Friday Follow-UP #4 2025
Featuring: Indie games releasing in 2025: Death Howl, RhythMania, Stretchmancer, Tossdown, Crowdfunding Akatori, Toby Fox Off Soundtrack, and the latest Good Game Lobby Review!
Welcome to this weeks Friday Follow-UP covering games to Wishlist, crowdfunding game, soundtracks, merch, and the latest Good Game Lobby Reviews. Subscribe to get the weekly newsletter and reviews straight to your inbox.
Wishlist XP: Death Howl, RhythMania, STRETCHMANCER, Tossdown
A Soulslike deck builder plus those pixel graphics? That’s all I need to instantly wishlist this one. They just released the demo this week, so you can check it out for yourself!
Journey the sorrowful spirit world in a soulslike deck builder, Death Howl. Craft cards and claim powerful totems to defeat the woeful spirits lurking in the mystical lands. Unravel the tale of a grieving mother in her desperate attempt to defy death and bring back her son.
🎮Death Howl | Steam | Demo Out Now!
🗓️Release Date | 2025
I saw RhythMania one on my YouTube feed, and I’m so stoked to share it. A rhythm-based game inspired by the Rhythm Heaven series and featuring Brazilian songs is such a vibe—it’s an easy hook for me to wishlist this one. Demo coming out soon!
A collection of rhythm-based minigames inspired by the Rhythm Heaven series, featuring Brazilian musical themes and genres, award-winning Brazilian guest artists and more!
🎮Game | Steam | Demo Coming Soon
🗓️Release Date | 2025
This is legitimately going to be one of the best games released this year. The mechanic of stretching levels to reach goals looks so fluid, seamlessly snapping the world in and out around you. The voice acting in the trailer and the animated cartoon style are sure to solidify it as a hit. Mark my words!
STRETCH THE WORLD, SAVE THE GALAXY! In this smartly funny First Person Puzzler, you are THE STRETCHMANCER. Squash and stretch your environment to solve fiendish puzzles and defeat the Claustro Empire... in an epic voice-acted adventure inspired by 90s Saturday Morning Cartoons!
🎮Stretchmancer | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
I’ve been watching the developer Fer (Fer Factor) chip away at this game’s development over the last year, adding a demo and gathering valuable community feedback. Fer is a genuinely great person to follow, and the game looks stellar—think Crazy Taxi with elements of a roguelike and pure chaos!
Run, jump and dash through chaos, dodging hazards and enemies as you deliver packages. Fight back with wacky power-ups and choose from a variety of perks to improve your chances of survival. It’s Crazy taxi meets Jet Set Radio!
🎮Tossdown | Steam | Bluesky
🗓️Release Date | 2025
Crowdfunding Checkpoint: Akatori
I was really impressed by the trailer, which showcases beautifully designed 3D levels full of detail, while the main character and enemies are animated in a pixel art style. The Kickstarter is launching soon, so make sure to save this one and be among the first to back it. It looks like it’s going to be a hit!
A Metroidvania set in a magical world with two parallel dimensions!
🎮Akatori | Kickstarter
🗓️Launch Date | January
Quest Vibes: OFF Soundtrack by Toby Fox!
Belgian developer Mortis Ghost is back, this time with publisher Fangamer, to release an updated version of OFF, a cult-classic RPG. This is a game I've never played, but I’m incredibly excited to review it this year. It has inspired many developers, including Toby Fox and the characters in Undertale.
Here is a quote from the OFF press release by PiratePR:
Toby cited OFF multiple times in his UNDERTALE Art Book as an inspiration for his designs, especially the character designs. Papyrus’s appearance initially inspired by the first boss, Dedan. Next, Sans was inspired by Zacharie and the judge: A reliable, friendly, humorous character who shows up throughout the adventure, and you never quite know what his deal is.
Toby was asked to come in and revamp the soundtrack, and he did so—for free! They even have an interview with him where you can find out more here.
🎶Toby Foxy | Bandcamp
🎮OFF | Steam
🗓️Release Date | 2025
Shoutout: AlexanderTheGeek
One of the first people to support me and join the Discord (link here to join) was AlexanderTheGeek. He recently published his first piece on Medium, and I wanted to give him a shoutout. It's a great post about his journey with the Monster Hunter franchise, which follows a trajectory I can relate to: feeling unsure about it and struggling with the controls at first, but eventually, another iteration comes along, and you're just hooked. Check it out and give him a follow!
✍️AlexanderTheGeek | Medium | Threads
wtf, how did I miss RhythMania? It's looks so cool, and the music sounds great.
I had a lot of fun with the Death Howl demo! It's a pretty compelling game, with crafting built into the deck-building mechanic!