Video Gamers Podcast - Indie Heat Check: The Most Anticipated Games of 2026 – Gaming Podcast

Episode Date: January 8, 2026

Gaming hosts Josh, Ryan and Ace are locking in on the most exciting indie titles shaping 2026. From the surreal sci-fi mystery of MIO: Memories in Orbit to the brutal climbing survival of Cairn and the long-awaited chaos of Mewgenics, we’re breaking down why these projects have the gaming community buzzing. We talk art direction, risky mechanics, and what makes these smaller teams stand out in a year packed with massive releases. If you love discovering bold ideas before they blow up, this episode is for you. We also explore how these standouts could influence the wider video games landscape and why indie creativity continues to push gaming forward. It’s a passion-fueled deep dive into the most exciting video games you should already have on your radar from the Video Gamers Podcast.   Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Disratory, Ol’ Jake, Gaius, Jigglepuf, Phelps and NorwegianGreaser, and Dettmarp   Thanks to our Legendary Supporters: HypnoticPyro, PeopleWonder, Bobby S.   Connect with the show: Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/videogamerspod⁠ Join our Gaming Community: https://discord.gg/SKQvqrbT Follow us on Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/videogamerspod/⁠  Follow us on X:⁠ https://twitter.com/VideoGamersPod⁠  Subscribe to us on YouTube:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VideoGamersPod?sub_confirmation=1⁠    Visit us on the web:⁠https://videogamerspod.com/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, fellow gamers, and welcome to the video gamers podcast. 2026 is already shaping up to be an absolute banger of a year for games, and indie games are not the exception. We've got Metroidvanias, we've got Rogue Lights, and you know we got them 3D platformers. I am your host, Ace, and I hope he's ready for a repeat of last year. Another year of the Indies is incoming. It's Josh. I am here for year two of the indie domination, because I'm looking at this list, Ace, and there are a lot of really good games on this list. There's not like a lot of sequels to like really big ones, but there's still a lot of

really new titles I'm very excited for. Yeah. I'm pretty sure there's at least like six games on this list that are like must plays for me. That's pretty good. Yeah. And the guy who probably decide at the end of the year that one of these games is overrated. It's Ryan. Oh, you know what? You're probably not wrong. Honestly. You're probably not wrong. I could totally see it like you looking at mouse P.I. looking back on it at the end of the year if it does really well he's like you know what mouse PI is really overrated mouse PI is really well it will be overrated I'll

tell you that right now I was going to say that's one where uh Ryan maybe right I like the Ryan's got this reputation now though you know it's just one one terrible take one bad take is not a bad take is all it takes to just completely change it's unreal how much you guys sent for this game when I said it's great it's amazing and you guys just can't accept that it's overrated. Like, that doesn't take away from the value or the quality of the game. And you guys just can't, you can't handle it. It's, it's fine.

My lips are sealed when it comes to X-Earson 33 until Monday's episode comes out. Oh, that's right. Yeah, good call, Ace, good call. That's a secret. But, uh, guys, there are so many indie games coming this year. I was shocked when I looked it up. This is a small version of the list I made. Yeah.

Which, we might have, we might have fussed at Ace a little bit. it like because again optimistic ace here right ace is like okay guys i've got all the like the most anticipated indies for 2026 and we open up this dock and there's like 50 games in there's so many on that dot and that's when we had to go like ace we're never going to be able to talk about all these like how about we just pull out like the top 10 you know like let's pair the list down and ace was like under duress was like fine man i guess i'll just you know okay we can do that but i'm saving the greater list for later and we were like I mean that's fine dude but

Ace thought we were really going to get to like 50 games in this episode yeah I'm ever the optimist you know ever the optimist I like it that's a good trade ace don't lose it don't let us beat it out of you we'll see if I make it another year we're trying to make them a realist but

we'll see but we are going to start it off with the game we've already talked about this week and it is part of my favorite genre which is why it's so weird, I'm not super excited for it, but it's Mio, memories in orbit. Oh, this is the game you hate it. I don't

hate it. I don't get it why you hate this so much, dude. Like, I don't understand. What did they do to you? It hits all markers for you, dude. It's an awesome, beautiful looking design game. It's a Metroidvania. There's like a lot of cool features. There's depth to it.

You know, there's everything you would want in a Metroidvania, let alone a game. And you just hate it for some reason. So, I don't know. Josh and I are like trying to, we're confused. Here's what happened. And then we've got to move on because we've already beat this horse. Yeah, we've already done this.

It's always fun to keep keeping it. Here's what really happened if people want to know. Ace reached out to the developer and said, hey, I host the indie episode for the video gamers podcast. I would like a review key for your game. And they completely ignored him. And now Ace just has it out for them. Listen, that's happened with other games, not this game.

That didn't actually have it. It was worth of show. No, it did not happen. Yeah, yeah. But just real quick, it's. It's a beautiful Metroidvania. I think it's going to be a huge game, honestly, and I think people should play it. It comes out January 20th, so you don't have to wait that long.

