Video Gamers Podcast - We Asked Indie Devs to Show Us Their Games... They Delivered – Gaming Podcast

Episode Date: June 25, 2026

This episode brought to you by ⁠⁠Ziva⁠⁠.sh the best way to help you develop your games through Godot.   Gaming hosts Josh, Ryan, and Ace are sharing one of our favorite episodes yet as we talk about reaching out to indie developers—and how many of them actually responded! We’re highlighting some incredible hidden gems and awesome video games that deserve way more attention. If you’re looking to discover your next favorite game while celebrating the passion behind gaming, this episode is for you. Join us as we shine a spotlight on the creators making gaming exciting, one amazing game at a time. Don’t miss this celebration of video games and indie gaming on the Video Gamers Podcast!   Calame: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3299450/Calame/  Mexican Ninja: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3764970/Mexican_Ninja/  Field of Heroes: https://t.co/3GwbrajWp1  Ghoul Fright: https://t.co/z8cBpUIwGo  Fading Echo: https://t.co/8mEAr4qKe8  Box Knight: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1678650/Box_Knight/  Liminal Point: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3299920/Liminal_Point/   Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Disratory, Ol’ Jake, Gaius, Jigglepuf, Phelps and NorwegianGreaser, Dettmarp and NightWizard63   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/h2cHKAvSmu 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. You know, in a world of giant showcases, billion-dollar marketing campaigns and algorithm-driven hype machines, it's easy to forget that some of the coolest games out there are still being built by small teams, just hoping someone notices them. Sometimes the next game you fall in love with isn't announced on a massive stage. Sometimes it's a developer posting a trailer on X at 2 a.m. and tagging you and saying,

Hey, look at my game. Look what my game's about. My game's great. And that's exactly what today's episode's about. From tactical RPGs to psychological horror, waterbending action stories, we've got it all, a little bit of everything. I am your host, Ace. And joining me, he did all of the heavy lifting for this episode because he runs the one social media account, I don't.

It's Josh. And it's the one account that is dead. That is dead. The X algorithm hates us. Oh, man. Oh, they hate us. I don't know what it is. It's, but the, you know, it is,

listen, I'll say this. You know, I've just given up posting stuff on X because it's like, you know, we get the same like, you know, three or four listeners that always like and repost it. But it's like, I always leave a little like, a little comment. That algorithm hates us, dude. You have four and a half fuse. How do we have a half few? But I will say, I did make a post saying, hey, devs, we're going to be doing an indie episode.

We want to see what you're working on. And we got like 200 plus comments on that post. And this episode is born of those responses from those devs where they said, hey, here's my game. I'm working on it. You know, we know how hard it is to get attention and traction in the social media world. And so we pulled out, what is this? We'll see if we get to all seven, but we pulled out seven games straight from the ex post that we made. Also, I don't mean to derail the episode, but there's something I just cannot let fly.

Okay. In our pre-show, which every, for people that aren't supporters of the show, okay, in our, we do a pre-show before every episode where they're usually about 15 to 20 minutes worth of content that is not part of the main podcast. and Ryan said something that I can't let slide. Whoa, hold on. Okay. I made a Star Wars reference because Ace was practicing his intro and he screamed into his microphone. And I said it's like a thousand voices cried out at once. And Ryan said rip Corrassant.

That is not Correscent, Ryan. That's Alderan. Okay, that was when the Death Star blew up Alderan. Corraceunt is the center of the galaxy. The city town. Corosan did not get destroyed. It's Alderan. so I'm not trying to call you out.

Corrissan got destroyed. Corrassan doesn't get destroyed. It's the center of the galaxy. It's where the empire. It's where the Senate is. It's like some Star Wars professional is going to cook both of you. No, no. I'm not getting cooked. That's why I'm cooking Ryan.

No. Because it was Alderan when the Death Star blew up Alderan, which is Princess Leia Organa's home planet. Okay. So I'm just saying I can't let it. Listen, I couldn't let it stand. I'm not trying to call you out, Ryan, but I just had to set the record straight because the Star Wars nerds, which I am one of.

I feel like Jim Carrey, I'm going to go do some research like on the... You can try to research all you want. I guarantee you. Ryan. It has never been blown up in the Star. Corrason is not destroyed by the Death Star, an official Star Wars canon. Dang it. It's another planet.

