Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Once again, there are some neat new games for you to check out this weekend. We've got a bunch of updates and announcements for upcoming titles to tell you about too.
There have been a bunch of solid indie showcases lately (and highlights from another one to tell you about below). If you want to learn about a ton of other games ASAP, you might want to set your alarm pretty early on April 25.
Starting at 5AM ET that day, the latest edition of Indie Life Expo takes place on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Bilibili and elsewhere. This one will feature more than 200 games! A rapid-fire Indie Waves segment will power through 160 of them. Organizers received 1,100 submissions for this installment, so hats off to them for featuring a sizable percentage of those.
Before that, you can check out another showcase on April 21. Top Hat Studios Presents: Spring Showcase 2026 will start at noon ET on the publisher's YouTube and Twitch channels.
The stream will feature Motorslice, Well Dweller and survival horror game Becrowned, as well premieres and other Top Hat games. I've been looking forward to Motorslice, which has a May release window. I wager we'll get a precise release date for that during this stream.
Meanwhile, there's an interesting Steam event taking place soon. InterfaceX26 will run from April 27 until May 4. This one is focused on games that deal with made-up operating systems and other custom interfaces. Organizers have brought together more than 150 developers and publishers, who are asking Valve to introduce an official "Fake OS" tag for games on Steam.
Some neat games will be included in a sale and a showcase on May 2, including Blippo+, TR-49 and The Roottrees are Dead. Expect demos and relevant new releases too. Speaking of which...
New releases
We've been waiting a very long time for Replaced. This cyberpunk adventure from Sad Cat Studios and publisher Thunderful finally landed this week on Steam, GOG, Xbox on PC and Xbox Series X/S. It's on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Otherwise, the base game costs $20. A supporter edition that includes the soundtrack is $25. It'll hit the Epic Games Store at a later date.
The game was initially supposed to arrive in 2022. It certainly didn't help that Sad Cat Studios was forced to relocate from Belarus to Cyprus after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the game is finally here and it debuted to generally positive reviews.
Replaced is a 2.5D action platformer set in an alternate version of 1980s America, in which you play as an AI trapped in a human body that may or may not dream of electric sheep. I haven't yet had a chance to properly jump into this gorgeous-looking game, but I'm hoping to do so this weekend.
Speaking of games I've long had on my wishlist, Gecko Gods arrived this week. I think I first clapped eyes on this around 2022. Various trailers charmed me with the idea of a puzzle exploration platformer that casts you in the role of a gecko that's able to run along walls and ceilings.
I've played around 90 minutes of this one so far. I dig the look and the gecko is very cute (being able to customize its appearance is a nice touch). I love that you "collect" different types of bugs by eating them. It's a fairly relaxing game, which is broadly what I need at the minute.
I think there are some issues here, though. I've explored two of the main five islands in the open world and it feels a bit sparse so far. The joy of being able to clamber up and around any object complicates things when it comes to more precise platforming sections. While the sailing sections are pretty, the boat is clunky to control on the choppy water. I ran into some mild technical issues as well on PS5 with occasional framerate dips and objects popping in. Hopefully, that's something the developers at Inresin are able to address.
Gecko Gods — from publishers Super Rare Originals and Gamersky Games — is available now on Steam, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It's normally $20, but there's a 10 percent launch discount until April 30 (on PS5, this only applies to PlayStation Plus members)
Another highly anticipated game landed this week in the form of Mouse: PI for Hire. We've had our eyes on this first-person shooter/detective game with sumptuous rubberhose-style animation for quite some time. Reviews have been generally positive so far, and it seems that there's enough substance here to live up to those stellar visuals.
Mouse: PI for Hire — from Fumi Games and publisher PlaySide — is out now for $30. It's available on PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Thirsty Suitors developer Outerloop Games and co-publisher Outersloth served up the cooking-themed Dosa Divas this week. It tells the story of two sisters who set out on a journey with their mech to take down a fast food empire and reconnect communities through cooking.
It caught my eye when I saw it during a showcase a while back and it has a great concept, though I don't exactly love turn-based combat. I've read a few lukewarm reviews of the game, and the consensus seems to be that the cooking mechanics and combat perhaps needed some more time to simmer.
If you'd like to try Dosa Divas yourself, you can pick it up on Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It'll usually run you $20, but there's a 10 percent launch discount until April 28.
If you're looking for a puzzle game that can be relaxing or rather dark, depending on your mood, it might be worth checking out A Storied Life: Tabitha. As you pack up the home of a late loved one, you'll need to decide which items to keep in the limited storage space you have and discard the rest. You'll need to wrap fragile items in bubble wrap and vacuum pack soft items to save room in the boxes.
As you save items, you'll unlock words that you can use to fill in the blanks of your loved one's life and tell their story, Mad Libs-style. Given that you'll find items like a blackmail letter and a shirt with lipstick on the collar, it seems like there's a lot of variety to the kinds of stories you can tell.
A Storied Life: Tabitha is available on Steam now. It'll normally run you $15, but you can save 10 percent if you buy it before April 28.
To round out this section, I’ll quickly note that Hades 2 is out now on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for $30, with a 20 percent launch discount. It's on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass too.
I bought Hades 2 when Supergiant Games brought it to Steam early access two years ago, telling myself I'd wait until the full game was out. But I still haven't gotten around to it yet. There are always too many games tugging at my fragile attention span and Hades 2 faded into the background for me. I really ought to play it, I know!
Upcoming
I'm keeping an eye out for Agefield High: Rock the School from Refugium Games. This spiritual successor to Rockstar's Bully is set to arrive this summer on Steam. It emerged this week that it will hit PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later in the year.
It's a coming-of-age adventure in which you play as Sam, a young lad who has moved to a new school in the early 2000s. He wants to make his last few months of high school a time to remember.
There's a branching narrative with multiple endings here — you can opt to go to classes and be a good student, or skip school and cause trouble. As a mostly rule-abiding student way back when, I'd be tempted to go for the latter. This seems like a bit of a life sim with a broad array of activities and ways to get into bother. I’m looking forward to it.
The latest edition of the Galaxies Showcase — yet another indie spotlight event — took place this week and The Backworld caught my attention. This is a Mother-inspired RPG from Numor Games and publisher Top Hat with charming art direction (yes, I did see that one character doing a Naruto run), an intriguing mix of characters and...
Oh no, why did the music stop? Why did it get so dark all of a sudden? What are these horrifying beasts that are chasing my character? Yup, there's a heavy horror element here. Numor took inspiration from The Backrooms as well.
The Backworld will be released later this year. A demo just hit Steam.
A Study in Blue, from Relate Games, was another highlight of the Galaxies Showcase, thanks in large part to that impressive animation. This is a point-and-click adventure in which you play as two characters with complex pasts: private detective Kenneth and runaway Blue.
You'll explore a semi-open world and solve crimes by collecting clues and calling out characters' lies. There are three intertwined story acts and multiple endings. A Steam demo featuring a side quest from the main game that'll take around two hours to complete is available now.
I'm always going to be interested in any game that riffs on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. On the face of this trailer, Elementallis developer AnKae Games seems to borrow quite a bit of the design language and other ideas from the SNES classic. Still, if you're going to crib from anything, it may as well be the best game of all time.
This 2D action RPG, which is also published by Top Hat and has a heavier focus on elemental powers than A Link to the Past, looks very much like my kind of jam. It's coming to Steam, GOG, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One on April 28. Per the eShop listing, it'll cost $18.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/cyberpunk-platformers-gallivanting-geckos-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-110000924.html?src=rss
