The latest Day of the Devs presentation has just ended.
Ever since its creation in 2012, Day of the Devs – hosted by Double Fine and iam8bit – has been designed to promote some of the best and most interesting upcoming indie games.
The latest show, which was broadcast immediately after the Summer Game Fest showcase this year, featured another 21 games – some brand new, others giving updates on previously announced games.
Whether you missed the show, or just want a better look at each of the games in detail, we’ve put together screenshots and information for all 21 titles, in alphabetical order.
You can find them all below, or catch up with the video version of the show here.
After Love EP
Pikselnesia, Fellow Traveller
This Indonesian dating sim is from the creative director of Coffee Talk and What Comes After.
The game is “a slice-of-life adventure set in modern Jakarta about love, loss and finding your own way forward”.
Players take control of Rama, a young musician whose girlfriend recently passed away.
Rama is struggling to move on with life, and is neglecting his music, his mental health and his relationships. It’s up to the player to turn things around for him.
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
Furniture & Mattress
Arranger is a curious mix between an RPG and a sliding puzzle game.
The game follows Jemma, a “small-town misfit on a journey of self-discovery”, who leaves her home in search of new discoveries.
The entire game world consists of a large grid, and the player slides rows and columns around.
This mechanic is used to help Jemma navigate obstacles, solve puzzles and engage in combat.
Battle Vision Network
Capybara Games
Battle Vision Network is the latest offering from Capybara Games, the team behind such games as Super Time Force Ultra, Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked and Below.
The game is described as an “online PvP puzzle battler”, in which players put together loadouts of characters and use them to take on opponents online.
According to Capybara, it “fuses cozy colour-matching puzzle gameplay with deep turn based tactics”.
Building Relationships
Tanat Boozayaangool, Tan Ant Games
You can’t beat a game with a pun for a title, and Building Relationships is a prime example.
It’s a comedy adventure game in which you play as a house who goes on dates with other buildings.
“Roll, jump, and dash around as a house on a date in this silly adventure game,” says developer Tan Ant Games.
“Meet eccentric structures, romance eligible bachelorx pads, and uncover the meaning of life. Or you could go fishing instead (though we replaced the fish with cars to make more sense).”
Cairn
The Game Bakers
From the French studio behind Furi and Haven, Cairn is an adventure about climbing a huge mountain.
Aava is a pro climber who “embarks on the ascent of a lifetime to conquer a summit never reached before”.
The game, which The Game Bakers describe as a ‘survival climber’, lets players freely climb the mountain however they like, exploring the rock face and deciding which route to take.
“In the unforgiving high-altitude environment, climbers need to manage their resources and physical condition and make the most of what they can find, foraging for food or water or setting up a bivouac,” the studio says.
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit
Spry Fox
The sequel to 2021 life-sim game Cozy Grove offers “new crafting, building and camping island adventures”.
The player has been stranded on a mysterious island after surviving a bus crash.
“Explore the unique island, meet and befriend cute, ghostly spirit bears who need your help to remember their pasts and find peace,” says developer Spry Fox.
“Customise a bustling, beautiful campsite – crafting, decorating, and building furniture to bring life and color back to this cute island – and hopefully reunite with your lost scout troop as you gradually repair your bus.”
Fear the Spotlight
Cozy Game Pals, Blumhouse Games
Fear the Spotlight is the first game set to be released by Blumhouse Games, the new gaming arm of horror film production company Blumhouse.
Blumhouse describes it as “a creepy love letter to classic 90s teen horror stories”, but one designed for a modern audience.
“Sneak into a school after hours with Vivian and Amy, survive a seance gone wrong, solve tactile puzzles and uncover the disturbing mystery behind a school tragedy decades before,” it says.
“And whatever you do, stay out of the spotlight. Fear the Spotlight will be launching later this year, and fans can wishlist the game on Steam.”
Hello Again
Soup Island
Soup Island is a one-man studio, whose developer Dwight Davis took inspiration from time-loop works like Majora’s Mask and Groundhog Day.
The game is described as “the world’s cosiest time loop”, consisting of 3-4 hours of gameplay.
“Hello Again is a puzzling adventure game set on an island filled with ancient ruins,” Davis says.
“Explore strange locations, solve clockwork puzzles, and befriend quirky characters to uncover the island’s secrets and break the loop.”
Karma: The Dark World
Pollard Studio, Wired Productions
Karma is a “first-person cinematic psychological thriller set in a dystopian world where the Leviathan Corporation is omnipresent”.
In case that isn’t on the nose enough, it takes place in the year 1984, is set in East Germany and has features lots of moody imagery, including some very clear Twin Peaks inspiration.
“You are Daniel, a Roam Agent for Leviathan’s Thought Bureau, and you have been brought in to investigate actions that have happened in a very specific moment in time,” Pollard Studio’s description reads.
“A moment which opens the mind to a world of espionage and betrayal, littered with deep and dark secrets.”
Koira
Studio Tolima, Don’t Nod
Described as “a wholesome tale of friendship”, Koira is a dialogue-free game where players befriend a puppy then protect it from danger.
“Traverse a musical forest, solve ancient puzzles, meet woodland creatures, and try to find your way home,” Studio Tolima says.
“Discover your untapped powers and learn the true value of friendship.”
It adds: “In a dialogue-free game, music is the universal language, with both a moving soundtrack and a singing mechanic which the spirit can use to wake the forest and interact with her puppy friend.”
