; each game is on sale, except Big Walk, which releases on August 4th. First time we will play a new release. I am very excited. Here are the three game trailers and details.

🔗Join the Gaming Club here: Good Game Lobby Discord

This is by no means my type of game, and what I enjoy most about Gaming Club is getting everyone to try out something they wouldn’t typically play. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective had been nominated throughout the year by a community member and fellow Substacker ! Dreams do come true haha I am excited to start the game and see what all the hype is about. It’s also been recommended by my best friends for YEARS. It’s about time!

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, the classic puzzle-solving mystery adventure directed by Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi, is back! This long-awaited HD remaster features upgraded visuals and sound and new gallery content.

🎮 Save 67% on Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on Steam

The spread of friendsslop games is getting a much-needed dose of silly mixed with gorgeous visuals. Big Walk looks like it will not only be a great multiplayer game, but also hints at secrets that will keep you engaged and coming back for more.

Hang out and get lost with close friends in a big world. A cooperative online walker-talker from the creators of Untitled Goose Game.

🎮 Big Walk on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | August 4th

At the time Firewatch was released, I didn’t have a pc or console. What I did have was a MacBook Pro, and I couldn’t believe a game was being released for it. To my shock, Firewatch ended up being one of my first true dives into indie gaming, and I couldn’t have picked a better game. Firewatch blends great storytelling and voice acting for a movie-esque experience. Thanks to Panic for starting to publish games on Mac, I was instantly inspired to grab Untitled Goose Game as soon as it launched, and now it’s come full circle with Big Walk, which you can check out above.

Welcome to the Bugscraper. In this solo or co-op roguelike shooter, battle floor after floor of enemies, aim for the top and settle the score with your tyrannical boss.

🎮 Save 80% on Firewatch on Steam

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Quest Vibes | Ghost Trick Phantom Detective Album by Capcom Sound Team

From now on, I will highlight each month’s Gaming Club picks soundtrack in the first week. That way, those in the Discord and following along can fully immerse themselves in the experience. This month is Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, which is led by Masakazu Sugimori, who also worked on Viewtiful Joe and Ace Attorney.

I hate Spotify, but it’s the only place I can share a stream of the game. :(

🎵 Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Original Soundtrack

Quest Loot | PlayStation Stops Physical Disc Production in 2028

If you haven’t already heard, because you are living under a pile of physical games, Sony has shared that as of 2028, they will no longer produce physical discs for games. This is by no means a shock to me at all. I am almost 95% digital for my games, but I started to dip into physical for deluxe editions of my favorite indie games I reviewed. I am also thinking that is when they will unveil the PS6, and this is them getting ahead of the “WHERE IS THE DISC DRIVE?” questions.

Play Moore

I Bought the PS5 with a Disc Drive on Purpose

Jesus wept…

Read more

12 days ago · 17 likes · Evan C. Moore

wrote up a great take on it you can read above. We all have an opinion on this, but unfortunately, regardless of pushback, they will not change course. So, for the time being, buy indie games physically.

You have many outlets making fantastic editions of physical indie games from Lost in Cult, Fangamer, and Iam8Bit. Here are a few examples:

🏪 iam8bit | Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth

🏪 Lost in Cult | Promise Mascot Agency: EDITION

🏪 Fangamer | TUNIC for PlayStation 4

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Gaming Club | Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Want to play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here. We chat about what we are playing, watching, share pet pics, and I share all my greasy food pictures, the Gaming Club picks, and more with a cozy group of gamers.

🎮 Save 67% on Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on Steam

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It’s summer in Sweden. It’s hot. I am outside a lot. This week is a short one!

Wishlist XP | Bugscraper

Bugscraper is a roguelike shooter platformer! It looks and feels like a ton of fun with wonky mechanics and great pixel art. It’s coming in a few days!

Welcome to the Bugscraper. In this solo or co-op roguelike shooter, battle floor after floor of enemies, aim for the top and settle the score with your tyrannical boss.

🎮 Bugscraper on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | June 30th, 2026 (demo available)

Crowdfunding Checkpoint | A Fighter’s Nova: Mindara

A Fighter’s Nova: Mindara is one part JRPG and one part fighting game. This is a genre I’ve never heard of and it looks like a ton of action-packed fun. It just reached its goal with only 6 days left. Support indie games!

🎮 A Fighter’s Nova: Mindara| Kickstarter

Quest Vibes | Deer & Boy (Original Game Soundtrack) | Corentin Brasart

I recently played the demo for Deer & Boy, and it didnt 100% click. At the end of the demo, they have this trailer that shows where the characters will head to in this world, and it gave me enough to come back to it. Unfortunately, my key never arrived, haha! So, we will have to settle for this beautiful soundtrack. :)

🎵 Deer & Boy (Original Game Soundtrack) | Corentin Brasart

Quest Loot | Mina Plush - Fangamer

Sonic the Hedgehog was one of my favorites growing up. I was a lucky kid in that I had a Super Nintendo and also had a Sega Genesis. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was my most-played game, and to see this 35th Anniversary version with a legitimate playable cartridge is beyond exciting.

• Playable Sega Genesis-Compatible Cartridge*

• Translucent Two Tail Amber Cartridge Shell

• Nostalgic Orange Clamshell Packaging with Premium Foil Embellishments

• Full-Color, Premium Instruction Booklet with Restored Artwork and All-New Foreword

• Retro Pack-In Surprises

• Custom Package Design and Restoration by Jango Snow Art & Design

• 1 in 8 cartridges infused with Chaos Emerald energy

• Manufacturing by Retrotainment Games

• Maximum two per customer

🏪 iam8bit | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 35th Anniversary Legacy Cartridge

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Gaming Club | TUNIC JUNE 2026

Want to play TUNIC? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here. We chat about what we are playing, watching, the Gaming Club picks, and more with a cozy group of gamers.

🎮 TUNIC on Steam

We are voting on the next 3 months’ games now. Voting ends tonight at Midnight!

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Wishlist XP | Steam Next Fest June 2026

We’ve been blessed with another amazing group of game demos for Steam Next Fest. I have many more demos to play, but here are the few I had a chance to check out and loved!

Well Dweller shot up to my #1 spot for demos. I was obsessed with 2024’s Crypt Custodian, and Kyle is back again with a stellar metroidvania that has a gripping story and promises a ton of new gameplay mechanics. Also, the soundtrack is a banger.

Well Dweller is a dark fairy-tale metroidvania, full of charming characters living in a wretched kingdom. Play as Glimmer - a tiny bird armed with a matchstick - who must burn the wicked queen to save his family.

🎮 Well Dweller on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026 (demo out now)

Screenbound is a game that, at first glance, didn’t feel like it would make sense. Mixing 2D Gameboy directly into a 3D platforming world shouldn’t work, but it does, and it’s one of the most inventive games I’ve played this year. Just ask who watched me stream it. Our minds were consistently blown.

Screenbound lets you discover a dual reality through the Qboy! Navigate challenging puzzles and battle through multiple levels in a blend of 2D and 3D platforming that creates the world’s first '5D' platformer.

🎮 Screenbound on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | September 10th, 2026 (demo out now)

I don’t want to jinx it, but Annapurna Interactive can do no wrong. Every single game they publish is a hit with me. D-topia is a future world where what you see may be deceiving. Your task is to keep this AI-curated life up and running. The puzzles were fun, and the world looks gorgeous, or does it?

Step into the world of D-topia in this gentle-paced puzzle adventure. In D-topia, life is curated by artificial intelligence to maximize happiness. As the newest Facilitator, it’s up to you to solve puzzles to keep the D-topia residents happy and the facility running.

🎮 D-topia on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 14th, 2026 (demo out now)

If you’ve been following the showcase posts, you know I am very excited for Desktop Explorer. It’s a fakeOS, a genre I am growing to love. It has a comedic style with a far darker side. I say I don’t like scary games, but this one blends genres so well it’s worth your time. Trust me.

Rummage through the abandoned profiles of an old PC to unravel an inherited mystery. What secrets hide in this eerie adventure of cryptic games and outdated software? Who was using this computer? And what happened to them?

🎮 Desktop Explorer on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 17th, 2026 (demo out now)

Deer & Boy is what I call a Planet of Lana-like. 😅 These are games I appreciate for the artistic endeavors and world-building, but I lack the patience for the gameplay. I know, I know, but that’s why I am still highlighting it. I will play it and see how it goes when it releases, but the demo was too short for me. The trailer after you finish the demo was what gripped me. (Thanks to for the assist when streaming, as I was VERY lost lol)

In this poetic cinematic platformer, a runaway boy meets a fawn. As their bond grows, so do their abilities and the emotional weight of their journey, where silence speaks louder than words.

🎮 Deer & Boy on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | June 23rd, 2026 (demo out now)

Crowdfunding Checkpoint | ON3: The Luxury Gaming Magazine

We are in the final 12 days of the campaign for issue 3 of ON Magazine. I had a chance to review it earlier this year, and if the first 2 issues were any indication of what’s to come, then I highly suggest backing issue 3 on Kickstarter now!

Look at that Wario cover! Here is my review:

🎮 ON3: The Luxury Gaming Magazine | Kickstarter

Quest Vibes | Wax Heads OST | Gina Loughlin

It’s too good not to share the soundtrack for Wax Heads again and again. I love it. You will too if you give it a chance.

If you need more convincing, then check out my review:

🎵 Wax Heads OST | Gina Loughlin

Quest Loot | Mina Plush - Fangamer

I rolled credits for Mina the Hollower a week or so ago, but I am still working on the review. It is currently my game of the year for 2026, and I want to show it the love it deserves. In the meantime, check out this adorable plushie that I need to get for my *cough* son and definitely not for me. (Thanks for the shout on this one !)

One more item for your Trinkets menu.

This official Mina the Hollower plush was designed by Nina Matsumoto. It’s about 11 inches tall when seated.

🏪 Mina the Hollower - Mina Plush - Fangamer

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Gaming Club | TUNIC JUNE 2026

Want to play TUNIC? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

I am at the endgame, and I am obsessed. Clearly, I should have played this way earlier.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here. We chat about what we are playing, watching, the Gaming Club picks, and more with a cozy group of gamers.