And it's coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2. So how many indie games release on everything? That's wild. It's usually a good sign when a game releases on every platform because it means that somebody thought that they had enough in their game to make it to where it's like, hey, this should go, like, global. Yeah, so that's usually a good sign. of a good game. Hey, if Nintendo said we want it, it's probably got something. And my son, my son

just used some Christmas money to buy a PlayStation portal. So, uh, I may be sneaking that after, after bedtime. Ryan's so happy. I may be playing in bed like a few different games for sure. Ryan sent us a screenshot last night of like the PSPort. I was like, Ryan is totally playing this thing.

He's a present for both of us. Yeah. Yeah. Share and share a light. Yeah. Hey, dad, I was thinking about getting this PS portal? Yep. Oh, that's a great idea. You totally spend all your Christmas money on that. I fully support this decision.

Oh, I kind of want one now. But next up, we have another one we talked about, which is Karen. That's the climbing survival game where you climb up the mountain, you know, don't climb up the mountain at night or maybe do it. I'm not your boss. But this is a beautiful game. It's going to have a great story. I can already tell.

We talked to Sophia. She was an amazing guest. fantastic voice actress that's going to carry this game. Yeah. And I know me and Ryan are excited for it. I know you're not huge on it. A lot. It's a lot of people are excited for Cairn.

A lot of people. Even in our community, like people are like, bro, I'm super excited for Cairn. And a lot of people are talking about it. So don't sleep on this one, people. It shows you this is what a good demo can do for people. Yes.

If people really enjoy your demo, they remember your game. Dude, that's such a good point, too, is where, um, like, a demo to be a demo and it's not just like a chunk of the game like you make this demo to be the demo to show you what the game could be like it did remind me of like a throwback to like old school demos you know to where it got you excited for the game that's exactly what this did dude so

yeah i'm stoked i can't wait for this one i love the twist of the demo as well that you were actually not climbing the main mountain and you were just climbing a little hill that sees the main mountain Yeah. And you're just like, oh, okay. I'm in for it. But yeah, that launches on January 29th for PC and PlayStation. So it covers two. That's pretty good.

I'm sure it'll come to a- Bare minimum release on both of those platforms. Honestly. Those are your two big ones. If you are a developer making a game and you do not release on PlayStation and PC, you're doing something wrong. I dispatched it. Because that covers 90% of the market.

That's what dispatch did, and that worked out pretty good for them. Yeah. And next to it. And, okay, I take it back. I know all our Switch people are mad that I said that. So, yes, you want to release on Switch 2. No. But also, you know.

Might as well release on a potato. Release on a potato. It's the same thing. I'm halting my Switch hate because Fireblooms coming out this year, but once I'm done with that, I'll be right back on the hay train. Oh, Ace is so easily sway. Look at this. This made of his principle.

One game. And he's like, all right, all right. One game and Ace is like, okay, I love Nintendo again, guys. Oh, yeah, Nintendo, I missed you so much. Let me kiss your feet, Mr. Miyamoto. You know what? I'm not doing? I'm not, I'm not caving Ace.

Yeah, you will. But also I don't. If a 3D Mario game gets announced, you will. Oh, I'm caving like a sack of bricks, man. I'll just say it right now. I've said that from the beginning, though. I said, hey, when they release like Super Mario Odyssey 2 or Mario Galaxy or whatever, you know, give me the next 3D Mario.

And yes, I've tried to get drafted by a PS5 on the podcard forever, and he refuses to do it. It's at the end of its life, Ryan, I'm not buying it. You've said that for years. You have been saying the PS5 is at the end of its life for like four years. You had like 60 or like 900 days. If I wasn't an idiot. And I've been trying. And then they just raise the price.

And then the second of Mario game comes out, he'll Josh will go buy a Switch 2 in a heartbeat. It's from my wife. It's from my wife. She wants the switch. She wants the Switch, too. All right. Yeah. And then we have Mugenics.

Do you guys remember Mugetics? Oh, yeah. How could you forget? Mugenics looks fantastic. We've talked about this game. Honestly, we've talked about almost all these games at some point or another. But, like, Mugetics is the kind of game where I would never envision myself actually playing this game because it's normally not my style.

But Mugetics looks just crazy enough to, like, really garner my interest. and with the combat, like the kind of the turn-based combat and the tactical system there, and then the bonkers, like, mutating your cats and like, I mean, let's be honest, cats are, they even show it in the trailer, cats doing things like, you know, that animals do sometimes to make other animals, and it's just hilarious to me that they're like, they're not willing to pull any punches on this. Like, they're just leaning into this as much as they can. And I'd love when devs do that.

Mugenics is really high on my list of games that I'm excited to play. I might wind up hating it. Like, I'm going into Mugenics with the assumption that, like, I'm either going to love it or I'm going to hate it, and I don't think there's any in between. Have you played this developer's other game? What was the other game? The Binding of Isaac. I've never played that. No.

