Green Man Gaming Blog

Indie Video Games Round-Up – August 2025

We’re most of the way through the Summer now, and yes, that is a good thing. If the UK has to endure a 17th heatwave this year, it’ll probably crumble to dust. Anyway, it’s been too hot to leave the house for a lot of us, which would be an issue if it wasn’t for the fact that we’re also getting full hordes of indie games to enjoy.

As we always do, we’re going to highlight some of the coolest-looking indie video games launching in August 2025. It’s filled with a really interesting array of different genres and vibes, so let’s go ahead and get into it.

The Royal Writ – 7th August

The Royal Writ takes the classic deck‑builder formula and flips it into a lane‑based roguelike full of absurd medieval mayhem. You’ll command peculiar creatures – think wounded flamingos and crazed mantis dentists – while dealing with shifting battlefield hazards and the ever‑looming threat of permanent unit death. It’s quirky, strategic, and just the right amount of chaotic.

Tiny Bookshop – 7th August

Tiny Bookshop puts you in charge of — wait for it — a tiny bookshop. This cozy narrative game is set in a charming little town where you’ll decide which books to stock, meet a variety of quirky locals, and become an integral part of the community. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and we can’t wait to dive in.

Ra Ra Boom – 12th August

Ra Ra Boom sounds like a fever dream – but it’s real. You play as a ninja space cheerleader battling rogue AI that has taken over the planet. The characters are over-the-top in the best way possible, and the whole thing looks gloriously absurd. Plus, it features full co-op, making it perfect if you’re craving a chaotic beat ’em up to play with friends.

Sword of the Sea – 19th August

Sword of the Sea turns sand dunes into ocean waves, letting you ride a mystical Hoversword like a mix of snowboard and hoverboard. As the resurrected Wraith, you’ll carve across surreal landscapes, pull off gravity‑defying tricks, and restore life to a long‑lost ocean. As you would expect from the talented folks at Giant Squid, it’s stunning, serene, and built for pure flow.

VOID/BREAKER – 20th August

VOID/BREAKER locks you in a high-speed roguelite FPS where you’re trapped in an endless loop enforced by a hostile AI. Expect fluid movement—dash, double-jump, glide—and relentless firefights across destructible environments. The real star: an infinite weapon mod system that lets you combine crazy mods to forge wild, synergistic loadouts. Every run offers new paths and strategies. It’s fast, destructive, and full of creative chaos.

Discounty – 21st August

Discounty puts you in charge of running a discount supermarket in a charming seaside town. You’ll stock shelves, negotiate with suppliers, and chat with quirky locals, all while uncovering small‑town secrets and helping grow your aunt’s mysterious retail empire. It’s cosy, funny, and has just the right amount of small‑town drama.

Pizza Bandit – 25th August

Pizza Bandit lets you blast through time as Malik, an ex‑merc turned pizza chef, taking on bounty hunts with guns blazing and dough flying. Cook power‑boosting pizzas mid‑fight, upgrade your pizzeria between missions, and team up in 4‑player co‑op for chaotic, saucy shootouts. It’s ridiculous in the best way.

Mafia: The Old Country and the Return of Cinematic Linear Gaming

Taking a quick look at the likes of Grand Theft Auto and even the Saints Row series, you would be forgiven for thinking that these sorts of crime epics have always been anchored to the open world design that we so often take for granted. 2K’s Mafia series is no stranger to open-world shenanigans either, what with Mafia 3 unfolding against the sort of design blueprint that players have seen many, many times over.

Taking both the not-so-great commercial and critical response to Mafia 3 into account, while also being emboldened by the success of Mafia: Definitive Edition, which very much went back to the series’ roots, developer Hangar 13 looks set to once more embrace the linear cinematic design that has defined the best entries in the franchise with its latest offering. This is how Mafia: The Old Country looks set to bring back the linear cinematic gaming blockbuster with aplomb.

A Much Tighter, More Guided Narrative

In stark opposition to the city-spanning and often pace-poor story which defined Mafia 3, Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel that instead explores a much more focused narrative set around the genesis of the mafioso crime families that would become so prominent in the other games in the series. As Enzo Favara, a resourceful young upstart caught amidst a brutal mafioso family war, players must fight their way to prominence across a gorgeously realised take on 1900s Sicily. This much more streamlined and focused narrative also has a direct impact on gameplay structure, too, with each mission being designed to progress this central story rather than throwing a bunch of side content to slow things down and unnecessarily distract from said narrative.

A Linear Driven Game World Built For Appreciation

Much more akin to the first two Mafia games, the game world of Mafia: The Old Country is a far cry from the freewheeling, massively open world design of Mafia 3 and other similar games. Essentially, Mafia: The Old Country operates on a sort of limited open world principle where there are seemingly open areas that you can traverse through (either on foot, on horse or by early, turn of the century motorcars) to reach your mission objectives, but such routes are generally more focused, and the usual array of optional objectives, map icons, and endless collectibles aren’t a major design priority here.

As such, with the shift in focus to making the game world appear more as a backdrop to the story and on-screen action, rather than some huge geographical sprawl stuffed with side activities and all manner of other distractions, this means that developer Hangar 13 has been able to make the most of its production budget. The result is a meticulously crafted take on turn-of-the-century Sicily that provides players with a lens through which to experience a time that has long since vanished. From verdant vineyards to crumbling ruins, gorgeously architected opera houses, dusty tree-lined trails, cobbled streets, subterranean crypts, and so much more besides, every aspect of this digital, early 20th-century Sicily in Mafia: The Old Country has been deftly handcrafted and begs to be devoured by both your eyes and ears.

An Emphasis On Core Moment-to-Moment Gameplay Systems

Though traversing by foot, horse, and motorcar are all important ways to get around the game world of 1900s Sicily, Mafia: The Old Country is much more about the moment-to-moment gameplay than spending way too much time travelling from point A to point B with little else to do than just gawp at the scenery rushing by. More specifically, Mafia: The Old Country shifts the emphasis back to the core gameplay systems that attracted gamers to the Mafia series in the first place, in addition to the inclusion of a few new ones to boot.

Naturally, as you might well expect from a third-person actioner such as this, cover shooting is very much a key tenet of the core gameplay, as a good chunk of the mission design centres around you hiding behind the cover of various durabilities, returning fire and shifting to a more advantageous space to outflank your foes. In addition, stealth is also very much part of Mafia: The Old Country, with some missions requiring you to remain undetected, while others encourage the use of flashy, though highly violent, stealth takedowns to quietly neutralise the enemy.

Entirely new to Mafia: The Old Country, however, is the gameplay mechanic of knife fighting. Paranza Corta (Sicilian Knife Fighting) is the traditional knife-fighting style of Sicily, with the endlessly sharp stiletto knife being the weapon of choice. By adhering very much to this tradition, knife fighting in Mafia: The Old Country is all about parry, counterattacks and evasion. Rather than just wading in with your knife swinging around haphazardly, success instead comes from reading your opponent’s movements, reacting in kind, and slowly chipping away at their health by making them pay for every mistake.

Mafia: The Old Country Marks A Return To The Classic Mob Movie

Taken as a whole, ultimately everything that Mafia: The Old Country does by eschewing the increasingly shopworn open world template that other crime epics so readily embrace, marks a return to an earlier time where the Mafia games evoked the cinematic presentation and palpable feel of classic mob movies across the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and beyond.

Indeed, according to developer Hangar 13, Mafia: The Old Country is supposed to play out like a ‘classic mob movie’, and that appears to be evident in every aspect of its striking presentation. From the ultra-detailed character models to the eye-openingly ornate yet authentic take on early 1900s Sicily and an overabundance of cinematic flair that at once echoes Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal Godfather Part II, Mafia: The Old Country is essentially performing two feats. Not only is it the next in a celebrated line of gaming crime epics that ditches conventional open world design, it is also very much a stunning celebration of classic blockbuster crime cinema, where you can practically smell the tomatoes hanging off the vines and smell the vino poured into glasses between uneasy allies as you race, shoot and stealth your way through a very traditional tale of mafioso crime families at war in early 20th century Sicily.

Secrets of Grindea Mini-Review: A Dose Of Nostaliga With A Modern Twist

Hey, fellow 30-somethings (and beyond)! How’s life treating you? Been a minute, huh? Nostalgia is a funny thing; it clings to old games, movies, and that certain vibe, but really, it’s just our brains craving those carefree days before the glorious chaos of adulting kicked in. And while it’s nice to dip into the past now and then, stumbling upon a new game that captures that same magic? That’s the real win. Enter Secrets of Grindea – your next pixel-powered nostalgia trip.

Secrets of Grindea feels like an action RPG from the SNES era (which is 35 years ago, sorry), and is just bursting with charm and style that’ll make you feel all warm and cosy inside. You are a budding adventurer from a small town, and you want to make a name for yourself. So, you get given a magical talking bag, find a sword and a shield, and set out into the world.

So, you enter a tournament and then bam! You’re swept up in a chain of world-shaking events that push you toward becoming a full-fledged hero. Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s the point. Secrets of Grindea isn’t trying to reinvent the story wheel; it’s leaning into the classic adventure vibes you know and love. But it’s the modern twists that make it shine: a hilariously snarky talking bag, a wildly customizable skill system, and, maybe best of all, effortless co-op that makes saving the world way more fun with friends.

Co-op might just be Secrets of Grindea’s secret weapon. It lets you dive into a game that oozes classic ’90s charm, but this time, with your friends along for the ride. Back in the day, co-op action RPGs were pretty rare, so getting to experience that retro magic with up to three pals (and

StarVaders Mini-Review: An Excellent Turn-Based Space Invaders

Alright, we’ll admit it; this next sentence is a bit of a mouthful. StarVaders is a turn-based, deckbuilding roguelike inspired by Space Invaders. Yeah, we know, it sounds like we’re throwing buzzwords into a blender for maximum niche SEO, but honestly? It’s the best way to describe what the game actually is. Weird combo, but it works.

