Video Gamers Podcast - Small Studios, Big Swings: Multiplayer Indies to Watch Right Now – Gaming Podcast

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

Gaming hosts Josh, Ryan, and Ace are turning their attention to the next wave of multiplayer indies in this must-listen episode. From the chaotic party energy of Captcha The Flag to the high-skill combat of Enginefall and the mysterious co-op adventure of Big Walk, we’re breaking down why these upcoming titles could shake up the multiplayer scene. What makes these projects stand out in today’s crowded gaming space, and do they have what it takes to compete with bigger releases? We dive into the design ideas, community hype, and how these games could influence the future of video games. If you’re looking for fresh experiences and bold new takes in gaming, this is one episode of the Video Gamers Podcast you won’t want to miss — especially if you love discovering the next great video games before everyone else does.   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/kKA7EMyM 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

At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health, from the big milestones to the quiet winds. That's why our annual health assessment offers a physician-led, full-body checkup that provides a clear picture of your health today, and may uncover early signs of conditions like heart disease and cancer. The healthier you means more moments to cherish. Take control of your well-being and book an assessment today. Medcan. Live well for life.

Visit medcan.com slash moments to get started. Fellow gamers, and welcome to the Video Gamers podcast. Today, we're talking about one of my favorite things that Indies do better than almost anyone else. That's bringing people together in weird, creative, and occasionally chaotic ways. Whether it's co-op survival, party game nonsense, or just vibing with friends, multiplayer indies keep finding ways to entertain us. I am your host, Ace, and joining me. He's my ride-or-die-die deputy in Far Far West, but mostly die.

It's Josh. How dare you, Ace. Shots fired. How dare you? Okay, look, I've said this time and time again. Every gaming group needs their scout. They need the guy that's going to run ahead and find the danger and tell people, you know, and that scout. And shoot the explosive barrel that sets off the milk that kills everyone.

Okay. I only did that four times. Dude, we're like in the middle of an extract and you shot one and it killed me instantly. me. Oh, man. Okay. You know what? That's a fair intro, Ace.

I can't, I was going to argue it. I can't argue it. I actually, I logged in for like three seconds when I was trying to play with you guys. And I was in a stop motion style of the game. But I still remember hearing, who shot the nuke? What the heck? And I was totally not anywhere near you guys because I was liking behind. So I contested.

That was actually, Ace had his villain arc that one game where he just saturday everything. Like literally. I might have. I watched because he didn't realize that I saw on my screen where he's literally shooting the nuclear barrel. And I'm like, Ace, I watched you shoot that. And Ace was, he didn't say a word, man, the whole time. I was trying to be quiet, man. Oh, yeah.

I saw you. It's all right. And he was part of our posse for a short while. But I'll never forget resing him over and over and over and over again just for him to get one shot. It's Ryan. Hey Ryan, join our like level 30 when you're level 1. Just keep dying. Ryan just like throw you into the deep end of the game.

I do. Ryan was like, just don't even res me guys. Just don't. Like, let me just stay this little gloomy ball thing. I'll help you out that way instead. It was because then I couldn't die and I could still attack the ads. And I was literally better off being dead. I chase the ads that were chasing you and I was helping you that way.

So, you know, it's all about find your purpose. everybody like find your purpose in that round well guys we are back again for another indie episode no showcases this time to make things you know super straightforward and easy for us but we've been playing a few multiplayer indie games recently and that got

me to thinking there's a lot of multiplayer indie games out there it feels like indies are taking a lot more of a step into the waters of multiplayer versus AAA I'm not seeing a whole lot of multiplayer AAA outside of me know first person shooters, hero shooters, things like that. Yeah. Versus indie games where we're seeing a wide variety of it.

If I was an indie dev, I feel like making a multiplayer game is just harder by nature. I don't know if that's true or not. I think so. But I feel like it's like, okay, well, I have this vision for a game and I can craft this. But when you start to introduce multiple people into it, I feel like in my just total developer ignorance that it's like,

that's way harder to do. Yeah, I feel like the potential bugs or issues that you could run into, uh, player blocking and things happening with this and that, you know, and the other, like, there, it just goes up exponentially. I, you know, it has to be an issue. Yeah, you would think it's a little more difficult. But it honestly, it's panned out pretty well for every indie dev I've seen so far. Oh, yeah.