I know the name, but I don't play it. Yes. I know it's very popular, very popular. I believe this is, this is one of, like, the highest rated games on Steam. It is a very highly rated game. Super well-renowned, yeah, for sure. Yeah, people love them. Well, they're doing something right. So I, like I said, I'm going into it, assuming that I'm going to love it, but also knowing in the back of my head that it's like, Josh, you might get like two hours into this and just be like, nope.

Yeah, Mugetics is interesting because it's a step away from what he did with Isaac, which Isaac is a, you know, a rogue like, bullet hell rogue like. And then Mugenics is a tactical RPG, where you breathe. Which I love. Yeah, which is awesome. I love that. It's a really gross looking tactical RPG, but it is a tactical RPG. Do we not have a price yet? Do we know what this is going to be?

We don't have a price. We have a release date, which is February 10th. And release is in a month. How do we not have a price? It's probably a surprise, right? Probably a surprise, yeah. Yeah, it's because it's a surprise it's going to be too much. That's what probably will happen.

I don't know. I don't expect it to be more than 20. 20 or 25. No. I'm going to say 2999. You know, that's a fair price for someone who has a pedigree. For somebody that has the credit. Who has pedigree like this.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it is only coming to, PC right now, which, you know, whatever. Hey, I've always said if you're going to release a game, at least release it to release it and nothing else. I love this backtracking. I was waiting for where you're going to go with it. You know, I always said.

At least release it on PC people. I've always said it's a waste of time to port things to any console. If it's 20 bucks, I think it's probably going to be a good deal in a good game and of a good value. It might be any, any more than that it might be a I don't know it might be like what was that

what was the other game Mugenics is not Ryan's kind of game No it's definitely no it's kind of game What was the matchstick game that we played The claymation Midnight Walk? Oh the Midnight Walk Any more than 20 we may have a midnight walk Where it's good for this much but not for this much

Is my opinion but that's just me I feel like we should clarify we don't hate the midnight walk By the way I know there's some people I thought it was great People think we hate it. No, no, I thought it was, I thought it was really good. I just didn't think it was like $40 good.

No, yeah, it wasn't $40 good. Maybe in VR, which we didn't do. Which we didn't get to do. But there wasn't a price difference. It was 40 bucks either way. So whoever keeps commenting on that short telling us to, you know, end ourselves because we don't like the midnight walk. We don't hate it.

Okay. I have nothing to do with that, everybody. I'm just saying I had nothing to do with any of that. I'm innocent. Please don't lump me in with these guys. Who said what? Come at me, bro. Actually,

I hate the midnight walk. I'm just saying I'm apart. I'm away, man. I'm away. Oh, there we go. There's another clip. I'm just, oh no, oh no.

Great. Internet's forever. Internet's forever now. That's the end of your career here. But next up we have replaced, which, oh, replaced. The game I did not expect to come out this year. This is at the top of my height meter right now. think like for games that I know are coming out like sooner rather than later like replaced is way up

there man I don't know what kind of game replaced is going to be but I'm in I don't either I'm in I just know I think I like exactly I know I think I like it you know how obnoxious it is obnoxious it is when everybody says like oh that's edgy like but this kind of feels genuinely like edgy it's it's it's superpunky it's it's really good but it's like retro yeah it's like retro edgy I It just, yeah, I, I'm stoked for this one, too. I'm with you, Josh. All in. I'm all in on Replace.

Like, I'm going to say this now, and it might make sense later. And if it doesn't everybody, I forget that I said this, but I think replaced is going to be the next Disco Elysium, dude. Really? Like, you think it's got that deep of story? Well, I don't mean, like, necessarily the story necessarily, but I think this is like this indie game that's going to come out that is not going to release to like a ton of fanfare initially, but I think people are going to be like, oh.

my gosh, there's something special about this game. And then I think it is going to snowball into that, like, this is a, you know, one of the absolute banger. Like, everybody needs to play this game. Right, yeah, exactly. Yep, yep, yep.

The good news about replaced is it's coming out March 12, which don't have to wait super long, and it's coming to PC, Xbox, and the Xbox game past day one. You know, Josh has always said, yeah, I always said, if you're going to release something, You're going to release the least release on GamePass Day 1.

Now that's, you know, day one means ultimate game pass, though, Ace, which is now $30. Oh, is that like the $30 one now? Yeah, so. Oh, never mind. Which is weird because what are the chances that replaced as an indie game is going to be more than $30? I know. That's a good question, actually. You think they'll charge $40 for this one?

I, dude, I'll pay $40 for it. I would. Like, honestly, like, I just don't. see this game being bad, dude. I don't see it being bad. I don't know. For a game like that, like it just seems like, I don't know. If you know you have an absolute banger of a game, like,

I don't know. See, this is where Silk Song messed it all up though, right? Because the Silk Song could have charged $60. Yeah, and they would have sold maybe 5% less, like it's charging 60 bucks, but they came in and charged 20. You know, and like, so, so these. There's a lot of indie devs that are mad at them for that by the way. Whatever. There's a lot of they're mad of them and a lot of them are fake mad at them. So it's like it's hard to

tell. Yeah, they just wish they had the capital to be able to do that and like still sell a bajillion copies. We have said this many times but if there's one game out of this entire episode that you look into if you're not familiar with it, you need to look into replace people. Absolutely.