🎮 TUNIC on Steam and we are playing it this month!

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Wishlist XP | Signet City, I’M YOUR HOST, Wild n Chill

With so many games announced and the last two weeks focused mostly on specific showcases, I wanted to make the wishlist section special. These are 3 games that I am highly anticipating, by studios I have reviewed games for in the past.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector was my first review of 2025, and it held its place as my game of the year, just getting edged out by Silksong in the end (sorry). I praised this game to the heavens. The writing, the art style, and the dice-based gameplay mechanics had me in a vice grip. Now, is back with a fresh take on RPGs with a first-person fungalpunk world.

From the creator of Citizen Sleeper, SIGNET CITY is a first-person fungalpunk RPG. You are a parasite, in a city where strange technologies and radical ideas are taking root. Grow into and through its inhabitants, uncover and change their stories, and witness the terminal season of the signet city.

🎮 Signet City on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

From the studio that brought us the beautiful and dystopian world of Phoenix Springs comes a new style of detective game. In I’M YOUR HOST, you need to restore a podcast in a detective-style point-and-click to discover the truth that is either lost or hidden.

An audio deduction game where you have one task: restore a series of lost podcast episodes. The deeper you dig into corrupted recordings and interview outtakes, the more questions arise: why was the podcast never aired? Who is hiding the truth? And what happened to the host?

🎮 I'M YOUR HOST on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

From the creators of the gorgeous pixel game Cast n Chill comes Wild n Chill, a reimagined gameplay experience where you hunt and forage for resources and build up your cabin in the woods.

Wild n Chill is a laid-back wilderness escape where ya forage, hunt, and craft the off-grid cabin of your dreams. Far from the noise and nonsense, it’s just you, your trusty companion, and a pal or two.

🎮 Wild n Chill on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Crowdfunding Checkpoint | Bel’s Fanfare

I backed Bel’s Fanfare earlier this year, and it’s been great to see the amount of funding they have received and the development process. Support from the community continues to grow, and we received a new trailer for the Future Games Show Summer Showcase!

🎮 Bel’s Fanfare | Kickstarter | Steam

Quest Vibes | Lil Gator Game: In The Dark OST | Robin C R Burgess | MegaWobble

The Lil Gator Game: In The Dark Original Soundtrack has officially been released. It was one of my favorite experiences this year, and you should definitely check out the soundtrack.

🎵 Robin C R Burgess | MegaWobble | Lil Gator Game: In The Dark OST | Steam

Quest Loot | Tato from TOEM Series | Makeship

This week’s Loot is a bit different. I am begging you to drop some of your hard-earned cash to fund a plush of Tato from the TOEM series. For just $2 now, and roughly $28 when it’s funded, you can be the owner of the first-ever TOEM plush. Look at this little cutie.

Get your cameras ready, as this is your opportunity to take pictures of a Tato in your own home! Put them on a skateboard! Give them something to read! Whatever you do, your tato pal will be down for adventures with you now that they’ve escaped the lands of TOEM.

🏪 Makeship | Tato from TOEM Series

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Gaming Club | TUNIC JUNE 2026

Want to play TUNIC? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

I am at the endgame, and I am obsessed. Clearly, I should have played this way earlier.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here. We chat about what we are playing, watching, the Gaming Club picks, and more with a cozy group of gamers.

🎮 TUNIC on Steam and we are playing it this month!

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Wishlist XP | LAGS SGF Edition + Bibidi Bibidi!

Thanks to everyone in the community for dropping by the Latin American Games Showcase Summer Game Fest Edition. Here are a few of the games that jumped out to me. I would love for you to check out and wishlist! Before we start, I wanted to shout out the new game Bibidi Bibidi, a roguelike deckbuilder with a demo out now by !

If you know from the Discord, you know I am not the biggest fan of roguelike deck builders, but I think the art by ’ gave me the hook, and the gameplay designed by Daan reeled me in. Just look at that wonky wizard’s design. Why wouldn’t you trust that he can defeat a bunch of monsters in a dungeon? New Demo is out now. If you play it, make sure to leave a review. It helps a ton!

Bibidi Bibidi! is a wizardcore roguelike deckbuilder where you combine cards in your spellbook to cast unique and powerful spells. Crawl through twisting tunnels and fight maddening monsters to find the perfect build for your wizard. Every turn is a puzzle!

🎮 Bibidi Bibidi! on Steam (demo out now)

Color Bound has a release window!!!! Woo! One of my most anticipated games of the year is coming this August.

In Colorbound, color is more than just hue. As Anku, an Aymara boy with a unique gift, you’ll harness the power of color to shape the environment itself, uncovering hidden paths to navigate challenging and complex puzzles.

🎮 Colorbound on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | August 2026! (demo out now)

In Ghostless, you don’t gather resources; you scavenge for them. ;)

Lead an uprising against AI in a post-apocalyptic world where you’re never sure who is human and who is machine. Scavenge for resources, find survivors to grow your base, root out android infiltrators and lead the resistance in a unique hybrid of 2.5D action-adventure and colony building.

🎮 GHOSTLESS on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Magical Blush is a top-down metroidvania that reminds me of Zelda and gives off Celeste vibes for the main character.

Magical Blush is a top-down action-adventure where fast-paced elemental combat meets Metroidvania-style exploration. Chain spell combos, exploit elemental weaknesses, rescue survivors, and battle the powerful Elemental Lords as you explore the wondrous world of Wyn.

🎮 Magical Blush on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | September 2026 (demo out now)

Toada Brava is extremely well designed, and it is my shit. A JRPG that looks like a cartoon? Sign me up!

Toada Brava is a fully hand-drawn 2D top-down RPG. Battle your way through the Santacrúz Dungeons and help Kako find his mom, while helping the revolution!

🎮 Toada Brava on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To be announced

It wouldn’t be a proper showcase without a game starring a frog. That is where this gorgeous pixel art detective RPG comes in. Croak and Solve was an instant addition to my wishlists.

Join Burst as he tackles the chaos in Sorrentine the best he can. With your haunches swinging to the rhythm of jazz and a heavy dose of bad luck, you’ll dive into this vibrant pixel-art world with RPG elements to solve your adventures in the style of the most legendary detectives.

🎮 Croak and Solve on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Gunny Ascend had me hooked with the design and gameplay, but the sheer amount of collaborations from Among Us, A Short Hike, PEAK, and more was the cherry on top!

A Roguelite Block-Stacking Adventure. Stack, Adapt, Escape!! Gunny Ascend is a high-speed puzzle game where every falling block is a chance to escape. Build clever loadouts, adapt to ever-changing hazards, and outsmart the Collectors in this chaotic, dimension-hopping adventure.

🎮 Gunny Ascend on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Fall 2026

I know, I know, it’s a farming game, but it looked too dang cute not to share it. Fourleaf Fields is your average Stardew Valley-like, and its cute design with co-op gameplay had and me intrigued! Also, you are tiny lil people!

Welcome to the tiny world of Fourleaf Fields, a cozy farming life sim where you're no bigger than a carrot. Grow towering crops, care for tiny farm bugs, and uncover a web of secrets fueled by gossip - solo or online with friends!

🎮 Fourleaf Fields on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Ship Miner is a minimalist mining game that looks relaxing, and also supports local co-op. An overall chill vibe.

Action mining game with retro aesthetics and roguelike elements. Collect minerals from procedurally generated asteroids, improve your ship and survive The Anomaly, an unknown entity threatening The Galaxy. Can a simple miner stop The Anomaly and save everyone?

🎮 Ship Miner on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | November 26th 2026

Imagine a Zelda-like game that is designed like It Takes Two, and you get Ornament Tower. Work together to break a curse and recover your original bodies.

After getting transformed by a curse for approaching the Ornament Tower, Azulin and Guaraná decide to climb it together in order to recover their original bodies. Solve puzzles, defeat enemies and reach out to each other's heart in this Action-Puzzle adventure.

🎮 Ornament Tower on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | November 26th 2026

If you know me, you know that I do not like horror games, but when you sneak bits and pieces of horror into a FakeOS-style game, then it makes it a lot easier to consume. The demo for Desktop Explorer had me hooked, and we finally have a release date coming soon in July!

Rummage through the abandoned profiles of an old PC to unravel an inherited mystery. What secrets hide in this eerie adventure of cryptic games and outdated software? Who was using this computer? And what happened to them?

🎮 Desktop Explorer on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 17th 2026 (demo out now)

Quest Vibes | Floex - Phonopolis (Original Game Soundtrack)

Everyone in the community who has already played Phonopilis gives it tons of praise, and though it’s on my wishlist, for now, I will make do with this amazing soundtrack by Floex.

Quest Loot | Pilgrims: Curious Adventures

Pilgrims seems to be one of the hidden gems in the indie space, and it’s amazing to see it fully realized into a tabletop game. I love the character designs!

Embark on a journey through a fairytale land as a wanderer seeking new experiences. A competitive family game where players collect useful items, meet unusual friends, and experience numerous adventures. Become the most seasoned wanderer with sleeves full of the best stories - the star of ethvery campfire gathering!

🏪Amanita Design Store | Pilgrims: Curious Adventures (Board Game)

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Good Game Lobby Review | Wax Heads

This week’s review is of Wax Heads, a cozy-punk narrative sim where you work at a struggling record store. This game is a nostalgic love letter to music heads, and I ate up every second of it. Also, an AMAZING soundtrack!

🎮 Wax Heads on Steam

Gaming Club | TUNIC JUNE 2026

Want to play TUNIC? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it. This month’s game is the cult hit

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here. We chat about what we are playing, watching, the Gaming Club picks, and more with a cozy group of gamers.

🎮 TUNIC on Steam and we are playing it this month!

• Game: Wax Heads

• Studio: Patattie Games

• Publisher: Curve Games

• Platforms: Steam, Xbox, Switch, PlayStation

• Completion Time: 7+ Hours

• Price: $14.99

• Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Stylized

• ✅ Steam Deck Verified

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of Wax Heads, the debut title by Patattie Games and published by Curve Games. This narrative-driven indie game about running a failing record store is just what I needed as AI slop floods everyone's feeds with fake artists. Join me as I share why I think Wax Heads is a must-play game with one of the best soundtracks of the year.

