Welcome to our latest roundup of what’s going on in the indie game sector. As always, we’re here to tell you about a ton of new games you can play this weekend, as well as several upcoming games.
The latest edition of the Triple-Eye Initiative Showcase was packed with cool stuff, including the first glimpse of the exciting next game. 1000xresistance Developer Sunset Visitor, Word of A don’t stay hungry Release date for the follow-up, stealth title thick as Thieves And when is Pirate Survival Sim announced? windrose Quick access will be affected.
We even got a release window for Absolutely notA life sim with extremely creepy pixel art. Prologue is now available to play on Steam, and it doesn’t take long for things to get extremely weird. I’ll cover some other triple-eye highlights below.
However, before we get to the new releases, I want to talk about something I saw too late to include in last week’s roundup. On Reddit, developer of mixed reality games Coastermania Shared a video showing an update that lets players use their hands to build rollercoasters and interact with them. I think it just looks hilarious. I’m most interested so far in picking up a Meta Quest headset (which I’ll essentially be using for about 45 minutes).
new releases
I don’t like to work my brain too much when I play games. I stay focused on work all day and after that, I just want to switch off for a while. That’s a big reason I play a lot overwatch And really doesn’t match up very well with most puzzle games. minosHowever, it hits the sweet spot of brain engagement for me.
In this roguelite from Artificer and publisher Devolver Digital, your objective is to prevent glory-seeking adventurers from finding and killing the Minotaur. To protect the beast from these warriors you will shape a maze as you see fit. You can set up a maze by building walls, demolishing them, and setting up traps. Adventurers would follow a set path to the Minotaur’s lair, then make a beeline for him when they discovered the monster was hiding elsewhere.
There are many ways to deal with intruders and you’ll need to think about how to set everything up to ward off each wave of attackers. Many traps can only be placed in certain locations, so it’s important to work around them. You’ll need to adjust your setup after each wave – you’ll find more traps and have to rearrange them to avoid different types of enemies.
minos It’s more proactive than a lot of tower defense and strategy games I’ve played, as the Minotaur can reset some traps after they’re triggered and, if necessary, try to kill the adventurers outright. I found myself spending a lot of time thinking about each enemy’s path through my domain and how I was going to eliminate them. Sometimes, I guess wrong and end my race. Being able to improve the Minotaur’s stats and unlock new powers between runs kept me coming back for more.
i’m really enjoying minosAnd I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes one of my favorite games of the year. You can buy it now on Steam for $18. A demo is also available.
At last spring has blossomed in my forest. I planned to spend a large part of my weekend outside after a long winter. But now I may need to bring my Steam deck with me, because the first DLC cloverOne of my favorite games of last year, Triple-I Initiative, came out of the blue during the showcase.
clover is one Balatro-Style incremental roguelite from Panic Arcade and publisher Future Friends Games. It tasks you with breaking slot machine rules to meet rapidly increasing coin targets to pay off debts. You can pick up charms that modify the machine, and the Unholy Fusion DLC is all about those totems. You’ll be able to use a new device called the Surgery Machine to add Charms to more powerful items (à la ball x pit). This seems like it would free up valuable space for even more attractions.
The DLC includes 30 fusion charms, 11 new base charms, a secret ending, and other features. I’ve played clover For dozens of hours (I’m far from the only one, as the game has attracted over 5 million players). I doubt I’m going to waste too much time in this DLC.
The Unholy Fusion DLC usually costs $3, but is 10 percent off on Steam until April 23. The base game is normally $10, although you can get it for 30 percent off on Steam until the same date. If you buy a bundle with both you’ll save an additional five percent. clover It’s also on Game Pass, and you can purchase a bundle of the base game and DLC for $11.49 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. On iOS and Android, you can snag clover for $5 and DLC for $2.
Another title was released surprisingly suddenly during the Triple-Eye Initiative Showcase: Battle Royale Typing Game last sentence. I really enjoyed its demo, even though I’m not the fastest or most accurate typist – I made four typos in this sentence alone. Make too many mistakes or fail to defeat everyone who is attacking the typewriter and it’s curtains for you, courtesy of a scary figure standing near your desk with a revolver.
last sentence, From Button Mash and Polden Publishing, available on Steam. It would normally cost $10, but if you grab it before April 23, you’ll save 10 percent. (Sidenote: I enjoyed the Steam review that read, “Finally… a way for the millennial generation to defeat Gen Z in a battle royale game.)