StarVaders doesn’t mess around when it comes to variety. You’ve got three distinct classes, each with their own mechanics, and within those, multiple pilots; each starting with different gear and their own twist on playstyle. Add in several difficulty modes, and things get spicy fast. The more you play, the more you unlock: new bosses to face, and special card and item packs that shake up what shows up in each run. It’s the kind of layered depth that keeps every playthrough feeling fresh, weird, and wonderfully unpredictable. With all that in mind, your real task is keeping an eye on what the enemies are up to. Some just try to reach the bottom and smack you around. Simple enough. But others? They’re trickier – maybe they spawn new enemies when you hit them… or don’t. Some even shuffle around every time you attack, turning every encounter into a tactical puzzle. Sounds like a lot, right? Thankfully, StarVaders absolutely nails the pacing. It drip-feeds new mechanics as you play, so by the time things get wild, you’ll actually know what you’re doing. It’s a roguelike like no other; fast, smart, and dangerously addictive. Th

Why Digital Eclipse Is Essential To Game Preservation And Education

Without hinting at the creaky knees or permanently retreating hairline that *might* betray my advanced age, it’s somewhat easy for me to recall a time when gaming classics such as the original Prince of Persia, Tetris, Karateka and Mortal Kombat enjoyed their heyday. Fast forward several decades to the present day, and while many of those series have endured and fashioned new entries for current gamers to get stuck into, it’s also true that the means to play those first games in their original form has greatly diminished or simply outright not possible any longer.

Enter then, the Gold Master Series from industry veterans Digital Eclipse. Much more than just a collection of gems from gaming’s formative years, the Gold Master Series focuses on a particularly key, often legendary video game or creator, and simultaneously offers up not only value-stuffed compilations of these games, but a veritable bounty of historical and never-before-seen documentary materials to go with them. So with that in mind, here is how Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master Series is essential to both game preservation and game education right now.

A Carefully Selected Menu Of Gaming’s Most Important Titles And Topics

Before we drill down into the bountiful merits of the Gold Master Series more generally, it’s perhaps important to understand just how carefully selected every title and topic that enters the Gold Master Series is. Whether it’s looking at a legendary, genre-defining effort like Tetris, the oft-forgotten but pioneering Karateka from Prince of Persia developer Jordan Mechner, or even a broader showpiece on the impact of Atari on the gaming landscape in the 70s and 80s, the Gold Master Series does feel like the Criterion Collection of video games, such is the standard of curation, care and attention that is lavished in each case.

And the future (well, the past) has never looked brighter for the Gold Master Seriese either, as 2025 is set to bring Ed Boon’s seminal, pop culture igniting Mortal Kombat into the fold allowing gamers to play arcade perfect versions of the series earlier entries for the first time, alongside a generous collection of home console and handheld ports on the side.

Meticulous Recreations Of Gaming’s Halcyon Days

Speaking of ports, Digital Eclipse has long taken pride in its constant drive to achieve pixel-perfect emulation of older titles, and this ambition has spanned the re-release of many, many titles across a number of years. From Disney Classic Games which include the likes of Aladdin and The Lion King emulated across multiple platforms, to Capcom’s Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and the relatively recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection, it’s clear that Digital Eclipse are both talented and practised hands at the arcane (or should that be ‘arcade’) art of emulating and reframing older games for a new generation of gamers.

That very same talent and passion directly translate into the titles which are included in each instance of the Gold Master Series. Not only are these games emulated to the very highest standard, but you also get playable versions across a kaleidoscopic spread of different platforms to boot. Take Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, for example. In this particular Gold Master Series entry, there are superbly emulated ports of Minter’s sizable portfolio of titles covering platforms such as the Sinclair ZX81, Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64 and Atari Jaguar. There are even ports for super obscure platforms such as the Konix gaming system, in addition to unearthed prototypes and editions of games that never made it to market.

Put simply, the care and attention that has been afforded to the various versions of these games is astounding, and provides players in many cases with the only way to play these games on a modern system, making the Gold Master Series an essential endeavour for anyone looking to delve into the depths of gaming’s storied past.

World-Class Documentary Materials That Pull The Curtain Back On The Industry’s Best And Brightest

Of course, what makes the Gold Master Series so compelling in the first place isn’t just its assembly of sublimely emulated classics from yesteryear, but also a frankly incredible collection of historical reference and documentary materials that succeed in pulling back the veil on both these games and the thought processes of the various pioneering minds that brought them into existence all those years ago.

Across every entry in the Gold Master Series, these materials are presented in a timeline split into various eras and key milestones that pertain to the historical journey of the game or creator in question. Embracing the highest echelons of form and function, these vibrantly designed timelines prove extraordinarily easy to navigate, with everything from photos, scans of key documents, marketing materials, and behind-the-scenes videos being both easy to find and rendered at the highest resolutions to ensure a pin-sharp presentation.

In terms of the content, we’re looking at much more than just straightforward reference materials here. Instead, Digital Eclipse emphasises the creators explaining why certain decisions were made, which resulted in these legendary creations turning out how they did. From Jeff Minter offering a deep insight into his rather esoteric, bedroom coder design philosophy (and why Llamas featured so prominently) to the wonderfully convoluted history of how Tetris came to be from its humble origins in the 1980s Soviet Union, these sort of thoughtful, forensic insights mean that the Gold Master Series excels in educating gamers both young and old about these legendary industry pioneers and the fruits of their labour.

With effortlessly engaging audiovisual presentation oozing out of every pore and a breezily accessible user interface to boot, each entry in the Gold Master Series feels like an immaculately curated museum exhibition for gaming’s digital age. With the original platforms that these games originally released for having been long since consigned to the trash heap of time, not only has Digital Eclipse provided a means for game preservation to endure with these delicately emulated clutches of titles from gaming’s past, but so too has the Californian studio sought to include such a wealth of insightful historical documentary material that the Gold Master Series should be used in gaming education curriculums everywhere.

The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- Mini-Review: A Masterclass of Intrigue and Suspenseful Gameplay

Sometimes you just need an edgy story filled with gore and drama to get you through your day, and The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is just that. Well, actually, that’s sort of underselling it a bit. It is that, but it’s also a thoughtful and emotive game filled with excellent characters, intense strategy battles, and an absurd wealth of choices. It’s unsurprising, considering it was created by the team behind Danganronpa and Zero Escape.

You play as Takumi Sumino, an unremarkable teenager living a perfectly ordinary life in Tokyo, where, naturally, nothing ever goes wrong. If he knew he was in a video game, he might find that suspicious. But here we are. Just when life seems comfortably monotonous, everything spirals into chaos: bizarre monsters appear, wreaking havoc and killing people. On the bright side, a mysterious entity shows up and grants Takumi strange powers. So… silver linings?

Takumi soon finds himself at the Last Defense Academy, a bizarre school seemingly plopped in the middle of nowhere, where the curriculum mostly involves fending off waves of terrifying monsters. He’s not on his own, thankfully; 14 other students with mysterious powers are there to help him out. The goal? Survive 100 days in this surreal realm and, with any luck, make it out alive.

From there, you get to choose how you spend your time, whether that’s talking to other students, exploring the strange area around you, or literally doing nothing and suffering for your lack of motivation. It’s a bit like school in real life, but with higher stakes, and somehow less homework. Ultimately, The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is an incredibly fun game to play that’s also happens to be soaked in replayability.

Mecha BREAK Is The Competitive Online Multiplayer Mech Shooter You’ve Been Waiting For

Occasionally, a game comes along so focused on its core concept that it becomes both effortlessly accessible to newcomers and deep enough to satisfy seasoned players over time. Well, that’s precisely what Amazing Seasun Games has pulled off with Mecha BREAK, a gorgeous, free-to-play, competitive online multiplayer mecha shooter that will scratch your online mecha shooter itch and then some.

Incredible Anime Style Visuals To Die For

Making the most out of Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 technology, Mecha BREAK’s visuals are overflowing with artistic flair and technical sophistication quite unlike any other similar title before it. Very much adhering to an ultra-stylish aesthetic that recalls classic mecha anime such as Gundam and Macross, among others (there are even Neon Genesis Evangelion-inspired pilot character models, too), Mecha BREAK looks the part, that’s for sure. Beyond its stylish trappings, Mecha BREAK is also highly technically adept, with grandly detailed environments and mech models working in parallel with a blisteringly fast frame rate (assuming your rig is up to the task) to fashion the sort of high-octane mecha action that we haven’t seen for a good while.

Deep Retina Searing Combat Without Peer

A key element of Mecha BREAK’s deep lean into the well of anime mecha inspiration is how darn furiously frenetic the combat is. At its centre, combat in Mecha BREAK is largely predicated around encounters permeated by all manner of mid-air dashes, turbo boosts, split-second dodges, and hybrid melee/ranged combat played at breakneck speed. Put simply, combat in Mecha BREAK is dripping with arcade-style, blistering kinetic action, and I’m here for it.

Peel back this frantically furious veneer, however, and an in-depth, class-based team shooter very quickly reveals itself. Known as Strikers, at launch Mecha BREAK has some thirteen very different mech classes that each have their strengths, weaknesses, special abilities and role to play on the battlefield. The hulking Tricea Striker, for example, is a massively durable and defensive mech which ably fulfils the traditional tank role with its Fortress Form Module, Repair Drone and aggro-getting Heavy Gatling Gun. Meanwhile, the endlessly deadly Skyraider can not only rain destruction down on targets with its Energy Autocannon and Energy Missiles, but can also shift into its Aerial Assault Form and unleash a swarm of drones to cover a hasty escape. If you have a preferred playstyle, Mecha BREAK has you covered.

In addition to the moment-to-moment satisfaction of Mecha BREAK’s rapid combat, Amazing Seasun Games has also implemented several different modes, with more to come over time, for players to get their teeth into. Whether a more traditional 3v3 deathmatch is your thing, an objective-based 6v6 mode that changes up both the objectives (such as escorting payloads, securing nodes and more) and maps, or a 10 squad strong PvPvE style extraction shooter mode which unfolds across a massive map, Mecha BREAK arguably provides wannabe Striker pilots with a variety of different game types to sink their laser swords into.