Broken Frequencies

It all begins with an MTV-style report about the breakup of the hit band Becoming Violet and how the leads, Morgan and Violet, go down separate career paths. I’ve been listening to bands now for over 30+ years, and I am all too familiar with breakups. We kick things off with you playing the newly hired cashier at Repeater Records, owned by Morgan. Your time here will be filled with meeting the music community, getting them the music they will cherish, vibing with your new co-workers, and working to build up the failing record store with new ways to drive sales, all while trying to stick it to the man. I will keep it at that because the growing storyline of Becoming Violet and how you and the crew play a role in the store will spoil too much.

Vinyl Hustle

Lets get into the gameplay.

It always starts with some chatting with your co-workers before you decide to open up Repeater Records. You are the cashier, so customers come to you for recommendations or to discuss the details of a record they heard about. These interactions and dialogue choices were a highlight for me. Each conversation holds weight because your recommendations that customers will take with them forever will be what defines them. So many of these NPCs will make me laugh, and at one time, also make me cry. Dealing with loss and how music can affect you is something I cherish, and they pulled it off quite well.

Record Collection

What you have at your disposal are the records in the store. You will need to keep track of the covers, back covers, tracklist, album, and artist names. Someone may come to you with just a vague description of the album covers, and it's up to you to verify this information and get them the right record. Or they could ask for a record from a band that has multiple records in the shop. It’s up to you to decipher the extra details they provide to make the right sale. The artwork for every album hits!

You get graded on with a RAD if you find the exact record, and if you fail, you will get an SAD rating. Though you will continually have this loop of gameplay, they did a great job of having co-workers step in with some work chat or juicy drama about Morgan and her old bandmates.

All sales are final, so you must get it right. Also, you can add butts to the receipts for added comical value I really appreciated.

Aside from the main gameplay, you will unlock money to buy new items that will decorate the shop to entice new customers. In the back office, you can edit a bulletin board and choose a new song you unlock as you progress. You get to track how customers and friends will react to music or what everyone is up to on social media.

Walking The Cow is a music review site that gives you the latest news about everyone’s favorite bands and some wild stories about the bands and artists in Wax Heads. Those details will then spill into the aforementioned conversations with customers.

Though you spend the majority of your time at Repeater Records, you join friends at a local pub where they perform, and you play mini-games during those performances. Even a drink matching game at the bar!

Neon Grooves

Let's get into the look of this gorgeous game. I am obsessed with the Scott Pilgrim-influenced style. You will interact with many people in the record store; each one has a charming backstory, unique designs, and some pretty great clothing to boot. Making posters or organizing musical gear, even decorating the shop, allows you to flex your creative muscles.

In fact, my side project will soon start making stickers, so make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already. (shameless plug, sorry lol)

The album covers and tracklists all have their own identities and truly make me appreciate all the time and effort put into the visual identity. From your view as the cashier, you can see records on the wall, and one is clearly influenced by MF DOOM. It makes me wonder how many other records had easter eggs in them. I can only assume one of the folk artists was harkening to Indie darling Iron and Wine's cover for Our Endless Numbered Days.

Analog Vibes

Okay, the most important part is the soundtrack. This is a masterful feat to create a whole new soundtrack for a game, but to make up each band, give them a backstory, and create album artwork for every record in the game is outstanding. The sheer amount of genres across the whole game is very impressive in general, but the fact that they are ALL good is out of this world.

It’s led by Gina Loughlin and features many supporting artists. Take a listen to one of my favorites, Nimbus Joy Ride by Claw-Dia.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

🎼 Wrigley | YouTube | Steam

Rewind Memories Must Play

Story Time: I remember back in High School, I spent the whole day eagerly waiting for the last bell to ring and head out to the local Sam Goody to buy Tool’s new album at the time, Lateralus. It was a 5-year wait since their hit Ænima album hit the shelves. The only issue, well, I was short about 5 bucks to buy it.

That same day, I mouthed off to a school bully who was picking on someone and scored myself detention with arguably the best teacher in the school, Mr Van. He knew I was just sticking up for someone, but calling someone a piece of shit in the middle of class still needs some sort of retribution.

The bell rang, and I went straight to his class to serve my time. He could see I was sulking more than usual, being an emo boy in the early 2000s. He asked why, and I explained I’ve waited years for this Tool CD to come out, and I didn't secure the funds.

Okay, detention was served. “Have a good day, Mr. Van.” I got up, grabbed my backpack, and made for the door. He called to me, and I came up to his desk, and he had a $10 bill sitting on his desk. “Go buy yourself a new set of tools.” I chuckled, swiped it up, gave him a huge thank you, and went off to the bus.

What does that have to do with Wax Heads? Well, everything! The way the characters you meet share bits and pieces of their lives with you and how those interactions, recommendations, and even small talk shape bits of their lives is bigger than most will know.

Nowadays, most will wait for a playlist or push notification for the latest song they might like. Buying physical media isn’t the same as it used to, even with the sudden rise in vinyl record sales. It’s not just about owning something physically but chatting with someone about it, hearing what they think you might like, and even getting out of your comfort zone.

I don’t know about you, but to this day, I can hear a song and remember where I either heard it the first time or how much it affected me in that moment.

The stories, the pain and grief some of the characters shared, or the pure happiness of buying their first album. It brought memories flooding back to me and kept a smile on my face from the beginning to the end of the game.

Wax Heads is a nostalgia trip that made me wish for the days when streaming didn’t exist. How I yearn for connection once again at the local record store. The characters and the way you influence them spoke to me, and the music had been shaking my body with every new song I unlocked.

So, not a spoiler per se, but at the end of the game, the developers, artists, and more who worked on the game pop up with their own illustrated Wax heads versions of themselves and recommend bands you should check out. It’s such a nice attention to detail. I loved seeing some of my favorite bands pop up, which melted my heart a bit. <3

The game is out now on Steam, Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation. It took me roughly 7+ hours to complete the main game, and it's priced at $14.99 and is worth every penny. Consider maybe not buying a CD and picking up the game. I played on my ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, and it ran perfectly, and it is verified for Steam Deck.

Thank you for the key for review from Renaissance PR, Curve Games, and Patattie Games.

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Wishlist XP | Thinky Direct 2026

Thanks to everyone in the community for dropping by the Thinky Direct 2026 stream last night. It’s all centered around puzzle and problem-solving games. Special thanks to for joining in to co-host. The showcase featured 40 trailers, and here are my top 10 I will have on my radar.

Mimic Meadows was the game I vibed with the most. It looks like my type of game, and it immediately hooked me. Look at it! WOW!

A puzzle game about transforming into animals by mimicking their movement. Discover creative ways to wield this power while solving mind-bending puzzles. And attempt to unearth the many secrets of the meadows.

🎮 Mimic Meadows on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Coming Soon

EMUUROM is one I was emailed about, but unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check it out. Seeing it last night made me want to play. I am not sure how to describe it, but the gameplay looks fun and inventive.

A creature-scanning metroidvania. Explore an ancient paradise before it's lost forever. Study the EMUUROM creatures, document your findings in the EMUUDEX, and use what you learn to unlock new paths.

🎮 EMUUROM on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Out Now!

mentioned right before the show that she was hoping for a release date for Colorbound, and though we didn’t get one, it was kind of bananas; it was the first game unveiled. Big Dawg is big-brained. lol

In Colorbound, color is more than just hue. As Anku, an Aymara boy with a unique gift, you’ll harness the power of color to shape the environment itself, uncovering hidden paths to navigate challenging and complex puzzles.

🎮 Colorbound on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

Inserting Gameboys around a puzzle world and playing them to solve puzzles is a great gameplay loop.

Hello, this is Fael... Listen, this is going to sound strange, but... I think I'm lost in the apartment. Right now... I... I don't know where I am. Can you come and help me?

🎮 Looking For Fael on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

DITTORI has a nice blend of puzzle-solving and exploration, and I am digging it.

Deep beneath the world, an ancient god stirs. Master the forbidden power of DITTORI, discover its secrets, and use it to bend reality to your will. Herald the end of all things.

🎮 DITTORI on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

I think Outpour had a great reception with the chat during the Direct. Many of us were enjoying the puzzle-solving and design.

Outpour is a puzzle game where you redirect flowing water across dreamy cathedral rooftops. Manipulate your surroundings to guide a dynamic water system, traverse high places, and restore harmony to sacred structures.

🎮 Outpour on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Coming Soon

I mean, we need to go back to the drawing board for this game title, right? Trifolium: The Adventures of Gary Pretzelneck was aptly genre’d as a snake-like by in the chat last night. It ended up being the ongoing joke, almost as long as Gary’s neck. (Sorry)

Discover hidden truths about the world in this 3D adventure about a giraffe with an unreasonably long neck. Figure out the rules, solve strange mysteries, and stumble upon unexpected twists. Choose your own path.

🎮 Trifolium: The Adventures of Gary Pretzelneck on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | November 2026

Okay, I have now seen trailers for this game for years, and I can’t wait any longer. Shoot MONOMOON directly into my veins.

In MONOMOON, the way forward is reserved for the knowing and the daring. Guided by moonlight, you’ll uncover hidden truths and wander through a tiny and mysterious open world.

🎮 MONOMOON on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

Cat Squeeze makes you force cats into tubes, looks cute, and that’s all you need to know.

Cat Squeeze is a cozy, brain-teasing cat puzzle game. Playing as an explosive kitten, use the extrusion of the pipeline, and navigate a maze to collect fish treats! Solve puzzles with precise blasts to escape, or get trapped by the soft maze.

🎮 Cat Squeeze on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | July 1st, 2026

The Land Forgotten was equal parts gorgeous and inventive in its language-based puzzle-solving. A Chants of Sennaar-like.

A hand-painted adventure puzzle game where language is magic. Explore a mysterious land, decipher ancient scripts, and solve language-based puzzles to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization.

