All of the Indie Games Highlighted During the Day of the Devs: Game Awards Edition Showcase
Today, the Day of the Devs, a nonprofit organization that showcases indie video games, hosted their Game Awards showcase, one day ahead of the award show. The showcase lasted for about one hour and featured trailers for twenty upcoming indie games, including seven never-before-seen games. You can watch the entire showcase here (I recommend skipping to about 25 minutes in):
When the Day of the Devs team put out the call for submissions for this showcase, they received over one thousand applications from all kinds of indie game teams. I do not envy them having to narrow that selection down to just these twenty. But with so much to choose from, it makes sense that this was an excellent showcase.
Each game is detailed below to give you a sense of what it is like and if you’d be interested. If it seems like something you might want to try out I highly suggest clicking the link to visit their store page and adding it to your wishlist. Showcases like this can be huge for small teams working on unique games. Plus, it’s not just wishlists, a few of these games have free demos available, and two of them were shadow-dropped to the public today. So while there are plenty of great games to look forward to, there are also a few you can try out right now. Let’s take a look at today’s announcements.
Faraway
Developer: Little Eyes - Publisher: Steph Thirion
Release Window & Platforms: 2025 / PC
Faraway from developer Little Eyes looks like a uniquely fun gravitational momentum game where the player controls a shooting star and swings around stars to draw constellations. The galaxy is procedurally generated, so Faraway will always be random and replayable. The game will feature a puzzle mode where players attempt to create a constellation and earn points for speed, accuracy, and creativity. Faraway only requires one button, so it can be as challenging or as chill as you want. Faraway will launch on PC via Steam sometime in 2025.
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon
Developer & Publisher: Clever Endeavor Games
Release Date: TBD
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon is the spiritual successor to Clever Endeavor’s previous party game, Ultimate Chicken Horse, a game where players build their own route to victory and try to sabotage the other players in the process. While the original game was a platformer, this new successor takes to the bike track. Players will race along a course that will inevitably become covered in traps, advantages, and everything in between. If this is anything like the first game, Ultimate Sheep Raccoon will be one of the best party game experiences you can find. Wishlist now on Steam!
Sleight of Hand
Developer & Publisher: RiffRaff Games
Release Date: TBD
From developer RiffRaff Games is the stealth action deckbuilder, Sleight of Hand. Described as Metal Gear Solid but with cards instead of guns, Sleight of Hand involves careful planning and strategical use of a magical hand of cards. As the protagonist, the players will bring down their old coven in Steeple City, which has many secrets to explore and discover. It seems that each scenario will start with the player drawing a fresh hand of cards, so make sure to stack the deck with useful ones. Wishlist now on Steam!
Demon Tides
Developer & Publisher: Fabraz
Release Date: TBD
Combining anime storytelling and 3D platforming Demon Tides, from developer Fabraz (Demon Turf), was finally revealed to be the true title of the upcoming Project Tides. In this game, movement is all about expression, meaning no two players will move in the same way. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for online competition. Players will be able to challenge each other with ghost recordings and spray graffiti in other player’s worlds. Wishlist now on Steam!
Kingmakers
Developer: Redemption Road - Publisher: Tinybuild
Release Window & Platforms: 2025 (Early Access) / Steam & the Epic Games Store
It’s hard to imagine this not being fun. Up to ten thousand NPC soldiers covering the battlefields of a medieval era, entirely destructible environments, and you’re the only one with modern technology and weaponry. Kingmakers, from developer Redemption Road, not to be confused with their previous game Road Redemption, might have the next big multiplayer sandbox experience on their hands. Players will team up, travel back in time, and fire machine guns, grenades, and tanks into crowds of real-time NPC soldiers with little more than swords to fight back. But it’s not you against the world, the players are meant to travel back in time to save the future. So build up your army, construct strongholds, send out commands, and conquer this medieval landscape on the back of a motorcycle. The entire campaign can be experienced in multiplayer co-op or solo, and Kingmakers is planned to launch in Early Access next year on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Recur
Developer & Publisher: AstraLogical
Release Date: TBD
Recur from developer AstraLogical puts the player in the role of an average delivery person discovering their latent ability to control the flow of time, just as the city starts to fall apart due to a mysterious explosion. This semi-3D puzzle platformer has the player exploring a collapsing city using a time-flow mechanic to shift the environment. Move trains back and forth along the track, rebuild structures, and much more in Recur, available to wishlist now on Steam.
Blue Prince
Developer: Dogubomb - Publisher: Raw Fury
Release Window: Spring 2025
Blue Prince is described as an atmospheric architectural adventure within an ever-changing house of shifting rooms. Developer Dogubomb has been designing this “puzzle box of a manor” for eight years, and they finally have a demo available on Steam and a Spring 2025 planned release window. The house is five rooms wide and nine rooms deep, and the goal is to find Room 46. Explore, strategize, discover secrets, and solve the mystery. Blue Prince is so mysterious, I’m not even sure I understand everything said in the trailer. I get the sense that it might be a long while past the release date that the last of the mysteries are still being uncovered. Blue Prince is planned to be released on PC via Steam in the Spring of 2025.
