This year marks the 10th anniversary of Day of the Devs, an event all about showcasing awesome indie games. This year is of course no different, and there may be one or two you've seen before, but I guarantee most you have not. And there's some world premieres to keep an eye out for too.
Time Flies Announced, From Michael Frei and Raphaël Munoz
Those of us that fantasize about being a fly, carefree and just livin' life finally have the game to fulfill the dream. Time Flies sees you play as a fly, whose lifespan is short but hopefully sweet. You'll have somewhere around a minute (life expectancy is based on actual life expectancy of various countries, so those Scandinavian flies are long lived) to accomplish some tasks.
You can get drunk, read a book, learn an instrument, get as much money as possible, hang around and watch TV... the choices are endless. Keep an eye out for things like pools of water, because you can die pretty easy. Just start up a new fly life and get going.
Time Flies comes out next year for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
New Planet of Lana Trailer
You may have seen Planet of Lana before at during last year's Summer Game Fest. Planet of Lana is a puzzle adventure game with gorgeous art that plays similarly to something like Inside, though obviously a much different vibe.
An epic story spanning centuries and galaxies, you play as a girl and her friend traveling the world full of odd creatures and machines.
Planet of Lana comes out this year on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
Choo Choo Charles
This is one of those games that reminds you of why video games both play them and why they exist. You explore an old island with a train you upgrade over time to battle the evil spider-like train also on the island, Charles. Charles wants to eat you.
Choo Choo Charles does not have a release date yet and will release first on PC coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S later.
Escape Academy
An escape room adventure game set in an academy designed to train the best escape artists, you can play co-op or singleplayer to make your way through a series of escape rooms with all kinds of themes.
Developer Coin Crew Games takes inspiration from the real life escape rooms they've designed, as well as others, to craft authentic experiences that escape room fans should recognize. Of course, the medium of video games allows the escape rooms in Escape Academy to take it to another level by getting away with things they could never do in real life.
Escape Academy releases July 14th on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. It will also be coming day one to Xbox Game Pass.
A Little to the Left
A Little to the Left is a puzzle games about making this just right. You're probably thinking about that picture frame hanging askew, but A Little to the Left goes a lot deeper than that.
It's about setting things right around the house and tidying up through a series of puzzles that get continually more complex. With some heavy Unpacking vibes at times, the puzzles in the game are all about observation and many have multiple ways to solve them. It may be as simple as finding the correct order to put things in, and you'll naturally find yourself putting things into a pattern with the theme around cleaning up and organizing things away.
The devs took inspiration from their own home to craft the puzzles and scenes on-screen, including the meddlesome cat that will sometimes come along and mess up all your hard work. What else would you expect a cat to do?
A Little to the Left is set to release this year on PC and Nintendo Switch.
Bear and Breakfast Release Date and Trailer
In Bear and Breakfast, you play Hank the Bear. Hank comes across some abandoned buildings and thinks that they'd make for a good bed and breakfast to scam some cash from the humans that stay.
Read more about the announcement here.
Animal Well
Animal Well is a metroidvania that aims to be a lot more than it seems. Set in a huge interconnected labyrinth, Animal Well is all about trying to survive and uncover its secrets. The game is nonlinear, meaning you can complete the game in any order you wish.
There are many items to find around the labyrinth, each with their unique uses. Some may be familiar so how you use them will be readily apparent, but the game will not tell you their purpose or what they can do exactly. Animal Well encourages experimentation with all the tools you have to move forward and discover secrets.
Described as having three levels of development, Animal Well was designed to be fun for those that just want to go through the game and complete the main objectives, as well as those that want to dig deeper. There's collectibles for the completionists, and then there are even more secrets the developer wouldn't be surprised to see remain hidden for years to come.
If you've been paying attention to the stream and announcement, there's a hidden puzzle staring us all in the face as well. The first 10 people to figure it out and email dan(at)dan-adelman.com will receive a free copy of the game.
Animal Well has no release date yet and will release on PlayStation 5 and PC.
Naiad
Naiad is a relaxing adventure game where you play as a water nymph seeing the world through rivers. You'll grow and learn abilities from the local wildlife as you navigate the waterways, repairing nature as you do so.
Traveling along will see natural and unnatural waterways, as you confront what humanity has done to the world around it.
Naiad is set to release later this year on PC and consoles.
Roots of Pacha
Roots of Pacha is a farming simulator set in the stone age, where you learn along with early man how to make a community. It's set in a primitive world where humanity begins to develop the ideas and technologies that will forever shape it.
From learning to farm to inventing tools, Roots of Pacha is about building a prosperous village. You'll also be able to explore the spiritual world as well, checking out caves to become more in tune with the world around you.
Roots of Pacha does not yet have a release date and is set to come out on PC and consoles.
Desta: The Memories Between Announced
Desta: The Memories Between is the next game from the Monument Valley developers. Learn more about it here.
SCHiM
In SCHiM, you play as a shadow looking to reunite with the the person whose shadow you are. Along the way you run across other lost shadows and reunite them with the people and objects they're meant for.
Set in the real world, you travel from shadow to shadow trying not to be spotted. Your goal is to platform your way throughout, using the shadows of anything and everything you come across.
SCHiM does not yet have a release date and is set to come out on PC.
Fox and Frog Travelers: The Demon of Adashino Island
The first of two games highlighted from asobu, a community built around helping indie devs in Japan, Fox and Frog Travelers: The Demon of Adashino Island is an action adventure game set in modern Japan.
You play as Fox, a young girl caught in a power outage on the strange Adashino Island. With her pal Frog, they search through the night in search of light. Not is all as it seems, however.
Fox and Frog Travelers: The Demon of Adashino Island is still a few years away with platforms still being figured out.
Goodbye World
The second game from asobu is Goodbye World, a game about two indie game developers and their struggles with game creation.
With an artstyle very reminiscent of Earthbound, Goodbye World is a puzzle platformer that takes place over twelve stages. These twelve stages are minigames sandwiched between the narrative conversations that drive the story forward.
Goodbye World is set to release later this year on PC.
Birth
Birth is an adventure puzzle game that is all about dealing with loneliness. Set in a large city, it's a point and click adventure where you explore a world full of bizarre creatures in an effort to find spare bones and organs to create a friend of your own.
Part of the exploration is learning about those that inhabit the city by searching through their belongings and exploring where they live and work. This is where you'll come across the physics-based puzzles as you make your way through the game.
Birth is coming to PC this August.
How to Say Goodbye
How to Say Goodbye is a narrative puzzle game about the ghost of someone who just died coming to terms with their own death. You help others and protect yourself from evil spirits who may have ill intentions for you.
As you explore the in-between of life and death, you'll come across other ghosts who need help moving on. You manipulate the level to remove obstacles or get the ghosts where they need to go with interconnected pathways whose entirety will move as you manipulate them. So if you move one square in a column, that whole column moves one square with it.
How to Say Goodbye comes out later this year on PC.
Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland Kickstarter Launched Now
To round out the showcase, we got to hear some of the new music by Peter Berkman of Anamanaguchi that will be featured in Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland, whose Kickstarter is live now.
Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland is a metroidvania starring Little Nemo who is on a quest to save Slumberland. Armed with toys, candy, and stuffed animals, you explore a hand-drawn world full of interesting characters.
Inspired by the original Little Nemo comics by Winsor McCay, the developers are aiming to marry the classic comic strips with oldschool platformers.
Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland is aiming for a late 2023 release on PC and Nintendo Switch.