🎮 The Land Forgotten on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Quest Loot | Hollow Knight: Silksong Physical

Team Cherry knows what people want: a 32-page manual and a fold-out poster of Pharloom in the physical release of Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The poster is something I am now obsessing over. They sold millions of copies of the game during release, and I can only imagine it’s about to happen again. You can preorder it now on Fangamer!

The link is for the Nintendo Switch 2 version, but it is also releasing on Xbox & PlayStation.

🏪Fangamer | Hollow Knight: Silksong - Nintendo Switch™ 2 Edition

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Good Game Lobby Review | Sledding Game

This week’s review is Sledding Game, a fun multiplayer game about sledding with caked-up frogs and I played it on stream with and met some great friends. Watch the goofy stream here.

Gaming Club | TUNIC JUNE 2026

Want to play TUNIC? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 TUNIC on Steam and we are playing it in JUNE!

• Game: Sledding Game

• Studio: The Sledding Corporation

• Publisher: The Sledding Corporation | Press Engine | Future Friends Games

• Platforms: Steam, Xbox, Game Pass

• Completion Time: 4-5 Hours of gameplay

• Price: $7.99

• Genre: Online Co-Op, Cute, Multiplayer, Frog

• ✅ Steam Deck Verified

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of Sledding Game, the first release by The Sledding Corporation and promoted by Future Friends Games, which sits at 1800+ overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam and, as of this review, has sold over 100,000 copies. Come find out why this is a great, cozy, and goofy multiplayer game to check out with some friends.

Snowy Shenanigans

I usually begin these reviews by dipping into the story, but considering it’s a multiplayer game where you sled or fish, it doesn’t have a core story. Unless you want to roleplay a beautiful snowy vacation, then so be it.

When the demo was released, I had a chance to play with from Luna’s Gaming Log, her partner Dodo, and from Margot Plays. These are my stream buddies for showcases, co-op games, and people I chat with daily, so we had a great time goofing around, sledding the slopes, building ramps or boosts for some record-breaking runs, and having many, many snowball fights.

When the game was ready for its early access release, Lu mentioned she had picked up a key, so I figured, “Let me grab one too, so we can at least play together.” It turned out great. I set up an open lobby. I was afraid it would be just Luna and me throwing snowballs at each other, but two randoms joined who had many more hours in the game than we did. They taught us how to fish, set up benches for a cozier fishing experience, showed off their awesome bus sled that fit multiple people, and we were sledding.

Frog-Fueled Chaos

Okay, lets get into the gameplay. You are a frog, and not just any frog; you are a thick baddie equipped with a sled and ready to shred. Yes, I think the big butts on the frog design are hilarious, and they made me giggle quite often. Your main hub is the lodge, where you buy cosmetics and play mini-games like basketball and darts, sing at an open mic, and more. Drinking coffee gives you a speed boost, which immediately makes the frog’s tiny steps so funny. Making your way to the mountaintops, you will place a marker for an easy reset, find the starting line, and begin sledding. The goal is the finish line, but we are grinding for a mushroom hat or bus sled, and we need hundreds of thousands of points. So, the best way to get those points is to do flips, catch some air, and, as I mentioned, win the race.

All of these are the basics of the game, but what makes the sledding game truly fun was when two legends dropped in and started to give us a real tour of the secrets, unlocking cosmetics by doing certain key inputs, or how we unlocked the snow fox, one of my favorite skins.

Rest assured, if you keep the lobby open, you will meet a great community of people ready to enhance your gameplay. I can’t guarantee that, though 100,000+ sales means some doofus will join the lobby at some point. It wouldn’t be a hit multiplayer game without proximity chat. With up to 20 players in a lobby, there will be some great clips.

• Things you can do:

  • Ice Fishing

  • Snowball Fights

  • Darts

  • Wheel Spin

  • Sled

  • Extreme Sports runs

  • Roast Marshmallows

  • Drink Hot Cocoa

  • Build Snowmen

Oh, fun fact, if you get the game and need an easy way to grind for points, then do yourself a favor and save 10,000 points and unlock a fishing pole. Trust me, it’s where the real cash is hiding!

Charming Slopes

Visually Sleeding Game is straight to the point. It's not pushing any visual fidelity and only uses up some processing power once you get shot out of a canon and into a snowstorm. Otherwise, it looks adorable and is jam-packed with ways to accessorize your lil character, even with new skins, hats, ties, and sleds. The ragdoll effect when nailing someone with a snowball looks great. Gliding through the air off of some legendary running feels great. The highlight, though, is catching fish. I caught a few that were gigantic, and the comical flat fish that you hold up, almost taking up the whole screen, is funny every damn time.

Frosty Beats

One thing that surprised me about Sledding Game was its soundtrack. Almost every new song that I heard was better than the last. You would think for a multiplayer game, maybe it's repetitive tracks, but no, Wrigley has outdone themselves with a stellar collection of work.

Here was one of my favorites, Dangling Peets by Wrigley.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

🎼 Wrigley | YouTube | Steam

Must-Play Cozy Adventure

I spent about 4-5 hours on the sledding game from the demo and early access versions and had a blast throughout the experience. Sledding Game is a straight-up goof, and it knows it. The way the game leans into its absurd premise and comedic ragdoll complement the gameplay, making this a must-play for me. Speaking of playing, come join the Good Game Lobby Discord, it’s growing, so if you need someone to play with, hit me up and lets get a co-op game! We also have a monthly Gaming Club.

Maybe you have been playing PEAK and need a change of pace. How about getting to the peak and making your way down in your Crocs-branded sled, while wearing a mushroom hat, tie, silly glasses, and mustache face. Then Sledding Game is for you! It’s currently in early access, with a ton to collect and discover. It’s priced at $7.99 and is available on Steam, Xbox Series X/S, and Game Pass. Though it doesn’t have cross-platform gameplay, I hope it does in the future.

If you want to watch our stream of the game: Twitch: Sledding Game Stream

Thank you to Future Friends Games and Press Engine for the review key, and thanks for reading this review of Sledding Game.

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Wishlist XP | Six One Indie Showcase 2026

Thanks to everyone from the community for dropping by the stream of the Six One Indie Showcase last night. It was great to laugh, cry, and find great games we all wishlisted. Special thanks to for the assistance in hosting the stream—it was so much fun. The showcase featured 61 games, but I curated the top 18 from the show just for you!

Sonnet has a unique, nostalgic look to its style. It’s intrigued me, and I can’t wait.

Transport a magical flower across scenic lands, encounter strange travelers, and uncover the kingdom’s secrets in this sprawling medieval roadtrip.

🎮 Sonnet on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

Can you really be upset by this adorable little fire setting this handmade forest ablaze? I mean, just look at it!

Become a tiny living flame, burn away ghosts, reignite homes, and earn the love of bugs that absolutely adore a little arson 🔥🐛 A short adventure game set in an atmospheric misty forest made entirely of paper.

🎮 Pirofauna on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

I am obsessed with the look of this game and can not wait to try it out.

Ready your keyboards and set out on a typing adventure in b-e-e-t-l-e: be right back! Every keystroke brings the world to life as you search for your lost beetle - encounter a wacky cast of characters, crack puzzles and discover whimsical surprises along the way.

🎮 b-e-e-t-l-e: be right back! on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Coming Soon

1st person A Short Hike. Looks great to me!

Explore the mystical Sanctuary of the Old Well and reconnect with your childhood friends while solving environmental puzzles. Meet quirky animals, unravel forgotten tales and immerse yourself in an interactive soundscape as you piece together your place in the world.

🎮 The Well's Blessing on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Coming Soon

I’ve watched GrahamofLegend working on and building this cozy island city builder over the last couple of years, and I am ecstatic that it is coming up on its release next month.

Ourlands is a cozy island builder where you handcraft and play around in bespoke little lands and truly explore your creativity. No goals, no management, just vibes.

🎮 Ourlands on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | June 2nd, 2026

Being Food is just a vibe. I mean, come on, the wonky graphics and that bird main character are just all over the place, and I am loving it.

Being Food is a third-person, Bird Game. In this puzzle-platformer, you play as a cute bird named Oolahla in what starts seemingly like a normal bird day. Something is different about today, though... Do you know what it takes to be a bird? Will you survive the bird day?

🎮 Being Food on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Farming and gathering resources are two ways games will steer me away from a wishlist. Something about Grave Seasons’ pixel art style and spooky world is drawing me in.

Grave Seasons is a narrative farming sim with a terrifying twist – someone in the town is a supernatural serial killer. Farm, romance, and investigate your way through the unsettling town of Ashenridge.

🎮 Grave Seasons on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | August 14th, 2026

One thing I like about streaming showcases is how the community will bring their thoughts on the game, brought up a great point, it reminded her of Death’s Door. I was thinking it was more like Tunic, but now I think it’s a nice blend of both.

Twins of Olus is a vibrant action-adventure game that follows a young Uthran who is inexplicably tied to the spirit of an ancient warrior. Together they must defeat an unknown nefarious force that has invaded, corrupted and possessed everything in his once utopic world.

🎮 Twins of Olus on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Outersloth is back with another fantastic-looking published game. Feathers Edge is a gorgeous metroidvania adventure game that most resembles Silksong.

Dash and slash through an innovative kinetic metroidvania. The Tower of Time awaits – a rich, handcrafted world fractured by the collapse of time. Slice through foes in tough-as-talons bite-sized battles, and master the way of the bird warrior.

🎮 Feather's Edge on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

I had no idea this even existed, let alone that it’s already filled with indie darlings. Fraymakers is the indie pixel version of Smash Bros. Now it has Guy Spelunky!

Fraymakers is the ultimate customizable platform fighting game, featuring a cast of some of indie gaming’s biggest icons. Duke it out with up to 4 players and call on assists to help out in the heat of battle. Create and play custom characters, stages, modes, and more for infinite fun!

🎮 Fraymakers on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Out Now!

Painted Kingdoms looks gorgeous. That’s all I think I need to say. Watch the trailer and prove me wrong. Thought so!

