Dubbing itself the first "Celestoidvania", Lucid looks like, well, a combination of Castlevania and Celeste. The twist is that in order to stay airborne, you’ll need to strike enemies along your path (and other special objects that keep your momentum going). There are different movement tech abilities on a weapon wheel of sorts, too, allowing you to briefly slow time and select your next move. Repair a land, fight some cool-looking bosses, and platform to save this beautiful pixel-art world. It features music by David Wise and Bearbot, and is set to launch in Q1 of 2026. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Speed through a vibrant Zelda-inspired world with some unique movement mechanics (like turning into a monster that can fly or roll around like a ball) while exploring a world set atop water. 

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Featuring both 3D hand-painted and pixel art, this adventure game looks like a unique mix of RPG exploration and Cuphead-style platforming and combat. There’s a demo currently available.

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In this exclusive look, we get another gameplay showcase of Mr. Sleepy Man, the strange and surreal adventure game from developer Devin Santi. There are time trial races, spooky forests to explore (with weird creatures to run from), and a very catchy hip hop theme song, too. It’s set to launch this year, and you can check out a demo right now on Steam before its release. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

The developer describes this as a game built around designing a space to grieve from the perspective of a Queer POC. It’s been created about a person very important to Baidoo – a person named S has turned their hardships into the lore of this game, and though we didn’t get to see too much gameplay, it’s clear this is meant to be a surrealist autobiographical adventure game where you’ll visit various game worlds with different mechanics at play. There’s a demo available on Steam right now. Baidoo is also adapting the game into a stage show, set to debut in Europe next year. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

If you're a fan of synthwave, this is a game for you. Plot your path, hop into a truck, and head out into the vast unknown while '80s visuals and a great synthwave soundtrack give life to your adventure. Adrift is set to be released on October 30. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Irox Games describes this Japan-set game as a poetic adventure. Head to hot springs and write poetry, with gameplay mechanics built around selecting nouns, verbs, and more. Float atop the wind as you platform to new places around your beautiful Japanese home. There’s a demo available on Steam right now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In this pixel adventure, use a special cursor to interact with the world around you and morph, transform, and erase obstacles so that you can continue forward. True to the studio’s name, your cursor is a panpipe, which is how the team blends color and music to create this unique platforming experience. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Chop Chop creator Brian Oh describes the two-to-five-player game as Overcooked, but in a card game. There are 12 different ingredient types, 10 event cards, and 22 order cards that you’ll need to use to complete $40 worth of orders, but everyone in your group is working to create chaos among your restaurant guests. Oh says you can learn it in two minutes, and that every illustration is hand-drawn. This fun, fast-paced, easy-to-learn cutthroat kitchen game will be released this Fall. 

You can find more details about the game here. 

Crisol: Theater of Idols is another horror game from publisher Blumhouse Games, a name you might recognize for its horror movies, and it continues to look terrifying. It’s a first-person shooter in the vein of Resident Evil with a lot of automatron puppets to destroy. You can play the demo on Steam now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Featuring a unique hand-drawn visual style, Broomstick Exorcist puts you in control of a witch with a powerful broom in this manga-esque 2.5D beat ‘em up. There are attributes and skills to apply to your boomstick, plenty of witchy powers to tap into, and spooky bosses to defeat. Broomstick Exorcist will have a demo during the October Steam Next Fest. 

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In this throwback first-person horror game, you’ll explore a spooky mansion while also playing through unique pixel-art sections. We’re not quite sure where it’s set, but the protagonist is speaking in Spanish, indicating we might be in store for some Hispanic monsters and folktales. There’s a demo available on Steam right now, and the game will launch soon. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Lava Point Games describes Abashed as a psychological adventure where you play as Isaac, who is living with a "severe, never-before-seen mental disorder." One day, he wakes up alone and begins searching for his missing partner, Cassie. Along the way, he’ll uncover fragments of his past while exploring a 2.5D pixelated world. There’s a demo available on Steam. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In this dice-centric game, your rolls will determine everything you do. I’m not personally too familiar with dice games, but given the vibes I’m seeing, Dicealot reminds me of Balatro in that it’s taking something more at home in a casino, adding a unique spin, and creating something entirely new from it. Additionally, a medieval Camelot visual style is applied to it all, and it looks great. There’s a demo available right now, and the game is due out soon. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