Trust us. Absolutely looking to replace. Like watch the trailer. I don't see this game flopping. Like maybe it's not a nine out of ten, you know, but I don't see this game. being bad by any means. And I'm sure we're going to deep dive it. I'm 100% sure we're going to deep dive it.

Oh, we absolutely are deep dive. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Moving on to another common name. We've brought up several times before because we finally have a release date for it is mouse PI or mouse PI for hire. Ryan fell asleep.

I fell asleep. Ryan does not care about this. I'm back. I'm back. Tooney boomer shooter. Dude, I don't know how I feel about mouse PI. I'm going to be honest. I'm optimistic, but at the same time, like I, I,

have said this time and time again if it's not a good shooter I don't think this game's gonna do well man like you can't like the whole like Mickey Mouse like thing I don't know that that's enough to cover but the license is up Josh the license is up we can make anything we want that's what I said if you have a good fun like actual

like shooter on your hands that's one thing if this is like cool look we made something with Mickey Mouse and that's about it I don't know man I'm I'm a little skeptical about mouse PI, I'm going to be honest. These newer trailers I've seen have given me a lot more confidence in it, showing me these different gameplay aesthetics and levels. And it's not just shooting.

It's also, you know, finding clues and solving the crime. There's voice acting, which is already needed. You need voice acting in games nowadays. Oh, yeah. Stop giving me games with no voice acting. I don't want to read everything. Yes. Finally, somebody's on my team.

I hate reading. Everybody's on your team, Ryan. It's just whether devs can afford it. I understand when you can't afford it. Crazy little thing called AI that can help you out with that. Oh, boy. But we're not going to get into that. We're not going to get into that.

Don't clip that one. Unless you want to. Oh, gosh. But Troy Baker actually voices the main character in MousePI, so that's pretty cool. Dang, that's some money. They paid for that. They paid for Troy Baker as their potential. He's so good, dude.

He is. He's a legend. He's like in everything now. He is. Well, when you're that good, everybody wants you to be in your game, so. But Mouse B.I. did finally get a confirmed release date of March 19th for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. So, good news. I know.

Yeah. I think, I'm not, I'm with you, Josh. It's got it. You got, as long as, I mean, as. I mean, it looks neat, and it's unique, and it's kind of the old style cartoon look to it, which I think could really hit if the gunplay works. So it has to be a good game there. It's not just the game.

Yeah, it has to be a good game. If they can capture the magic, the same way Cophead did, the way they took the aesthetic and the gameplay, and they made something special. Great point, yeah, dude. That's what we'll have. All right. We got a few more games to get to right after this. break all right we are back and it's time to talk about i like how you said we have a few more games ace we got through five uh in that first half and we took a late break five of 50 and we've got

i don't know 11 more to go all right well i'll jump around some and we'll just hit some of the important ones no because i want to talk about all these man they all look great well they were going long, boys. All right. Well, we'll make it. We'll try to keep a decent pace. Yeah, no, no worries, guys. I'll eat at some point today.

I feel like this is the first time we've brought this game up on this podcast, which is weird, but Slay the Spire 2 is entering early access this year. That's why. It's the early access thing. I think that is why. I think early access kills a lot of game interest for us because it's like Hades 2. I didn't play the Hades 2 early access because I got to play. experience the full game and oh my gosh the full game is so much better just release the game dude

how hard is it to finish the game and release the game do pay the test early access for a card based road like exactly that's even worse this is uh I don't understand this decision and listen slay the spire is incredible I actually played it on my vacation I'm in the hotel room and I had my mac with me and I was like wait I think I have some games on this mac and slay the spire was one of them so I sat there and cracked out late at night in the hotel room playing like Slay the Spire. That game is great. It sounds about what a Mac could run.

It is so good. You know, yeah. Max can run a lot. Yeah. It's just, okay. But I don't know. I don't understand the early access part.

I feel like they should be able to just release Slay the Spire too. All you need is new characters and new cards. Like, like that's the gameplay itself is fantastic. Like you don't need to reinvent the wheel here. But maybe we'll get a Hades 2 situation where we're just dumb and we can't envision. a better game, and then they come out and just absolutely crush it

with Slay the Spire too, which is my hopes and dreams. I mean, maybe you just need playtesters sometimes, but I will say the trailers do make it look really fun. It made me want to play. That's why you have like beta tests and that's, you develop something good and you have

you have people in-house that can play the game. Oh, they are. They're going to make so much money. They're going to make millions off this early access though, dude. Slate Spires, huge, dude. yeah as someone gifted me slay the spire i believe it was jiggle puff and i still haven't gotten to it but i want to jump into slay the spire it's i love it i love it so much dude we are getting it sometime in march unfortunately as we said early access and since it's early access it'll only be on pc