Painted Kingdoms is a minimalist strategy game where you paint, build, and defend your Kingdom of paper. Harness the power of paint to protect it from relentless flames and enemy hordes. Will your Painted Kingdom survive the next wave?

🎮 Painted Kingdoms: Tower Defense & Firefighting on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Releasing in 2026, and one I backed on Kickstarter. I can not wait for Isle of Reveries, this Link's Awakening-inspired indie.

Make a pilgrimage skybound to the Isle of Reveries, where any wish can be granted. Conquer mysterious dungeons, solve puzzles, and explore a vast overworld in this retro-inspired adventure.

🎮 Isle of Reveries on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | September 2026

Graytail is a Zelda-like 2D-3D game that blew me away. Please, more Zelda likes all the time!

A small island in the Pacific. The greatest female pilot has vanished. Suffering from severe headaches, our protagonist depends on medication as they search for her, but... What is real and what is hallucination? A Zelda-like mystery adventure to uncover the island's truth.

🎮 Graytail on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2027

A hack-and-slash soulslike Ocarina of Time!? LETS GOOO!

Take up your sword and uncover the secrets of a cursed kingdom in this soulslike collectathon. Awaken as a Royal Mouse Guard, master combat, defeat foes and search for celestial fragments to restore a once great kingdom.

🎮 Mouseward on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

This one was a hit with the chat. From the moment it started to the end of the trailer, everyone had something that made them want to add The Marvelous Raincaster of Yell Holler to their wishlist.

A time-looping puzzle ballad of Ozark folk superstition. Reorder events in time to unravel the legend of a weather-making rooster.

🎮 The Marvelous Raincaster of Yell Holler on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

What a title and what a visually delightful wonky detective game.

An exploration game about knowledge and discovery. Change between seasons, investigate plants, and discover secrets about the world to stop an ecological disaster.

🎮 FORKLIFT FLOWERPOT: Botanical Investigator on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To Be Announced

Reminded me of Replaced in the pixel world, but this time loop visual novel looks like a dark, sad mystery I can’t wait to check out.

Deep Pixel Melancholy is a visual novel about being stuck in a time loop inside a far northern city. Unravel the mystery, and decide whether escaping is really worth it.

🎮 Deep Pixel Melancholy on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | Q3 2026

We end things off with Blue Ridge Hunter, a debut title being published by Six One Publishing. I am not a huge horror fan, but I am intrigued.

Blue Ridge Hunting is a co-op horror game set in the Appalachian Mountains. Solo or with friends, investigate, document, and hunt cryptids based on real sightings, legends, and eerie phenomena from the region. Are you brave enough to uncover the truth?

🎮 Blue Ridge Hunting on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

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Quest Loot | Your Kami Ascent T-shirt – Mighty Merch - Cairn

This could be one of the smartest ideas for a gaming-related t-shirt I've ever seen, so I needed to add it to the newsletter.

Your climb, mapped. Every route you chose, every crux where you struggled, and the final push to the summit, all printed on your own Cairn tee shirt!

🏪 Your Kami Ascent T-shirt – Mighty Merch

Good Game Lobby Review | Gecko Gods

This week’s review is Gecko Gods, a beautiful little gecko’s world that I loved every minute of!

Gaming Club | Disco Elysium May 2026

Want to play Disco Elysium? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut on Steam

Imagine The Legend of Zelda’s Windwaker stripped down to exploring a smaller archipelago with no fighting, and you are a tiny gecko.

• Game: Gecko Gods

• Studio: Inresin

• Publisher: Super Rare Originals

• Platforms: Steam, PlayStation, Switch

• Completion Time: 8 Hours

• Price: $19.99

• Genre: Adventure, Puzzle Platformer

• ✅ Steam Deck Verified

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of Gecko Gods, the debut title by Inresin and published by Super Rare Originals. Gecko Gods is a puzzle platformer that had one of the best demos at Steam Next Fest. It feels familiar yet offers a new take on platforming with the gecko’s sticky feet. Let’s get into why I think it’s so charming.

Ancient Isolation

The world of the Gecko Gods is mysterious, riddled with ancient puzzles that reveal a lost civilization. You will start to understand why you are lonely as you navigate this archipelago. It’s not a story that, if you follow, might bring you to tears or blow your mind; it’s more of a cohesive glue to tie the fantastic gameplay together. Speaking of, let’s get into the gameplay.

Sticky Exploration

Technically, Geckos have setae, the tiny hairs on their feet that let them climb walls and walk on water, but this is a video game, so the gecko uses a boat. I spent a lot of time reading about geckos, and now that we are deep into frog month, maybe this will inspire more gecko games in the future. You will navigate around using your dash movement to get from one area to another. The introduction and tutorial are pulled off so well that it doesn’t feel unwelcome. It’s smooth sailing once you realize you can go anywhere you see.

The majority of what you will interact with is smashing pots—just something about smashing them and collecting whatever cold hard cash is waiting inside that scratches that itch. I recommend breaking every pot you see because the coin you find will upgrade your gecko’s colors and patterns. It’s a great way to incentivize the player, and it worked on me.

The starting area is a large tutorial that teaches you to climb up and around. The game allows you to find new puzzles and figure out how to pull levers to move items in a room or add or subtract water to reach new areas.

That’s the basics. Without going into too much detail, one of the islands I loved was this dessert setting. Here, you discover that a light needs to shine and reach a mirror, and so on. The way you needed to move mirrors to keep their light continuing until the end of the puzzle was a rewarding way to explore a larger, mapped-out area.

You have enemies like crustacean creatures and scorpion-like monsters, but they are easily defeated with a few hits from your dash. I don’t think you can die, but if you can, it never happened to me. That’s not the point of the game; it’s just there to give more life to the world. The gecko’s dash can also be used mid-jump to target out-of-reach areas.

Hidden collectibles are a staple for platformers, and you will come across a bunch on each island. Some of them are the bugs you eat, which you can also add to your collection. It’s all laid out quite well in the menu, so you can track what you are missing and which island it’s on. The thing I loved about it was that I was close to getting 100% of all the collectibles through a straight run of the main game. A welcome for trophy hunters.

Vibrant Islands

This tiny gecko's world is vibrant, and a few of the islands have different styles of greenery or the aforementioned desert. The cosmetics of gecko skins and patterns offer many options, giving your gecko a unique look and feel. The little gecko also looks so adorable as you walk around, and when it jumps and dashes off large edges. The sunset areas or volcanic lava are the biggest shifts, and they welcome new styles in the world. You will see gorgeous Hieroglyphics littered around the puzzles you need to solve, guiding you on your journey. It’s a beautiful experience that's best understood when fully immersed in the game.

Relaxing Whimsy

The sound of coin collection after pottery smashing can sometimes be overwhelming when paired with the geckos’ footsteps. Yet overall, it’s a chill vibe with our little gecko friend, and the soundtrack builds that quite well. Jasmine Cooper is the lead on the soundtrack, and they have done a phenomenal job adding whimsy and life to the little gecko’s adventure.

Here is a medley of the soundtrack. Let me know what you think in the comments.

🎼 Jasmine Cooper | Bandcamp

Must-Play Cozy Adventure

With a few platformers already reviewed for 2026, I love that each one has embraced a unique angle, and none have felt like the others. The game gives you the ability to climb anywhere without the limitations of stamina, which was one of the best parts of Gecko Gods. This isn’t a grind to unlock power-ups. It’s more of a play-at-your-own-pace experience: take in the beautiful world and solve puzzles, all while keeping it chill. The world’s soundtrack kicking in while climbing higher and higher to get a collectible or grind for new skins was just the right pace and vibe. I was enjoying every minute.

It took me roughly 8 hours to complete the main game and collect every pattern and skin along the way, and only a few collectibles and bugs to slurp up.

It’s priced at $19.99, which is the perfect sweet spot. I played on my ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, and it ran great and is also Steam Deck verified. It’s out now for PlayStation, Switch, and Steam.

Thank you for reading my review of Gecko Gods. I’ve now reviewed a handful of Super Rare Originals and believe they are one of the best indie publishers for 3d platformers. Check out the other games I reviewed from SRO.

I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co. #keymailer

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Wishlist XP | Phonopolis, ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

My creator buddy Mael, who focuses primarily on puzzle games, and I were talking about Phonopolis recently—he highly recommended I should check it out. So, it’s time to check it out!

Phonopolis is a story-driven puzzle adventure set in a hand-painted 3D world made of cardboard. Solve a wide variety of playful puzzles and help Felix end the Leader's oppressive influence in a resonant dystopian city inspired by avant-garde art.

🎮 Phonopolis on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 20th, 2026

Perfect timing that we are playing ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium for the Gaming Club this month. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies the natural successor to Disco is coming out this month!

From the creators of Disco Elysium comes ZERO PARADES – an espionage RPG. You're a brilliant but tormented operant on one final desperate assignment. Gather your broken network, untangle a web of lies, and prove yourself on the world stage - or blow it all up again.

🎮 ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 21st, 2026

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Quest Loot | PEAK sticker sheets!

Did you see that PEAK is so big now that they have been added to Fortnite? Yes, indie hit Friendslop PEAK now has characters who can hold assault rifles and kill Peter Griffin. That’s not why I am sharing this. I am bringing this up because they have this cute-as-heck sticker sheet you can pick up on FanGamer right now. :)

🏪 PEAK - You Peaked Sticker Sheet Set - Fangamer

Quest Vibes | Mario & Chill 3 — GameChops

is back with another great chill soundtrack with beats inspired by the most recent entries of the Mario franchise. They are also on Substack! ⬇️

GameChops

Mario & Chill 3 brings instrumental lofi to the Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario lofi and chill beats inspired by the recent entries of the francise…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · GameChops

🎵 GameChops - Mario & Chill 3

Good Game Lobby Review | Dosa Divas & Replaced

Reviews? Yes, it’s been a loooooong time, but I am back at it again! Here are two new reviews. :)

Gaming Club | Disco Elysium May 2026

Want to play Disco Elysium? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut on Steam

Dark Cyberpunk thriller, 2.5D cinematic pixel platforming, and uncovering the secrets of a shadow corporation hell-bent on using AI to enslave the will of the people.