What? You were thinking of Alderon. That's what... Alderon is, Alderon is a city planet? No. That's the city... That's Corrason. No, that's where Leia was.

That's where... Curisand was blown up, I thought. No. Ryan, Oh, man. All right. Do you hear the words that are coming out of my mouth? It was all the Ron.

There's nobody on a hand in the words that coming on your mouth. All the Ron was blown up by the Death Star and a new hope. Okay. After Leia gave the information and they blew it up anyways. I know this. Okay. Well, all right. Well, everyone's heard of talk already, but he's just here to talk games and be wrong.

It's Ryan. Poor A's. He tried to get through the intro. We got completely sidetracked on Star Wars. I don't want to derail the episode. Sorry, Ace, but I'm going to derail the episode. Oh, I don't want to derail the episode, but I'm totally going to derail your episode. Listen, the Star Wars people out there, they know.

All right, I was wrong. No, that's, if I was wrong, I was wrong. That's my bad. For sure. Anyway. Sing the Stan wrong song, right? Yeah. Sorry, sorry, Ace.

I didn't mean to mess up your intro there. Hey, we're off the rails. Well, yeah, it's already off the rails. Whatever. But as I said, in the intro, this will be an episode going over. some indies that were provided to us on X because you made a surprisingly successful post on X.

First time. Never happens to us ever, never in a million years. But before we go into that, Ryan, I think you have a review you want to read for us. I do. Sorry,

I was looking at if Curisant was destroyed or not. You're still trying to prove it. This is not the Star Wars podcast. This got to be away. This backs me up a little bit. It's like, well, many fans believe mistakenly. mistakenly.

And then it goes on to talk about it. Anyways, we do have a review. It's a five-star review from Cool Boys titled So Much Entertainment, and it reads as follows. You guys give me so much entertainment. At last I enjoy all day long. I listen to every episode that comes out. I want to enjoy the Discord server, but I'm not old enough. But soon, I'm going to be the one who's online most.

I'm 12, by the way. Also, please read my review on the show. It would give me so much joy. Well, you got it, buddy. Here's your joy. Here's your joy. We love it. Thank you so, so much.

Reviews are simple, reviews are easy. And they help us out more than you know. So leave one. Best way to help us out. If you have Apple Podcast, leave us review. Five-star review. Say what you want to say. You'll get it right on the show, get a little shout-out.

That's all you want, right? Except for the people that want us to cover Undertale and think that leaving us a three-star review will somehow entice us to- Yeah, to do that. So that never works. Don't leave us a three-star review. Just because you want us to review a game. We're not going to do that. All right.

You can't threaten us. Now that Ace has passed his intro, Ryan, I'm going to try to throw you a bone. because maybe just maybe you were thinking about the star killer base from episode which was they destroyed Hosnian Prime. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's what I was thinking of.

I'm like, I'm clacking away. I was like, no, I've seen it. I know I've seen it. Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't realize just the Galactic Racer episode. Sorry. I'm sorry. There will be so much trumpets in celebration during that episode. According to the internet, you guys are idiots. What? For being excited about Galactic Racer?

Yeah, we got comments out the wazoo calling you guys lame. Oh my gosh. Well, I'm sorry that we know good video. Yo, Unk. Unk, you ready? Yeah. You ready, Unk? Okay.

Oh, you're going to remember that. And when Galactic Racer comes out, you just wait. I'm going to make a reel. Just, oh, man, we're going to stitch the first one onto the second one. He's going to make a reel and send it to me to edit and post because he doesn't have any easy content for you. Okay. All right, let's get started here, boys. Well, our first game, Kalam is an isometric tactical RPG

where legends have powers to reshape reality itself, leading two rival factions against a tyrannical ruler. This is basically if you took Firemlim, Final Fantasy tactics, and added terrain manipulation to the mechanics. It looks clean as heck. I love a good tactical RPG, and this one just kind of looks really special. It has like 15 playable classes, I think.

which is impressive for an indie game to say the least. Dude. What do you guys think of this one just off the rip? I'm going to jump in here before Ryan says it's term based and it's not for him. I know. So Ryan, you just. He's cured. You just keep trying to prove yourself wrong there.