A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars
Max Inferno, Secret Mode
A Little to the Left was released in 2022, and was followed with DLC in 2023 called Cupboards & Drawers.
Seeing Stars is the game’s second DLC pack and features 38 new stages, where players once again have to sort, stack and organise household items into satisfyingly neat arrangements.
The main theme in Seeing Stars is multiple solutions, so there are a total of 100 possible solutions to discover across the 38 levels.
“We have also introduced more cats in this DLC, and they will show up repeatedly throughout the gameplay for some extra surprises,” Max Inferno says.
Petal Runner
Nano Park, iam8bit Presents
One of the show’s world premieres, Petal Runner is a retro-style RPG that looks not unlike the early Pokémon games.
The game is described by Nano Park as “a coming-of-age story set in a cyberpunk-inspired, pixel-art-powered open world”.
It adds: “Players join Cali and Kira as they explore the sun-soaked city of Sapphire Valley and train to become specialised motorcycle couriers known as Petal Runners.
“Once they’re certified, they’ll make deliveries, meet new friends, play minigames, and discover a wholesome slice-of-life story about growing up and letting go.”
Phoenix Springs
Calligram Studio
Phoenix Springs is a “modern point-and-click set in a striking neo-noir world”, where players initially have to find the protagonist’s estranged brother.
Playing as reporter Iris Dormer, players arrive in Phoenix Springs, “a desert oasis home to an enigmatic community”.
“As she explores ancient ruins and interrogates a rich cast of characters, she must uncover the mysteries that connect the place, the myths, and herself,” the game’s description reads.
“You already know where it ends,” developer Calligram Studio teases.
Psychroma
Rocket Adrift
Psychroma is narrative-driven, side-scrolling horror game.
Players take control of a digital medium who has to confront their past by “piecing together the broken memories of a cybernetic house”.
The game makes use of “a cybernetic tarot system” to enable time travel, with players able to unlock areas in one timeline by manipulating items in another.
Rocket Adrift also says players can “allow the digital ghosts of the past to possess your body to descramble memories”, which is certainly unique.
Screenbound
Crescent Moon Games, Those Dang Games
Screenbound is a clever platformer which mixes 2D and 3D perspectives for what Crescent Moon Games calls a “dual reality system”.
Players have to make their way through a 3D environment while also playing a 2D platformer on a gaming handheld.
The twist is that the 2D platformer and the 3D world are linked, so you’re actually navigating through both at the same time.
It also includes a level editor, where players create the 2D stages and their 3D equivalents are automatically created.
Simpler Times
Stoneskip, iam8bit Presents
Described as “an experimental, interactive meditation”, Simpler Times has players controlling a young woman called Taina as she prepares to move out of her childhood home.
Players can explore Taina’s bedroom to relive her memories and learn how she grew into the person she is.
In Taina’s room, players can paint, take photos, read books, solve puzzles, listen to music or watch the nature out the window.
“This is a contemplative, cozy experience,” developer Stoneskip says. “There is no score, no timer, no combat, no failing, and no anxiety. Just vibes.”
Tides of Tomorrow
DigixArt
Tides of Tomorrow is an “asyncrohnous multiplayer” game in which players follow their friend or a streamer on their adventure.
The game is set on Elynd, an ocean planet where a “deadly plastification” is killing all living things.
According to DigixArt, the actions of the person you’re following “will shape your story, forcing you to adapt whether you like it or not”.
“Meet a diverse cast of characters with different perspectives, moods, and goals,” it says. “Choose your allies carefully, as your decisions will create new enemies.”
Tom the Postgirl
Oopsie Daisies Studio
Developed in Switzerland, this quirky hand-drawn adventure game has players controlling a postgirl called Tom as she “discovers a great deal – perhaps too much – about the locals”.
She does this not by simply talking to them on her shift, but via “intense and obsessive stalking”.
“Accompany Tom on her duties, delivering packages to the deranged villagers,” Oopsie Daisies says.
“This job provides the perfect alibi to get closer and get more glimpses into their intimacy. But will you resist the temptation of knowing what the package contains?”
UFO 50
Mossmouth
A monumental undertaking, UFO 50 is a collection of no fewer than 50 games, all of which are presented with an 8-bit aesthetic.
The games span a range of genres, including platformers, shoot ’em ups, puzzlers, roguelites and RPGs.
“All the games have a single player mode and half of the games also have a multiplayer mode, cooperative and/or versus,” says Mossmouth, who is actually sole developer Derek Yu.
“There is also a backstory that the games were developed by a fictional company called UFO Soft.”
While Waiting
Optillusion Games
While Waiting is described as “a transformative adventure exploring the art of waiting”.
The game follows “an expansive journey from birth to death”, with over 100 scenarios in which players have to “embrace inaction” by waiting.
“With a clever mix of comedic and serious tones, the game navigates the duality of life’s moments, offering players both laughter and contemplation,” Optillusion Games says.
“While Waiting is more than a game, it’s a meditation on acceptance and the beauty of life’s journey.”
Zoochosis
Clapperheads
In this “bodycam horror simulation game”, you play as a zookeeper at a zoo where some of the animals are infected and turning into mutants.
Players have to interact with the animals, take care of them, feed them and discover which ones are afflicted.
“Identify infected mutant animals, make a vaccine and cure them,” the game’s description reads.
It adds: “Save them and save yourself. Unravel the mystery of the zoo. Choose wisely. Your choices will determine your ending.”