which i don't think i've ever seen an early access anywhere else i don't think that exists that's because most people release finished games uh but could you imagine could you imagine next up we have another favorite of mine actually dead is disco you love this one dude i love this game so much man i still play the demo i think i have like 15 to 16 hours in the demo yeah because you could upload your own songs and dance and play different rhythms and beats i never did that i did play the demo but i never i never uploaded anything like there's so many new settings because they keep updating the demo where you can change the r pm and things like it's so so cool that's cool yeah josh that's real interesting bud you're muted no i was just

i was talking to myself guys because i was like going over the narrative in my head interesting on this one um i was i was thinking about saying this but i'll say it now since you guys thought i was talking and i wasn't i played the demo for dead as disco yeah and it is a lot of fun it is i don't understand rhythm combat games because it's like I don't have rhythm. I'm just not good at dancing and having rhythm with things. So it's like I want to just smash people in the face and I want to like do flying kicks and knees and stuff like that.

But it's like, am I supposed to wait till the drum hits to do that? Like, because I really could do it before then. And it just doesn't my brain, my brain doesn't comprehend like the, the, you're supposed to fight to the tempo kind of thing on this one. That's fair. I'm not, I just don't know. it's for me. Like, I played the demo, but by the end of the demo, I was kind of like, that's a cool game, but I don't know

if it's for me. Okay, Josh. Ryan is very excited. Okay, think about that. Think about what your feelings were with that. That's what I feel about turn-based combat, because why am I standing here waiting and all of my characters are just bouncing and just waiting to attack? Because you're

strategizing, Ryan. No, oh, so now it's called strategy. Oh, weird. So it changes. Would you go into battle or war without a strategy, Ryan? Like, would you just be like, we'll just wing We'll see what happens. No, you're going to strategize and you're going to say, listen, this guy's going to go first. You're going to follow up.

You know, you're the flank. Okay, your job is to be the medic and heal them. But watch out because they're going to come at us really hard with this first hit. As so as long as we survive that, after that, that's when we're going to have a chance to attack. You know, it's called strategy, that's how war works. Yeah. Hold on, guys. Hold on, hold on, everybody.

We need to make the next plan for. Hold on, guys. What is it general for then, Ryan? Like, why do we have these people that are really good at what they do? You make the plan and then you will execute it and it just happens. That's war. It all happens at once. It doesn't, it's not.

Ryan just thrives on chaos and disorder. Unreal. Unreal. Yeah. Dead is Disco is when you take the Arkham style of combat, put it to a beat. And you cannot convince me that's not awesome. All right. No.

What other podcast can you listen to, by the, way that goes from talking about dead as disco to war in generals yeah i don't know how you got there i don't know how you got from dead as disco to the to the art of war but yeah josh is an old white guy with no rhythm

i i'm with you ace i had very much uh a good time playing this game i love i love the rhythm fighting and it's just like boom boom punch kick blog you know the way the way that they have is set up i have not tried putting my own music in

that music that I would love, like, I could see how that would even entice you more. So, um, this is a cool one, man. We all know Ryan's favorite is Mariah Carey. So, but it's like, aren't there copy- I went to see her last year. I mean, wait, did you really? You did.

I remember that. I went with my wife. She's the Mariah Carey fan, but everybody loves Mariah Carey, dude. Sure, that's what I'd say too, Ryan. You know, she's the fan. I just went as support. We can't stay on dead as disco forever, but I threw a K-pop Demon Hunter songs in there and did that.

So that was cool. Oh, okay. It's going up. I'm in. Exactly. But it's to be announced this year, but it is expected to be this year. It is confirmed for PC and consoles are planned, but nothing is confirmed there. So I cannot say for sure.

But I would not be surprised to see this hit consoles as well. Next up is another favorite of ours, which is Denchatak. This is the crazy train. This is the crazy train. Yeah. It's like jet set radio with like Tony Hawk. It's crazy. Has boss battles?

I'm kind of curious about this one. I think this is one I might throw on my wish list, so I don't forget. I'll probably never wind up picking it up. But on the off chance that one weekend, I'm like, I just want something completely out there. This would be the game to fit that. This looks so dumb, guys. Oh, it looks crazy. But it looks like it gives fun, dude.

No, this is so stupid. It looks so stupid, Ryan. I'm with you. But at the same time, you can't watch that trailer and go, this might actually be fun, man. No. You can't look at that and say, oh, there's other games like that. A train car that's like rail grinding like Tony Hawk? Like, come on, dude.

Oh, go play Tony Hawk and actually, you know. But Tony Hawk's not a train car. Tony Hawk doesn't have boss battles. And he's not on an acid mushroom trip, Ryan. Like, you know what I mean? That's what this game is. The fantastic Japanese anime-esque music. Yeah.

Yeah. No, I watched it and that's what I thought of was like Tony Hawk and I'm just, I don't know. This looks so stupid to me. If any of that sounds good, people, check out Densha. Definitely check it out. It is slated for spring this year for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and day one on Xbox GamePass. How'd they pull that?

