Friday Follow-UP #27 2025
Newsletter #27 of 2025 Featuring: games to Wishlist, crowdfunding game, latest Quest Vibes playlist, merch, and Steam Summer Sale!
Welcome to this weeks Friday Follow-UP covering indie games to Wishlist, crowdfunding game, latest Quest Vibes playlist, merch, and Steam Summer Sale! Subscribe to get the weekly newsletter and reviews straight to your inbox.
Wishlist XP | Hermit and Pig, Silly Polly Beast, and Rootbound
This is one game I’ve shared before, and I’ll share it again. I love the art style because it reminds me of how I would illustrate a game in pixel artwork. The premise of a mushroom-obsessed man and his best friend a pig is funny and charming. It’s slated for a 2025 release, but no exact date yet.
Hermit and Pig is a turn-based, adventure RPG about a reclusive hermit and his truffle-hunting pig. These unlikely heroes must explore, forage, fight, and overcome unfortunate personal shortcomings to solve the mystery of a sinister corporate plot.
🎮 Hermit and Pig | Steam | Demo out now!
🗓️ Release Date | 2025
This was one of the games I discovered while watching the Horror Game Awards Showcase thanks to
. Silly Polly Beast’s visuals caught my eye first, but the world-building in the trailer and the combat make it look like an engaging experience.This is the story of a girl who, by the will of fate, faced the beast - and in order to become free, she was forced to study its nature. A story-driven shooter with aggressive gunfights and terrifying monsters awaits you. How far can you go in the fight for your freedom?
🎮 Silly Polly Beast | Steam | Demo out now!
🗓️ Release Date | 2025
“Every object is a tool” is what I read in the trailer, and I immediately felt like exploring in this game would scratch the itch I needed scratched. Rootbound has pixel styling closest to Moonlighter, with its side top-down view where you explore, solve puzzles, and fight monsters.
A physics-based action adventure about a plantling’s quest to save its home from a mysterious blight. Equipped with your sentient backpack, you venture into a broken world. Meet lost souls, solve ancient puzzles, fight dangerous monsters, and uncover the secrets of a long-forgotten civilization.
🎮 Rootbound | Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026
Crowdfunding Checkpoint | Game
This was a standout from the recent Wholesome Direct 2025, which you can watch my co-stream of here. Just watch the trailer and tell me you’re not intrigued by the stop-motion style. It’s beautiful, cute, and you still have 3 days to back it on Kickstarter!
A detective game about the theft of a bell, taking place in a little french village, inspired by miniatures and stop-motion animation!
🎮 Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell | Kickstarter | Steam
🗓️ Release Date | 2026
Quest Vibes Monthly | July
We are officially in July, and that means a fresh new playlist for you to listen to! You can save the playlist here on Spotify, and if you don’t use that service, it’s also available on YouTube here. It features music from indie games like the recently released to a T, Surmount, Death’s Door, and more!
Have a song you think should be on next month’s playlist or anything I should check out? Let me know in the comments!
🎶 Quest Vibes Monthly July | Spotify | YouTube
Quest Loot | Death Stranding 2: On The Beach 1/20 Scale Ghost Mech Coffins
If you know me even a little bit, you know I’m a Death Stranding stan. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach released last week and I’m already 50+ hours in. I’ve completed the game and am now just connecting the rest of the world. I want to continue living in that world, and what better way than with this insane figure?
Its introduction is one of the best in the game, with Higgs (Troy Baker) emerging from the coffin on its back. The head looks like an alien from Alien, and it has an arm with a blade and a tail with grippers. It’s as terrifying as it is awesome.
🎮 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach | PlayStation
🏪 iam8bit | Death Stranding 2: On The Beach 1/20 Scale Ghost Mech Coffins
Good Game Lobby Recap | Steam Summer Sale Posts
No review this week, but I did share to post on the Steam Summer Sale I think you should check out!
Steam Summer Sale: 12 Reviewed Games You Should Add to Cart ASAP
The Steam Summer Sale runs until July 10, and I’m highlighting great deals on games I’ve reviewed over the past two years. Not sure yet? Check out the review videos or Substack links—and let me know if you grab any, have played them, or have your own recs! Want to get the deals directly on Steam as I review them?
Sidenote: We’re starting the monthly gaming club back up! What’s that? We pick a game to play together, then spend the month playing it and chatting about it in the Discord. Come join us if you’re interested! Discord Link Here.
That Death Stranding 2 figure is so cool! The art direction in the game is just brilliant.
I like Hermit and Pig. :D Very cool idea for a game.