Yeah, keep looking up Star Wars facts, right? Yeah. Is that how you say this number? First of all, is it Kalam? I see my brain says. That's what the narrator in the trailer saying. Dang it. My stupid brain, I was like, it's Kaladay.

Oh. No, I'm sure you're right-a-e. I thought it was more like Calame. Oh, wrong. Calame. That was lame. That was lame. Here's where...

Calam. Calam? Well, neither one of us was right, ace. Just lie to people. Yeah, it's hard to say when I've got Star Wars facts running through my brain, messing up everything I had planned. I'm about 10 minutes past where I wanted to be when I started this. Yeah.

It's yeah, I guess we are taking up too much time with our stupidity, Ryan. Anyway, Kalam, Kalam, Kalam, Kalamay. It looks good, man. It looks real good. Number one, I love the art style on this. Like, that was one of the things that very initially, like, got my attention when we were going through some of these trailers that they, like, all the developers shared with us.

And this one jumped out right away. The 15 different characters, I absolutely love. because at one point you see that one of them is a bard. Anytime that you have an RPG and I can play as a bard or one of the other like lesser known like classes out there, I think that that adds so much to the combat in the game. I love the turn-based combat in this. I love the size of the battlefield.

Some of these fights look like they have like 15 to 20 like enemies slash characters in them. The effects on this look really good. Oh, these are big battles. Yes, and I like that. Huge battlefields. I, there's very, there's like five people out there that are going to know this reference, but I grew up playing the Gold Box SSI Dungeons and Dragons games, which were turn-based games on a grid system like this.

And so I have always loved that tactical nature. And this game is kind of a throwback to that. Now, it's not Dungeons and Dragons, in nature, but just that kind of grid system with these massive battles and stuff. I think this game looks legitimately, really, really good. and I am really excited about this one. And I can't believe this is where it's a crime. Because this is honestly why we're doing this episode.

I've never heard of this game in my life until the developer shared it on that post. And I went, where the heck is this game been? How have I not known that this game even exists? I mean, it's not out yet. You know what I mean? But like, how did I not know that we're plugged into the gaming world, man? and this is the first time I've heard about this and I think this game looks great.

That's... I mean, that's just the thing, man. It's such a wide sea of Indies that it's so easy to get lost in it because there are so many really good-looking ones and it's just hard to stand out sometimes. Ryan, even though you don't love turn-based games, did you like this game, the look of it?

I thought it looked neat. I like the idea of a lot of character selection as long as it's not just like mass put in there just to have extra. Like if it's done properly with kind of respecting all those character classes, like to where they're unique and there's a different feel in every gameplay to make somebody want to play this game. But also like I think the thing too is like, man, like to get recognized as an indie game, it's got to be so stinking hard, man.

it's it's you either have to strike lightning in a bottle with getting like linked up with a uh uh an influencer or a streamer yep but like there's so many super duper quality games like if this release you know so many years ago and there wasn't as a saturated market like people would have loved it you know so people it all over yeah as like a fire emblem replacement for pc totally 100% people have been on board with this totally absolutely but now there's such a variety and there is a a lot of tactical RPGs now. Like we've talked about quite a few. But yeah, I think this one stands out,

especially with the rival faction thing, where you're running both factions at the same time against one another and your choices will sort of affect the story and how things pan out. I think that's a very interesting twist to take things on. Yeah. I love that how the bar is just rocking out too. Yeah, he's just having a good time.

Yeah, I did. Everything about this game looks like legitimately well done to me. And it stands out for its presentation, the combat, like they showed, you know, various abilities, you know, combat effects and things like that. Like, it almost is like,

makes me question like, is this an indie game? Like, but it is for sure. But I mean, it really looks very well done. And so this is one of the stand. There's a couple standout games in this episode and you just happen to hit one of them right off the rip for me. But yeah, I'm actually really excited about this one, man. Yeah, me too

And this is It's coming this year It is slated for this year We don't have a release date Don't anything like that There is a playable demo on Steam So if you got a PC And this sounds interesting you

Pick it up I'm actually gonna pick up the demo on this All right, cool And then don't forget Oh, it should be said Right off the top of the episode If any of these games Wishless everything

Absolutely We have had devs Confirm time and time and time again That wish listing a game is the most It is a statistic that matters It is the statistic that matters other than sales to them. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's something we've talked about before that wish listing game, getting a high enough wish list will increase a devs odds to get, you know, a publisher, possibly. Yeah. Which is huge. That's huge. If you don't have to self-publish, massive.