Extensive Customisation To Make Your Mech Unique

Though finding a Striker mech that suits your playstyle is a straightforward endeavour, Mecha BREAK goes a step further, both in the functional and cosmetic sides of things. In the functional realm, each Striker can be equipped with a vast range of mods that each provide a different minor buff or benefit. Ranging from such welcome buffs as additional HP, armour, reduced cooldown and more, Mecha BREAK’s mod system provides no shortage of ways for players to minutely tailor their Striker mech to their preferences. The flipside of this system, of course, is that these mods can also weaken or debuff other aspects of your Striker mech’s battle performance – a fact that should weigh deeply on players looking to find the perfect balance of mods in their chosen airborne death machine.

The other side of Mecha BREAK’s customisation equation is the cosmetic system. It makes a great degree of sense that if you’re piloting one of these Striker mechs, you’ll want to look absolutely sharp and incomparably stylish when you do, and luckily, Mecha BREAK has your back – doubly so if you have a deep affection for mecha anime. Through you can paint and style the various panels, wings and other physical aspects of your Striker mech, Mecha BREAK’s customisation system is largely geared around its pilot cosmetic system which lets you extensively change everything from voices, to hairstyles, makeup and, of course, a substantial wardrobe filled with all manner of different clothing items. Oh, and as I’ve already mentioned, there is a costume that makes your pilot look like Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion. So yeah, there’s that too.

Multi-Faceted Progression Ensures Real Staying Power

Any online multiplayer effort, especially a free-to-play one such as Mecha BREAK, pretty much lives or dies on account of the progression systems, or lack thereof, that it offers up to the player to engage with. Spread across several elements, Mecha BREAK certainly doesn’t disappoint in this regard. Tied to Achievement Points, which is Mecha BREAK’s take on experience points, Mecha BREAK provides no shortage of ways for players to scoop up this precious currency.

Though a small pile of Achievement Points can be amassed early on by completing the test pilot challenges (think Mecha BREAK’s sort-of take on Gran Turismo’s driver lessons which also perform a similar function), the vast reserve of these Achievement Points can be hoovered up by completing specific objective focused challenges that not only net players clumps of Achievement Points, but also serve as a neat way to get those same players testing out and trying other Striker mechs that they otherwise might not have piloted. You’ll want to track down as many of these Achievement Points to level up as quickly as possible, too, since the higher your level, the more game modes and other functions you’ll unlock along the way. In a genre often flooded with half-hearted entries and shallow experiences, Mecha BREAK stands tall-or rather, soars-as a bold, beautifully crafted tribute to the mecha legacy. With its stunning visuals, adrenaline-pumping combat, layered customisation, and rewarding

Indie Video Games Round-Up – July 2025

Now that the buzz of Summer Games Fest has settled, it’s time to turn our attention to the delightful lineup of indie games heading our way in July (and yes, there’s plenty more on the horizon, but we’ll save that for next month). July used to be a bit of a snooze for game releases, but those days are behind us. Thanks to the rise of indie publishing and how accessible platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store have become, smaller studios now have a real shot at getting their games into players’ hands – and we’re all the better for it.

As we always do, we’ve gone ahead and collated the best-looking indie games hitting digital shelves this month. There are plenty of great games coming out all the time, but these are our picks for the best indie games to keep an eye on in July 2025.

Missile Command Delta – 8th July

Missile Command Delta is a modern reimagining of the classic Missile Command, throwing you into the thick of a relentless missile barrage. But it’s not just about defending your base; there’s a whole mystery to uncover as you play. As the chaos unfolds, you’ll gradually reveal additional enemy types and even venture into a mysterious underground bunker in search of answers about what’s really going on.

Every Day We Fight – 10th July

Every Day We Fight is another exciting strategy title from Hooded Horse, a publisher that’s been on an absolute roll lately. This time, you’re stuck in a time loop, guiding a small band of resistance fighters as they try to survive wave after wave of a mysterious alien threat. Visually, it’s striking and gameplay-wise, it promises a compelling blend of turn-based tactics and real-time action.

Atomic Owl – 31st July

Atomic Owl is a neon-drenched roguelike bursting with style, where you play as one seriously furious bird. Armed with slick, transforming weapons, you’ll battle through waves of uniquely designed enemies in a bid to survive and complete your mission. It looks absolutely stunning, and we can’t wait to see if the gameplay soars as high as the visuals.

Neon Abyss 2 – 17th July

In a curious twist of fate, Neon Abyss 2 is also a slick, neon-soaked roguelike, but this time, you’re not a bird. You’re a quirky little cyberpunk warrior armed to the teeth with an over-the-top arsenal of guns and swords, taking on the so-called new gods of a high-tech dystopia. Expect tons of build variety to mess around with, a killer soundtrack, and heaps of replayability.

Runa Illustra – 17th July

Runa Illustra hands you a magic pen and challenges you to prove it really is mightier than the sword – though, to be fair, a little magic definitely helps. You’ll need to master powerful spells to tackle tricky challenges and puzzles, and the best part? You actually get to draw many of those spells yourself. It’s a super creative concept from a solo developer, and you can try it out right now thanks to a playable demo.

Kick’n Hell – 21st July

Kick’n Hell is a wild blend of parkour, combat, and psychological horror, and easily one of the strangest genre mashups we’ve seen. The twist? Kicking is your only means of interaction. Whether it’s navigating obstacles or taking down enemies, it all comes down to your feet. Your ultimate goal? Kick your way out of hell and square off against Satan himself. It looks brutally challenging, so it won’t be for everyone, but if it plays well, it could build a serious cult following.

FUMES – 28th July

Back in the golden days of gaming, car combat was all the rage with vehicles strapped with absurd weapons and chaos around every corner. FUMES is bringing that glorious madness back, complete with a chunky retro-era aesthetic and a healthy dose of over-the-top action. You’ll be delivering bizarre packages and competing in even more bizarre races, all while blowing stuff up in style. If you’ve got fond memories of Twisted Metal or Vigilante 8, this one’s going to hit you right in the nostalgia.

Wuchang Fallen Feathers Is The Freshest Souls-like In A Long Time

Ever since From Software’s Demon’s Souls created an all-new genre back in February 2009, I don’t think it’s an especially controversial take to suggest that something of the freshness which defined Demon’s Souls’ original release has been diluted or outright lost in the many Souls-likes that have been released since that time. Things, however, could be looking up with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, from Chinese developer Leenzee, looking to usher in the sort of refreshing changes to the Souls-like formula that feel long overdue.

An Evocative Setting That Plumbs The Opulent Depths Of Chinese History And Mythology

Following a somewhat similar path trodden by last year’s extremely well-received Black Myth: Wukong, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers makes a point of delving deep into the richness of Chinese history and mythology. From a historical perspective, developer Leenzee has made ample use of both China’s storied history and wealth of national landmarks. Chiefly unfolding in what we now know as the Chinese province of Sichuan (known as ‘Shu’ in the game itself), Wuchang: Fallen Feathers makes the most of its picturesque locales by taking in such key landmarks as the towering Leshan Giant Buddha statue, the twin ancient sites of Sanxingdui and Jinsha, to name just a few.

In terms of the mythological side of things, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers also goes to the well of Chinese inspiration, as players take on hordes of people that have been corrupted by a mysterious plague and transformed into monstrous creatures, as well as a wide cast of ultra-powerful, shape-shifting deities, too. This notion of spiritual affliction very much dovetails into traditional Chinese superstitions and myths around the effects that curses can have on both the human body and spirit.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Is Not For The Faint-Hearted

Though Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is firmly in the Souls-like camp from a design perspective, it also weaves elements of horror into its formative tapestry. Leaning into its central concept of bodily and spiritual corruption, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers’ tale of Wuchang, a pirate protagonist with amnesia who finds herself cursed by a mysterious Feathering disease which twists and corrupts her body as players progress through the game, is not for the faint-hearted. Neither, as it turns out, are the generous buckets of blood or the absolute throng of horrifically twisted and grotesque creatures. Make no mistake, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is gnarly in ways that horror fiends will eagerly lap up.

The Feathering Disease And Inner Demon Mechanics Are Central To Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Speaking of the Feathering disease, rather than just being some trite window dressing for the narrative, Wuchang’s titular plague has sizable gameplay ramifications that extend beyond the story. Tied directly into a ‘Madness’ system, the more damage or deaths Wuchang absorbs, the greater her affliction with the Feathering disease becomes, increasing Madness that, in turn, means that our protagonist can deal more damage but also take more damage, too. Interestingly, if Wuchang perishes while at a very high Madness level, a special inner demon will spawn on the spot of her death, possessing all of her powers and is required to be defeated by the player to reclaim precious Red Mercury (Wuchang’s version of XP currency) that would have been lost at the point of death.

It’s worth noting that the Madness system also goes hand in hand with Wuchang’s more traditional progression systems. This means specific abilities, perks, and even certain weapons can only be used when a certain level of Madness has been reached. Equally, some weapons can reach an even higher level of power if Wuchang’s Madness has been ratcheted up to the desired amount.

As you can probably well imagine, the way that the Feathering disease functions in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers lends itself to high-level play and, as a result, introduces a solid risk and reward element to the proceedings. As you become more and more proficient at evasion, do you ‘force’ deaths upon Wuchang to ramp up the Madness in an attempt to find that sweet spot of high damage output – knowing that you’ll take much more damage in turn – or, do you play things more conservatively and prize every single life and chunk of damage? Whatever you choose, it’s clear that Wuchang: Fallen Feathers provides players with ample and welcome freedom to dictate the damage they take and receive in this way.

Dodging And Managing Space Are Your Best Defences

Being able to dodge and dodge well is hardly a fresh concept when it comes to Souls-like games, but Wuchang: Fallen Feathers places a more focused emphasis upon it than many of its genre stablemates. In particular, perfect dodges when successfully pulled off award Wuchang with something called ‘Skyborn Might’, a special buff that allows her to temporarily let loose with highly damaging techniques and proves to be a valuable addition to her burgeoning arsenal of attacks.

