Author: Flare

Oh Bother, Something is Wrong with the Bear Since A.A. Milne’s beloved bear entered the public domain, we have seen a deluge of low-effort slasher films and cheap cash grabs trying to shock audiences by putting a knife in the paw of a childhood icon. It became tiring almost immediately. But then comes Twice Different, the developers behind the cult classic Ring of Pain, with a proposition that is equally disturbing but infinitely more creative: What if you weren’t fighting the bear? What if you were the corruption inside him? Winnie’s Hole is a roguelite strategy game that tasks you…

From Legacy to Legend Identity is a tricky thing in the gaming industry. Last year, this game was known as Legacy: Steel & Sorcery, a hardcore PvPvE extraction game that punished players mercilessly. Today, it has re-emerged as Eldegarde, a rebranded, refocused, and fully released title that aims to bridge the gap between the high-stakes tension of Escape from Tarkov and the cozy progression of a classic MMORPG. Released fully on January 21, 2026, Eldegarde arrives with a “Mixed” recent review score on Steam, a badge of honor for any game that dares to mix PvP and PvE communities. But…

Into the Underground The survival horror genre is currently experiencing a renaissance, largely fueled by high-budget remakes of classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. But in the shadow of these giants, indie developers are scavenging for their own piece of the pie. Enter ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY, a project developed solo by Ali Al-Abboodi that was released on January 8, 2026. Priced at a modest $17.99, ENTITY promises a return to the golden age of third-person shooters—dark corridors, government conspiracies, and biological horrors. After spending about four hours navigating its subterranean labs, it is clear that while this game…

The Doctor Will See You Now (Again) For fans of the cult classic Pathologic franchise, the wait has been a long, feverish dream. After Pathologic 2 launched in 2019, focusing on the Haruspex (the “Body”), players have been desperate for the promised follow-up focusing on the Bachelor, Daniil Dankovsky (the “Mind”). That wait ended on January 9, 2026, with the release of Pathologic 3. Developed by the avant-garde Russian studio Ice-Pick Lodge, Pathologic 3 is not a sequel in the traditional sense, but a reimagining of the Bachelor’s route, expanding the lore and completely overhauling the gameplay mechanics to fit…

The Metroidvania genre is a crowded galaxy. To stand out amongst the stars—especially in a timeline where we are finally “eating good” with heavy hitters like Hollow Knight: Silksong dominating the conversation—an indie title needs more than just a map and a double jump. It needs a soul. It needs an aesthetic that arrests the senses and a gameplay loop that refuses to let go. Enter MIO: Memories in Orbit, the latest offering from Douze Dixièmes and Focus Entertainment. Released today, January 20, 2026, this sci-fi adventure tasks players with stepping into the metallic shell of MIO, a nimble android…

The “Quota Horror” genre, popularized by the meteoric rise of Lethal Company, has spawned a fascinating sub-genre of co-op survival games. The formula is simple but effective: you are an expendable employee, the environment wants you dead, and the Corporation demands profit. Planet Hoarders, the debut title from indie developer Imago Games, enters this crowded arena with a twisted proposition. What if, instead of scavenging scrap metal, your job were to kidnap adorable alien wildlife with a mallet? Released into Early Access on December 17, 2025, Planet Hoarders mixes the aesthetic of a creature collector with the tension of a…