Incolatus: Don’t Stop, Girlypop!
Developer & Publisher: Funny Fintan Softworks
Release Date: TBD
Wave hop to survive in the ridiculous arena-style shooter from Funny Fintan Softworks: Incolatus: Don’t Stop, Girlypop! The “Don’t Stop” part of that title is no joke, the faster you move the more you heal and the more damage you deal. This game is a fresh take on fast-paced first-person shooter mechanics with a heaping coat of pink paint. Players can customize the appearance of their arms and add decorations to their guns (the only things you can see from a first-person perspective), including full denim arms, and an assault rifle covered in rhinestones and butterflies. Plus, as you progress, the gun will evolve, growing more barrels and scopes because more scopes = more damage, obviously. Behind all the action there is also a anti-capitalist narrative about destroying the mining corporation that’s destroying fairy’s natural habitats. Charge your weapons with love (literally) and stop the mines when Incolatus: Don’t Stop, Girlypop! releases *soon* for PC via Steam.
LOK Digital
Developer: Letibus Design & Icedrop Games - Publisher: Draknek & Friends
Release Date & Platforms: Available Today on Steam - Mobile in Early 2025
LOK Digital is a unique word-search-inspired puzzle game that, as the “digital” moniker implies, is an adaptation of a physical book into a digital game form. The game is co-developed by Letibus Design and Icedrop Games, and while I did say “word search” earlier, I did not specify that these are words in the English language. Neither are these words from any other known language, instead, the words come from a fictional language of world-changing words that is tied to small creatures. As you solve puzzles and come to understand this new cryptic language, the LOK-ians slowly develop their society. From humble beginnings, they will learn to farm, construct massive structures, and even launch into orbit. Aside from the adorable worldbuilding, LOK Digital will also have daily puzzles and a global leaderboard to keep track of how you compare to friends or the whole world. The best part though, LOK Digital is available on PC via Steam today (and will be coming to mobile devices in early 2025).
Neon Abyss 2
Developer: Veewo Games - Publisher: Kepler
Release Window & Platforms: 2025 / Steam
The sequel to 2020’s Neon Abyss is finally on its way. Developer Veewo Games will invite players back to the action platformer, rogue-lite run ‘n’ gun fluorescent chaos that is Neon Abyss 2. There’s even more variety from the wide array of firearms to item synergies and brand new options for melee combat. No two runs are the same and everyone will be able to tear through the Abyss in their own way. There might have even been a teaser for multiplayer at the end of the trailer, but don’t take my word for it. Neon Abyss 2 comes to PC via Steam in 2025.
Crescent County
Developer & Publisher: Electric Saint
Release Date: TBD
What if Hayao Miyazaki listened to a lot more punk rock? He might have made a movie similar to Electric Saint’s upcoming game, Crescent County. Described as lo-fi meets alt-rock or Studio Ghibli with crop jackets and chokers, Crescent County is an open-world exploration game with motor broom racing. A combination of fantasy and sci-fi results in witches riding motorized brooms. During the day the protagonist herds sheep, delivers packages, and other various tasks. But when the sun sets it's time to engage in impromptu broom races, and of course, flirt with the interesting characters you meet along the way. Crescent County does not have a release date yet, but you can sign up for the playtest (or Driving Test) now on Steam.
PBJ – The Musical
Developer & Publisher: Kamibox
Release Date: TBD
It blows my mind that PBJ – The Musical is a hand-crafted stop-motion video game, but what blows my mind even more is that it’s not the only one in this showcase. You’ll have to keep reading to find out about the other one though. Or just watch the showcase, that’s always an option. Anyways. Developer Kamibox teamed up with singer, songwriter, and comedian Lorraine Bowen to bring a musical about a peanut and a strawberry to life. This is a game you have to see to truly understand, so I highly recommend watching the Day of the Devs reveal trailer if you haven’t yet.
Curiosmos
Developer & Publisher: Celine & The Silly Stars
Release Date: TBD
Curiosmos, from developer Celine & The Silly Stars, is a whimsical game about creating your own solar system. Start by collecting stardust into a fully formed planet, send comets down to the surface, build mountains, and maybe even create life. Almost everything in this game has a derpy smile and makes strange sound effects when the player interacts with them. It is colorful, friendly, carefree, and has the makings of a game I could see myself spending a lot of time in. I’m not sure why yet, but at several points in this trailer, the player seems to toss a creature from the surface of a planet into space as they release a goofy scream. It made me laugh, so maybe that’s all it was trying to do. Oh yeah, and there is a black hole somewhere in the universe impatiently waiting to swallow your whole galaxy. Maybe there will be a way to stop that. Curiosmos doesn’t have a release date yet, but I’ll be adding it to my Steam wishlist.
