The main showcase at Summer Game Fest is a nonstop barrage of huge trailers for massive games, but despite its two-hour runtime, there are plenty of upcoming games it doesn't have time to feature. Luckily, the Day of the Devs showcase, which aired immediately after, is around to shine a spotlight on a promising batch of incoming indies. From new reveals like Battle Vision Network to the release date reveal of the long-awaited UFO50, here's everything featured in today's showcase in order of appearance.
Simpler Times is a game with no combat, no timers, and no pressure. In this slow-paced lo-fi experience, you solve puzzles, listen to music, and paint pictures as Taina's story unfolds. If you're interested, you won't have to wait long: it launches on Steam today.
The next game from Capybara Games, the team behind Grindstone and Might & Magic, Battle Vision Network is a puzzle-based competitive multiplayer experience. The one-on-one color-matching combat will feature unique teams, unlockable hand-drawn units, and live season-based gameplay when it launches next year.
Described as the "final part of a freedom trilogy" that includes The Game Bakers' previous titles Fury and Haven, Cairn is a survival game about climbing a mountain. Each wall presents a unique challenge, and it's up to the player to find the best path to reach the top using strategic footholds, an arsenal of climbing gear, and an eye for creative solutions.
A game with a distinctly Game Boy aesthetic, Petal Runner is described as a slice-of-life RPG where you deliver digital pets (called HanaPets) to the people of Sapphire Valley. With a motorcycle to explore the world and your fox-like companion Kira by your side, embark on a journey to become a pixelated Petal Runner.
This narrative psychological horror game takes place across two separate worlds: the real world's Orwellian dystopia and a surrealist space in your mind called the World of Memories. Its trippy visuals and body horror galore will be coming to consoles and PC, though no release window has been specified.
Made by the creator of Spelunky (and some of his friends), UFO50 is a staggeringly ambitious project. It tells the story of a fictional developer called UFO Soft that created a console that existed from 1982 to 1990. Players can play through the console's entire 50-game library in chronological order, seeing the progression of its technology over time. Revealed back in 2017, the game will finally see the light of day this September.
Cozy Grove, the 2021 life-sim about managing an island haunted by friendly ghosts, is getting a sequel. With more ghosts to befriend, a new island to explore, and daily quests to tackle, your customizable Spirit Scouts will have plenty of new tasks to complete. The sequel will also allow you to adopt pets, including pettable dogs and for some reason, snails. The game will come to Netflix's games library on June 25.
There are tons of video games about people's relationships with their dogs, but not any that take place in a hand-drawn, musical forest. In Koira, there's no dialogue or written text, but each animal and character is instead voiced by a musical instrument. You can get a taste of what it's like to bond with your new puppy and venture through the woods when the game's demo releases on Steam sometime soon.
This "role-puzzling adventure" is like a typical grid-based action/adventure title, but every time you move, the entire row or column of your map grid slides with you. In fact, the entire world exists on one interconnected grid, so you'll have to navigate every puzzle, town, and dungeon skillfully to get where you need to go. It hits PlayStation 5, Switch, PC, and Netflix games next month on July 25.
What do you get when you mix PS1-era graphics, two high schoolers, and Blumhouse Productions Games division? Fear the Spotlight follows Vivian and Amy as they sneak into school to mess around with an Ouija board, which naturally goes horribly wrong. Developed by Cozy Game Pals, this retro horror game will launch later this year.
We've likely all done some form of multi-screen multitasking with a game on one monitor and a show on the other, but in Screenbound, it's a central game mechanic. While you navigate a first-person 3D area, you'll have to simultaneously manage a 2D sidescroller using the handheld device in your hands. You can only see enemies in the 2D world, but you'll have to pay attention to the 3D world to properly platform. It's a unique pitch that we can't wait to get our hands on.
Zoos are a great place to visit with your family during the day, but at night, it might be a different story entirely. Zoochosis is a narrative horror game about being trapped in a zoo full of horrifying mutating animals. Your goal is to save the animals, but with multiple endings, your success will vary from playthrough to playthrough.
Despite having her job in the tile, this game isn't really about mail delivery. Tom mostly just wants to creep on her neighbors. Peering through windows, cracked door frames, and holes in fences, observe the bizarre inhabitants of Tom's town. With a hand-drawn art style ripped straight from a picture book, this game is somehow as creepy as it is cute.
There are a lot of directions developers can take the cyberpunk aesthetic, and Rocket Adrift, the developers of Psychroma, are leaning into the most horrifying aspects of the genre. With an amnesiac protagonist, lanky, pixel-based character art, and deep questions about identity and humanity, Psychroma looks like an intriguing investigation into the human condition.
Described by its creator as "A Short Hike, but stupid," Building Relationships is a short narrative experience where you play as a human-sized house that is romantically interested in other human-sized buildings. Roll around the low-poly island (I mean this literally – you move by rolling), fish, unlock abilities, and, as the title implies, build relationships.
This DLC for the organization-based puzzle game A Little To The Left has more of everything people liked about the base game – more levels, more solutions, and even more cats. This expansion hits digital storefronts later this month on June 25. Read our review of the base game here.
It's Groundhog's Day meets Animal Crossing. When a time loop traps you on a chill, remote island, you'll be able to explore the village, chat with the local anthropomorphic animals, and solve puzzles to master your 12-hour experience. You can discover the game's hidden story when it comes out next year.