• Game: Replaced

• Studio: Outerloop Games

• Publisher: Thunderful Publishing / Dead Good Media

• Platforms: Steam

• Completion Time: 12+ Hours

• Price: $19.99

• Genre: 2.5D, Pixel, Cinematic, Cyberpunk, Action Adventure

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of Replaced, the new release by Sad Cat Studios and published by Thunderful. With delays over the last few years, I can say that they have finally pulled through and delivered a brilliant experience. Let’s get into this thrilling cyberpunk story and why I think Replaced is a must-play with a couple of rough edges.

Synthetic Identity

Taking place in this post-nuclear 1980s America, you are Warren Marsh, the developer of R.E.A.C.H., an AI built for the sinister Phoenix Corporation. When Warren pushes his connection to R.E.A.C.H too far, the system overloads. Reach becomes a part of Warren. He wakes to an office in shambles, pieces of the room falling apart. You need to get out of here. You make your way through the Phoenix Laboratory and meet PCPD troopers, who murder an innocent person, then turn on you. Now you are an AI trapped in Warren’s body on the run with no one listening to reason. You navigate sewers until Tempest rescues you. Tempest introduces you to the world outside Phoenix City. It’s in ruins. The population is doing the best they can with dire conditions, scavenging for medicine and shelter. It’s hell on earth, and you are in the thick of it.

Tempest sees your potential, being able to use guns only meant for troopers, and how, with that bit of hope, you can work together to take down Phoenix Corporation. As you dig deeper, you come to find that not only is this corporation limiting what the population can have, but they are also harvesting their organs like a currency. The game does a hell of a good job making you hate the enemies, and that makes murdering them all the more fun.

Brutal Flow

In Replaced, you have a few areas to start with. You spend most of the game platforming, moving objects to reach a ledge, or hiding from drones constantly hunting you down. The intro does a fantastic job of stressing you to escape and time jumps so you don’t stumble and get mauled by drones. You will find new ways to explore and jump from ledges to either escape enemies or make your way deeper into this seedy world.

The combat is a whole experience in itself. You learn early to counter attacks when a yellow indicator appears above enemies. You can counter them by hitting Y at the right time. Timing is crucial in combat, and if you think it’s too difficult or too easy, you can always adjust the difficulty in the settings. I was pressed to finish the game, so for the last 2 chapters, I went with easy difficulty, and even then, I was still getting my butt kicked. You can not dodge when you see the red indicators, but you are given timed shots from enemies; you can either dodge or counter, killing them.

Your gun needs time to reload, so landing physical attacks fills the meter. Once it’s loaded, you can let out a shot, taking out a lower-level enemy in one hit. With bigger shielded enemies, you will need to destroy their armor before taking hits or taking shots from your gun.

You will fall into areas littered with enemies, and the game follows a similar pattern of clearing out everyone before moving on. It felt too repetitive at times, but shortly after, an upgrade would change how you tackled new enemies, giving a fresh take on combat. Some of the ways you are introduced to new enemies or fights have the cinematic feel I mentioned before, which makes fighting all the more important. To say it plainly, bashing the skulls of these cyborg punks feels great.

Oh, also, you have these arcade machines you fix, and then you can play them for upgrades. Games within games are something I also love to see.

Neon Decay

If you’ve already seen the trailers or the pictures in this review, it doesn’t do it justice. Playing the game and hitting the cinematic beats really make for an unforgettable experience. Replaced’s 2.5D pixel art is clearly gorgeous. It’s how they use the bokeh effect and lighting that stands out. Think games like The Last of Us, given a demake of sorts, but never skimping on quality.

The subtle animations of the pixel characters in combat or Reach navigating the sewer systems in low light add suspense to every movement. You have seasonal changes in the game, and the snowy areas, while hunted by drones, were my favorite places to explore.

Dark Pulse

You get hyped-up adrenaline-pumping music that sweeps in as you fight the enemies. This aggressive tone shifts perspectives. You are here to start kicking ass immediately. It only intensifies as the game’s enemies become stronger and you are thrust into tough boss battles.

What hooked me, though, was the melancholic tones you would hear while navigating a new season of snow and hunting for drones. Or the underground areas crawling with frightening enemies that hold your attention with eerie electronic hums.

I’m looking forward to giving the whole soundtrack a spin now that the game is out. The overall soundtrack reminds me of Kavinsky—dark, pumping sound that was a staple of early 2000’s electro with metal drums and vocals. It’s not my genre of music per se, but it sets the tone perfectly.

Here is “Dusk” performed by Igor Gritsay & aygad (featuring Marina Thor). Let me know what you think in the comments.

Worth Playing With A Couple Caveats

Replaced is charming. I think it’s my favorite game using this 2.5D style. It lends itself to the shadows, lighting, and bokeh focus that make it so dramatic. I wasn’t aware of the game until some point in 2025, and I only experienced one delayed release date, but when I dug deeper, I saw they had delayed the game a few times. It’s by no means a good look to have to do so, and I know a thing or two about delays and moving deadlines. If delaying gives you this gorgeous, action-packed game, then it’s all worth it.

It took me roughly 12 hours to complete the main game, which I think can be 10 if you really breeze through it. One thing I can say is that it’s very linear. Of course, they have these side quests here or there, and my recommendation is to do them all. They always result in more health or charge for your gun, which in turn evens out the enemies’ growing difficulty. You can coast by not having to read the extra items you scan or story elements fed to you in news, or documents, but I suggest diving into them to get more of the story, understand the characters better, and see how god-awful the Phoenix Corporation truly is.

Some of the platforming can get annoying because you know you were right there and miss a platform, and of course, it’s by design to make the character feel heavy and time movement precisely, but still, at the end of the day, it felt off in some way. You have great sections with suspense, but falls flat in other areas. I can also say I am not a fan of this type of platforming. I am also playing Planet of Lana and feel that same sluggish movement. This seems to be the sentiment from other creators I spoke to about the game.

I did experience a bug that was also fixed very quickly, and mind you, this was all before the game’s release. The team is also quick to answer questions, and I recommend joining their Discord server, too. They were the best!

Replaced blends the cinematic experience with aggressive combat and the dark cyberpunk world with heartfelt moments. I think it’s easy to compare it to other AI cyberpunk-based games, but the way they tackle the ethics and human connection of trust to take down the big bad in the game made it stand out to me. I’ve said it a few times already, but Replaced is one of the best-looking games of the year and outdid itself in its design and story.

​It’s out now on Steam and, unfortunately, exclusive on Xbox. So, it’s great if you have Game Pass. It’s priced at $19.99, and I think it’s worth every penny. I played exclusively on my ROG Ally, and it’s Steam Deck Verified.

Thank you to Popagenda for the review key, and many thanks to Outerloop and Outersloth for Dosa Divas.

Sibling rivalries and spirit mechs come together to battle and cook delicious meals, all while taking down an evil fast food empire.

• Game: Dosa Divas

• Studio: Outerloop Games

• Publisher: Outersloth / Popagenda

• Platforms: Steam

• Completion Time: 10+ Hours

• Price: $19.99

• Genre: Turn-Based Combat, Cooking, RPG

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of Dosa Divas, developed by Outerloop Games, and published by Outersloth, with assistance from Popagenda. The demo sold me on the game, and the full game had me hooked from beginning to end. It’s heartfelt, action-packed, with a great narrative, and made its way into my top games of 2026. Let’s get into the story to learn more.

Sisters Reunited

Dosa Divas begins with two sisters, Samara and Amani, reuniting after years apart. They are accompanied by their spirit-mech, Goddess, as they head out to their home island of Meyndish (Main Dish) to see their estranged parents. The time apart shows the tension they have since Amani left them years ago, and Samara isn’t as quick to pick up where they left off.

She shares with Amani how things have changed since she left. The people of the region don’t cook and rely on tubes of food, which you quickly find out is made by an evil corporation run by their sister, Lina. This is where the main plot comes into play. Lina has taken over the majority of the land destined to be the main food source for everyone. This has diminished the quality of life and the land’s natural resources. Over the time you spend chipping away at Lina’s life’s work, you learn more about the restaurant their parents inherited and how a tragic event from their past has shaped their future.

Will you take down Lina? What’s with the spirit-mechs, and what’s so bad about food in tubes? You can learn more when you go buy the game today.

Flavor Combat

The gameplay in Dosa Divas is exciting. A huge plus for me was that you can block enemy attacks, and they will do these silly moves trying to fake you out, and it felt so satisfying when you would have a whole battle without being hit.

The turn-based combat is set up like any RPG, where you need to select your main attack, special attack, items, or ultimate attacks. The special attacks feature moves with larger built-up damage, reviving other party members, or, my personal favorite, where you achieve multiple hits. For example, Samara has this great attack where she throws a pan, as it bounces off the enemy, you need to press A, and it will continually attack over and over, speeding up with each hit. These extra details keep the battles engaging and fresh.

Enemies have weaknesses, and you can pair attacks based on these: sweet, spicy, sour, or salty.

Speaking of fresh, you will forage the islands for ingredients needed to make homemade dosa for consumables and to restore the local traditions. The food preparation mini games also add an element to the gameplay. Though it wasn’t difficult, it did provide more challenges as the story unfolded. You can also fish for crustaceans and fish for the meals you prep.

Also, walking around everywhere with the Goddess honking the mech horn was also hilarious.

Vibrant Worlds

Equal parts RPG and Saturday-morning cartoon make the visual identity of Dosa Divas loud and exciting. It’s a colorful world, and that doesn’t stop at the places you explore or the characters you meet–food follows the same trend and has charming designs. The spirit-mechs look rad and remind me a bit of Filipino Jeepneys. When you level up, you get new skins for Goddess, and she looks fire.

It’s a delight to look at, and the meals made me hungry. I was hungry almost the whole time I played the game. I have never made dosa at home, but I will try it now.

Influential Melodies

The soundtrack has an overall vibe that samples south east asian melodies. For the most part, it’s a chill and entertaining vibe, but easily shifts with battles intensifying the beats. The songs, when exploring, were enough to have me bopping along. Between the Dosa Divas soundtrack and the latest Gorillaz album, I am in heaven.