Because they're going to be in a showcase that's happening this week as well, so we're going to get even more info on them. Really? Okay. Is there not a demo for Dentia Tech? I think there might actually be a demo on Steam. No, there's no demo. I'm looking at the Steam page right now. Oh, dang it.

Back to my favorite genre with Crow Sworn, which is the Gothic, Blood-Born-esque hand-rawn Metroidvania, that I backed on Kickstarter ages ago. I'm excited to get my hands on this one. You get a plushy? I didn't get a plushy for this one. I didn't have the money.

Didn't have the money. Ace cheaping out once again. I opened my first time. Look at his wall behind him. He has not cheeked out at all. What are he talking about? I wish I had a green screen. Don't look.

Don't look. Like I have in like my family vehicle, man. As is funded like half of the indie world right now. What are you talking about? Guys, I just bought another indie game plushy, too, to go on the... Oh, my gosh. Where are you going to put it, Ace? There's no more room.

Why do you think he's reorganizing? You know, I've got... I've got Hornet and Holliday and all them up there. I'm going to put him up there, right? We can't see them, so... I know, you can't see it. So that's like the shelf of shame, then, you know, where it's like, look, this shelf... I'm not going to adjust my camera in real time, just so you can see that...

Because I'll knock something down. I'll say this. Croisworn looks really good, dude. out of all of the Metroidvania's that you bring up to me in Ryan in the world, which I feel like is at least two or three per episode. Crosworn might be the best out of that bunch, in my opinion for like what I like in a game because you said it, it's got that kind of Dark Souls like feel and combat to it where the combat is very

forward in this game, which like draws me in. Because then it's like the Metroidvania aspects are secondary. it's just a 2D like side-scrolling combat-based game which I like a lot more than a Metroidvania. Yeah, that's fair. I think Croisworn is going to be a huge game for this year, honestly. And I've seen you play gameplay on this one. Oh, dude, that was so early too.

That was so early on too. That's what I'm saying. So I've seen this in action and it looks really good. And that was, what, two years ago? Yeah, maybe even longer. Yeah. It's to be announced this year, but we know for sure it is coming this year. And it's coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, and, of course, Xbox Game Pass.

And Ace will buy every skin they sell. They better not sell skin's in this game. I paid enough for this game. I'm not even going to tell you about it. Next up, Mina the Hollower, which got delayed from last year, was supposed to launch on Halloween, which I know how you two feel about this game. I... What? actually I'm not saying I'm not saying I'm not saying I'm not saying that I'm picking it up like day one or nothing but I I legitimately because I prepped and watched more trailers like when we did our interview with yacht club games because you know we are somewhat professional yeah and it's like I really wanted to have an understanding of what Mina the Hollower was and when you get past the graphics you know it there's a lot of mechanics in this game going on and there are a lot of

different like aspects that they show off in these trailers and that's when i kind of went i think there might be a legit like legend of zelda type game here where and i don't mean that like i'm not saying it's going to be legend of zelda but what i mean is a game that is filled with a bunch of different mechanics that when you put them all together work very very well if that makes sense so yeah i think they from what i played in the demo i think they did a very good job capturing the difficulty and simplicity like they did with shovel night like shovel night like Shovel night looks like a very simple game, but it is very complex and somewhat difficult, especially if you break all the checkpoints.

But I think Mina the Holler is going to be great. I hate that it got delayed and that we don't actually have a release date yet, but... If it's for its own good, then so... Didn't it's... Am I mistaken? Didn't they lay off some people, too? I don't know. Celia didn't say that.

I have no idea. I think after that. I don't... I, maybe, I feel like I read something about that, but I also don't want to put that out there if that's not. I can't say for sure, so I'm not going to confirm or deny, but I will look it up. I do feel like I read something that Yacht Club downsized a little bit, but I mean, I mean, that's kind of just a part of the industry. I don't think it's a result of something.

Yeah, I think unfortunately, the gaming industry is a very toxic, jumpy. Volatile. Volatile, that's a good word for it. It's a very volatile environment where things jump up and down. But they did at least get confirmed copies on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and both Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. So that's pretty cool. That's a good sign. Yeah, good sign.

All right, Mr. Sleepy Man, which also got delayed from 2025 into quarter one of 2026. We talk about Devin all the time. We think Devin is a great dude. So jealous I miss that in it. I do. You would have loved to. Kevin, listen, buddy, listen, if you're listening to the show, which I know you're a big fan,

but like I feel like you and I need to just hang out and play some games together or something. I think maybe we should have him back on when he launches the game. Oh, absolutely. he's he's he's super super cool man yeah he's he's like legit you know when you say it's like a vibe like he's a vibe yes he's just that he's that his game reflects that's just super smart so he developed a game too and he can just code and program he and so then he's the friend yeah he's the friend that when you go to your friend's house he's the dude that's chilling in the chair in the corner just like strumming his guitar every time you show up you're like what's up man like and you're just glad that dude is there

hanging out, you know, like, yeah, that's fair. Yeah, he's, uh, Mr. Sleeping Man, he's going to be a open world 3D platformer, a la, you know, like Banjo Cazooey or yes, Mario 64. And it, I, I, I loved it. It was great. I'm very excited to get it. I played the demo. Yeah. You two played the demo before I did. And then one weekend, I actually remember and I was like, oh, man, I got to play this demo. And it was a lot of fun, dude. Like, it was, I'm, I'm hyped for this game. Oh, yeah, you haven't even gotten to like the best parts where he has the inspirations from Akrona of Time where you actually have to play music and things like that.