I actually played Recur at Gamescom 2025 earlier this Summer and came away really impressed with its Braid-like time-bending mechanics, and today’s trailer gives another look at this gameplay. It also showcases more of the beautiful world we’ll have to save from assured destruction. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In this desktop adventure, you’ll interact with a computer screen to uncover a mystery. Open files, speak with Pizarro (this game’s Clippy), look at photos, and play minigames on the computer to unlock lost fears and more. It’s due out in Spring. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In this game, you play as a Pigeon with one goal: find your pigeon soulmate. It’s set in global pigeon hubs like Paris, London, and New York, and each city is rendered to scale, so the maps are massive. Each map includes an accurate number of pigeons, too, so it will be quite a challenge finding your soulmate. Wristwork describes Pigeon: A Love Story as an experiment and encourages potential soulmates to wishlist the game on Steam to get involved. 

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In this pixel adventure, drink coffee, eat mushrooms, and explore a strange world as an old man who spends his days with a pig (that wears a matching beanie). You’ll engage in turn-based combat to take down turtles, security agents, and more. Plus, you can play as the pig to find new routes through cities and more to help the old hermit find mushrooms to cook. It’s due out on January 22, 2026, but a demo is available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

In Moldwasher, you play as a piece of sushi that washes mold off of sink faucets, fridge drawers, electronics, and more. It’s isometric, so not quite PowerWash Simulator, but if you like that game, this one looks like it’s going to scratch the same itch. There’s a cool pixel art style and fun music to go with it, too. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In Sheepherds, you control an adorable herding dog who has one goal: to herd sheep. You can customize your dog with the wool you earn from herding colorful sheep, and Ultimo Disco says the game is laid-back and can be played at your own pace. Find treasure and bones, and herd sheep in Sheepherds, which is due out this year. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

In Gecko Gods, you play as an adorable little lizard with some platforming prowess. Explore ancient ruins, vibrant islands, and sail around a sun-soaked ocean in this charming adventure game. It also features a really great score, reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy, if today’s trailer is any indication. It’s launching this Fall, but there’s a demo available right now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In this pixel adventure game, talk to citizens in the city, hang with friends, use a phone that looks like the indestructible Nokia our parents carried when we were young, attend parties, and more. It seems like a laidback life sim that's about being a guy in a stress-inducing big city – perhaps it’s a little too close to real life. Nonetheless, it launches on January 22, 2025, and a demo is available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

No Straight Roads is back, this time with a sequel that seems bigger, brighter, and louder in every way, and it continues to look like a blast in today’s trailer. Unfortunately, there’s no demo or release date in sight, but Metronomik ended the trailer by stating that it’s now in development for consoles and PC. Let’s hope that includes Nintendo Switch 2. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

This is developer Filipe Rodrigues’ first game, and he’s handling everything in Gloomy Juncture – a true solo dev. Gloomy Juncture is a psychological mystery about a janitor facing internal conflict… and everything starts with a gunshot. Rodrigues is aiming to provide the feel of point-and-click adventure games, but from a first-person perspective. That’s reflected in this new trailer, but I honestly don’t know how to describe the character designs (complimentary), and the trailer is worth watching to see them. There’s a demo available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Penguin Colony is the next game from the Umurangi Generation developers at Origame Digital, and it’s set in Antarctica circa 1939. As the name suggests, this game is centered around penguins. Once every 100 years, a group of people must follow the wind south to Antarctica, but you don’t play as them – you play as a penguin. It’s a game from Origame Digital, though, so you can bet not everything is as it seems, and this trailer features some strange and sinister vibes. It’s coming soon. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

In this first-person game inspired by the 1990s but seemingly taking place in the 2020s, you are a teenager who likes grunge and lives in a world that’s going to s***. Today’s trailer was a quick look, but there’s a demo available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In this painterly game, you control a girl who struggles to get out of bed, who struggles to respond to texts, who struggles to wash up – someone who is generally just struggling in life. Those trials play out as minigames and puzzles that you, the player, will have to solve. Though its subject matter looks intense, its art style is inviting. A Heavy Morning launches this Fall on Xbox Series X/S and Steam.