It also isn’t quite enough to merely have good reflexes. In Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, having a solid awareness of distance and space, and more specifically, the furthest point at which an enemy attack can reach you, is crucial to survival. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers isn’t just about dodging – it’s about effectively managing your space so that you can counterattack effectively without leaving yourself open. So between the perfect dodging, the Skyborn Might attacks and the management of distance, the rhythm of combat in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is equal parts balletic, intelligent and wholly satisfying.

A Beautifully Versatile Combat System That You Can Switch Up

In a manner not unlike the recently unveiled Nioh 3, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers allows its titular heroine to switch between two entirely different weapons during combat, offering up a wealth of playstyles and tactical approaches in any given combat situation. And this is something that you’ll be wanting to do often, too, as some weapons have particular attributes that make them more suited to certain encounters, such as faster, small blades that would be more suitable for faster foes, for example. Add in a sophisticated build system, bespoke weapon techniques and the aforementioned Skyborn Might and Madness systems, and it soon becomes clear that the combat in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is some of the most freewheeling and creative that we’ve seen in quite some time. In the increasingly crowded world of Souls-likes, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers emerges as a bold and refreshing entry – one that dares to challenge convention while embracing its heritage. Rooted deeply in Chinese history and mythology, and enriched by a haunting atmosphere and imaginative mechanics like the Madness system and inner demon battles, Wuchang doesn’t just replicate the genre’s greatest hits; it reimagines them. With its emphasis on precision dodging, versatile combat, and player-driven risk and reward, it invites both mastery and experimentation. If the genre needs a second wind, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers might just be the storm that brings it.

How Broken Arrow Redefines Large-Scale Real-Time Modern Warfare Tactics

One of the most promising PC RTS titles to come along in a good while, Broken Arrow from Russian developer Steel Balalaika rekindles the spirit of 2007 RTS World In Conflict for an all-new generation of tactical gamers. From its contemporary setting to its focus on combined arms, supply lines and unit customisation, here’s how Broken Arrow redefines large-scale, real-time modern warfare tactics on PC.

A Modern Setting For A Modern RTS

Both Broken Arrow’s cinematic single-player campaign and its various game modes are entirely wrapped around its very modern setting. Depicting a traditional armed conflict between the United States and the Russian Federation in the present day, Broken Arrow allows players to engage with a wide range of conventional warfighting apparatus, including tanks, helicopters, aircraft, artillery, drones, and long-range missiles.

Broken Arrow’s choice of a modern war setting also somewhat predictably permeates its various maps and battlefields. Whether you’re waging war across rural expanses, urban areas that are thick with complex structures or sprawling harbours, Broken Arrow offers up a veritable smorgasbord of unique map types for its particular brand of modern war to be waged across. To be clear then, this isn’t your dad’s RTS, this is your RTS for the time that you presently live in, and while I don’t know if that’s especially scary or not (it is a little bit, I guess), Broken Arrow certainly manages to capture the current landscape of traditional warfare with aplomb.

Bringing Combined Arms To The Fore In An RTS Played At Scale

As part of Broken Arrow’s embrace of a modern theatre of war, combined arms is very much at the forefront of its tactical design. In essence, this means that as a battlefield commander, you have to be adept at weaving together different unit types to create tactical synergies across land, sea and air. Another aspect of Broken Arrow’s modern setting is the sheer scale at which its numerous battles and skirmishes play out. With over 300 authentically designed military units and technologies to choose from, resulting in greater than 1,500 different combinations of squad and grouping types and with six key roles broadly spread across each faction, there is no shortage of creative latitude for wannabe armchair generals to wage war on their unfortunate foes.

In-Depth Per Unit Customisation Allows You To Personalise Your War

Beyond all of these unit types and combinations, Broken Arrow invites players to tweak, adjust and customise entire armies, whole squads and even individual units to their liking. In practice, this means that you can swap out things like different firearms and weapons for your boots on the ground, assign different missile types to your helicopters and even specify the sort of armour packages you would like your tanks to use. Put simply, Broken Arrow is all about making the player feel entirely in control of every aspect of the battle, and the extent to which customisation plays a key role cannot be overstated.

Managing Battlefield Resources Is All Part Of The Fun

Akin to World in Conflict, so many years before it, Broken Arrow also places a firm emphasis on resource management. In Broken Arrow, much like other RTS efforts, each unit has a very specific resource point value, which the player must have to purchase and use them, while ‘recycling’ these units also allows a portion of the original unit value to be returned to your war chest. So far, so RTS 101 then.

Where Broken Arrow looks to change things up a bit, however, is in its upkeep system, which seeks to balance out power and cost. Essentially, this means that the more units you have deployed on the battlefield at any one time, the lower the income for your coffers will be and as such, is a good mechanic for encouraging digital generals to spend and deploy more frugally, rather than just spitting out hundreds of units into battle without any kind of cost attached.

Another key aspect of how Broken Arrow deals with resource management is through its rather neat logistics and supply systems. Not only do units need to be close to your supply vehicles to be topped off with ordnance or health, but those vehicles which carry the lifeblood of your war effort must also be manually transported to where they are needed, adding an extra layer of tactical consideration to the whole process. In the end, this helps to shift Broken Arrow away from the traditional RTS model of building a base, spamming units into existence and then marching all of it towards the other side of the map, and instead impresses upon the player the need for shrewd resource management, tactical decision making and the fostering of an effective risk appetite for war.

A Powerful Scenario Editor That Separates Broken Arrow From The Competition

One of the biggest aces that Broken Arrow has up its digital sleeves when compared to its genre peers is its comprehensive scenario editor. A powerful tool indeed, Broken Arrow’s scenario editor allows players to create entire story-driven scenarios and missions complete with dialogue and cutscenes. Better yet, developer Steel Balalaika has said that the tool will require absolutely zero code to be written, essentially making the barrier nice and low for just about anybody to jump in and create their own war scenarios.

Not only will Broken Arrow’s scenario editor use existing maps (this is not a map editor, to be clear), but the unit placements, objectives, triggers, cutscenes and more are all entirely dictated by the player. Better yet, not only can these scenarios be used across Broken Arrow’s competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes, but all of this player-generated content can be uploaded to the Steam Workshop for ease of discovery by other players. Going forward, it certainly looks like this hugely ambitious scenario editor will give Broken Arrow some substantial legs in the weeks, months and even years after release. Huzzah!

Broken Arrow stands as a bold and thoughtful evolution of the real-time strategy genre. With its emphasis on modern combined-arms tactics, in-depth unit customisation, and resource management systems that reward strategic thinking over brute force, it offers a fresh yet familiar experience for veterans and newcomers alike. Coupled with a robust scenario editor that empowers players to craft and share their missions, Broken Arrow is built with longevity in mind, positioning itself as a dynamic and

Rematch: Switching Roundhouse Kicks for Goal Kicks

Whether it’s the studio’s debut title, Absolver, or the more recent Sifu, Parisian outfit Sloclap is no stranger to crafting games with educated feet at their core. Certainly keen to keep on heading down this particular avenue, Sloclap brings us Rematch, a stylish football (or soccer – for those across the pond) centric offering that combines key aspects of the Beautiful Game with Sloclap’s verve and flair. Whether you’re a dyed-in-the-wool, season ticket owning, scarf-wrapped football fan, or just an appreciator of ultra-responsive, super stylish sports games in general, online multiplayer footy effort Rematch has something for everybody and is shaping up to be the next big thing. Here’s why.

Authentic Football With More Than A Dash Of Arcade Sensibilities

Though the likes of EA FC and Konami’s eFootball games are very much framed through a simulation-like lens, there is ample room for other football titles to take a less rigorous angle on the game, and this is precisely where Rematch comes in. Designed to simplify a regular game of football, but not dilute the mastery of it, Rematch makes several changes to the typical football video game formula that will feel refreshing to old and new football fans alike.

The first and most obvious change is that, rather than the usual eleven players to a side concept seen in a regular game of footie, Rematch instead elects to trim both teams down to a maximum five players a side, resulting in each match essentially creating a much faster-paced game of football as a direct result. Oh, and the futuristic virtual reality style arenas add a further dash of arcade goodness to the proceedings too, lending Rematch a colourfully energetic and vivid aesthetic that you wouldn’t normally see in traditional football titles. Think FIFA Street meets Rocket League, and you’re part of the way there.

Controlling A Single Player Brings Total Responsibility, Reinforces Teamwork

Another seismic shift in design that takes Rematch away from the orbit of its genre contemporaries is how it deals with team control. As each game can be played in 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 variants, players each find themselves in control of a single footballer, rather than being able to cycle through the whole team on the fly as you would normally expect to see elsewhere. What this means is that every player has an immutable role in every given game, encouraging everyone involved to truly specialise as a defender, striker or goalkeeper in a way that other football games can’t boast. Of course, the flip side of this is that with each player inhabiting different roles, tight-knit teamwork and coordination are paramount to success. Y’know, like a real game of football.

An Intimate, Third-Person Camera Puts You At The Heart Of The Game

Though perhaps not quite as considerable as the previously aforementioned changes, Rematch alters the camera perspective in a new and interesting way that helps to support its ambitions. With less than half of the players on the pitch than you would normally see in a more traditional game of football, there is ample room for the camera to take a much more active and intimate role. By sitting behind the player that is being controlled, the camera in Rematch lends the proceedings a much more intense and immediate sensation, making you feel much more like you’re part of the action rather than viewing the entire game from an elevated sky camera.

Real World Skill, Not Stats, Makes The Game

In Rematch, there are no stats, no player perks and no abilities. Indeed, there are just two metrics by which govern how your team and player will perform – your own skill and how well you can work as a team. Regarding the former, Rematch affords players a massive, accessible toolkit of moves and tricks that can be easily performed on the pitch. Thanks in part to the ultra-responsive controls, Rematch provides players with the latitude to pull off all manner of lightning-fast headers, overhead kicks, slides, foot switches, and so much more besides.