But anyway, moving on to our next game, which is a Mexican ninja. I'd heard of this game. I hadn't looked too much into it yet. This game is bananas. It is. It is silly. It's crazy. It's a chaotic brawler set in a Nuevo, Tokyo, where Narcos and Yakuza have merged into a new criminal empire called the Narcusa Empire.

And you fight back as the Mexican ninja using your combos and builds. It's just outrageous. I love this. This reminded me a lot of Absalom, but is a more single player focused experience. And overall, it's crude, it's rude, and it's funny as heck. what did you think of this Ryan as a fan of Absalom I think it looks great

I am I am super excited but like in my head I just keep I just keep making voices yeah yeah I don't know right I don't know how appropriate they are I'm doing the same thing Ryan I'm doing the same thing

I just have all these characters in my head right now that I want to say and like act them out it doesn't help that they got the guy with the sombrero the wild mustache holding the jug of sake, like on the front cover. It's, oh my gosh. Yeah, I think I think it looks good.

I love the style. I think the combat looks great. I am genuinely excited for this one. This one looks really neat. I love the mix and the fusion of the two genres as far as like the cultures and stuff like that. I think it looks like a neat.

Another one of those just kind of like hidden gym indie neat games that that'll be cool it'll be 15 bucks or whatever and and you can have a good time i love where we're taking the beat them up to the roguelike genre i think that's a genius way to take it because the beat them up gets very old very quickly otherwise and this is a perfect way to keep that fresh or you beat the campaign or you beat the campaign and a beat them up and then you kind of go well i guess i'm done with this you're done yeah you're just I think they fit roguelike that genre, phenomenally. I'm very excited for this one as well, guys.

I mean, I love that you mentioned Absalom because it looks like it is going to just be a really fun to play game. I love the humor that the devs have on this one. The trailer starts off with from the developers who beat Dark Souls. I love that. From the developers that beat Dark Souls. The fact that they're doing this stupid blend of like Mexican, you know, cartel meets the yakuza is hilarious to me as well.

Graphically, it's pleasing. The roguelike elements look like they're well done. This is, like I said, anytime we mention a game in the same vein as Absalom, that is high, high praise. And this one looks like it's going to be that. But like you said, single player. And I know a lot of people go,

like, why couldn't it be multiplayer? Sometimes it's just good to have that variety, man. Like, I want to just sit down and slash some things in this game. and not have to worry about who's online and, you know, who's going to steal my fruit and all my life like you did in Absalom, you know, and stuff like that. Yeah, that's fair. I think not every experience needs to be multiplayer.

Some experiences you just need to have by yourself and just enjoy it. Just enjoy the game for what it is. That game also, we don't have a release date on, but it is slated for 2026. And yet again, another Steam demo right there. so if they sounded interesting to you go pick up the steam demo if you got a PC it won't hurt you I promise it's free you're probably gonna pick this one up right Ryan

yeah you're probably gonna pick it up but I'm trying so hard not to do a Mexican accent right now and just like talk about it let's move on before Ryan gets this canceled I want to say so many things Ryan is physically struggling right now I'm like moving on ace

moving on quick ace I'm just imagine in the Dragon Balls he's like hey stop no you're not going in there anyway we're going to Field of Heroes

what the heck is this Josh I thought you put this on the list Ace I didn't realize I want I want the evidence that you said that I picked this game Hey it's work up babies All of these games World Cup baby

I will say imagine if you will A soccer game with mythological creatures as your players, and that is what you get with Field of Heroes. It kind of feels almost like hero shooter-esque, if I had to put it in the words. It's FIFA with wow characters. It is FIFA with wow characters. The centaur throws me off big time. The centaur?

The centaur like, yeah. That kills me. Not the ice dragon that flies over the field. Okay, yeah, that gets me too. Hey, what are we playing? Polo here? What's going on? I kind of like, this is a very unique.

take don't give me wrong because the only kind of big soccer game we have right now is rocket league and uh what's the other one rematch rematch yep uh i don't know i don't know if i don't know maybe the actual soccer game we're trying to talk about real soccer games ryan oh okay yeah come on now not everything's about fifa sounds like a fluky i'm gonna get comments supporting me so so you probably will because there's going on right now and everybody's a fan of soccer apparently i will say it does have a very strong visual identity. I don't think anything looks like.