Bionic Bay
Developer: Psychoflow Studio & Mureena Oy - Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Release Date & Platforms: March 13th, 2025 / PlayStation 5 & Steam
How I, an average person, could ever comprehend the skills it would take to play Bionic Bay from developer Psychoflow Studio & Mureena Oy, is something I have yet to figure out. Thankfully, there is a free demo available right now on Steam that I will be trying to wrap my head around soon. Bionic Bay is a puzzle platformer where the player has access to various abilities including slowing down time, shifting gravity, and perhaps the most impressive, swapping places with objects to avoid getting shot by lasers. Aside from the puzzle platforming, this game is also set in a strange mechanical world full of traps, spinning saws, and of course, lasers. Once I figure out how to master the gameplay mechanics, I will be very interested to see what kind of story Bionic Bay is going to tell. I will also be interested in competing in online races against other players through fast-paced, dangerous platforming challenges, something I think nearly every platformer could benefit from having. Bionic Bay will be available on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam on March 13th, 2025.
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories.
Developer & Publisher: Nagai Industries
Release Date: TBD
Stocking and managing a grocery store has never felt like something I would want to spend my free time doing, but the way inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories. promises to simulate the lives of your customers and how you can impact them sounds worth experiencing. Developer Nagai Industries debut’s game puts the player in the role of a night shift worker at a grocery store, helping out the main character’s aunt. You can place items on the shelf, but how you arrange them on the shelf matters. Customers will comment on your arrangements, which will give you the chance to speak to them and hear their stories. Plus, the shop will continue to run every day even if the player doesn’t check in for work. At the very least, I am curious to hear what kinds of stories and characters inKONBINI has in store. No pun intended. Wishlist now on Steam!
FELTOPIA
Developer & Publisher: Wooly Games & Andrea Love
Release Window: 2026
Eco-fairy tale Feltopia from developer Wooly Games is the other hand-crafted stop-motion game shown during this Day of the Devs showcase. But rather than the material you might expect to see with stop-motion like clay or paper, and you might have guessed it based on the name, Feltopia is created with felt. Watching the trailer was mind-boggling just to realize how much time and effort had to go into creating this. The story follows a magical sheepherder who has to save the land from an insidious Smog Spirit. Marvel at the “sprites” of each moment of animation in this side-scrolling shooter where the player needs to return corrupted butterflies and other creatures to their rainbow-colored selves. Feltopia has already been in development for a year, and developer Wooly Games says we will have to wait until 2026 to get our hands on it. But you can still add it to your Steam wishlist.
Blippo+
Developer & Publisher: YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, & Panic
Release Date: TBD
Perhaps the strangest and most experimental “game” on this list is Blippo+. I hesitate to confidently call it a game because it also looks like a premium subscription to a collection of strange TV channels. Based on this Day of the Devs trailer it could be just that, but I have faith there will be some level of interactivity with this, it’s just a matter of what. Either way though, it does feel incredibly ambitious and potentially revolutionary. Wishlist now on Steam!
Hyper Light Breaker
Developer: Heart Machine - Publisher: Arc Games
Release Date: January 14th, 2025 (Early Access)
One of my most anticipated games of the coming year, Hyper Light Breaker, finally announced a release date for Early Access. Developer Heart Machine’s follow-up to the immensely popular indie hit Hyper Light Drifter, Hyper Light Breaker shifts the story from its isometric, single-player origins to a 3D multiplayer open-world rogue-lite. Dodge and parry your way through hordes of enemies in the Overgrowth, collect what upgrades you can, and defeat the Crowns to ultimately uncover the truth behind what happened to this world. Early Access for Hyper Light Breaker comes to PC via Steam on January 14th, 2025.
Tankhead
Developer & Publisher: Alpha Channel
Release Date & Platforms: Available Today on the Epic Games Store
To close out the Day of the Devs Game Awards Showcase, developer Alpha Channel revealed their debut game, Tankhead. In Tankhead, players take on the role of a “sleepwalker,” someone who uploads their consciousness into a mechanical shell that allows them to venture into an irradiated wasteland dominated by multiple machine factions that struggle for power. Hover around as a small machine to gather scrap, scavenge useful tank parts, and explore hidden areas. Meanwhile, you can pilot your tank to move across the map more quickly and engage in battles with other vehicles. Tankhead is a rogue-lite game where the player will take on missions that culminate in boss battles with enormous machines, the titular tankheads. If this sounds fun, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking so, the good news is that wishlisting isn’t your only option. Tankhead is available today on PC via the Epic Games Store.
Conclusion
Did you have a favorite of the games announced during today’s Day of the Devs showcase? It’s tough to pick, but I’ll definitely be trying the demos for Bionic Bay and Blue Prince, ruining some friendships with Ultimate Sheep Raccoon, and diving into the Overgrowth of Hyper Light Breaker when that launches in early access in January. It’s tough to go wrong with this showcase though. I’m very curious to explore the world and mechanics of Tankhead, create my own galaxy in Curiosmos, and solve the mystery at the heart of the manor in Blue Prince. If any of these games caught your interest remember to wishlist them on Steam or the Epic Games Store as an easy way to show your support for these small indie developers. Feel free to leave a comment below letting me know what game stuck out to you!