Much like real football, Rematch is all about accuracy, reaction times, and expertly stringing together dodges, passes and shots in response to the on-pitch action. In Rematch, you become elite because you’ve put the time in to reach such a high standard and not because you happen to be controlling a player that boasts higher stat numbers than others on the pitch. This also means that folks who haven’t played football games before can hop right in and begin their journey to football super stardom. Rematch isn’t just for the elite, it’s for everybody who wishes to become elite. Put simply, Rematch gives you all of the power and all of the tools of a football megastar, but lets you master them on your own accord. More of this, please, footy game developers.

If The Rules Don’t Help The Game, They Get The Boot

Neatly dovetailing with its ambitions to streamline the Beautiful Game in video game form, Rematch also takes a hammer, rather than a scalpel, to some of the real-life rules, too. Essentially, any rule that might otherwise slow down or halt play has been jettisoned in Rematch. This means no offsides, no fouls, no penalties, no throw-ins, no goal kicks and certainly no pauses. There is just the ball, the play and your momentum (or lack thereof). That’s it.

Every Season Is Football Season

In a similar vein to other online multiplayer PvP efforts such as the estimable Rocket League, Rematch is already putting plans in place to deliver free seasonal content to players from launch. In practical terms, this means not only a wealth of new cosmetics, arenas and so on, but new game modes, tournaments and leaderboards too. I’d not rule out possible collaborations with real-life footballers further down the road, either. On day one, Rematch will already boast an array of competitive modes, tournaments and leagues, with cross-play both with and against players from other platforms set to arrive some time after launch.

In a genre often dominated by realism and stats-heavy simulations, Rematch breaks away with bold confidence, offering a more immediate, expressive, and player-driven take on football. It’s a game where style meets substance, where slick footwork and fast thinking take precedence over meta builds and stat sheets. With its focus on individual skill, streamlined rules, and team-centric gameplay, Sloclap’s latest creation isn’t just rewriting the rules of football games – it’s redefining who gets to feel like a star on the pitch. Whether you’re chasing glory with friends or just looking to express your love for the game in a new way, Rematch is shaping up to be a fresh and thrilling evolution of the sport

Skin Deep Mini-Review: An Immersive Sim with Cats, Floating Heads, and Sass

Immersive sims are those glorious games where just about any weird idea you cook up somehow works. Think Deus Ex, Prey, or Streets of Rogue – all prime examples of the genre. While their vibes vary wildly, what really ties them together is the sheer freedom they offer. Skin Deep is the latest entry in this chaotic club, and it brings a style that’s entirely its own.

Skin Deep casts you as an insurance commando tasked with repelling space pirates who’ve boarded your ship. You start the mission fresh out of cryo-freeze and ready to raise hell… well, sort of. Weapons aren’t exactly lying around, so at first, you’ll be relying on boxes of pepper, rogue bananas, and the occasional assist from a cat. It’s absurd, yes, and it only gets weirder from there. So don’t sweat the underpowered start; the chaos ramps up fast.

As an added twist, enemies don’t stay dead for long in Skin Deep; they can resurrect themselves, which means you’ll need to grab their floating heads and find creative ways to dispose of them. Sometimes that means chucking a head out of an airlock; other times, it’s a one-way trip down a toilet. There’s not much dignity left in space piracy these days. Hopefully the pay’s good, otherwise you’re getting flushed for nothing.

Things start off fairly linear, but the world opens up pretty quickly, and you’re encouraged to approach everything in any way you can think of. Skin Deep is a game about turning carnage into art, and failures into success, and it’s just a sublime experience from start to finish. If you’re someone who always wants to test boundaries in games, then you’re going to absolutely adore this game and everything it offers.

Indie Video Game Round-Up – June 2025

June is set to be dominated by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, which arrives alongside a flood of re-releases, remasters, and more. And while that’s undoubtedly going to grab most of the spotlight, plenty of us won’t be jumping aboard just yet; mostly because, let’s be honest, it’s not exactly cheap.

That’s where we come in. As always, we’re here to highlight some of the coolest indie games hitting digital shelves this month. It’s a mixed bunch, but we’ve dug up some genuinely intriguing titles worth your time. Strangely enough, a couple of them are even tied to major film franchises, which is a rare and welcome twist. Let’s dive in.

Midnight Mayhem – 3rd June

Midnight Mayhem has you and a bunch of other survivors trying to get through the night as an invisible monster hunts you down. The good news is that the monster is controlled by another player; the bad news is that the monster constantly gets new abilities, so you never know what you need to defend against. It seems like pure chaos and fear, and we’re totally here for it.

Ultra Mega Cats – 3rd June

Ultra Mega Cats seems to be aiming to be Risk of Rain meets cats. That means it’s a third-person shooter where you get to choose from multiple different cats, shoot a lot of things to try and survive, and overcome the evils in the world. Actually, you’re trying to break out of jail in this one, so that’s a nice change of space. The game looks cool, and there is also a demo available now!

Dune: Awakening – 10th June

Dune: Awakening is a massive multiplayer survival game set on the harsh, iconic desert world of Arrakis – the legendary backdrop of Dune. You’ll need to scavenge resources, build futuristic space buildings, and navigate the ever-shifting sands. You will also need to figure out how to navigate faction dynamics, form alliances with other players, and avoid the massive sandworms, too.

Tron: Catalyst – 17th June

Tron: Catalyst is the next game from Bithell Games, the team behind incredible story-based puzzle games like Thomas Was Alone and John Wick: Hex. Tron: Catalyst lets you enjoy a mix of story and action as you take control of Exo, a special program which wields the Glitch as a weapon. You’ll even get to muck about with Light Cycles.

Battle Train – 18th June

Battle Train is a roguelike deckbuilder where you’re in charge of a train (yes, a literal battle train) and it’s every bit as fun as it sounds. Set within the framework of a deadly game show, you’ll face off against eccentric hosts and rival contestants, all while trying to ensure your train is the last one rolling at the end of each round. It looks delightful and has a real “90s Saturday morning cartoon” kind of vibe.

Crown Gambit – 18th June

Crown Gambit is an interactive fiction game where you must try to find out who killed the king. It’s got a beautiful Grimdark art style that makes it look like a deeply twisted pop-up book, and it’s all about trying to make the right decisions and survive through not only the politics of it all, but also some card fights as well.

Outrider Mako – 23rd June

Finally, there’s Outrider Mako, a 2D action game where you take down enemies by jumping on them and explore the mysterious Mayoi World. This strange realm is packed with gods and monsters, and it’s your job to track down the items the gods desire and deliver them in charming little packages. It looks wonderfully odd and full of personality – we’ve got high hopes for this one.

How The Alters Combines Personal Turmoil And Survival In A Delectable Sci-Fi Offering

Let’s be clear: when it comes to survival games, few developers understand the genre as well as 11 Bit Studios does. Arguably, the reason for this is that rather than crafting some dry, inoffensively bland genre effort, the talented Polish outfit instead infuses its thoughtful takes on the strategy survival genre with a very human, emotional core that separates them from any other developer out there. From This War of Mine to Frostpunk and its most recent sequel, 11 Bit Studios has long made a habit of blending personal turmoil and survival mechanics in super interesting ways and with its latest effort, The Alters, they’ve done it again. If you’re a fan of 11 Bit Studios’ past work – or simply looking for deeper, more ambitious survival games – The Alters is shaping up to be the next big thing.

A Terrifying, Murderous Sun Is The Big Bad

In The Alters, players take control of Jan Dolski, a resourceful miner who finds himself stranded on a hostile planet where the sun is powerful enough to provide anything living with an instantly lethal dose of radiation. Much like a memorable sequence in the underrated Chronicles of Riddick that has Vin Diesel attempting to outrun a murderous sun, so too does The Alters employ a similar idea – essentially reversing the role of the sun as a life giver into an indiscriminate death dealer. Yeah, Boots’ own brand E45 sun cream isn’t going to cut it here.

The Great Thing About Being Me Is, There Are So Many Me’s

In a bid to keep himself alive, Jan realises that he needs to pilot a mobile, wheel-shaped base across the surface of the planet to avoid the sun’s deathly rays. Of course, Jan is just one fella, and the wheelbase is massive, so this is where the mysterious chemical compound known as Rapidium comes in. Much more than just a cool-sounding name, Rapidium allows Jan to create the titular ‘Alters’, which appear at first glance to be clones of Jan himself, which is handy for trying to keep a mahoosive wheelbase up and running. The problem is, they’re a lot more than that.

Taking The Mickey 17

In a similar fashion to Bong Joon Ho’s excellent Mickey 17, each Alter isn’t a straightforward copy of Jan, but rather an alternate version of him based on a particular set of different decisions that were made at key points in his life. This means that not only does each Alter have their strengths, weaknesses and unique skills which would be useful for maintaining the base, gathering resources, providing scientific solutions and so on, but they also have their own personalities too, which provide the personal turmoil which sits at the heart of The Alters.

You see, every Alter has their own needs, fears and emotions and much like the ragged survivalist civilians seen in This War of Mine, or the burgeoning throng of desperate folks in Frostpunk, these needs, fears and emotions must be met, lest there be consequences. For example, one Alter might be especially proficient at solving particular problems but might also desire simply to have some face-to-face time with his fellow Alter. Failing to satisfy this need, however, will mean that this particular Alter will begin to slow down in the fulfilment of their duties, before beginning to act out and then eventually rebel completely against your commands.

The core of this mechanic is the Brain Map, a handy central point of reference that shows the current memories Jan has, in addition to the memories he doesn’t. By using Rapidium and other materials, Jan can create these alternate memories from the paths never taken and create new Alters as a result. Certainly, the whole situation is fraught with ethical considerations – are these Alters their own people? Do they have their own thoughts, feelings and emotions? Do they respond to how you talk and treat them? The answer to all of those questions is a big fat, morally grey ‘yes’.

