Watch all trailers on our channel: TheBigBois YouTube
At this year’s OTK Games Showcase, Owlcat Games turned heads with a triple reveal, giving new life (and footage) to three of its upcoming indie titles: Rue Valley, Shadow of the Road, and Nested Lands. Known for their work on RPG heavyweights, Owlcat is using this platform to champion smaller, narrative-driven and systems-heavy games—some of which are backed through their sub-label, META Publishing.
🎥 Rue Valley: Narrative Loops and Emotional Truths
Rue Valley stood out with its surreal mix of time-loop storytelling, emotional depth, and offbeat humor. The new trailer dives into protagonist Malcolm’s struggle to piece together his memories and identity while trapped in an ever-repeating day. The highlight here? A graph-based memory system that morphs character interactions depending on your psychological state.
Whether you’re anxious, drunk, hopeful or defeated—Rue Valley reacts. Status Effects can completely alter not just how you feel, but how others respond. There’s a demo out now, so if narrative experimentation is your thing, this one’s worth a look.
🛠 Demo available on Steam now: Wishlist Rue Valley
⚔️ Shadow of the Road: Steampunk Samurai Tactics
One of the most visually rich trailers of the day, Shadow of the Road blends historical fiction with steampunk and Japanese mythology, all wrapped in turn-based tactics. Set during the Boshin War, players command a team of rebels and mystics fighting across an alternate 19th-century Japan where politics and gods collide.
Its tactical systems looked clean and crunchy, and with an open alpha live now, this might be a sleeper hit in the TRPG space.
🛠 Steam Playtest now live: Wishlist Shadow of the Road
🏚 Nested Lands: Survive, Build, Endure
Finally, Nested Lands returned with a gritty, rebuilt trailer showcasing a harsh survival sandbox that’s come a long way since early testing. Plague-ridden lands, no safe zones, and a player-driven settlement system where you literally start from nothing—this is the kind of game where everything wants you dead.
The new footage showed off a totally overhauled combat system, a dynamic village builder, detailed survival mechanics, and more. There’s a new demo available now on Steam, and it’s coming to all major platforms later this year.
🛠 Demo live now on Steam: Wishlist Nested Lands
All other OTK showcases games can be found here: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42428269-OTK-Network/sale/otkgamesexpo2025
Owlcat Games clearly isn’t just about big-budget CRPGs. Their push to spotlight these creative, genre-bending indies at the OTK Showcase shows a commitment to supporting ambitious, left-field projects.
From Rue Valley’s emotionally reactive storytelling, to the tactical fantasy of Shadow of the Road, to the punishing survival in Nested Lands—this lineup has range and grit. Check out all three trailers on our YouTube channel, try the demos, and let us know which game you’re backing your wishlist on.