We love almost any indie experience we get to do together. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Far Far West being the most recent. so Ace was referencing Far Far West for those that didn't know, we got to play the play test on that that was this last weekend.

I'm just going to say it, we had a lot of fun playing Far Far West. I know initially I kind of said, hey, I don't know about this one. Ryan was like, and then I came around on the last trailer. And then Ryan was the one that was like, bro, this game's not. And then we started playing it. And we were like, okay, like, dang, this game's actually pretty fun. Ryan tried to hop in with us. He had to try it on his laptop, though,

because his house was having worked on so you didn't have your PC. And then he just lagged out and died the whole time. So I don't know that he got the Far Far West experience. But yeah, dude, any, like, any game is better with friends in my opinion. Like, I love a good solo game. Don't get me wrong. Like, single player games absolutely have a spot.

But anytime I get to hop in with my friends, like, I'm in. And somehow, Ace, you found games where, I was like, I'm not in. I'm not in on this. These are the games that hijack a host or four. Oh, no, don't you dare. Don't you dare. Don't give them ideas.

Let's go ahead and jump into these games. Let's see how each one of these kind of tackles multiplayer differently from how we would expect usually. First up is Nevergrave and the witch and the curse. That is such a mouthful. Nevergrave. witch and the curse is a Metroidvania multiplayer Metroidvania Rogue light I know how can

Wait you found a Metroidvania game games? I did. I didn't think they made those anymore. Did Steam suggest this to you after like the 50 Metroidvania's that you have in your library or did you actually find this one? I think I have over 50 Metroidvania similar games like you. Similar to games you've played and if I scroll down Yep, and her magnolia.

I gave, I gave Ace a hard time because this is the first one on our list in our show doc. And then I literally before I clicked the link, I went, so help me if this is another Metroidvania man. Like, I'm just, Ace is going to get it. And then I pull it up and the very first thing I see is Metroidvania. And I was like, Ace, you have a problem, man. Like, I think it might be time to have like a Metroidvania intervention. Metroidvania intervention. Yeah.

You know what? You're not wrong. You're not wrong. And I also have to say just out loud right now, I've come around on Mio. I'm probably going to play it on this. I knew it. Just so everyone quit sounding me. Eventually.

You have warming down. I do want to play a Metroidvania right now. So there we go. This one, this is not a Metroidvania. This is a action RPG side scroller. Yeah, yeah. With progression. Okay.

If this is about Nari again, I swear, it is not a Metroidvania. But yeah. Never graved the. which and the curse is a Metroidvania roguelight that is up to four players co-op. It has procedural dungeons. You can use enemy possession as the main mechanic. And you can build your own village. It is a super unique and fun idea I haven't seen before.

And I appreciate this sort of innovation in the Metroidvania genre. I mean, besides that you're tired of looking of them. Let's be honest, a genre that does not have much innovation anymore because there's 18,000 Metroidvanias out there. and ACE has played most of those. I will say this one, like,

the possessing the animals or like the monsters aspect is actually pretty cool. Like, the only other part of this trailer that really made me go like, oh, man, was when the one dude jumped in the cooking pot and turned into like crafting components.

He was like, what is he like a ape or like some kind of beast or something? And he jumps in this giant cooking pot and then like two little meat icons pop out. And I was like, Okay. Like, well played devs, but I'm going to be honest, A's, this looks like every other Metroidvania I've ever seen, with the exception that you can play with friends and you get to, like, possess some of the enemies, which is a neat idea. But I don't know if this one's enough to get me to go like, this really stands apart from the other 18,000 Metroidvania's. That's fair. I mean, looking at it just basically, it looks like Holonite. Like, I can't even deny that it doesn't look like Hollenite. It looks like Hollenite.

but I was hoping that that multiplayer aspect and the roguelight aspects of it would keep it fresh and unique, you know, an interesting way to twist up the genre. What did you think about it, Ryan, overall? I just think, like you said, it looks like Holo Night. I mean, it also looks like every other Metroidvania. And that's, to me, as someone who grew up, I mean, Castlevania is like one of my favorite Metrovanias of all time. And it's one of my top tens of overall games. Phanas of next week's list. I know, right?

We all know it's not going to happen. Yeah, yeah, that'll never happen. The thing is it's just like, it's, it's where, where do you find the line in what you can push these games to anymore? What is going to stand them apart? What is going to make them different? That's going to be a hard line to find, in my opinion. It looks awesome. It looks cool.