And this represents what is essentially just the tip of what is a very big, socially-linked iceberg, too. The Alters is far more than just the sum of your individual interactions with each of your Alters; it’s also about how they act with each other, how they work (or don’t work) as a community and having to deal with moral compass realigning decisions on the fly that can really, really punch you in the gut. You can expect a lot of moral gut-punching, too – this is an 11 Bit Studios game after all.

A World Filled With Deadly Opportunity

Even though The Alters is very much about this balancing act between personal turmoil, social cohesion and survival, there is a whole heap of exploration to be done as well. The planet that Jan finds himself stranded on is quite the melting pot of chaotic insanity and deadly opportunity. If the skin-blasting sun and terrifying magnetic storms weren’t enough, Jan’s newfound home is also an unexpected bounty of bespoke biomes filled with secrets to be unearthed and precious minerals to be extracted.

Given the volatility and ever-present threat that this planet presents, such rewards go hand in hand with a whole range of additional dangers beyond the ones already mentioned. As it turns out, the planet is riddled with all manner of bizarre anomalies which can not only cause instant death (as if there was a shortage of that in the first place), but can also have psychological effects on Jan and his Alters, disrupting their relationships and introducing yet more turmoil to the proceedings.

As such, exploration in The Alters certainly embraces a risk and reward dynamic in much the same way that previous 11 Bit Studios titles did. Do you push the envelope and force your increasingly unstable Alters out further into the world in search of precious materials and secrets every so often, or do you play it safer, inching your way across the planet’s surface for incremental gains more frequently?

In The Alters, 11 Bit Studios has once again crafted a deeply human survival experience full of emotional complexity, this time wrapped in sci-fi spectacle. With its lethal solar menace, morally murky cloning mechanics, and a planet teeming with both promise and peril, the game doesn’t just challenge your strategic thinking; it demands your empathy, too. It asks what it means to survive not just physically, but psychologically and ethically, when every decision can unravel a delicate social fabric. If This War of Mine made you care about nameless civilians and Frostpunk forced impossible leadership choices, The Alters takes that legacy further, putting your very sense of self under the microscope. It’s survival not just against the elements, but against your own fractured identity – and that might be the toughest enemy of all.

Why PC Players Should Be Excited For Stellar Blade’s Upcoming Arrival

Though a quick look around the PC gaming scene might suggest that third-person actioners with an emphasis on melee combat are hardly rarified air, Stellar Blade from Korean developer Shift Up stands out from the crowd on account of being a rather special offering. From its ultra-glossy visual presentation and extraordinarily satisfying combat through to its audacious embrace of provocative sex appeal and ultra-violence, here is why PC players should be excited for Stellar Blade’s imminent arrival.

A Captivating Sci-Fi Tale Of Vengeance, Betrayal And Alien Invasions

Much more than some hyperactive and hollow action extravaganza, Stellar Blade weaves a compelling setting and narrative tapestry upon which its more visceral exploits sit. In the far-flung future, Earth has found itself ruined and almost destroyed by a race of vicious alien creatures known as Naytibas. Forcing the remnants of humanity to flee to a colony orbiting the planet, the forces of mankind begin their ferocious fight to retake Earth by sending down squads of enhanced warriors to carve a path through the Naytiba menace.

The main protagonist, Eve, counts herself among such an elite cadre of warriors and duly makes her way to Earth as part of the 7th Airborne Squad, keen to lend aid in the effort to retake the planet. Tragically, however, her entire squad is eliminated during the operation, leaving Eve as the only survivor. Forced to find a desperate conclave of humanity on the surface of the Earth, Eve treks across the desolate planet surface, befriending Lily and Adam along the way, a seemingly friendly engineer and scavenger duo, whilst the mysterious origins of the Naytiba invasion are brought to terrifying light.

Easily One Of The Most Visually Stunning Third-Person Action Games Ever Made

There’s no getting around it – Stellar Blade is an almost boundlessly gorgeous game that fuses technical spectacle and a beguiling art style like no other entry in the third-person action adventure genre. Pushing Unreal Engine 4 to its absolute limit (yep, that’s UE4, *not* UE5), Stellar Blade is a treat for the peepers with downright beautiful environments that are ably augmented in turn by some of the most detailed and smoothly animated character models you’ll ever see.

Aside from its soaring technical merits, Stellar Blade’s art direction is also very much due an equal heap of praise. Starting with the environments, Stellar Blade’s team of artists have done a stellar (pun intended) job of depicting a far future Earth where the neon-lit, mechanical ruins of humanity simultaneously intersect with an encroaching Mother Nature looking to reclaim her domain as well as the Naytiba corruption that is threaded through almost every part of the world.

In terms of the character models, Stellar Blade’s Korean pedigree very much shines through here with striking, ultra-attractive character models whose allure is set in sharp relief against the endlessly grotesque, yet visually astounding Naytiba enemies. And of course, if you’ve seen even just a little of Stellar Blade, you’ll know that titillation abounds throughout, with ample fan service on the character design of Eve in particular allowing Shift Up to show off some rather advanced jiggle physics.

PC Improvements Out The Wazoo

In very much sticking with the pattern set by previous PlayStation Studio titles that have landed on PC, Stellar Blade brings with it a whole heap of PC centric improvements to make folks feel at least a little less miserable about spending a chunky four figures on their latest shiny new GPU. In real terms, this means that Stellar Blade on PC will bring such expected upgrades as unlock frame rates, support for ultrawide displays (ranging from 5:4 to 32:9 ratio screens), higher resolution textures and of course full support for DLSS 4 and FSR 3 upscaling techniques to allow for the best image quality possible. It’s also worth noting that with Stellar Blade running on Unreal Engine 4, it also stands to reason that you wouldn’t necessarily need to have a cutting-edge PC rig to get a decently playable and enjoyable experience either.

Pixel Perfect Combat That Stands Shoulder To Shoulder With The Best In The Genre

Even though Stellar Blade is very much a visual spectacle with style to spare, there is also a great third-person action game lurking underneath all of those glossy curves and hyper-detailed environments. Broadly speaking, the combat in Stellar Blade plays out like an enticing mix of the hyper-kinetic exploits of something like Devil May Cry and the more challenging beats of From Software’s Dark Souls series and is extremely satisfying as a result.

Eve can not only mix up acrobatic melee combinations and split-second evasions together, but she can also unleash numerous charged attacks and ranged strikes, too, all of which can be augmented and upgraded through Stellar Blade’s compelling progression system. Ultimately, this lends Stellar Blade’s combat a real sense of versatility that you don’t really see in many similar efforts. Oh, and a word about Stellar Blade’s boss encounters. Often screen-filling affairs, the various big bads that Eve finds herself tangling with are both challenging and downright butt-ugly in equal measure, making their eventual defeat all the more rewarding. Put simply, Stellar Blade is much more than a pretty face – there’s a resoundingly solid and compelling combat system sitting beneath its attractive veneer, too.

Worlds That Beg You To Explore Every Nook And Cranny

Much more than just a boss rush or linear enemy masher, Stellar Blade provides players with sufficient freedom to explore the various opulent worlds that surround them, and it’s here that Shift Up’s breakthrough title also shines. Entwined with Stellar Blade’s progression system, there’s an evergreen temptation to want to explore every corner of a given map in order to tease out its hidden treasure, loot caches and more to bolster Eve’s equipment and abilities. Like all the best examples of this approach to exploration, Stellar Blade often teases the player with shiny goodies that are seemingly just out of reach, encouraging them to work out how to get there and obtain these sweet rewards.

Battlefield 2 At 20 – How Battlefield 2 Placed EA’s Shooter On The Map For Decades To Come

With twenty years on the clock since its initial release in June 2005, EA’s Battlefield 2 still occupies a place of fondness in the hearts of PC gamers who have been initiated with its heady quality – and for good reason, too. Certainly, it’s no coincidence that with the release of every new Battlefield title, comparisons are drawn with Battlefield 2. So with that in mind, on its 20th anniversary, here’s how Battlefield 2 kept EA’s FPS franchise in the hearts and minds of millions for decades to come.

Moving Into The Modern Era Of Warfare

After Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam gave players a chance to engage in historical warfare across two of humanity’s most high-profile conflicts, Battlefield 2 instead decided to throw players into a much more contemporary, albeit near-future, theatre of conflict. In Battlefield 2, players find themselves choosing between three sides: China, the United States and the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC) within the context of a near-future theatre of war.

Leaving the old MP40, M1 rifles and clunky vehicles of previous games behind, Battlefield 2 by dint of its much more modern setting, brought all manner of evolved battle tanks, APCs, light armoured vehicles, boats, attack helicopters, UAVs and fighter jets in addition to a vast range of automatic firearms, grenade launchers, anti-tank sniper rifles and much more besides. The future of warfare had finally arrived and brought with it all-new high-tech ways for players to lay waste to each other.

An All-New Modern Game Engine Built With Warfare In Mind

Aside from the obvious change in setting, one area in which Battlefield 2 handily outstrips both its predecessors and other FPS efforts on the market was in the game engine that it used to power its warmongering shenanigans. Not only did this new engine (known as the Refractor 2 Engine), bring the expected uptick in graphical fidelity with much more highly detailed environments, more lifelike and better animated character models with a range of more realistic vehicles but it also introduced a degree of environmental building destruction to the series for the first time.

Another boon for Battlefield 2 embracing this new technology was that about material penetration. Essentially, the Refactor 2 Engine could simulate levels of composition density in various cover materials, making it easier or harder for certain weapons to shoot or otherwise blast through them. Though neat in concept, in practice, this also added an additional level of tactical anxiety to the proceedings, not least because if you were behind cover, you needed to be sure that the cover would be sufficiently durable to protect you from enemy fire.