This looks like you're playing soccer in wow. That's what it looks like to me. I like straight up. The, this kind of reminds me of like Mutant League football. Like this is one of those. Yeah, yeah.

It's just, it looks like it's dumb fun. The characters are casting spells at each other. They're trampling each other. Like this is absolutely like soccer mixed with on field combat in a way. It's just, yes, it looks dumb, it looks stupid,

but it looks kind of glorious at the same time because this is the kind of game that reminds you that we all just want to have fun while we're playing video games. They are entertainment for us. This is crazy looking. You know what I mean? But in a good way, and it's a throwback to like the Mutant League football.

And there was another one too. It's the name. NFL, okay, you ready? NFL Blitz. Yeah, okay. Yeah, with the huge like pile drivers and stuff. Remember, you could do, you could just, You could have a wide receiver crossing and you could just obliterate him.

And he wouldn't catch the ball. And there was no past interference. You could just destroy him. It was combat on the field. And then after the play was over, you could pick him up and pile driving and stuff like that. Yeah. It was the best. Little known fact.

Like in the new iterations of the game, they took all that stuff out. Like the old school stuff, you can still do it. Yeah. But the new stuff, you can't do it anymore. But that's what it reminds me of is just like that. crazy, goofy. You didn't play NFL Blitz because you just were a football fan.

It was fun. It was just a fun game. It was chaos. It was crazy. And that's what this looks like. You don't play this because you love soccer. You play it because it looks like it's a good time and it will be most likely. Oh, yeah.

Absolutely. I mean, there's no other game like this. No one else is doing this. No. Specifically. I think you have a safe niche here. Probably for good reason.

The closest thing this would remind me of is, I don't know if you guys remember when we covered beetle ball that soccer game with all the different beetle classes yeah that game has progressed a ton by the way i totally remember that yeah you said you were probably going to play it right i was probably going to say it really ryan saying i'm probably going to play this one he's probably going to check it out i probably check it out man yeah uh this game comes with an in game uh editor so you can make your own fields and stuff like that it's got bots built in so you can practice and things like it looks well developed bots stage hazards it looks like you can straight up kill other players so they don't get

absolutely lay them out. Yeah. I'm just like, that's crazy. I just see all these dead health bars and all these dead players on the field. But yeah, no. This game also no slated release date just 2026 coming to early access. It also has a demo available, but I'm unsure how long of all these demos

is going to be up because right now Steve next fest is going on. Yeah, so this is probably next fest demos, unfortunately. Yeah. If I had to guess. All right. We got a few more. to get to here right after this break. Hey, everyone. If you're making games in Godot, I've got something you need to hear about.

It's called Ziva, your personal AI game development agent built specifically for Godot 4. Ziva lives right inside your editor and lets you create scenes, write rock solid GD script, or C Sharp, squash bugs, generate sprites, and 3D assets, and bring your wildest ideas to life, all with simple, natural language prompts. Whether you're stuck on a tricky mechanic or just want to move faster, Ziva gets it done. Ziva is perfect for beginners who want to learn fast while actually building, and for season pros who are tired of time-consuming work and want to speed along development. The best part, it's completely free to start with an ample free tier,

and their paid plans are more generous than you might think. Want something more awesome? They're donating 5% of their revenue straight to the Godot Foundation to help keep the engine thriving. If you're serious about shipping games quicker and having more fun doing it, check out Ziva at ziva.sha right now. Trust me, it's a game changer. All right, we are back with ghoul fright. I do not know where to start with this.

It's basically like you're playing zombies, but you only have fist to fight back with. That's kind of what I saw here. way I like to fight my zombies. It's a like a, yeah, exactly. I love to fight zombies with my fisticofts. But it's a physics-based punching zombies, multiplayer game. I've never seen anything quite like it.

Did this look like a VR game to you guys at first? It did. It felt very much like a VR game. I had to make sure it wasn't a VR game because I was like, what is this? But then it's not. It's a first person. So then like the, the only thing I can. it equated to is like is it like punch out where you have that kind of first person perspective

you can see your hands and then you're just like laying into things like I guess maybe this game I guess you could equated dude it looks oh yeah it looks chaotic as heck it looks weird it looks chaotic it also kind of looks like a good time though um you know they have upgrades and things like that again it's not taking itself too seriously the combat actually looks like it's challenging and fairly fun and kind of more in depth than I originally thought, like watching the first like 30 seconds of the trailer. Yeah, this is, it's just kind of out there, man. But honestly, I kind of like it.