I watched it. I watched the trailers. And I thought, man, this looks neat, looks cool. It definitely has that holonite-esque aesthetic to it. But they all have a cool look. They all have something like a unique as far as the way that the design is. But what's going to get me to play the game? You know, so.

Yeah, that's fair. That's the hard part is what's going to get me to play this and play it all the way through? Because I've done it all. Like I go, you run through. Okay, I can't get through here. I got to go back here. oh I unlock this now I can get through there you know and so there has to be

something different for a game style that's been around for 40 years you know you have to do something that's not you know I don't think adding multiplayer is enough to innovate that I don't know I'm sure it would help but I don't know then it's just playing

the same game with your friends is all you know so that's fair so I don't know like I mean I wish I'm the best and I don't ever wish ill will on any developer but it's just like man, especially Metrovenius, because I do love, I do have a soft spot in my heart for them, but, but, uh, I just would like to see something innovative. And, and there, there may be nothing that can be innovated within this genre. Maybe that's just what it is. It's very possible. We have piqued at where we can go with something. This is the problem. This is why I

pick on the Metroidvania's so much is it's like, I feel like they're all just regurgitating the exact same thing, but with like a different art style. And then like, but like, but like, let's be honest, art is, like, everybody has a unique art style, you know? So it's like no two artists are the same. But I feel like, and this is why I like pick on your love of Metroidvania's a little bit. Like I get the design, like the gameplay portion I understand. It's not necessarily my cup of tea, but I get that it keeps you going and exploring and those upgrades and stuff like that.

The problem is, is that the last 30 Metroidvania's that we've looked at, like I don't honestly know if I could tell you the difference in any of them. at that point, you know, like apart from art style. Like, yes, this one looks neat. This one looks hand drawn. This one looks like it's watercolor. This one looks like it's pixel graphics. Okay, this one's a little bit more action oriented.

This one's a little bit more platform oriented. But they're like, they're just all the same to me. Yeah, that's fair. You need you need double jump to get here. You need dash to get there. Oh, look, spiky area that you can't touch, you know, you need this to get through that. You know, Ryan, you made the comment that every single one of them always shows. the scene where all of the walls and the floor is spikes and it's like trying to show off how you're

supposed to like dash through or like and this one did the exact same thing and I was like there it is there it is like everyone so it is the one thing I know people love this genre I'm I'm mid on it I don't hate it but I don't love it I do occasionally really enjoy a Metroidvania like uh the lost crown the prince of Persia I thought was fantastic hollow night I loved way more than Silk Song like occasionally like a game catches me but I don't know man this is just a genre that I feel like is like lost it's lacking innovation yeah maybe that's that's fair that's a fair statement it's we got to move on yeah that's true all of these games I'm gonna say now are going to be PC I don't have any other release dates or consoles for them but nevergrave is coming out March 5th this year so you will

have a chance to check it out for yourself make your own opinions that's what we always say you know, just because we feel this way about something doesn't mean you have to feel this way about something. You could absolutely love this, run through it with your friends, have a great time, which is what I anticipate doing. Not these friends. He just threw a shot at us, Josh.

Not these friends, though. He weren't included in his friends that we're going to do that with him. I'm going to go get Alexi. Are you kidding me? I'm going to go get Alexi and we're going to go play this. All right. Next up is Captcha the Flag, which is a party style Captcha the Flag.

game where the twist is to reload your gun you have to do a capcha. Okay. This is a tale of two Josh reactions because this game does one of my biggest pet peeves. I know. You hate it. Oh, the players talking about how fun the game is in their live voice chat that they're showcasing in the trailer.

Oh, run, Sarah, run. Oh, my cousin. Had such a good time. It's so fun. Oh, I'm stuck up on this ledge. Give me a second, guys. and it's like, okay. However, pet peeve aside,

I think this game could actually be fun. Like, like, like, fundamentally, I think this could, this is the type of game that would lend itself

to some really funny moments. The having to solve a CAPTCHA on the run while you're trying to reload is pretty like, okay, I could see that being like a fun time. So as much as the trailer annoys me for the like, look how much fun we're having, everybody's talking kind of thing.