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

Developer Raffaele Picca says he’s always had a dream of creating a game about making maps, and Engraving is that game. It’s a horror adventure set in a forest that reshapes itself, and the only map you have is the one you draw yourself. There’s a secret to discover, but you’ll have to navigate alone through this world’s sinister vibes to learn what it is. With a retro first-person visual style and spooky sound design, Engraving has us scared/excited for more. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Big blades, dark depths, explosive spells, and a retro pixel art style – that’s Gigasword. It’s also an “action-puzzle metroidvania” where you wield a huge sword that weighs you down. The Gigasword trailer in the showcase highlights Studio Hybrid’s journey from a 2020 project to a 2023 Kickstarter game to last year’s news that Akupara Games is publishing it. Gigasword launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC on November 13. A demo is available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In UnderMire, you control Saturday Morning cartoon-esque characters like Hannah and Leo to wield magical spells, defeat demonic creatures, and collect items that will help you on your journey. It’s also a roguelite, so that means you will probably die a lot, but hopefully, you will learn a lot for the next run, too. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

In Noctural 2, explore a city trapped in slumber, rekindle its mechanisms, and restore its hallways to save it. Protect your flame, which you can also use to defeat enemies, light lanterns, and more. But if the flame goes out, you lose. There’s fiery combat, precise platforming, and a dark world to explore when Noctural 2 launches in the final quarter of 2025. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

GodsTV is an isometric action game with some truly wild characters, and a vibrant and zany art design to match. In it, players become contestants in a deranged TV show and you’ll need to choose from some absurd yet charismatic contenders to play as. This world is filled with violence and humor, and your job is to grapple with becoming a TV mega-star. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

Coming from the team behind Astral Ascent, Fallen Fates is an action-RPG set in a colorful pixel art world. You’ll need to take down various bosses, platform through 2D and isometric sections, and more to save the world. It’s live on Kickstarter right now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

In this pixelated platformer, you’ll need to defeat ninjas, gigantic cats, terrifying snakes, and more as you jump from ledge to ledge while avoiding obstacles like falling rocks and more. It looks like a good time, and if the trailer’s tease is any indication, it will feature a great score, too.

Wishlist the game on Steam here. 

Angeline Era features anime-esque character designs but is placed within a cozy, old-school Runescape-type world, and it immediately captured my attention. Its combat looks frantic and fun, and a demo is available now to try it out. Angeline Era is set to launch in Q4 of this year. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

Developer jakefriend describes Scrabdackle as somewhere in the middle of a three-way Venn diagram of “Zelda-like,” “Soulslike,’ and “Weird Indie Thing.” Sign us up! The entire magical spell-centric adventure has been drawn and animated by hand, and every character and creature you come across can be studied, with your notes going into your handy notebook. Act 1 is launching soon and features a 15-hour runtime with nine bosses, 90 minutes of music, 65,000 worlds, and 122 notebook entries to make. A demo is available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

We’re big fans of Lil Gator Game here at Game Informer, so we’re very excited about its upcoming DLC, In The Dark. The Darklord is out to destroy the playground, and Lil Gator, enthusiastic as ever, is here to save the day. There’s gliding, minecarts, various other animal characters like spiders and ants, and more. It’s due out sometime in early 2026, but a demo is available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

In Lou’s Lagoon, take to the air in your plane, flying through rings and more, before landing on the archipelagos below. Down there, you’ll encounter various animal creatures, build radio towers, reconnect with old friends, and more. It looks quite lovely, though the story promises a mystery surrounding someone named Uncle Lou. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

Map Map – A Game About Maps is, well, it’s a game about maps. In this delightful and cozy exploration game, your job is to create maps for various sunny islands, build up each one, and explore to your heart’s content with a special glider. A demo is available now. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.

Revealed as the Six One Indie Showcase’s “One More Thing” game, City of Dolorosa brings players to Hell. Developer Cuelebre Cult describes City of Dolorosa as a narrative game that blends first-person exploration with visual novel-style dialogue. After a mysterious, rigged trial, you’re condemned to live in Dolorosa, a city in Hell. The former king, Satan, has just died, so you’ll need to find your place in the mess he leaves behind. The art style is reminiscent of tattoos, especially in the coloring, and you should check out the trailer to see it for yourself. A demo is available now, and the game is set to launch next year. 

Wishlist the game on Steam here.