Browsing sand and sea, herding beasts and different new indie video games price testing

Welcome to our newest recap of what is going on on within the indie recreation house. It’s been a really busy week in that realm, because of Gamescom. Before we jam via a number of of this week’s new releases and a number of the many, many Gamescom reveals, there’s one recreation that has risen excessive above the din to the purpose the place it is drowning out most of the smaller bulletins.

Yes, Hollow Knight: Silksong has a launch date, and it’s extremely, very quickly. September 4, in reality. I really feel for all of the builders who’ve video games popping out across the similar time, equivalent to Cronos: The New Dawn, Hell is Us, Baby Steps and even NBA 2K26. Sure, Silksong might primarily be for a unique viewers than the most recent version of an enormous basketball franchise, however it may take up a lot of the oxygen within the gaming house for some time. As such, some builders are delaying their video games to offer Silksong a large berth.

CloverPit was scheduled to drop on September 3, however it’s getting the hell out of Silksong‘s method. The dirty, slot machine-based roguelike is now going to reach on September 26. “We like a gamble, but this one is too risky lol,” developer Panik Arcade mentioned. “We want to give ourselves and our fans some time to enjoy Silksong, so we’re launching a few weeks later and will use the time to polish CloverPit even further.” Meanwhile, Talegames is pushing again the 1.0 launch of its journey RPG Faeland and Aeternum Game Studios is delaying a Metroidvania known as Aeterna Lucis from September into 2026.

There’s little doubt that Silksong’s arrival is a giant deal. It’s been probably the most wishlisted recreation on Steam for yonks, was a spotlight of Microsoft’s Xbox Ally handheld reveal and is a sequel to an indie blockbuster that has now offered more than 15 million copies. In any case, we’ll quickly discover out if that very, very lengthy wait was worthwhile. Years of Silksong memes positive have been. I’m going to want another long-awaited recreation to joke about earlier than each showcase now.

New releases

I’ve no earthly thought why it took me so lengthy to do that, however I examined my PlayStation Portal by my constructing’s pool for the primary time this week and it turned out that the Wi-Fi was, in reality, sturdy sufficient there for me to make use of the hand-held. It was a becoming place to take a look at Sword of the Sea, which hit PS5 (together with on PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium) and PC this week.

I’m solely an hour or so into this $30 recreation from Giant Squid, however I’m having fun with the relaxed method to exploration right here. As you’d would possibly anticipate from builders who’ve labored on The Pathless, Abzu and Journey, the motion in Sword of the Sea is pleasant. You’ll take off from wavy dunes and pull off tips such as you’re in an SSX recreation as you surf throughout sand and water on a sword within the intention of restoring life to the barren panorama. Sword of the Sea is a looker, and I’ll certainly be getting misplaced in it some extra over the approaching days.

Speaking of video games which have an eye catching aesthetic, Herdling is one other exploration and journey title that dropped this week. This one’s from Okomotive (Far: Changing Tides, Far: Lone Sails) and writer Panic.

Here, you may be guiding a ragtag herd of beasts throughout hilly terrain towards the summit of a mountain. You’ll have to unravel some “light” environmental puzzles and even endure some stampedes alongside the way in which. Herdling usually prices $25, however there is a 25 % launch low cost. It’s accessible on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It’s on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass too.

With Ball x Pit on the horizon, I figured we have been all taken care of for the foreseeable future so far as Breakout-esque roguelites go. Not so quick, mentioned the workforce behind Vampire Survivors.

Poncle has spun up its personal publishing arm and the second recreation it is releasing (after Berserk or Die) is Kill the Brickman from Doonutsaur. Poncle launched the sport on Steam and Xbox with out prior warning this week, and it prices 5 bucks.

You’ll accumulate and increase numerous bullets that you just use to destroy bricks from outer house. There’s so much happening within the minute-long trailer, however I notably love how a number of the bricks “cry” when a bullet smacks into them.

Discounty is a life sim about managing a grocery store in a small city. Hopefully, you may be a extra magnanimous proprietor than the operators of the JoJa Mart in Stardew Valley, however you may nonetheless should take care of some of us who’re none too happy concerning the impact of the enterprise on their city.

Developer Crinkle Cut Games and writer PQube counsel there are some secrets and techniques to find in Discounty, which is out now on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Epic Games Store. It’s coming to GOG as properly at a later date. The recreation usually prices $20, although there is a 20 % launch low cost on PC.

Upcoming

Engadget senior reporter Igor Bonifacic spent a number of hours with Absolum, a fantasy beat-’em-up with a roguelite spin from co-developers Guard Crush Games and Supamonk and writer Dotemu (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Streets of Rage 4). I extremely advocate studying his write up for the total lowdown as Absolum appears like an actual deal with.

The demo for this slipped via the cracks for me in the course of the early June chaos of Summer Game Fest and Steam Next Fest, however it’s nonetheless accessible and I’ll completely be checking it out to get a style of Absolum earlier than it arrives on October 4. It’s coming to Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5.

As I discussed in our liveblog for Gamescom Opening Night Live this week, any new Ron Gilbert recreation is price getting enthusiastic about. He’s the director of the primary two Monkey Island video games and Return to Monkey Island, in addition to a developer and producer of so many different tasks through the years. Death by Scrolling. is one thing utterly totally different for Gilbert.