Like we said, dude, try new things, people. Try new genres. Try new things. And ghoul fright looks like no other game I think I've seen. No, it's bright. It's poppy. It's got good fun combat. They're going to add multiplayer later on after the game launches.

So it's like, yeah. Uprade system. What do you think multiplayer would look like just more enemies? More people punching more zombies. Yeah, you probably see your buddy running around too.

You know, it's all the... It kind of like gives me paperhead vibes, but if paperhead had some whimsy. Yeah. If that makes any sense. Guys, I think this looks so stupid. Oh, dang.

I'm sorry, guys. I wanted to hold out. Ryan, I think it looks so stupid. You can't say mean things about the developers who No, we're honest and we say what we have to say. The fact that you didn't know if this was

VR or regular game shows kind of what. I will say I get Ryan's take on this one. Like, out of all the games on this list, this is the one that I think is probably going to be, like, has the highest chance of being a with for people.

It's just, the demo, it's, anytime you have a game that's chaos like this in the trailer, it's sometimes it's hard to get a grip on, what is actually. actually happening in the game itself. Like I said, I personally like that they're going for a different take on something, this kind of first person brawler, because that's really what it is,

is an interesting way to go. And it could be a lot of fun, but at the same time, it's like, I don't know how that's going to work. So, yeah, I'm going to probably check it out. I think,

probably check it out. Yeah, it's probably the weakest of, the ones we have here but I don't that doesn't mean it does have some promise people it's gonna land for it will it'll land for probably thousands of people like absolutely especially those people who grew up with you know zombies and things like that and just want to play a wave based yeah rogue like where you punch ghoul we're gonna always we're gonna give you our honest comments but like like always check these games out and just take a peek see what they look like and see what

you know maybe maybe what we describe it as doesn't fit what you see and and then you're like oh that looks good and then you try it out and you love it. So yeah, man, absolutely. There's always a reason that we mention games, even if we don't personally think that like they're for us necessarily. Like there's a reason that we're putting them in front of people,

you know? And so it's like, I know a lot of people get upset if we say something that they view as like mean about a game, but that's also we are gamers. And that's always been the premise for this podcast is just because we don't necessarily think something resonates with us personally. Does it mean that we're saying,

that it shouldn't with you. And again, the whole point of bringing these games up is to try to put them in front of people at the same time that might like a game that maybe we don't. Yeah, we got to open our horizons a little bit just to get them out there for people who might be interested in them.

But Gullfright has a release date of August 2026. If you're interested in it, check it out. It's not going to hurt you none. Wishlisted, if nothing else. Moving on to one I think looks really freaking good. Yes. Is fading echo.

You play as a young hero who's capable of transforming between human and water forms, and you'll use these water-based abilities in combat, exploration, traversal, and just environmental interactions within the world. This looks insane. This is like what I imagine it's like to be a waterbender in the world of Avatar, The Last Airbender. Oh, my gosh. I'm speaking my language.

Yeah. Ryan's drooling. Ryan. What, tell us, Ryan. Oh, what you're excited? When Avatar and stuff was in Fortnite, I love this so much, being. an airbender. But like this is this is when you can see super, super talented people that are constrained by their funds. Like they, they don't have the backing and the ability to make

more deep, like a deeper game and something with with better graphics and better mechanics and all these things. Like it looks so good and you could tell if they had funding, it could be so much better. But like even still, like, I love the way this game looks. I love the gameplay. I love the movement. Everything about it looks super, super cool. Um, yeah, it just, it, it's exciting to me to see, to see these, these, these indie games produce something that rivals the AAA stuff. Like, I love it every day. Yeah, I got heavy like breath of the wild vibes from this. I get, that's good. Dude, it's this game is like a complete game in my opinion it's got combat it's got puzzles it's got traversal it's got really beautiful graphics imagine if they had 200 million dollars dude i know that's what

i'm saying right right like you know it's got its own feel and vibe to it you know you're trying to activate like these monoliths or something i whatever you know like you can tell through the trailer like what the overarching kind of plot to this game is but then it's a beautiful looking game too at the same time. I like the fact that they showcase some of the puzzles. There's creativity involved. Like you're fighting monsters at one point and you can like depending on the color of water or slime that you use, you can like make the floor fall out.