As you follow Adam's life from birth until death, you'll begin to notice a not-so-subtle trend. He has to wait a lot – and he hates waiting. Goof off in dozens of patience-themed levels by entertaining yourself with the things around you, or just wait patiently and see what happens. Ironically, you'll have to wait an undetermined amount of time for the game to come out, but you can wishlist it on Steam in the meantime.
This narrative game about a musician is set in Jakarta, a fitting location given its Indonesian developer. The protagonist hears the voice of his girlfriend after her death, and the game will focus on themes of love, grief, and identity. And of course, it wouldn't be a game starring a musician without rhythm minigames. Afterlove EP is out later this year, with a demo available now.
Illustrated with a striking, textured art style, this mystery adventure game is a little different from a typical point-and-click. Instead of items, your inventory is made of concepts and ideas, which you can use to solve puzzles and learn information through conversations. From developer Calligram Studio, Phoenix Springs will launch on September 16.
You know how in some racing games, you can race against the "ghost" of a person's high score as if you're competing with them? That's kind of like the concept of Tides of Tomorrow, a game where you follow in the footsteps of past playthroughs (either friends or streamers); only in this case, their decisions will affect your story. It's the latest game from DigixArt, the developer of Road 96.
How did you feel about the Day of the Devs showcase this year? What game are you most excited by? Let us know in the comments!
Developer Massive Monster still isn't done with its 2022 hit game, Cult of the Lamb, as it's bringing full campaign co-op to it this August. Revealed during today's Devolver Digital presentation, the Unholy Alliance update hits Cult of the Lamb on August 12 and adds a new playable character: the Goat.
With the Goat joining the titular Lamb, players can now experience the entire campaign in local co-op. Devolver says this update includes two-player twists on existing minigames in Cult of the Lamb, like fishing and kuncklebones, as well as additional corrupted weapons, tarot cards, curses, and relics.
Check out the two-player action in the Cult of the Lamb: Unholy Alliance trailer below:
While playing in co-op, players can swap weapons, deal extra damage when fighting back-to-back, and deal critical hits if their attacks are in sync. Plus, solo players get some new powers and abilities to play with, too.
Elsewhere in the update, Unholy Alliance adds new buildings, fleeces, follower traits, follower quests, and more secrets to discover.
Here are some Cult of the Lamb: Unholy Alliance screenshots:
Cult of the Lamb's Unholy Alliance update hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC for free on August 12.
For more, read Game Informer's Cult of the Lamb review, and then read about the major content update the game got last year.
Are you going to revisit Cult of the Lamb for some co-op action? Let us know in the comments below!
Tenjutsu is a jujutsu-inspired action roguelite from Sébastien Benard, lead designer of Dead Cells and solo developer at Deepnight Games, and it's coming to consoles and PC sometime in the future. Revealed during today's Devolver Digital presentation, Tenjutsu is a fully fleshed-out version of Tenjutsu (48h version), which Deepnight released back in 2022.
Devolver describes the game as a "fast and fluid rogue-jutsu," leaning into the game's jujutsu roguelite action. In it, you control a renegade yakuza "hellbent on defying her former associates and loosening their grip on the Secret Garden City." To do so, you must fight four powerful crime syndicates. To defeat them "you must master a brutal brawling system and build a diverse arsenal of weapons, upgrades, and martial arts techniques, breaking their hold on the streets in a flurry of violence."
Check out the Tenjutsu trailer for yourself below:
While you must take down all four crime syndicates, the order you do so is up to you. As you take more and more down, you gain control of Secret Garden City and can seemingly upgrade its districts and more for rewards. Doing so will unlock new weapons, combat moves, and additional areas for exploration. However, the longer you spend doing this, the stronger your enemies become.
Here are some Tenjutsu screenshots:
There is no release date for Tenjutsu just yet, but it's coming to undisclosed consoles and PC.
What do you think of Tenjutsu's reveal? Let us know in the comments below!
Heart Machine, the team behind Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, has revealed Possessor(s), a side-scrolling action game coming to consoles and PC next year. Revealed during today's Devolver Digital presentation and teased earlier this week, Possessor(s) features action combat inspired by platform fighters like Super Smash Bros. set in a quarantined city destroyed by interdimensional catastrophe.
In Possessor(s), you control Luca, the host, and Rehm, her less-than-cooperative counterpart as the two venture through a sprawling metropolis filled with collapsed skyscrapers to explore and secrets to uncover. Devolver says the narrative features multiple paths in an "open-ended world structure" as players attempt to learn the truth behind the catastrophe that has wrecked the city (and seemingly the world).
"Gameplay is centered around tight, fast-paced platforming with a range of unique movement abilities that extends to its tense, precise combat," a press release for Possessor(s) reads. "Balance ground and air attacks, replete with combos and juggles as you encounter a variety of deadly enemies and challenging bosses."
Throughout Possessor(s), players will discover upgrades that allow Luca and Rehm to explore previously inaccessible areas, nodding toward a potential Metroidvania-style city layout.
Here are some Possessor(s) screenshots:
Possessor(s) hits consoles and PC in 2025, presumably after Heart Machine's other in-development game, Hyper Light Breaker, hits PC this year.
What do you think of this Possessor(s) reveal? Let us know in the comments below!