Yeah. It's, yeah, because I got to the point where there was a can of corn and if you get in the can of corn, yeah, you get slippery and people can't catch you. And that's what I was like, this game's bananas, dude. Like, what is this?

I love taking the donuts from the cops. And he's like, oh, they get really mad and start chasing you. He updated that part and threw like a million more donuts on that cop's desk, by the way, instead of just the one. Oh my goodness. But yeah, it is confirmed for PC and Nintendo Switch. and like I said, quarter one of

2026. So we should expect some news relatively soon. Soon. Yeah. And here's another 3D platformer in case you have not had your fill. Tito. Guys, I feel like it's been so long since we brought up Tito and gotten to talk about it. Dude, I freaking love these people.

These devs that are making Tito and Tito the game. Like, do you know how like sometimes you just instantly hit it off with people? You know, where you're just like, you're dapping each other up, just right off the bat, you know, kind of thing. Like, this is Tito, man. Like, we played this demo.

I think it was Jigglepuff, who very first put it in front of us. Yeah. And played the demo. This is your throwback to so many of the 3D platformers that were fun back in the day, man. Like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, like you said, Banjo, heavy influences from Banjo Kazooi. Like, oh my goodness. And I literally just got done saying we need more of this type of game. but this is the type of game we need.

And then Tito comes along and it captures all the charm of those games and it's actually really fun at the same time because the controls are tight, the animations are there, the game is cute. It's made by a family and they voice act in the game and it is like the cutest thing ever.

It's good though. You know what I mean? It's actually good, which is what makes it cute. And then there's certain sequences where you get that like Crash Bandicoot where you are just running for your life. and you were like, what the heck is going on?

It all just comes together. I'm very excited for Tito, dude. I'm very excited to get my hands on this because I really loved playing the demo and just like 100%ing all the levels, just getting everything that was in there, collecting all the collectibles, whatever it was because it was just so good.

And Tito is slated for quarter two of 26, so a little bit later, but not that much later. So it's still coming. And they are confirmed for PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, which, man, Tito on Nintendo Switch is awesome. I love what I did. Yeah, that's, it, yes.

Perfect console for you guys. It really is the perfect fit. This is, excuse me, this next one is that we've said the name wrong a million times, I think, but I'm confident now because of its subtitle, it's called Zero Parades for Dead Spies. And it is the spiritual successor to Disco Elysium from the original studio. I know there's drama there, all right? I know people don't like that. I know that a lot of people, like, I looked on the. comment section and it was just like hey thanks for the free game because people are just

going to pirate it as soon as it comes out but i love disco elysium and anything that reminds me of disco elizium so i'm on board with zero parades it looks just like it it does it looks exactly like it and i cannot wait i know i cannot wait uh we don't have a release date just this year and it is at least coming to pc and playstation five next up is mariachi legends which is part of my favorite genre again, the Metroidvania. I'm super hype for Marriachi Legends. Absolutely love this. What I've played

so far is fantastic. This one I have a backer of and I did get a statue. There, there you go. The statue's coming. I did get a statue for this one because I had a little bit more money. Heck yeah. But I'm very hype for Mariachi Legends. The combat's awesome. This one looks real good too, Ace.

I'm not like, I remember the first time you brought this up. I think I even picked on you and I was like bro, where do you find these games at? Like, Marriachi Legends? And you're like, it's a Marriachi Metroidvania. And I'm just like, only Ace can find a Mariachi Metroidvania game out there. But you loved this game from the rip, dude. I mean, and I remember, so I looked into it.

And then, like, begrudgingly, like, I was like, okay, this one actually looks pretty good, too. So I get why you're excited for this one. Do you remember how many times I posted the link to the Kickstarter for this one? when it was going on oh it's gotta be like at least it does it was so many times i wanted people to get in on this and be part of this like experience with me because one of the other things i got for being a backer is there is a shrine that has a picture of me and a bunch of stuff related to me in the game so that's super freaking cool that's pretty cool i wanted everyone to have that experience and that chance to see you don't have yeah just to see my beautiful face in an indigate everybody

and look at me. No, I wanted other people to have statues and things like that. But yeah, Marialchi Legends does not have a confirmed

released date, but it is confirmed for 2026, quarter two for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, which good on them

for getting all those consoles. I know early on in the Kickstarter, I got like updates and things like that and they initially lost their first publisher or something like that,

but now they're right back on their feet, and I love that. That's good. Good for them, man. Looks good. And our final game on this extra long indie episode is mixtape, which was delayed from its release in 2025.