It’s a vertical-scrolling, action-heavy roguelite through which it’s essential keep alive and earn sufficient gold to pay a toll to a ferryman to flee from the afterlife. The look may be very closely paying homage to Stardew, so if plundering the mines in that recreation was extra your jam than farming and fishing, this is perhaps up your alley.

There’s no launch date as but for Death by Scrolling, which Gilbert began engaged on again in 2019, however it’s mentioned to be coming this 12 months. In the meantime, you may learn updates concerning the recreation’s growth on Gilbert’s terrific blog.

It’s enjoyable that we had mentions of two John Carpenter-related tasks at Gamescom this week. Not solely was there one other have a look at John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando throughout Opening Night Live, there was the reveal of Halloween the Game from IllFonic and co-publisher Gun Interactive.

Set to reach in 2026, Halloween the Game follows the likes of Friday the thirteenth: The Game (from the identical groups) and the Gun-published The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It has a 1 vs. 4 asynchronous multiplayer mode through which the quartet should use something at their disposal — from wielding weapons to calling the cops — to outlive the specter of the unkillable Michael Myers. There’s going to be a single-player facet to this recreation as properly, as you’ll management the legendary mass killer in an adaptation of the unique movie’s story. Halloween the Game is coming to PlayStation, Xbox, Steam and Epic Games Store.

A recreation a few man with a brown backpack who scours ruined, overgrown suburban houses searching for precious sources that may assist him survive a bunch of zombies within the post-apocalypse? It must be Long Gone, in fact! What different recreation may you probably be pondering of?

This is a linear pixel-art narrative journey from Hillfort Games and co-publisher Outersloth (Among Us studio Innersloth’s publishing wing). The builders appear to have been influenced by somewhat recreation you may need heard of known as… Gone Home, as you may look via the belongings of people that used to stay on this world and be taught the reality about what occurred. There’s no fight right here. Instead, zombie encounters require puzzle fixing. There’s no launch window as but for this point-and-click recreation, which is coming to Steam.

Fittingly sufficient, I’ve had my eye on Militsoner for a while, so I used to be delighted to listen to that there is a two-week playtest on Steam that is open to everybody. This is an immersive sim through which you may attempt to escape a city, however that might not be too straightforward as there’s an unlimited policeman watching your each transfer. The playtest is restricted to a slice of the city, however I’m actually wanting ahead to getting in there and discovering out what that is all about.

I’ve to carry my palms up right here and admit I’m not acquainted with puzzle recreation maker Rusty Lake. But when the trailer for his or her subsequent recreation popped up this week, it had me completely captivated, as a result of Servant of the Lake seems to be very, very fairly.

This is a point-and-click puzzle journey that may see you finishing up duties as seemingly innocuous as straightening image frames to serving to with experiments and cleansing up afterward. You’ll play as a housekeeper of an property, however it’s not fully clear whether or not you’ll survive the weekend… Servant of the Lake is coming to Steam, Itch.io, iOS and Android in Spring 2026.

BPM: Bullets Per Minute developer Awe Interactive is again with one other rhythm-based shooter, albeit one which has a top-down perspective as an alternative of a first-person one. BPM Bitcrushed (which is being printed by Kwalee) is a roguelite, pixel artwork dungeon crawler that syncs taking pictures, leaping and dodging to the beat. The dungeons are procedurally generated and there is a “wide variety of powerful weapons, unique items and rhythm-based abilities” to find.

What’s most attention-grabbing to me right here although is that, together with the sport’s personal soundtrack, you may load in your personal tunes by way of the customized music characteristic. Perhaps setting the motion to some slow-tempo sludge metallic will make issues a bit simpler.

Couch Planes is an arcade airplane racer from Skylab Interactive that is coming to Steam, Epic Games Store and consoles subsequent 12 months. There are a number of totally different modes, 15 maps with environmental hazards and collectable energy ups together with homing rockets, mines and velocity boosts. There’s help for four-person native multiplayer and 12-player on-line motion.

From Starfox and Grand Theft Auto V to The Falconeer and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, I’ve by no means been a lot good at flying in video games. But hey, Couch Planes seems to be prefer it may very well be a enjoyable time with buddies.

Let’s shut out this bumper post-Gamescom version of our indie video games roundup with one thing which may not be for me, however may very well be for you. Canvas City is the primary venture from Disc 2 Games, which is self-publishing the sport with assist from Dredge studio Black Salt Games.

Turn-based ways video games aren’t usually my jam, however I’m all the time going to have at the least some curiosity in one which’s a few group of upstarts rebelling in opposition to an oppressive pressure. In this case, you may take cost of skaters and road artists who’re preventing again in a “vibrant yet suppressed urban world” (which sounds somewhat just like Unbeatable, which this week bought a November 6 launch date).

What caught my consideration right here is that fluid motion is a key a part of the sport. When it is your flip, you should utilize rails, ramps and different elements of the setting to drag off combos of tips and assaults. These chained actions may also earn you Style Points that may improve your skills.

Disc 2 hasn’t revealed a launch window for Canvas City as but. It’s in growth for Steam and Nintendo Switch.