One of the most interesting things about people of note The thing is, Iridium Studios tried to make this musical adventure as accessible as possible. It’s an RPG with turn-based battles, but you can skip the battles if you want. This is fascinating for someone like me, who enjoys story-based games but often struggles to engage with turn-based combat. Puzzles can also be skipped. Great! People should be able to play non-competitive sports as they wish.
I got a demo of it when I played it a while back. The approach to battles here is interesting, as the protagonist, pop singer Cadence, recruits other musicians to join her band – in other words, your party. Battles are based on music, and you can create mashups of battle tracks based on the genres your allies are experts in.
people of note, From publisher Annapurna Interactive, it’ll normally run you $25, though there’s a 10 percent discount at launch. It’s available on PS5 (the discount on that platform is only for PlayStation Plus subscribers), Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.
pageant is a fast-paced first-person shooter with a neat twist. There is only one level available in the game at any time. There are no checkpoints here and a successful run will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Levels receive procedurally generated upgrades once per day.
A tanto blade, a pistol, your moves and your aim are the only weapons you have to defeat the enemies and reach the goal. I had to watch the trailer a few times to get it, but the quirky hand-drawn beauty is growing on me.
pageant – from Quik Tequila and publisher Edgelord – is available for $20 on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch.
There’s a Hidden Object Fest going on on Steam until April 13th, and a few new games have debuted as part of it. is one of them nippets By Blink Industries. It’s a hand-drawn game with plenty of secrets and, at least as the trailer suggests, features attractive animations. It seems like it’s a very comfortable counterpoint to some of the more intense games this week. It’s also quite digestible, as it has about two to three hours of gameplay, depending on how sharp your observation skills are.
nippets Available for PC and Mac on Steam and Itch. It costs $13, although there is a 10 percent discount on Steam until April 21st. A demo is also available at both storefronts.
upcoming
dead as disco It’s gained some momentum after 1.2 million players checked out the demo, and this rhythm-based beat ’em up now has an Early Access release date. It’s coming to Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 5th.
Starting out, you’ll be able to play the first arc of a larger narrative and take out the bad guys to the tune of a soundtrack that features over 30 songs including original tracks, covers, and licensed tunes. You can also load your own music into it, although I can’t imagine it being able to play efficiently to the rhythm of Angin de Poitrine’s wild time signature swings.
Brain Jar Games expects the game to remain in early access for about a year as new bosses, moves, and other features are added, and adjustments are made based on player feedback. A co-op mode is also planned. you can taste it dead as disco Checking out the Steam demo now, though, I’d argue that Disco is still very much alive.
Those looking for a puzzle game of the Lovecraftian persuasion may be interested in invocation of the great gods2020 sequel call of the sea. The follow-up is bound for Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2 on May 12th. It will be available on Game Pass and costs $25 on the eShop.
It appears you won’t need to play call of the sea Before diving into the sequel, though, you’ll definitely get more invocation of the great gods if you have. You’ll switch between two characters – Professor Harry Everhart and student Evangeline Drayton – to solve puzzles from a first-person perspective and try to figure out what happened to the pair’s missing loved ones.
I had seen long gone In another showcase some time ago, but its name disappeared from my memory. However, once Triple-Eye Initiative came on stream that wasn’t an issue, as this project from Hillfort Games and co-publisher Outersloth is now firmly on my Steam wishlist.
It’s a narrative-based game set amidst a zombie outbreak in which you’ll solve environmental puzzles to learn about the lives of people who are no longer around. It’s apparently a point-and-click adventure that looks to be heavily inspired by a certain post-apocalyptic series from Naughty Dog, including the one featuring a backpack-wearing hero. There are also platforming sections.
I would definitely be interested in any games that match together the last of us and the Monkey Island series. i’m really looking forward to playing long gone Sometime next year.
<a href