Ramsey Kharroubi, better known as Marskye, is behind the soundtrack again and also did the soundtrack for Outerloops previous title, Thirsty Suitors. Here is one of my favorites: Village Groove. Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments.

Heartfelt Journey

You know what I can say about Dosa Divas? It made me miss my sisters and also reminded me how much I love making a home-cooked meal. The story of these culinary sisters is deeply emotional and dives into family dynamics and the pressures of traditions. At times, you can’t expect to get back what you put in. You can only mix so many ingredients before it becomes a paste in a tube. Putting a little love into what you create will fill you up. I am trying to say something here about how being there when family needs you and food, and it’s not coming to me. I think it needs more time in the oven. XD

Okay, bad puns aside, Dosa Divas is a fantastic experience that touched me and reminded me why I love indie games. The action-packed battles felt repetitive, but towards the late game, Outerloop takes those elements and flips them to keep you on your toes. The visuals and soundtrack play so well into the battles and exploration, I didn’t mind gathering resources, and if anyone knows me, I don’t like gathering resources.

These sisters will frustrate you, remind you what matters most, and beg for forgiveness when all hope is lost. We all make mistakes, and we all suffer, but at the end of the day, breaking dosa together is what makes it all worth it.

It took me 11 hours to play the main game, or so Steam says. I think it might have been roughly 9. It’s priced at $19.99, a great price for this whole experience. I played on my ROG Ally, and it ran above 60 fps easily, and it is verified for the Steam Deck. It’s out now on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch 1 + 2.

Thank you to Popagenda for the review key, and many thanks to Outerloop and Outersloth for Dosa Divas.

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Wishlist XP | Dice Have No Eyes, Besmirch

ARCO was one of my favorite games of 2024. The pixel art was a standout, and Franek is back now with this fantastic, odd gambling dice-rolling game Dice Have No Eyes. Check out my review of ARCO:

★ Surreal dice-rolling roguelike about luck and greed ★ Feed your dice dumplings, collect game bending trinkets, roll too much and lose it all. Or get lucky, unlock King Fetus, meet God and you might just wake up.

🎮 Dice Have No Eyes on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 20th, 2026

Farming Sim? Horror? Two of my least favorite genres? Yes, yes, and yes. But why do I want to play the hell out of Besmirch this dark pixel-farming horror show — I will never know.

The town of Besmirch starves. Stave off the hunger as the latest farmhand in this survival horror farming sim, earning the trust of paranoid townsfolk under the thumb of the corrupt Baron. Tend to both your farm and the town while avoiding unholy terrors that come in the night.

🎮 Besmirch on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 11th, 2026

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In Gaming News…

No idea what I should have named this, but I wanted to share more gaming-related stuff that I think is neat, so for now it’s whatever title I added last minute.

I was doomscrolling on Threads and came across this Pikmin folder icon post. _ka_ka_9 on Threads shared the design after being inspired themselves, and you can download them right from their Google Drive right now. I am going to try them out this weekend. They look adorable, and I needed to share this with all of you amazing people. You can find the drive link in the post below.

🧵 Pikmin Folder Icons Post

TOEM 2 is nearing its release, and the team behind the game Something We Made and the fantastic publishers Popagenda created a monthly series where they talk about the game. This Sound and Music episode is great, and if you liked TOEM our recent Gaming Club pick, then I highly suggest checking it out!

🎮 TOEM 2 on Steam
📆 Release Date | Q3 2026

Quest Vibes | Slice of Life - Wholesome Games

Unfortunately, you can not buy this gorgeous vinyl, but Wholesome Games’ Slice of Life was uploaded this year to YouTube, and its a fantastic collection of indie game hits. Kicking things off with A Short Hike, and featuring Wattam, Chicory, and many more of the slice of life indies Wholesome Games is known for.

Slice of Life: Songs from Wholesome Games – Black Screen Records

Gaming Club | Disco Elysium May 2026

Want to play Disco Elysium? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut on Steam

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Wishlist XP | City of None, Wunder: The Double-Sided Deckbuilder, Wax Heads

Most often, the games I feature in this section are either released the week of the post or in the next week. by Noel and Liam Berry is a 2027 release, but they finally dropped the reveal trailer for a game, and I needed to share this with everyone. Did you know they are also on Substack?

City of None

An upcoming adventure game by Noel and Liam Berry

By Noel

The co-creators of the indie hit Celeste, Noel and Liam Berry, have teamed up for a gorgeous new game I’ve been following for quite some time. The 2D platforming action-adventure sounds familiar, but the world they created this time is much darker in design. Liam’s soundtrack already has me hooked!

A metropolis crumbles into ruin as powerful Barons satisfy their greed upon souls lost in time. You are but one spirit, with a wooden body left to rot in the wild…

🎮 City of None on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2027

is back with a new title, Wunder: The Double-Sided Deckbuilder. If you are not familiar, he won the 2024 Playdate Game of the Year for Echo: The Oracle's Scroll, a non-combative Metrovania. This time around with his partner, they have come together to form a new studio, BumbleMumble, and an exciting take on a deckbuilder centered around flipping coins.

Wunder is a game of chance about flipping coins. Build a deck of coins with their own risk & reward; upgrade each side to tilt the odds in your favour, bolster your strategy with strange talismans and defeat the Ferryman at his own game.

🎮 Wunder: The Double-Sided Deckbuilder on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 4th, 2026

In late 2025, I dipped back into vinyl collecting. This was something I did in the US, but left behind when I moved to Europe. Of course, I started with gaming soundtracks, which you will hear and see more about in a new series coming to the newsletter. ;)

So, naturally, when I saw Wax Heads, I was intrigued. The game already looked great, but the marketing and shorts/TikTok videos are what really sold me on it. The developer knows the release date is crucial to the game’s success, so at times they poke fun at the stresses, which gives a feeling of authenticity to the whole experience. Also, a vinyl collector themselves sharing inspirations for the design and soundtrack of Wax Heads is a very nice touch.

Wax Heads is a cozy-punk narrative sim about working in a struggling record store. Chat to quirky customers with unique tastes, explore a handcrafted record collection, fall in love with bands (and their drama!), or just slack off with your colleagues - whatever gets everyone’s groove back!

🎮 Wax Heads on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 5th, 2026

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Crowdfunding Checkpoint | The Crane Rider's Tale

This month, we are playing Disco Elysium for the Gaming Club on Discord. The reason I am bringing this up is that this week’s Kickstarter game, The Crane Rider's Tale, is a murder mystery inspired by Disco Elysium, and Chinese folktales.

The pixel style of the Chinese folktales makes this game look beautiful. The compelling murder-mystery storyline is where I think it will flourish.

Fly passengers around a fantasy town inspired by Chinese folktales and unravel a mindbending, Zero Escape-like mystery.

🎮 The Crane Rider’s Tale | Kickstarter | Steam

Quest Vibes | Bandcamp Friday May 1st!

It’s Bandcamp Friday! What is that? Well, for 24 hours, every purchase you make on Bandcamp sends even more money directly to the artists and labels you support. This means fans can support artists more directly.

With that being said, here are 3 soundtracks I highly recommend you pick up!

Faraway Fairway (Game Soundtrack) | Sam Webster

SCHiM (Original Game Soundtrack) | Moonsailor

MainFrames (Micro-Chill Soundtrack) | Romain Rope

Quest Loot | Lock-On 007 & Selected Works — Lost In Cult

Lost In Cult’s Lock-On series is back, and they even made a Selected Works version of the first 6 issues. I am partial to anything Death Stranding, so that cover for Lock-On 007 is something I am obsessed with.

(Hey , don’t look now, but one of the covers is of Clair Obscur. This is an inside joke. LOL)

🏪Lock-On 007 & Selected Works — Lost In Cult

Gaming Club | Disco Elysium May 2026

Want to play Disco Elysium? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut on Steam

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Wishlist XP | Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth, Gambonanza

From the creators of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley comes a heartwarming new adventure inspired by the beloved Moomin stories by Tove Jansson. This time, join Moomintroll himself on a charming but cold winter journey.

🎮 Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | April 27th, 2026

Gambonanza is a turn-based chess roguelike, set on a tiny board with higher stakes. Master tactical twists, invest your winnings and discover new rule-bending Gambits, tile and piece combinations. Face off against challenging bosses and get lost in all the ways you can break traditional chess!

🎮 Gambonanza on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | May 1st, 2026

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Crowdfunding Checkpoint | Petrichor by POTESARA.CO

Hey! I have officially become a Superbacker on Kickstarter. What does it mean? I have backed 25+ successful Kickstarter campaigns. In reality, I have now backed 53 campaigns—49 are Games! :) The latest is Petrichor, this week’s feature. It’s a JRPG about a space cub going on a quest to find the perfect houseplant.

It reminds me of early SNES and PlayStation designs and has a charming yet silly style that I am dying to dive into. POTESARA.CO needs your assistance to reach its goal. It’s 73% funded with 23 days left on the campaign. Do your thing and support them.

Did you know you can always donate to a campaign? You do not need to pledge to receive the game, and it can start at $1. Every $1 helps, so why not back your first campaign today!

Petrichor is a JRPG about a space cub going on a quest to find the perfect houseplant. Make friends, defeat monsters, help people, save the stars and maybe get his plant. Maybe.

🎮 Petrichor by POTESARA.CO | Kickstarter | Steam (demo available)

Quest Vibes | Kid Katana - MIO: Memories in Orbit Vinyl Pre-Order

I featured the soundtrack for MIO: Memories In Orbit a few weeks back, but it deserves another feature for this gorgeous new vinyl. Kid Katana has done it again with another fantastic release. The pre-order is now live, and it features:

• 2 Crystal Clear vinyls with marbled white effect, matching the cover art minimalist pastel palette

• Exclusive art on the front, gatefold, and back, designed by the game art director

From the reactions to the game, one thing that is always highlighted is the soundtrack. It is evidenced by my constant rotations of Nicolas’s work in my household. The game and soundtrack are out now, and the vinyl is available for pre-order until May 25th, with delivery in September 2026.