Like, I think this game could actually be a good time. It'd be a really good time just to play an arena shooter like that where you just jump in with the destructible environments. And every time you get into a high priority situation, you're like, do I reload or I just empty one I have left? I'm so bad about clicking reload whenever I shoot anything. So I just be solving captures all the time. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome.

What do you think, Ryan? So this is the one. I'm sure you guys thought it was the other one. Yeah, yeah. I did like the other one as well. but this game looks awesome to me. I'm so, I, I, I, it's been a long time since I've sat and just watched the trailer smiling the whole time.

And that's all I did. I understand what Josh is saying and I totally agree. I hate the over the top. It's obviously, it's obviously to try to get people to like, oh, I want to play this game. But the thought of running around trying to solve these capture puzzles and like, you know, you do math. Yeah, like doing different this and that. It's like, hey, I need help, I need help. And you're trying to like, hold on, hold on.

You know, trying to solve something. Like, to me, that seems, it's just, it's another part of that kind of organic, like, collaboration where people try to work together and it doesn't always work, which is fun. And it makes for chaos and it makes for crazy times. So I love the look at this game. I am so excited to try it. I will absolutely test it out with anyone and everyone if you guys don't want to, like anyone in the pod that wants to do it.

I think it looks fun. It looks fun. Like to me, like I'm excited. It just seems like I think of running playing, um, uh, hell divers too trying to do like beep beep beep beep beep beep.

You know, like to like throw it like a drop, you know, it's you, you have that panic and that stress and that's what for some reason to our crazy brains is fun. So, uh, yeah,

This one looks pretty cool to me. I'm excited. Well, the good news is this will be out in March 2026. We don't have to wait super long for this. So that's super cool. This is the kind of game where you know you're going to laugh a lot. And you're going to have those moments that your buddies are cracking up about. And that's a win when it comes to a game.

I'm sorry, I picked the wrong. There's five cats. I pick four. Like what? I hit E instead of F. Yeah. Help. All right, guys.

We haven't touched many. games yet, but we are going to hit a ton right after this break. On game day, pain can hit hard and fast, like the headache you get when your favorite team and your fantasy team both lose. When pain comes to play, call an audible with Advil plus acetaminophen and get long-lasting dual-action pain relief for up to eight hours. Tackle your tough pain two ways with Advil plus acetaminopin. Adville, the official pain relief partner of the NFL. Ask your pharmacist at this product's rate for you. Always read and follow the label.

All right, guys, we're back. We're talking about multiplayer indie games, the upcoming ones that are somewhat looked forward to by certain groups, not quite you guys, but sledding game. Sledding game is what I like to call cozy hangout style game. This is the kind of game people who are, you know, long-distance relationship with friends, things like that, just do to hang out with one another. Josh, wake up.

Wake up. I knew this would be the reaction. Hey, we got to, no, no, we got to go sledding. Dude, like, let's, like, we don't get to go. Is generally fun? Are we, are we doing, like, are we doing tricks, Ryan? Is this like Tony Hocke? No, no, no, we're just going to, we're just going to slide when talk and hang out.

Are we, like, trying to, are we racing? Are we racing sledding? No, no. So what kind of sledding are we doing? Listen, I want to, I want to spend time with you, so we're going to sled. But, but what are we going to do while we sled? We're going to know, we're going to pay money, and we're going to, and we're gonna we're gonna pay money to play this game and we're gonna sled yeah you go up the hill you

sled your speed runs you can do the speed runs are they timed is it like a challenge is there a leaderboard there they are timed yeah okay so you guys do not I understand that you guys do not vibe with like social chat room this is discord like this is like the guy even said I just want a game where people can hang out and talk that's where like that's literally like like the developer of the game, like introducing his game. And then I watched this whole trailer and he's like, and you can walk around. And there's like,

there's like, you can play darts. And I just made, there's more. There's more games like this. And then, and then at the end of the trailer, he's like,

and then it's like the record scratch. And it's like, and he's like, but what I'm really excited about. And then I was like, oh, this is where it's going to be. And he's like,

I made all these cute characters and I wanted to show him off. Arctic Fox. Look at that. And then I'm like, the skins of the game are what you're really excited about on this one. They're free. If that makes you feel better, they're all free. For now. This is a no for me, homie.