This is just, I don't even know how you describe mixtape. Just a nostalgia fest. This is for me and Josh, for sure. Oh, yeah, it's definitely for you too, but I'm going to play it anyway. You should. It probably won't hit the same, but like even me, I'm probably a little too young for it. I'm not as old as Josh, obviously. but this thing it just hits it's it's a weird mix of kind of like almost um uh dispatch where

it's this like kind of that's what i was going to see yeah yeah yeah yeah gameplay story mode but it's like nostalgia as well and so there's just and the music was all just banger after bangor after bangor so the soundtrack i remember that was huge developing a trailer i know i say i'm a sucker for a trailer i'm easily excitable you can sell me i got sold on redfall so so nobody can you can doubt that but but this one really looks like the genuine article it looks like it will really be a an awesome game for all but especially for those kind of 30 and up gamers that just hits that old nostalgia marker and yeah i'm i'm super stoked for this one i'm i can't wait i really hope we get a release date for this one soon but i've been i've been talking

about my hype for this game for a while oh yeah but like i'm with ryan it's like give me the nostalgia. It's like the coming of age story that had so many of like the best movies from like the 80s and 90s and stuff too, man. Like I and and with the recent like hit of dispatch, it only actually gives it even more like hype and hope for me because if it's anything like dispatch was. You win. Oh my goodness. I cannot wait for mixtape dude. And I'm glad they delayed it.

Like again, you know, I remember when I heard about it, I was like, oh, come on man. But then I'm just like, you know. know what you're on to something here take your time with it give me that experience that i just i'm hoping this game is you get one delay though one yeah yeah one that's my rule if if you need to set it if you need to set it a year do it a year don't give me a three month or four month delay and then do it again like give give the delay you get one delay that's that's my rule that's fair if you set it out a year you know what people never get mad about getting a game earlier yeah that's true Okay, finish early.

Delaying in a year. Hey, everybody's surprise. We're releasing six months earlier now. And everybody's going to be like, oh, heck yeah. That'll drop it and then boom. Yes. Exactly. Nobody's going to get upset if you release it sooner than what you say.

But it does get annoying if you delay and then you delay again. And then you're like, okay, we just don't know what date. We're throwing this out there either. We're going to use you, T.A. We're going to get it this year. Hopefully. Brian's so filled with optimism. I'll buy it again next year, dude.

I don't care. Oh, I know you will. I have a hundred time in a row. I can guarantee you that. But, yeah. I mean, we hate to see delays, but I think we all appreciate the quality that comes from them. Take your time.

Take your time. Make your game how you envision it. Yep. Don't rush. Never rush. There's enough AAA slop out there. Yeah. Where they just want your money

and they don't care how you actually feel about their games. This game clearly has heart. And I want people to experience that. Yeah. But it is coming to PC. PlayStation, Xbox, and of course Xbox Game Pass day one. So that was a mouthful.

If you thought there were no indie games this year, I just proved you wrong. There are so many indies coming this year to be looking forward to. There's about 40 more that we made Ace not talk about also. So there are a lot of indie games coming this year. Part two next week. But yeah, we've got so many indie games look forward to.

I'm pretty hyped to experience like 90% of these. I think I'm going to get to them. Yeah, because you help fund them all. I will be honest, dude. I legitimately can see myself playing every game on this list, Ace. And that's saying something, dude. That is saying something, man, because you, you're not the biggest fan of everything I put in front of you. Yeah, I can actually envision me like going to the Steam page and being like, you know what?

Yeah, I'm going to try this out. Yeah. So if any of the. these games caught your eye caught your attention whatever go to their steam pages wish list them if you're on pc whatever you know i'm sure you can wish list them on other store consoles or whatever i have no idea wish list on pc though because that's what i know you can do i don't know what console people do what you guys do when you want a game later on i'm probably like five months all right i haven't done that in a while but yeah thank you all

so much for listening be sure to rate our show five stars leave us comment on spot if you listen on Spotify. We would love that. We love to see the interaction. We love to reply and respond and just show you we're there. Voted my polls. Yeah, vote on Ryan's polls. He works hard on those. Okay, this is a good moment to do this. Ryan puts a lot of thought and effort into his polls and his answers. I do. So scroll down further into and make sure you do Ryan's polls. Speaking of polls, I noticed someone was winning the 2026. Oh, I noticed somebody didn't have a vote at all right else I noticed someone had zero votes zero votes for somebody nobody nobody thought I had a great list last year either and that's fair people did think you

had the stinker of them but uh yeah we have an amazing discord you can go join and if you want chat with us we're active in there all the time there's gamers just like us in there which that's rare these days and if you want to go that extra mile we have a patreon you can sport as little as five dollars a month get some incredible pre-show content like it's been the last You have been interesting. It's been banging lately. But I think that's just about it for this episode. Until next time.

Happy gaming. See ya. All right. See, everybody.