Critical Reflex and CR Channel are kicking off the summer showcase season with a wave of updates: a revamped Steam Next Fest demo for TANUKI: Pon’s Summer is live right now on Steam, two new CR Channel titles have been revealed — the grotesque cooking roguelike SATED and co-op climbing horror Pipes.exe — and Militsioner has received a new gameplay trailer at IGN Live. Here’s the full rundown.
TANUKI: Pon’s Summer — New Demo, Game Pass Coming
Developed by Denkiworks — a Kyoto-based studio formed by three co-founders who previously worked on the hit indie Cursed to Golf — TANUKI: Pon’s Summer puts you in the paws of Pon, a part-time postman in a picturesque Japanese town. Deliver packages, pull off BMX tricks, help locals with odd jobs, and restore the Great Tanuki Shrine before the end-of-summer Matsuri festival. The new Steam Next Fest demo is expanded significantly from last year’s playtest build: 2–3 hours of gameplay across the opening three days, including the tutorial, Pon’s first day at the Post Office, and the Shrine Building area. Save data carries forward to the full game.
Six quests, BMX challenges, and the BMX Respray Shop · Non-linear quest progression with updated navigation · New shrine decorations, character voices, and expanded language support · Save data carries over to the full game
The Rest of the Critical Reflex Summer Lineup
The unique immersive sim set in a world of constant surveillance received a new gameplay trailer at IGN Live showcasing updated visuals and a tense escape attempt. The trailer highlights the unsettling dynamic between the player and the towering Giant Policeman who watches over the city at all times.
Revealed at the PC Gaming Show: cook increasingly disturbing dishes for monstrous customers using a sentient, cursed refrigerator that doubles as a slot machine. Pull grotesque ingredients, manage the chaos, and escape before you become the next course. Read our full SATED announcement article.
Co-op horror climbing for 1–4 players. Navigate a surreal operating system, climb impossible pipe networks, avoid hostile bugs, and maintain workplace professionalism under increasing pressure. A public playtest is live on Steam right now — jump in immediately.
Additional updates across all four titles are planned throughout the summer. Follow Critical Reflex and CR Channel for ongoing announcements as the season progresses.