So they kind of like drive over one of these like these three floor tiles and then the monster falls through. It just looks really, really creative to me. The animation looks good. Like this out of all the games that we are talking about, today on this episode. This is the one that it's like if you don't do anything else like check this one out people. Yeah, I would agree. I would say this is the one. This one is actually it's between this one and Mexican Ninja for me. Yeah. For which ones I think the most complete. Yep. But that's fair

too. Mexican Ninja I think looks honestly like a blast too. But yeah, there's a couple standouts here. And this to me is the standout. And Fading Echo actually has a release date like a full release date. July 21st, 2026, we will see the full release date of this game. Thank goodness it's not freaking early access. Not early access. That is another reason that I will be checking this out and a demo available right now. All right. Moving on to box night.

It is a corporate office has been consumed by literal workplace toxicity. You must become the box night and fight your way through the floors of your office and finally face your CEO. It is very much a castle. Crashers, not rip-off, uh, inspired game. It's Castle Crashers meets office space. And I am here. There you go. It really is. I was going to say at the end, your main weapon is like a stapler. And you, I was trying to think of what that horror movie was where the guy gets his head bludgeoned in with the, uh, the tape dispenser. Because they're all locked in the office together. I do not remember what's called at all. But wow,

way to make it dark, Ace. Sorry box nine devs, you know. I'm sorry Box Night Devs. I'm just cooler than that. I think this day looks dumb fun, dude. Like, legitimately, I love the humor to it. I like the combat to it. It is very much inspired by Castle Crashers. Very, very much, yeah.

If you enjoy Castle Crashers, you'll probably enjoy this. Like, his sword is two rulers taped together. You know, like, he tapes like solo cups onto his helmet to make it look like he has horns. Like, little things like that, you know, is it going to play just like Castle Crashers? I don't know, but there's this kind of like levity and humor to it. The combat actually looks pretty fun. There's elements and combos and upgrades again and things like that. So, you know, it's another brawler.

And, you know, we've got Mexican Ninja. We've got Goul Fright, you know, box knights in there with them as well. But box night actually looks like it's going to be a really fun time to me. Yeah. It's got those little roguelight progression elements. And then it's going to, it's got co-op. little couch co-op support for a little game there. I think that's great.

Yeah. No release date at all for this, by the way. Not even a year. We have nothing. Sometimes. At some time it'll come out. Eventually this game will be here. But we wanted to make sure we put it out in front of you so you could wish list it.

And when it shadow drops out of the blue, you'll know. So, all right. Let's hit our last game here because we are running low on time. This might be the one I was most excited about when I finally got to really take a look at it. it because it has so many elements of games I really enjoy. Had a lot of elements from Resident Evil, had a lot of elements from Silent Hill, tortured souls.

And it had a rolling mechanic like it's frigging dark souls, which is one of my biggest complaints about these isometric horror games. This is a game called Liminal Point. It's a classic survival horror. You're following this girl named Lyra. She's a former rock star who's investigating a tragedy tied to a fog-covered island, filled with mysteries, monsters, and psychological horror. This game looks insane.

The monsters look terrifying. The plot sounds interesting to me that you're looking for like your bandmate who went missing on this island. All of this hits the right nose for me for a really good horror game. What stands out about this game to you guys? I'm with you, Ace, on this one. Right away, when you can look at a game and you can go, I can tell what the influences to this game are, you know they knew it. Like, I mean, within the first five seconds of this trailer, I'm like, wow, this. reminds me of exactly what you said.

This reminds me of Resident Evil and Silent Hill had a child and they nail it. The atmosphere in this game with the fogginess and stuff like that, I think really stands out. The, you know, they're trying to showcase some of the, like, the story and it sounds creepy. But then the creepy red-eyed lady kind of comes in with this like weird cinematic, which is really well done. There's combat. they showcase the very limited inventory a la Resident Evil. So it's like, dang it. Like, do I need this healing or do I need this ammo?

