Author: Anna

Wake Up and Choose Violence There is a very specific type of magic that existed during the Nintendo 64 era of 3D platformers. Games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie weren’t just about jumping across gaps; they were about exploring bizarre, interconnected worlds filled with quirky characters and hidden secrets. It is a feeling that many modern indie developers try to capture, but very few actually succeed. Enter Mr. Sleepy Man. Developed entirely by solo creator Devin Santi over the course of five years, this $20 indie gem released last month to a glowing “Very Positive” reception on Steam. On…

A Beautiful Blasphemy of Genres Enter Horripilant. Let’s be honest: the “idle clicker” genre doesn’t typically command much critical respect. Usually associated with watching cookies duplicate or mindlessly tapping a screen until the numbers get too big to comprehend, the genre is rarely praised for its narrative depth or atmospheric design. Released on February 20th by solo developer Alexandre Declos (in partnership with Pas Game Studio and Black Lantern Collective), this $8 indie game completely shatters the preconceived notions of what an incremental game can be. It is a chilling, grotesque dungeon crawler that brilliantly weaves Autobattler mechanics, point-and-click adventuring,…

The Graveyard Shift from Hell I have sifted through my fair share of indie horror games that promise a terrifying “night shift” experience, only to deliver a generic haunted-house experience with a flashlight that dies every 12 seconds. It takes a lot to stand out in the crowded indie horror market. Enter Untold Memories: Potter’s Field. Developed by the two-man team of Huseyin Onur and Arda Onur, this cinematic psychological thriller skips the supernatural cliches in favor of something much darker: the crushing weight of human guilt. Allegedly inspired by real events, the game drops you into a sweltering, hyper-realistic…

Growing Up on a Changing Planet When Planet of Lana launched in 2023, it captured the hearts of puzzle-platformer fans with its stunning Studio Ghibli-esque visuals, sweeping orchestral score, and the undeniable charm of its core duo: a young girl named Lana and her cat-monkey-alien companion, Mui. It was a game about the sudden, terrifying collision of nature and cold, unfeeling machinery. Three years later, developer Wishfully and publisher Thunderful Publishing have returned to that hand-painted world. Released last week, Planet of Lana II (subtitled Children of the Leaf in promotional materials) picks up the story on a planet now…

Platforming Meets Paranoia When gamers think of psychological horror, they typically envision slow-paced walking simulators, resource-starved survival games, or point-and-click mysteries. Rarely does the genre intersect with the blistering, twitch-reflex demands of a precision platformer. Yet, developer brlka and publisher Ysbryd Games (a label already famous for championing bizarre, narrative-heavy indie titles) have decided to bridge that exact gap. Released in late February 2026, LOVE ETERNAL is a 2D puzzle-platformer that asks players to run, jump, and reverse the flow of gravity to escape the mind of a selfish, forsaken deity. Currently sitting at a “Very Positive” consensus on Steam,…

Dial-Up Dread There is a very specific, undeniable creepiness to outdated technology. Long before the internet was a sanitized, corporate mega-mall of social media feeds, it was a quiet, isolated frontier. Heaven Does Not Respond, the new analog horror title from indie developer Rise Studios, drags you kicking and screaming back to that frontier—specifically, to an alternate timeline in the year 2005. Released last month for a highly accessible $9.99, the game tasks you with stepping into the shoes of a National Intelligence Center agent. Your assignment is straightforward on paper: investigate the mysterious death of a young man named…