No More Infinite Sprinting Or Fixed Resource Pickups

Though certainly a relatively smaller advancement in the series when compared to the changes in setting and game engine, Battlefield 2 also made a great number of meaningful alterations to the low-level gameplay side of things, too. Not only was a new stamina system in place to prevent players from running and jumping endlessly like deranged rabbits on crack, but fixed ammo and health replenishment boxes also went the way of the dodo, instead requiring players of the Support, Medic and Commander roles to supply those drops to their troops on the fly. Pointedly, by making key resources such as health and ammo a distributable item between soldiers, Battlefield 2 embedded the first real notion of creating rudimentary supply sanctuaries and front-line supply areas that made players think twice before recklessly plonking down such precious resources.

Overhauled Squad System Mechanics Underscore Essential Cooperation

More than any Battlefield title before it, Battlefield 2 took a figurative hammer and chisel to its squad system, overhauling it in all sorts of meaningful ways to bring it kicking and screaming into what was then the current day. Squads in Battlefield 2 weren’t just made up of six players, but each squad also boasted a squad leader who had a direct line of communication to the Commander by a dedicated VoIP channel. As an added boon, squad members could also spawn on their squad leader (assuming they were alive), to help in speeding up the capture of enemy control points and the breaching of enemy positions. Being in a squad and functioning like a well-oiled unit meant something in Battlefield 2, and it’s an aspect of the series that has endured, in one form or another, throughout its lifetime.

Commander Mode Allowed Players To Realise Their Strategic Ambitions

One of the most striking innovations that Battlefield 2 brought to the series (and sadly, one that has been lost in its more recent outings) was the Commander Mode. Here, players who assumed the singular role of Commander for their side could communicate directly to squad leaders using Battlefield 2’s new VoIP system, in addition to providing and marking supply drops on the map and deploying support assets such as UAVs and artillery strikes onto the Battlefield. The implementation of the Commander Mode in Battlefield 2 meant that players who weren’t necessarily all that jazzed about being on the frontline could instead take a backseat of sorts and enjoy a much more tactical role, broadening the appeal of Battlefield 2 in such a way that its genre peers struggled (and continue to struggle) to match.

Persistent Player Progression Is Here To Stay

One other feature that Battlefield 2 would bring to the table that would later be co-opted not just by future instalments in the franchise, but also in titles from competing series, too, is the notion of persistent player progression. Realised through a tiered ranking system where players could work their way from the lowly rank of Recruit to that of General, Battlefield 2 rewarded players with ranking points earned by killing enemies, supporting team members with healing and ammo resupplies and completing objectives. Put simply, the more points you earned, the quicker you rose the ranks, and this was in addition to special ribbons, pins, medals and unlockable gear that could be earned along the way. Quite unlike any genre effort before it, Battlefield 2 thoroughly incentivised its progression system in smart and thoughtful ways. More keenly, this also made the idea of being a ‘lone wolf’ less attractive, as the system was all about making everyone who participated feel like they could actively contribute to both the macro progression of the battle itself, as well as the micro progression of their own individual soldiers.

Two decades later, Battlefield 2 remains a defining pillar not just of the Battlefield franchise but of the multiplayer FPS genre as a whole. Its bold leap into modern warfare, groundbreaking engine innovations, and forward-thinking gameplay systems – from squad-based tactics to persistent player progression – set a new standard for what online shooters could be. More than just a product of its time, Battlefield 2 anticipated the future of multiplayer gaming, building a blueprint that countless titles would follow for decades to come.

Indie Game Round-Up – May 2025

Mayday, mayday, we’ve got a whole heap of new indie games coming our way. That’s right, the start of a new month is yet another chance to look ahead and find some incredible-looking indie games to dive into. This month is kind of stacked as well, so if you’re looking for something to play, you really won’t have to look hard. In fact, we’re going to do you a solid and find a bunch for you.

Here, you’ll find a list of some of the most interesting and exciting indie games coming in May, and it turns out we’ve got a lot of action coming up. Maybe it’s so that everyone can get their hands “beach body ready” or something? We’re not really fussed as to why, but we are excited to talk about this month’s slate of indie games, so let’s get to it.

Vellum – 2nd May

Vellum has been in Early Access for a little over a year at this point, and the good news is it’s an incredible take on the roguelike action game. Similar to Risk of Rain 2, but with smaller levels and a more focused and player-led meta-progression, you take control of ink-infused characters who can dole out damage using magical spells. Quick tip: Mixing and matching those spells can lead to some pretty amazing builds.

Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree – 8th May

Bahamut and the Waqwaw Tree is a touch more chilled than the other options on this list. This is a 2D adventure game with its lore all based on Arabian mythology, giving you a chance to dive into an incredible underwater world that’s been corrupted by darkness. You’ll have to explore and save this realm if you want to stay alive, and oh, it all looks absolutely gorgeous.

Empyreal – 8th May

Empyreal is a game full of mysteries. You find yourself on a strange planet that’s being explored by something called the Expedition, which is checking out an enormous Monolith – a massive structure built by a lost civilisation. You’ll need to fight your way through dungeons and navigate complex NPC quests and personalities to discover what’s going on.

Revenge of the Savage Planet – 8th May

Revenge of the Savage Planet is the follow-up to 2020’s Journey to the Savage Planet, a deeply satirical and cynical take on capitalism and exploration. This time round, we have the luxury of co-op and provided the follow-up manages to master the same sense of humour and entertaining collectable gameplay, we’re certain it’ll be a blast. Plus, it’s a shot in the arm of pure colour, which can be nice these days.

Monster Train 2 – 21st May

Monster Train is one of the best deckbuilding roguelikes ever made, and if you’ve never played it, you’re missing out. The good news, though, is that Monster Train 2 is coming in May, and it’s looking to build on the original with more variety, some new clans to muck around with, and a few more modes thrown in for good measure. Expect great things from this one.

Blades of Fire – 22nd May

Blades of Fire is a Soulslike action game that has you playing as Aran de Lira as he tries to discover and master his fate. The real bit of intrigue here, though, is that you get to craft your weapons and keep upgrading them like that as you go. As long as it does that well, we’re expecting this game to be a standout of the month, and possibly the year.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 – 29th May

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 is the final entry in the trilogy that has you taking control of absurdly large mechs in tough battles. The story for the first two games is amazing, and they’re worth playing too, but apparently, you won’t need to have played them to enjoy the final entry. This game’s sure to have a stunning story and some serious spectacle to its fights, so is as good of a starting point as any.

How Lost Soul Aside Combines Devil May Cry Combat And Final Fantasy Style Characters Into A Tremendous Hybrid

If, when you hear ‘Lost Soul Aside’, your ears prick up and something akin to a pinging sound rings in the back of your mind, I wouldn’t blame you. Originally announced all the way back in 2016(!), with development kicking off two years prior, Lost Soul Aside has for the longest time been a labour of love from just a single Chinese developer, Yang Bing, who had his debut title picked up as part of Sony’s China Hero Initiative before being published by Sony Interactive Entertainment itself. With more than eleven years of development time on the clock and with a fleshed-out development team behind the wheel, here’s how Lost Soul Aside looks to meld Devil May Cry-style combat and Final Fantasy-style characters into a delectable genre hybrid.

A Kaleidoscope Of Final Fantasy Flavoured Influences

It only takes the most fleeting of glances at any footage from Lost Soul Aside before your brain tells your eyes ‘Oh yep, that definitely looks like Final Fantasy.’ As it turns out, though, creator Yang Bing has made no secret that elements of Square-Enix’s cornerstone JRPG franchise have been explicitly threaded through Lost Soul Aside’s visual makeup (specifically Final Fantasy XV), with its exceedingly photogenic cast of heroes and villains looking like they’ve stepped straight out of Eos.

It’s not just the slender, gothically garbed and relatively androgynous look of the main protagonist, Kaser, that Lost Soul Aside lovingly echoes from Final Fantasy XV and more broadly, the designs of the legendary Tetsuya Nomura, since the various monsters in Lost Soul Aside also draw from a similar pool of inspiration. Often screen-filling creations with spectacle and extravagance to spare, the numerous bad beasties of Lost Soul Aside are blessed with equally retina-stroking presentation as the heroes that seek to lay them low.

Of course, writing a love letter to the vainglorious veneer of the recent entries in the Final Fantasy series is one thing, but Lost Soul Aside also takes ample inspiration from the narrative stakes as well. Casting players as Kaser, a warrior of immense power, Lost Soul Aside sees his world invaded by interdimensional creatures known as the Voidrax that are hellbent on erasing all life in the universe by sucking out the souls of their intended victims. As it turns out one of these victims is Kaser’s sister Louisa and so an epic odyssey begins where our main protagonist, aided by an enigmatic, symbiotic-like companion named Arena that can shapeshift into different weapons, cuts a swathe across a devastated world to get her back, whilst an authoritarian organisation known as the Church attempts to stop Kaser in his tracks.

Compellingly Acrobatic Combat Dante Would Be Proud Of

In addition to delving into the depths of the Final Fantasy series for its visual style and narrative flavour, Lost Soul Aside also takes cues from another legendary Japanese-developed franchise. With more than a nod in the direction of Capcom’s Devil May Cry titles, Lost Soul Aside fully embraces the sort of hyperkinetic and blisteringly fast combat that is so readily associated with the house that Dante built. Such inspirations are felt as soon as combat begins, as the music swells with a thrumming operatic nu-metal style soundtrack that settles into the sort of foot-tapping pulsating beat that fans of Devil May Cry will be more than a little familiar with.

Broadly speaking, Kaser engages his opponents with his trusty sword and, as well as stringing together all manner of neat-looking combinations, can also swiftly parry and evade incoming strikes, not to mention launch enemies in the air for some eye-opening juggle combinations. Further into the game, Kaser can also unlock additional abilities that allow him to cast out waves of energy and elemental magic to hit enemies at a distance as well. So far, so Devil May Cry then. Where Lost Soul Aside seeks to separate itself somewhat, however, is in how Kaser’s erstwhile companion, Arena, figures into the combat side of things.