So you have to kind of make those choices. We talk about atmosphere and horror games all the time. I am a fan. I am a fan of atmospheric horror. This game nails it, dude. Oh, yeah. This is going to be an all-timer. I can tell already.

Especially throwing a rolling mechanic into an isometric horror game like this. That is a game changer. That actually does so much for these kind of games. 100% that's what would sell me on this game. Absolutely. It's not a main Resident Evil. It's not with these other ones. If I'm going to try it, I'm like, I'm not sure.

But then when I see I can have a rolling mechanic and then maybe like a pickax or a wood chopping axe so I can like actually fight these guys and then guns and firearms or whatever else. But like that ability and the way it looks already, it does. It gives the nod to the old Resident Evil games and those extra mechanics. make a huge difference. Like when you're just spam rolling away from zombies, like, to save yourself. So I love the look of it.

I think it does look cool. And this is just shows what these indies are doing nowadays. Like, it's a good looking game, man. Yeah, that role opens up a whole new world of melee combat being actually viable in one of these games, instead of leaving you open to attacks from all sides

because you have to stand perfectly still and go, yeah. But yeah, No, I think this is possibly the best isometric Horegum we've seen in a while. From an indie dev, absolutely. From an indie dev, especially. They nailed this, dude. Like, honestly, they, they nailed this.

You know, Ryan tries to include, like, links to trailers in the episode description for people. We should have those in there. But, like, watch this trailer. You'll see what we're talking about. You'll see exactly what you're up now. Animation looks great. The horror elements look great. The atmosphere looks great.

There's the influences from Silent Hill and Reservation. and evil are very, very much, like, obvious on this. There's a lot to be excited for in this one. Yeah, absolutely. And again, the voice acting is fantastic. Like, oh, my gosh, they really sell it. But yeah, that is all the time we have. Do not worry, by the way.

We got over 200 submissions. So if you didn't make it into this episode, we're going to go back to that well. So stay tuned and submit more. Sure, go ahead. Go find that thread. send us more indie games. We love taking a look at all the indie games

that all the developers have out there for us. But just a recap, that was Calam, Mexican Ninja, Field of Heroes, ghoul fright, fading echo, box night,

and liminal points. Indies are still doing pretty dang well, guys, I got to say. Yeah. Even with all the AAA ties. Yeah, absolutely.

Just remember everybody, too, that, like, these are, these are games that the developers are really trying to get in front of people.

You know what I mean? They commented on this thread to say, hey, you know, we are trying to get our game in front of people. These are not, you know, publishers doing this. These are individual people that are saying, hey, here's the game that I'm working on. Would love for people to know about it. So take a second. Watch these trailers.

They'll be in the episode description. Go wish list them. You're not obligated to buy them, but you're helping out these devs that are really trying to make fun games for us to play and enjoy. So take a second. go wish list them, watch the trailers. Hopefully you find one that you like. There's some good looking games in this list, man.

Yeah. Yeah. All of these stand out. All these are different genres. All these give their different feel, a different vibe. And you can tell that someone actually put some heart and soul in every single one of these. Yeah. Which is what matters at the end of the day, if you ask me.

Yep. But thank you all so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcast. Leave us a comment down there on Spotify. If you are listening on Spotify, we'd love to read the comments. Love to get your opinions, your thoughts, what you thought. And maybe tell us which of these you thought was the best indie game. Which one are you looking forward to the most?

Like, there's some really good games on this list. And if you want to go to that extra mile, we have a Patreon. You could support his little $5 a month, get some bonus content, including that pre-show Josh mentioned before, where Ryan was proven wrong about what planet was destroyed by the Death Star. Well, we proved him wrong on the show, but you can hear him actually sound like an idiot. Yeah, you could see him set himself up for that failure in real time. Thanks, guys.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Well, people will understand why I couldn't let it stand either, you know, at that point. Yeah, you also might go deaf, so you might want to lower your headphones for one part of that. And we have a Discord you could join for absolutely free where you can interact with all of us. We are active on there. We say hello to everyone who joins. We ask you what your favorite games are.

And that's where you will get announcements for our Twitch streams, as well as when we do community nights or community days depending on any other time. Mecca chameleon, community night might be in the work. Yeah, mecha chameleon night is on its way. No kidding. But I think that's all the time we have today. So happy gaming all. See ya.

All right. See you everybody.