Friday Follow-UP #15 2025
Newsletter #15 of 2025 Featuring: Wishlists for Neverway, Ikuma, and Mouse Work. Kickstarter for Uppercute! Soundtrack for Earthblade, and Merch for Hollow Knight and latest Good Game Lobby Review!
Welcome to this week’s Friday Follow-UP, covering games to wishlist, crowdfunding highlights, soundtracks, merch, and the latest Good Game Lobby review. Subscribe to get the weekly newsletter and reviews straight to your inbox.
I had this post scheduled, but after last night’s Triple-i Initiative Showcase, I decided to update it with two world premieres that really stood out—IKUMA – The Frozen Compass and Neverway. Let’s dive in!
Wishlist XP | Neverway, IKUMA The Frozen Compass, Kaya’s Prophecy, Mouse Work, and Ninja Ming
From the pixel artist behind Celeste and featuring music by Disasterpeace, that’s all I needed to wishlist the hell out of Neverway. But once you see the artwork and edgy attitude of this game, I hope you fall in love like I did. Another win for recent publisher Outersloth!
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 | Steam
🗓️ Release Date | TBA
IKUMA – The Frozen Compass is visually stunning. It looks like a walking simulator set in a vast, frozen world—accompanied by an adorable dog who might even be controlled by a friend in co-op mode. Another win for publish Outersloth!
Embark on a haunting journey into the cold in this narrative adventure - either alone or with a friend. IKUMA tells the story of Sam, a teenage boy who finds himself stranded in the Arctic with his dog. He must face not only its harsh environment, but also something lurking deeper in the shadows.
🎮 IKUMA – The Frozen Compass | Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026
Deck and village-building? ✅ Kaya’s Prophecy scratches that god-fearing strategy itch in all the best ways.
Kaya’s Prophecy is a unique card based village builder! establish your village, gather resources, and craft tools and buildings in a vibrant world. Explore and combat various challenges and other groups in this colourful, deck-builder while appeasing your god to earn his favour.
🎮 Kaya's Prophecy | Steam
🗓️ Release Date | April 10th, 2025
I can’t be the only one who dove headfirst into every Nitrome game during the early iPhone days—Endless Doves was my personal fave! They’re back with a follow-up to Shovel Knight Dig, Mouse Work, exclusive to the Switch 2.
Quit mousin' around and get yourselves down to the job centre! Team up with friends or go it alone, facing a range of mini game challenges using the Switch 2 mouse controls. Each job features a unique and inventive mechanic making full use of the Joy-Con 2’s brand new cursor functionality.
In Mouse Work players take on the role of adorable mice that are just trying to earn some Cheddar. Fortunately for them, the local job centre has a wealth of offerings available, each testing our mice with new and innovative cursor-based gameplay.
🎮 Mouse Work | YouTube
🗓️ Release Date | TBA
Ninja Ming is all about precision platforming, pixel graphics, and clever world navigation via teleportation.
In this 2d precision platformer with a teleportation twist, play as Ninja Ming and embark on the Path of Trials. Dash through 241 levels using dynamic teleportation and diverse ninjutsu skills. Conquer challenges with style—growing stronger at every turn.
🎮 Ninja Ming | Steam
🗓️ Release Date | April 22nd, 2025
Crowdfunding Checkpoint | Uppercute
I played the demo for Uppercute, and while it has a learning curve, the gameplay loop is super fun once it clicks—jumping around, collecting items, and racing to the finish. Also… that name? Uppercute?! So damn good. It’s currently 108% funded with 8 days to go!
Uppercute is a 3D action platformer where, with the help of your sister and the use of your runner skills, you’ll dive into people's minds, face challenging opponents and retrieve valuable information to solve the mystery of your brother's disappearance.
🎮 Uppercute | Steam | Kickstarter
🗓️ Campaign Ends | April 19th, 2025
Quest Vibes | Lena Raine - EARTHBLADE - Across the Bounds of Fate
Layoffs, closures, and the state of the games industry can get rough. I usually share the fun stuff, but today I want to spotlight something bittersweet—the now-cancelled Earthblade.
This was set to be the spiritual successor to Celeste, but the studio ultimately shut the project down due to creative differences. While the game is gone, a piece of it lives on.
Lena Raine, also the composer for Celeste, had been working on Earthblade’s music not just as a soundtrack—but as a full-on concept album.
“Across the Bounds of Fate, more so than a soundtrack, is a concept album. The music I wrote for the game is highly dynamic, in the tradition of what I wrote for Celeste. I took it many steps beyond, in ways that temporally-constrained pieces of music can’t really do justice. But I did my best to arrange them into the emotional arc of their progression, much like I would for any soundtrack release.” - Lena Raine
You can hear that arc in tracks like “Verdant Mysteries” where soaring strings and haunting vocals capture what Earthblade might have been. Even if the game is gone, its soul lingers in this beautiful music.
🎶Lena Raine | Bandcamp
Quest Loot | Hollow Knight - Cozy Critters Throw Blanket
Five seconds of Hollow Knight: Silksong news is enough to send us all spiraling. The release window might be set for 2025—but who really knows?
It’s a bit steep on price at $45, but at least you know its available right now so why not pick it up!?
🎮Donut County | Steam
🏪 Fangamer | Hollow Knight - Cozy Critters Throw Blanket
Neverway looks so good.
Great roundup. I played a little of Kaya's Prophecy during Next Fest - it was fun. I like the card boardgame mechanic.