This week's Indie Game Round-up (August 12th-16th) 🕹️

Your round-up of every notable and under-the-radar indie game release from each day. Plus, new indie game announcements, trailers, updates, & relevant industry news - for gamers + devs. 🎮

Welcome to the August 12th-16th edition of the indie game round-up newsletter - your ultimate one-stop shop for all things indie!

Apologies for the inconsistencies - I’ve had a string of trips, and being away makes it virtually impossible for me to keep up-to-date, as writing this takes a full day outside of my full-time job, after keeping up with releases/news during the week. It’s unfortunate timing that soon after starting this, I had a string of breaks and trips. Rest assured, after my trip to Gamescom next week, that’s the end of all that for a while, and I’ll be working hard to ensure a more consistent schedule of these for some time!

Thanks for all your support so far - it’s been wonderful and means a lot. I’m especially apologetic to paid subscribers - I know I’d mentioned from the start there may be occasional gaps, but it’s been a stressful niggle in the back of my head not delivering for you!

With that said, here’s your big round-up of this week’s indie game launches, announcements, news, and trailers. This week, you’ll catch the launches after the news jump, as there’s quite a lot this time + I’m still toying with the format (especially in relation to what I should keep exclusive for subscribers). Please consider checking these games out, purchasing them, or wishlisting them - it all helps indie devs! ❤️

This Week’s Indie Games News

Wholesome Games continues to grow and grow as an absolute indie powerhouse brand; between their summer “E3” and winter showcases, their social media posts, and their Steam events, indies that fall under the somewhat-hard-to-define wholesome moniker see huge gains from their attachment. I’ve experienced this firsthand for games I’ve worked on - so much so, that wishlist and general marketing bumps can trump that of being in a Nintendo Indie Direct. It’s a very important, free indie collective!

This past week, the Wholesome Games Celebration took place from August 15-21 as a Steam event. With new game announcements, launches, discounts, and highlights, it’s well worth sifting through everything on offer. (Naturally, I have listed the announcements + launches among this week’s newsletter).

🔗 Wholesome Games Celebration page

Barkour, an action-stealth game about a secret agent dog fighting an evil organisation, has been announced, coming to consoles + PC in 2025. It's "what if 007, but dog" in video game form, following the continuing trend of games with animal protagonists performing exceptionally well commercially + on social media.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders has been announced - a skiing spin-off from the hit biking game Lonely Mountains: Downhill, launching later in 2024.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is launching on September 19 for PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series. The classic point-and-click has redrawn 4K visuals, new UI and hints, and enhanced audio and visuals.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Instants, a relaxing, story-based puzzler about crafting photo albums, has been announced as part of the Wholesome Games Celebration event. One for fans of games like Sticky Business.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Trombone Champ Unflattened, a VR version of the hit comedy rhythm game where you play a trombone to free domain music, is coming to Meta Quest, Steam VR & PS VR2 this Autumn.

🔗 Developer game page

Keylocker, a turn-based cyberpunk rhythm JRPG, inspired by the Mario & Luigi games and Chrono Trigger, and set in a world where music has been outlawed, has announced its release date - September 18 for Switch, PS5, Xbox, and PC.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Completely Stretchy and Uncomfortably Sticky has received a new look trailer, marketed as a re-reveal of the game originally unveiled in 2022 - for the record, by moi in my time as marketing lead at publisher Super Rare. The comedy-exploration game is set in a pastel-coloured world, where you swing your big ol’ blue arm around and talk to lil fellas and that.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Sulfur, the FPS/RPG hybrid with roguelite elements and old-school action-adventure gameplay - that you may or may not have seen about at various in-person game events - has been delayed to early 2025, but is now also coming to PS4 + PS5.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

The Land of the Magnates - an action-adventure game based on Middle-eastern myths, with a sitar as your weapon and musical elements - launches August 27. Looks (and sounds) amazing!

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

The Plucky Squire - the action-adventure storybook game where you jump between 2D + 3D worlds, and likely one of the most-anticipated indie releases, thanks in no small part from the marketing machine that is its publisher Devolver Digital - has announced its release date for September 17.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Let’s Build a Dungeon, a virtual MMO/game dev management sim from the team behind Let’s Build a Zoo, has been announced for PC + Xbox. Basically, it’s a tycoon game for MMO development!