Fully expected, but I promised our Discord I would bring more of these cozy games forward. That's fair. This is a multiplayer forward, you know, social game. We've got lots of people who live miles apart from one other than they just want to hang out sometimes. This is definitely a younger generation thing where they like to hang out in the game and do things. You can hang out in any game. I know there's so many games that are fun. Guys, if you were stuck, if you're stuck in sledding game, let me let, let, let, let, let, let, let, let, let, let, let, let's play with other people.

Just one. Arc graders. Okay, there you go. Can you name any, can you name one more? I know this is tough, Ryan, because there's very, very few multiplayer games out there where you do stuff in them. Like, why don't you want a game where you don't do anything other than talk to the people around you? That's called voice chat Like we have that

I can't even like Defend it that way because I I know what they exist for I know my brain I understand But I cannot word why people enjoy it Okay It's just some people really enjoy these low energy Calming games like people who hang out in Star do And run farms together

Like that's just the things they do People do that? Yeah Starter Valley's multiplayer Dude people call us weird Okay Hold on Hold on

Hold on Hold on People run farms together In Stardew Valley Mostly couples Yeah And they'll just like Water the crops

And you pick the crops They go do their daily chores They go Crop Water the crops I got chores In their houses They're an absolute disaster

Though Because it's like They're organized In the game Nobody's cleaning Nothing at home man Nobody's changed The four litter boxes

From the six cats And Yeah Anyway, let's move on to something a little more, you guys. Speed with Engine Fall. You mean like a fun game? Like a game that looks really fun and awesome? Guys.

Engine Fall is described as the upcoming multiplayer survival crafting shooter set aboard colossal post-acocalyptic megatrains. It is filled with chaotic PVP and PVE encounters. And it's an extraction shooter on top of all of that. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm in. This game looks insane. All right, Josh, Josh, I'm engine fall. So tell me your endamine for more than my looks.

Oh, I am because you look like rust on a train, baby. It does look like rust on a train, baby. And I am in and I like it what I'm seeing. At first, when I first did this, because Josh mentioned that he liked this game. And now I looked at the graphics on the trailer and I was like, oh, well, of course. And then I watched it. Because it's good looking game. And then I was like, oh, well, of course.

Like, yeah, it looks good. Yes. And you get to, like, raid people and break into stuff and you've got like, dude, this game looks awesome, dude. Like, it looks insane. It absolutely insane. It legitimately looks like somebody took rust and put it on these gigantic moving trains that apparently, like, there's different size trains and people are trying to live

on the train. And, like, you have to, like, work your way from, like, the lower class cars to the upper class cars to eventually, like, the conductor. and it's like as you move up like people can see like the the improvements and I think there's more areas and materials that you can gather it but it gets more dangerous which is really cool and then the guy makes his getaway and winds up extracting on his tiny little train that he has and like I loved everything that I saw about this game dude I loved the low energy that the whole trailer had where he's just like monotonely describing what he's doing but it was so funny because he was So, like, just off the wall sarcastic at times, too. Like, yeah. What a banger trailer, number one. I brought my neighbors with the hammers a present.

And then he puts, like, C4 on their door. So then I did it again. And then I did it again, you know. They were thankful. That seemed really cool. We were going to go get the conductor. But I needed an insurance policy. And the guy, like, straps, like, C4 to one of them and they don't even know it.

And I'm like, wait, you can attach things to people? Like, this is great, man. Yeah. I love it. Engine Fall is coming this year, and there is a playtest people can sign up for and join if they feel like it. I'm signing up. I'm signing up. 100%. Yep.

Let me in. Let me in. Let's do it. All right. Moving on to Surf Punk. Aw. He didn't want to move on yet. You should have saved it for last. Engine Fall should have been last.

Anyways, go ahead. Sorry. All right. Surf Punk is a one to four player co-op a RPG. See, I do know that. commenter. I know what an ARPGNs. Where you loot islands, fight enemies, and escape rising tides on surfboards with your friends.

This game looks good. This game looks good. It's, I mean, compared to, like, the next three games we're going to talk about. It looks good. It looks good. For sure. One of those three games, I'm going to probably stand up to you against, but the other one. Actually, one of the three, I think actually could wind up being pretty good.

But here's the thing with surfpunk. And we're starting to see this too. I'm going to just call this like a Hades clone because that's kind of what it looks like in the gameplay portion. And I know. It's a hack and slash. It's not a, it's not a roguelike. It's an action though. But I mean, the combat part looks kind of Hadesish.