Always following Kaser around the battlefield, Arena can augment itself with our hero, providing him with access to all manner of weapons on the fly, including massive tentacled whips, thudding hammers, smashing maces, and so much more. Think of a more calm, less chaotic version of Marvel’s Venom that can be bonded and unbonded at will, and you’re basically there. Of course the upshot of Arena’s modular and flexible approach to combat is that it dovetails directly into the functional design of the various enemies and bosses you’ll face, meaning that some foes will be more susceptible to the use of particular Arena weapon configurations, whereas others (and particularly bosses), will require a creatively broader approach that necessitates switching between all of these weapon types at a moment’s notice.

As an aside (no pun intended), it’s also worth noting that beyond just Kaser’s choice of wardrobe, the combat in Lost Soul Aside also draws from Final Fantasy XV’s main protagonist, Noctis, a touch too, since Kaser can generously teleport around the battlefield to either engage enemies quickly, or evade incoming attacks.

Arguably, though, the biggest way in which the combat of Lost Soul Aside pays homage to the Devil May Cry titles is in its rapidity. Blisteringly fast, Kaser’s many combat encounters play out in balletic fashion. Enabled by an ultra-responsive level of command input, players can dash, teleport, evade, leap, strike and morph their armaments during battle in a split second, lending Lost Soul Aside the sort of nerve-fraying and frenetic combat beats that Capcom’s Devil May Cry series has embodied for decades.

Ultimately, the end result is that not only do you end up with combat that looks flashy on the surface and lovingly echoes that of Capcom’s legendary Devil May Cry franchise, but so too do we get a deeply mechanical system of high-octane violence that is surprisingly layered and agile, too. Put simply, if you happen to exist in that Venn diagram overlap of Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry fandom, then Lost Soul Aside is shaping up to be achingly essential.

Haste Mini-Review: A Platforming Roguelike With Big Sonic Vibes

Ever played Sonic and thought, “What if this were a super stylish roguelike?” Honestly, it’s not such a wild idea. There’s just something magical about that feeling of the world whipping past you, and while Sonic may be the undisputed champ of speed, a few indie games manage to capture that same thrill in their own unique ways. The latest? Haste.

Haste is all about one thing: outrunning the end of the universe. And yeah, you’ve gotta be really fast to do that. Luckily, you are. Beyond your regular sprint, you can hold down the run button to pause for a second, then blast off like a rocket. You’re so fast, in fact, that a huge part of the game is built around launching off ramps for huge air time, then sticking the landing to keep that sweet momentum flowing.

It only gets better as you progress. You’ll unlock and master slick abilities, like a killer surfboard that cranks your speed even higher, and gather items to fine-tune your build. By the time you’re deep into a run, you’re gliding across the landscape like wind. Even early on, though, you’ll feel smooth and fluid, like water just finding its path.

There aren’t many games that can make you feel totally in control while tearing through the world at breakneck speeds—but Haste nails it. The wind roars in your ears, the scenery becomes a blur, and yet you can still see what’s ahead, weaving through danger like you’ve done it a hundred times. And the best part? It’s a roguelike—so once it gets its hooks in you, there’s always a reason to go back for just one more run.

How FromSoftware Is About To Create The Most Accessible Soulslike Ever With Elden Ring Nightreign

For a long time, Soulslike games – especially those created by pioneers of the genre, FromSoftware – have had an intimidating aura. While not outright hostile to the average gamer unfamiliar with their cryptic and sometimes obscure design, they’ve certainly felt unwelcoming. These games are, after all, supposed to be routinely challenging and punishing offerings that are not consciously directed at the mainstream. Looking to change things up in this regard, Elden Ring Nightreign seeks to maintain the high degrees of mastery associated with Soulslike efforts while also providing a tempting on-ramp of sorts for newcomers that have yet to dip a toe in these swampy waters. As such, this is how FromSoftware is about to create the most accessible Soulslike ever with Elden Ring Nightreign.

Multiplayer First, Single-Player Second

A markedly different proposition than Elden Ring itself, Elden Ring Nightreign instead channels the core design of the former into an all-new, multiplayer-focused experience, which naturally has a sizable knock-on effect on its learning curve. A standalone title that takes place within the Elden Ring universe, Nightreign has between one and three players embarking on a quest to take down a ruling boss of that particular night before darkness swamps the land.

Being very much geared towards the multiplayer side of things (you can play Nightreign solo but it would be a lonely experience), Elden Ring Nightreign allows players to support each other, share Runes (Nightreign’s version of experience points) and combine their classes to create unique synergies that are key for overcoming Nightreign’s challenging boss encounters. With help never far away and cooperation running through every strand of its design DNA, Elden Ring Nightreign is arguably the most welcoming a Soulslike effort has been since the inception of the subgenre.

Streamlined Class Selection Allows Newcomers To Hop Right In

With both Elden Ring and the numerous Dark Souls titles that have come to pass, actually picking out a class and completely understanding its various strengths, weaknesses, and other eccentricities isn’t a straightforward process, especially for newcomers. Elden Ring Nightreign hopes to address that issue directly by introducing beginner-friendly Nightfarer classes that have a clear set of skills, abilities and playstyle.

The hulking Guardian Nightfarer class, for example, has a ton of HP and great defence stats, making it an attractive choice for first-timers that don’t necessarily want to get one or two-shotted just as they walk in through the door. Beyond just being a compelling choice for new folk, the tank-like Guardian Nightfarer class also looks to blossom into a more than capable support role, too, thanks to its ability to soak up damage and revive teammates safely. Handily, the Roundtable Hold, which serves as the player hub prior to leaping into the game proper, also allows players to experiment with different classes via its Sparring Grounds training area.

A Smaller Open World Map With Clear Navigation

Another aspect of its design where Nightreign also hopes to attract new faces is that while you are indeed exploring a sizable open world mass (known here as ‘Limveld’ – a nod to Elden Ring’s ‘Limgrave’ realm), the map is both smaller than what you would find in Elden Ring, yet it also happens to be procedurally generated as well, offering up a new experience with every run. In addition, the Limveld map can be seen in its entirety at the start of any given run, with key objectives, optional dungeons and other such points of interest identified for players from the get-go. Clearly, this was a key design choice for the development team to make early on, as it helps to make every run swift enough that Nightreign can focus on its core gameplay loop without players becoming lost in the sprawl of its world.

Speaking of the map, Elden Ring Nightreign also employs a mechanic known as the Night’s Tide, where a darkness gradually encroaches on Limveld, sapping the hit points of any poor souls that happen to be stuck in its shadowy embrace. Essentially a take on the shrinking map mechanic that has been predominantly featured in Battle Royale titles such as Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, the Night’s Tide neatly provides players with a grand incentive to keep moving in ways that Soulslike games don’t typically do.

Overhauled Movement System That Takes The Pain Out Of Traversal

With Elden Ring, or indeed any other Soulslike to come out in the last decade or so, traversal has often proven to be a fairly laborious slog, often punctuated with sizable chunks of spicy peril thanks in no small part to these games’ typical obsession with death by gravity. In Elden Ring Nightreign, though, developer FromSoftware has utterly overhauled movement and traversal so that it all falls in line with Nightreign’s much more accessible approach to the Soulslike formula. In practice, this means that not only does the player character sprint faster, but sprinting now no longer depletes your stamina pool, allowing players to keep up a much more frenetic pace as a result. Further afield, a new wall-jumping mechanic provides additional opportunities for traversal and exploration, while the trusty Spectral Hawk mount can be used to cover large amounts of ground at speed. Finally, fall damage has been entirely removed from Elden Ring Nightreign, not only allowing you to throw caution to the wind and quite literally leap into any scenario, but it also removes the chance of an untimely death due to an accidental stumble, too.

A Sleek Approach To Progression

Whenever you gain a level in Elden Ring, you are typically presented with a veritable smorgasbord of different stats and abilities to pile your Runes into. With Elden Ring Nightreign, this system is pared back in a smart, yet elegant way, with points automatically being assigned to stats that are the most appropriate for your chosen class. There’s no more fiddling about with towering stat screens here, Elden Ring Nightreign makes the levelling process so seamless it barely registers during gameplay, helping to keep everything moving along at a refreshingly furious clip.

Weapons & Items For Everybody

In addition to character levelling being automated, Elden Ring Nightreign also takes a similar approach to the various weapons and items that you’ll collect and use. Here, weapons and items no longer scale or have stat requirements and can be used by any of the Nightfarer classes, with only the more powerful armaments being locked to the players who have the correct level to use them. Again, this is just one more example of Elden Ring Nightreign stripping back the complexity of Elden Ring and other Soulslike titles to create a genre effort that everybody can just hop into and enjoy.

Death Doesn’t Have The Sting That It Used To

If there’s one aspect of the Soulslike experience that is immutable, it’s, well, dying. Often leveraged as a way to punish the player with additional consequences, dying in Soulslikes can be a controller-squeezing experience to say the least. With Elden Ring Nightreign, however, FromSoftware has taken the figurative sting out of its tail somewhat, so as not to discourage newer players. In Elden Ring Nightreign, you lose your current level should you die, but that’s it – there are no lingering penalties, no shortening of your health bar or anything like that.

Even better still, before your character pops their digital clogs, it’s now easier than ever to keep them alive. This is thanks to a Near Death gauge which triggers when your hit points reach zero and enables that player to be rescued by a friend who attacks them over and over until the gauge disappears completely. Naturally, should the gauge run its course, the player dies, while repeated entry into the Near Death state causes the gauge to increase in size (though this can be reset by resting at a Site of Grace).

In Elden Ring Nightreign, FromSoftware hasn’t just built a new chapter in the Elden Ring universe; they’ve reimagined the very soul of the Soulslike genre. By refining its systems, easing its learning curves, and encouraging cooperation at every turn, Nightreign offers a rare blend of challenge and accessibility that’s as inviting to genre veterans as it is to wide-eyed newcomers. Whether you’re a longtime fan of punishing boss fights or someone who’s always wanted to try a Soulslike without the fear of constant failure, Nightreign feels like the perfect gateway.

Ready to dive into the shadows of Limveld? Pick up your copy of Elden Ring Nightreign now on Green Man Gaming. Adventure awaits, and this time, it’s not going it alone.