🎮MIO: Memories in Orbit | Steam | Bandcamp
🏪Kid Katana | MIO: Memories in Orbit Vinyl Pre-order

Quest Loot | Okami - Celestial Brush Gods Blanket - Fangamer

Okami is a game that isn’t talked about enough. It was brilliant and had a beautiful design. That makes it pretty easy to see fantastic artwork and merchandise made for the game. Here is an example of the Celestial Brush Gods Blanket.

Who wouldn’t want to cuddle this good, good boy?

🏪Fan Gamer | Okami - Celestial Brush Gods Blanket

Gaming Club | Chants of Sennaar

Want to play Chants of Sennaar? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

It’s our game of the month for April 2026. It’s on sale on Steam at 40% off!

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 Chants of Sennaar on Steam

Next month’s game is Disco Elysium! The community has already started and lots of great discussions are going on right now!

🎮 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut on Steam

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Wishlist XP | Flock Around, Snap & Grab

Flock Around is a multiplayer bird watching game. Explore a nature sanctuary with friends, snap pictures of birds, and fill out the guide book!

🎮 Flock Around on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | April 24th, 2026

Do crimes using only your camera and your crew! In Snap & Grab, any photo you take could be the key to cool crime success. Travel to exotic sandbox locations, photograph treasures and reveal threats, then combine your photos in unique ways to create a rad heist plan.

🎮 Snap & Grab on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | April 24th, 2026

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Crowdfunding Checkpoint | CUBO

Hey! Cubo was my 50th backed game on Kickstarter! I am now a superbacker, woo!

You can playtest the game right now on Steam!

A narrative adventure-puzzle game set on a rubik's cube world

🎮 CUBO | Kickstarter | Steam

Quest Vibes | Dosa Divas by Marskye

My review is coming soon! Bit delayed, but the soundtrack is fire and my favorite is Village Groove.

🎮Dosa Divas | Steam

Quest Loot | Cult of the Lamb Designworks

🏪Lost in Cult | Cult of the Lamb Designworks

Gaming Club | Chants of Sennaar

Want to play Chants of Sennaar? Have it sitting in your backlog? Join the Gaming Club! It’s like a book club, but for games. Each month, the community picks a new game to play, and we discuss our experience with it.

It’s our game of the month for April 2026. It’s on sale on Steam at 40% off!

Want to join the club? Join my Discord here.

🎮 Chants of Sennaar on Steam

Also, we picked Tunic and Disco Elysium for May and June, if you want to join for those instead.

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The Triple-i Interactive | Games to Wishlist

Neverway is one indie darling I know is on many gamers’ wishlists. The game is co-created by Pedro Medeiros, pixel artist of Celeste, with music by Disasterpeace. You can watch the new trailer above, with more gameplay, and they dropped a prologue you can play right now! I also highly recommend checking out the game’s official website. https://neverwaygame.com

After quitting her dead-end job, Fiona starts over on a farm and becomes the immortal herald of a dead god. Make friends, fight through horrors and pay your debt in this nightmarish life sim RPG.

🎮 Neverway on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | October 2026

I shared Long Gone a while ago when they first revealed the game. We were finally shown a gameplay trailer, and it’s looking great! Visually reminds me a lot of Replaced (Which a review is coming for next week!). It also feels like The Last of Us, but in a 2D-3D pixel world.

Explore an abandoned suburban neighborhood decades after the outbreak. Solve environmental puzzles with your cat companion and uncover the secret lives of the people long gone through the belongings they left behind in this atmospheric 3D pixel narrative adventure. Oh, and watch out for the zombies.

🎮 Long Gone on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2027

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The studio that brought us the hit game 1000xResist comes a new take on how AI takes over a human body and believes it’s more human than humans. Or as my live chat said during the showcase: CAPTCHA the game.

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

🎮 Prove You're Human on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | To be announced

Friendslop? Maybe! Muppets as characters? Yes, please! Too Deep To Quit is a treasure-hunting co-op game that is definitely going into rotation for the Discord co-op sessions.

Grab your gear and your friends for a hilarious, golden-age co-op adventure! Dive into cursed temples, hunt for the ultimate treasure, and work together to stay alive. Beware of everything and everyone... after all, only the survivors get to split the gold!

🎮 Too Deep To Quit on Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026

Good Game Lobby | Review Under the Island

This week’s game I reviewed was Under the Island, a Zelda-like game that hit all my nostalgic spots.

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Nia is new to Sea Shell Island, and when she discovers that the fate of the island rests in her hands, it’s her turn to prove herself and uncover ancient mysteries.

• Game: Under the Island

• Studio: Slime King Games

• Publisher:

• Platforms: Steam

• Completion Time: 10-12 Hours

• Price: $19.99

• Genre: Zelda-Like, Action RPG, Pixel

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of Under The Island, an action RPG Zelda-Like from Slime King Games, and published by Top Hat Studios. It’s a Zelda-like that harkens back to one of my all-time favorite games: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Under the Island looks great, plays great, and has snuck into my heart as one of my must-play games of 2026. Let’s jump into the story.

Sinking Destiny

Nia quickly learns on arrival that Sea Shell Island is doomed to sink. With her companion Avocado and guidance from a divine elder, she sets out to collect crucial items to save the island.

I can’t talk about too much more without spoiling the story, but rest assured, you can coast through the game, only taking in bits and pieces, and still come out thinking it’s the best Zelda-like of the year. For example, Zelda games follow a similar pattern—you have to collect items and eventually defeat the big bad. It’s the same here, but this time the protagonist has a voice, and she uses it often to put people in their place.

The way she navigates builds the story up, giving it more weight than the previous Zelda titles of that time period did. I am saying Zelda a lot. Sorry!

Classic Reinvented

The gameplay of Under the Island feels snappy, and the comparison to Link to the Past is warranted. It reminds me so much of it that certain patterns of gameplay felt natural and familiar. I almost speed ran the game because of that. Your weapon is not a sword; instead, Nia’s weapon of choice is her hockey stick. You will no doubt go around chopping down bushes for hearts, moving around stones to solve puzzles, and finding hidden chests with items for your journey. Think everything Zelda in a 90’s fantasy world.

There is something so rewarding about opening a chest or solving a sidequest and getting a new heart coin, which increases your maximum health. I even sidelined myself by going on a full run, trying to collect as many as possible before the endgame. You can also improve Nia’s healing abilities and weapon damage by foraging for special items around the island and either exchanging them or using them through the game’s upgrade menus. The puzzles, fighting, and exploring had me stuck with a permanent smile on my face throughout the island. The way they introduced familiar weapons or mechanics was similar to other titles, but the upgrade system and foraging for items offer a modern take, making Nia stronger and more equipped as you progress.

In your time on Sea Shell Island, you will explore 6 different biomes with their own set of challenges and puzzles. The amount of puzzle work in the game is impressive, all keeping things fresh and never repeating in style and difficulty. I even had to reference a walkthrough for one because I was stumped! This was due to user error and was not the game’s fault.

I recommend foraging most when you can because the upgrades to healing and weapon damage make the late game smooth sailing.

Cozy Pixels

The vibrant pixel art and world designs felt warm and cozy. I wouldn’t mind living on Sea Shell island even with the game’s end-of-the-world premise.

The top-down action RPG might be done to death for some, but not for me! Just think about Mina the Hollower and how hyped the gaming world is for an advanced version of a Zelda-inspired game.

The world of Under the Island is gorgeous, and the design of the NPCs’ portraits is also a nice touch that builds into the characters’ back stories. The color palette also plays a role in the vibrant world. I wish I could own a real-life heart coin.

Nostalgic Harmony

The soundtrack was a delight, with many songs evoking a nostalgic feeling. They collaborated with Miyoko Takaoka (Terranigma), Edward Marianukroh (Chained Echoes), and Robert Kilpatrick (Born of Bread). These composers come together to create a wonderful soundscape that will stay with me forever.

One song in particular that I couldn’t get enough of was Baleru Forest by Edward. Take a listen and let me know what you think in the comments.

Timeless Adventure

On my 8th birthday, I was at home sick with the flu. To my surprise, my parents gifted me an SNES and Link to the Past. Still one of the best birthdays ever, and it set off a chain of events that led me to where I am today. It’s still one of my favorite games of all time. That being said, you can say Under the Island made a link to my past. (Sorry)

I wish things were still the same as back then, with a physical cartridge that I could trade my copy of the game with friends so we could all play it in short bursts. It brought back so many of those old memories, and I thank the developer for that. It felt good to be a kid again.

Under the Island took me 12 hours to complete the main quest, with a decent amount of the heart coins collected. I played almost exclusively on my ROG Ally, and it ran buttery smooth. It’s also Steam Deck verified.

Under the Island took roughly 3-4 years to make, and it shows in the attention to detail. Where some of the writing took a back seat because of the addictive gameplay, it still didn’t disappoint. They have set up a world I would love to revisit in a sequel. The collection method and quests grow well and give the game a ton of replayability.

Nia is bright and has a leadership role, continuing to set a great example with each biome explored and challenges solved. I particularly enjoyed the latter half of the game because of how the game wraps up the story, and the puzzles needed to be solved.

It never felt like it was dragging. In fact, I felt like I was speed running with how quickly I was running through the world and enemies, even with 12+ hours of gameplay.

A great looking game with smooth gameplay, an inspiring tale of a young girl against the odds, and a phenomenal soundtrack all came together for an adventure I hope inspires a fresh new franchise because I am hungry for more!

The natural successor to Link to the Past was Ocarina of Time, so no pressure, but I would love to play a 3d version of this game. The link to the past was my entry into the Zelda world, and that is how I hope a younger audience feels when playing Under the Island. If 2d top down action adventures are your bag, then I highly recommend this must-play game of the year.

The mission of Slime King Games is:

And I can say for me at least, they did just that.

It’s out now on PC, Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation and comes in at $19.99. I am starting to sense a pattern for the indies I love that have a great quality coming at $20.

Thank you for the review from Top Hat Entertainment, and thanks for checking out my review of Under The Island. Also, is on Substack!