Like, you know, sworn Hades like these top down. Like that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just that like some of these types of games, like if you have a. an ARPG now. Like there's like a 60% chance that it's going to look like Hades, you know, where it's like, okay, this is, this is the vibe. This is what's selling. So I don't blame people for it necessarily. And Lord knows, I love Hades, man. So that's not a slander to it. But that's like, when I'm watching surfpunk, like, I'm going like, okay, this is somebody that's trying to, like, you know, copy the combat in Hades, which is a good thing. I do like the cooperative aspect where there's

certain, like, one guy has to, like, spin a surfboard around to, like, break a barrier with, like, a ball that's on the back of it. So it's like that co-op, if they lean into the co-op side of it where you're actually dependent on your buddies and different classes or characters, I could see this working. But to me,

this is like one of the better games on your list because it actually looks fun and it looks like it's well developed. It looks fun to me, like something we would actually enjoy playing for even just a weekend. Yes, exactly. And I mean, it looks very pretty.

It looks fun to play. And it honestly, a unique idea. So I got to give them credit where credit is good. The combat looks fun too. I'm not trying to slain or saying we're kind of starting to see a little bit of this repetition where it's like, okay, like these kind of like your Metroidvania's where they're

kind of starting to blend together a little bit. Fair enough. I do believe it is co-op first as well. So they do consider the co-op the main draw of playing this game. So there's that. It does have a demo on Steam and it is not got a release date yet, but I would

imagine we'll probably hear something more about it. this year if I had to guess. All right. Moving on to Duo Quest. Is this the one you think maybe you have some hope for, Josh? No. No? No, not this one.

This is a two-player co-op puzzle adventure, you know? It's a card-based rogue like with a friend. This is like the dating game or like the relationship, the, what's the one with the newlywed game, right? Where it's like they're disguising this game as in like how well do you know player one and player two? just asks you questions. Yeah. You know? And then it's like if you answer the question, like the card like the attack hits kind of

thing. Like it's a neat idea. I just, this game looks like it's like an RPG from like the late 70s. Uh, and like, it does. Yeah.

And then it's like, I don't know that answering questions about the other person is going to go the way that they think this is going to go from making this game fun. Oh, it'll be entertaining though. I mean, yeah. You know. but it's like, I don't know. I like the angle,

but I don't know that it's going to work in gameplay. I think I would have appreciated it more if it had just been a co-op rogue like card game. Right. Just straight up, just that's all it was. I do appreciate going for an innovation angle like this where it's completely dependent upon, you know, the co-op aspect, but it's a hard sell.

Ryan, Ryan, we're attacking this dragon, Ryan. Okay, I'm going to play fireball. Oh, Ryan, you have to guess my favorite color. What's my favorite color, Ryan? Mary Gold. No, you freaking idiot, Ryan, it's black. Why would you say that? Why?

I thought you knew this, Ryan. Oh, my gosh. We just died and it's all your fault, Ryan. I'm not playing games with you anymore. It's a divorce game. That's what this is going to be, man. This is going to be like overcooked, dude, where it just makes people hate each other.

You don't even know me. Well, you don't even know me. All right, we have to speed through these last few real quick. But DuoQuest is, it's got a playtest on Steam. Yeah, yeah. Funny. You saw my joke. Yeah, I did.

I did. You're darn right, I did. It was a good joke. Duo Quest is on Steam. It doesn't have a release date, but it has a play test you can open and join if you feel like it. Next up, flock around, which is a bird watching exploration game with your friends. You get to hang out with your friends and watch birds. take pictures of birds

I knew it where do you find these things dude this is what I want to know did you never heard of hangout games did you look up most boring games imaginable is that is that like what you search for I looked up anticipated

multiple here's the deal with our anticipating this game yes on Twitter this is the game that I threaten my kids with where I'm like look if you You've not done your homework. You're going to have to play flock around for an hour and out.

No, Dad, no, please. You have to find me 15 birds. Yeah. No, Dad, that's not fair. I'm going to need like six pictures of a Blue Jay. Guys, this might be the dumbest game I think I've ever seen.

And we see a lot of games. We see a lot of games. This might be the dumbest game. What's better than going out in nature, seeing birds in real life, seeing them on the internet, on a video game. I think he was making fun of himself

at one point where he's like, look at that lovely flock of birds. And it's just little Ms that are like, yeah, it was just in the corner. Okay, so wait, does this guy know that his game looks really stupid? But then it was like, but then he's like, I think he doesn't know because he actually was trying to make it like look like this game was fun. But then I'm like, he's got to be trolling us. He's got.