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

The Knightling has been announced, and will be playable at Gamescom. A fantasy platforming action-adventure game where you play as an aspiring knight with a legendary shield as your primary weapon and transportation; whack enemies, glide, and slide downhill with it. Catch gameplay in the last 30 seconds, which looks a lot more interesting to me than the CGI trailer parts! Coming to consoles + PC.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

I Am Your Beast, the next thriller-FPS release from El Paso, Elsewhere and CLICKOLDING studio Strange Scaffold, has been slightly delayed from August 15 to September 10 to avoid crunch. Considering how much its team seems to be working on at once, from studio games, personal external projects, and even an upcoming movie adaptation, I think that’s likely a sensible move!

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Demon’s Mirror, a roguelike-deckbuilder with chain-3 mechanics, is launching on September 5.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

RetroRealms: Halloween and RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead games announced; two separate 16-bit slasher-platformers, based on the respective iconic horror film franchises. Developed by WayForward, the studio behind Shantae, River City Girls, and lots of great licensed metroidvanias like Aliens: Infestation. Buying both games gives exclusive crossover content. Another unannounced Halloween game is also in development. These ones launch on October 18.

🔗 RetroRealms page

Gravelord has been formally announced, after previously sharing development clips on Twitter. A fast-paced, Quake-like boomer shooter with hand-crafted levels, a one-liner quipping protagonist, and tarot card upgrades.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Kill the Music was revealed; a rhythm-action roguelite, described as a bullet-heaven, auto-attack game. Your instrument automatically attacks enemies, so you have to hit to the beat to power-up your attack. Super, super stylish stuff! Launching in 2025.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Tiny Glade, a veeery, very pretty, relaxing game about building and doodling castles, has announced its September 23 release date for Steam. Described by some as being like virtual LEGO, you simply just build very visually beautiful castle dioramas with no pressure.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Shutter Stroll is a chill game where you explore and stroll around millions of unique, beautiful islands taking pictures - and has recently announced a release date for September 6.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Turnip Mountain has released a new look trailer of its hand-by-hand puzzle-platformer climber, where you play as a lil handy turnip aiming for the top of a mountain. You may have seen its WIP dev posts around on Twitter!

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Cat Café Manager 2: Big City Bliss was revealed during the Wholesome Games Celebration; a cozy cat café management sim, with a Kickstarter launching on September 4.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Burden Street Station has been formally announced; a non-lnear narrative adventure game where you collect body parts in a stylish, 2.5D analog world. Explore 6 stories, 12 random events, and meet lots of strange creatures at a train station. Interesting stuff!

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Gimmick! 2, the brand new official sequel to the NES platformer Gimmick from Sunsfot, announced its September 5 release date for Steam + Switch. Also coming to PS/Xbox later this year.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Super Loco World is another Wholesome exclusive reveal; build railroads and grow villages by creating transport links in a bright, vivid automation-strategy sim.

Build railroads and deliver goods in a dynamic world. Carefully use rail signs to avoid traffic jams, achieve peak efficiency (if you want to), and watch villages grow into towns.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Last Time I Saw You, a coming-of-age adventure game set in 1980s Japan, from the art director of Yume Nikki: Dream Diary, has announced its October 10 release date for Steam.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts was also revealed during the Wholesome Games event! Run a manuscript workshop and decorate clients’ medieval books. A bit like a medieval take on Sticky Business.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Wasteland Waste Disposal is, yes, another recent Wholesome Games event reveals! Clean an apocalyptic wasteland with your mobile waste disposal pant with crafting and survival elements.

🔗 Wishlist on Steam

MainFrames has been announced during the Wholesome Games Celebration, launching in early 2025. A charming platformer that plays entirely in windows emulating that of PC monitor windows (it’s best to just watch the trailer to get it). An evolution of the idea first seen in Daniel Linnsen’s 2016 Windowframe.

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Ritual of Raven is the last of the Wholesome Games Celebration exclusive reveals - a narrative-based pixel farming sim, from the studio behind hit indie game Sticky Business (judging by this week’s news, also quite an influential game) and published by Team17. Grow a magical garden and befriend fellow weirdos!

🔗 Wishlist it on Steam

Poppy PlayTime Triple Pack announced for the PS5, bringing the viral jumpscare horror game’s first three chapters to disc; launching October 31. There’s been no other age rating approvals for other platforms, so don’t expect an Xbox release!

🔗 Smyths (UK) (also available in US)

Smushi Come Home, last year’s wholesome exploration-adventure game with a lil mushroom fella, is getting a physical Switch release on August 22.

🔗 Purchase here

Paid subscribers will be able to see round-ups of the week’s indie game launches below (30+ more indies) - please consider supporting! ❤️