And then I'm like, I don't know that he is. Here's the deal, dude. You can make anything and then people will buy it. Oh, man. I can't. Nobody. Nobody's buying this game, dude. This game is followed, like, widely on TikTok and Instagram.

People follow this guy for updates on this game. What is wrong with our world these days, man? People just want a cozy hangout. I bet you'll have tens of thousands of purchases, more than, like, more than 50. You have no idea how big the market is for these kind of games. Why do people want to be bored? Is the point of playing video games not to be entertained? Are you not entertained?

Are you not entertained by? flock around? I don't get. Somebody explain this to me because when I see this game, I'd literally just go, what the heck, dude? If this is a game for you, please let us know. Yes. Tell us in the comments chat, anything.

Like, please tell us because we want to understand. My spouse is going to be all over this game. Yeah? Yeah, they're going to be very excited to play this with all their friends. Oh, my goodness. To take pictures of birds in a game? They're not even different from the ones where to be fish. graphics too. It's like

the bird is like five pixels. Like I am the world's worst drawer and I feel like I could draw a better bird than what you're seeing in this game man. I want to see a Josh bird by the way. Legitimately dude. I'll draw a bird right now. I think I think. Well, there's a demo for flock around on Steam.

If anyone wants to try it, you know, get a feel for it. Maybe you are actually looking forward to something like this. Many people are anticipating it. Also, if you are excited about this, that's, I'm not slandering you. I'm just slandering the game. He's just slandering your tastes. I mean, and everything you stand for.

No, no. Everybody has different tastes, Ace. All right. We're moving on to our last game, which is Big Walk. It is a cooperative exploration game from the devs of the entitled Goose game, which is awesome. It focuses on communication through many different ways. It's all about walking and talking. That is a bird.

Wow! 10 points. It's a bird. points. That's a bird. I can tell it's a bird. I found over in the bush. It's a bird. It's roughly bird shaped. It's roughly bird shaped.

It's got a beak and it's called fate. And oh, let me get a picture of it. I need a picture of that bird. Crocky. That's like 10 points. All right. Sorry, big walk.

We're talking big walk. Yes, big walk. Yeah, the game I just talked about. What did I say about that game? Uh, you said that this game is another one of this wheel. It's a hangout that you get long. Austin with close friends in a big world, a cooperative online walker-talker from the creators of Untitled Goose game.

This son of a gun is just reading the steam description. Okay. At first, this is the game that I said there might be one more on the list that I'm semi-interested in, and it's this one. Oh, I'm disappointed in you, Josh. Because. No, this is great. Because I like the cooperative aspect that they occasionally throw in where you have to

solve puzzles and work together. at least there's something to do. Now, you have to understand, I'm putting this up against the likes of sledding game and flock around. So it's like, it's a very low bar, guys. No, you just said at least there's something to do. Yeah. That should not be said in any sort of game.

Right. And after sledding game and flock around. It doesn't matter. No. Crap compared to less crappy crap is still crap. Like, it's, it's, all right. No, it's dumb. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

Let Ace describe everything. Yeah. To solve. Big Walk has a purpose of walking through this world with your friends and solving puzzles. It's not about the destination. It's about the journey on the way. It's not having fun. Making your own fun.

Like, why is that bad? It's not about the destination. It's about the journey. Yeah, that's the whole thing. Like, you see these guys,

they're like doing puzzles, like guiding their friend who's blind from one side of the wall or they're on. Now, that part I like. That's the part I like. That's what this game's about. It's fine. finding these puzzles in the world and solving them together.

And they really lean into the proximity chat. And they actually showcase like cool ways that they did the proximity chat. Now some games have the distance thing. It's like, okay, guys, that's nothing new. The megaphone's sweet. The megaphone and the soundproof rooms. The megaphone is cool. Yeah, where you can legitimately get lost.

Like, I think this game could provide some entertainment. Like, honestly, like I, I'm curious about this one. I'm not saying I think I'm going to like it. But I really, really like the cooperative puzzle. aspect where like your friends have to like help you out and I like that they kind of force you to split up occasionally because with it being prox chat you can get lost and then that creates kind of situations where you're trying to find the rest of your your group because the game even says you have to stay together yeah shoot a flare I'm lost so it's this is one where it's like

I can see a little bit on this one but it's mostly just the cooperative puzzles that are drawing me in dude you got it like I I hate to be a downer man, but like, actually I love it. Here, here's a deal. You can't, like, you can't keep saying like, oh, well, you know what has this? You're making all these exceptions on why the game may be okay and may be good. No, no. It just, to me, it just seems like, I'm sure some people will like it.

I think overall it's not going to sell very well. I think it's kind of a... I think you're underestimating it. You think so, man? I don't know, dude. Yeah, Ryan. I mean, it's coming from developers of the Goose game as well, which sold. Which game do we think is going to sell more copies?

Flock around or Big Walk? Big Walk. Oh, Big Walk, I think will sell more. Big Walk for the pedigree. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I think Big Walk will definitely sell more. I mean, it's not, it looks like it's designed well for what it is.

It looks like they took time and they really put like some heart into it, which I totally respect. And it's not to demean the development of the game. and what they've put into this. But I just feel like there's so many of these games where you have to, like, talk people into it and be like, well, no, hold on. This could be, you know, and then you have fun for a little bit. And then, you know, you spent your eight bucks or ten bucks.

These are the kind of games. I've got to flash the, like, IGN scores at you two to get you to play them. It's like, I don't want IGN. How dare you? If I have, like, a list of nine out of tens. You flashed high and score me. I ain't playing nothing. That I can flash your way.

It's like Metacritic Games radar, IGN, all nine out of ten. It's like, oh. I mean, if you're trying to convince me that I'm going to enjoy flock around or sledding game like to any degree, I'm going to call you a lie. You're not the demographic. It's not meant for you. That's fair. I'm the kind of gamer that likes fun games. You're right.

All right. Horace. Last thing's last here. Big Walk is slated. for this year. You can wishlisted on Steam. If any of these games interested you, be sure to go wishlist them. It helps the developers a ton. We cover the games Nevergraved the Witch and the

Curse. Capture the flag. Sledding game, Engine Fall, Surf Punk, Duo Quest, flock around and finally Big Walk. Hold on, real quick too. I want to second this like with what A said, really wishless these games.

Like if you're even mildly interested, like wish listing does more than you can imagine for these developers. So it gives them kind of a gauge on interest and helps them with maybe procuring funds. So there's a lot that goes into it and making a game. So wish listing does do a lot. So please, please do if you're even mildly interested. Yeah.

Be sure also to leave us a little comment and tell me which of these multiplayer indie's interest do the most. And if you can explain why people like hangout games, so I can try to get that across on air. I would love that. I want somebody to explain to me how flock around is fun for you, like legitimately. And I'm not, again, we don't, we're not opinion shaming. I'm genuinely curious how somebody looks at a game like flock around and goes, I'm willing to spend my harder money on that game versus any of the other thousand games. It's not about money. It's like going to be like a $5 game. It's about time. It's not going to be expensive. It's going to be time.

Like, why would I sit and spend two hours of my day? Like, I just go to the, park and look for birds. Like, and there'd be real life and I'd be out in the world. Like, I, I, hey, bro, you want to meet at the park? Let's go, let's go. Let's go take a hike and look for animals, you know? So, I don't know. Well, at the end of the day, the best games are the ones you remember.

And the best memories usually come from the games you play with other people. So, yeah. I remember my nightmares, too, is. Like, honestly, sometimes I remember my nightmares more than my other dreams. All right. Well, it's time to wrap on this show before I cause the poor flock around. dev any more trouble than I already have by bringing it forward with this. If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure you rate and review our show.

If you're on Spotify, leave us a little comment. We love interacting with the comments. Like I said, I'm begging you. Help me explain hangout games. I can't do it. You may try. If you want to go to that extra mile and really show us to support, we have a Patreon that you can support his little $5 a month.

It means the world to us when people do that. And you get a nice little shout on the show the first time you do it. So that means a lot to you too. We have an amazing Discord that you should absolutely jump in and roast these guys alive for their takes on these games. We can take it. They can take it, trust me. And I think that's just about it for this one. So until next time, happy gaming.

I still love you, Ace. See you. I don't anymore, but I did at one point, Ace. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I love you. See you, everybody. Thank you.