Having played the demo of Ruffy and the Riverside at Steam Next Fest earlier this year, I had high expectations for the full version. The inspiration is clear: Paper Mario with hints of Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 as the icing on the cake. However, this game brings something truly unique to the genre: a magical “SWAP” ability to copy and paste textures around you. Should everyone be playing it right now? Yes and no. However, it uniquely blends collectathon platforming, puzzle-solving, and free-form exploration in a semi-open world, ensuring you’ll keep playing long after the main story ends.

The game follows Ruffy as he teams up with friends like Pip the bee and Sir Eddler the mole to stop the villainous cube Groll from destroying the World Core and plunging Riverside into chaos. I have to be honest: there’s too much pointless dialogue. The characters ramble endlessly about everything, and I’m not ashamed to admit I skipped half of it without missing anything important.

Puzzles throughout the game use the SWAP ability

The SWAP Ability lets you copy a texture from one surface and paste it onto another, transforming the target. Eligible surfaces are highlighted, and you have about 15 seconds to use a copied texture before it vanishes. This mechanic is vital for puzzles and progression, for example, swapping a waterfall with vines creates a climbable path, or turning a stone pillar into wood makes it float. The ability evolves later with the “Pix” tool, allowing custom texture design for both aesthetic and functional purposes.

The main campaign of Ruffy and the Riverside unfolds across a central hub, Riverside, and seven distinct regions. Each area is filled with puzzles, side quests, and collectibles such as butterflies, dreamstones, Etoi creatures, and coins. The moment I realized we have the freedom to explore the map, I happily spent 30 minutes just exploring the first region.

The puzzles vary greatly, from simple tasks like swapping water with lava to burn a tree, to arranging precise stone patterns based on wall images. You might find Etoi hidden behind a wall, requiring you to transform a stone block into wood to breach the area. There’s even an entire puzzle section imprinted as 2D on a 3D wall, accessible via a portal that itself needs a puzzle to be solved. This type of gameplay will follow you through all regions, and you’ll find yourself spending 30-45 minutes exploring each area, which is definitely a lot of fun.

However, not every puzzle is straightforward or easy. You’ll definitely need to think more, and it can become frustrating, as solutions are often found by observing your surroundings. This is partly because the game doesn’t always clearly indicate when you can use the SWAP ability with certain platforms, and these opportunities aren’t always obvious. The SWAP ability also isn’t entirely flexible; you can only use it in designated spots meant for progression, collectibles or on elements that won’t break the game.

Exploration in the game offers many interesting ideas

Despite some drawbacks, exploration in Ruffy and the Riverside offers plenty of fun. Imagine riding a giant ice ball across the sea or atop a bale to win a race. The game also features dynamic shifts, reminiscent of Nikoderiko, like transitioning from 3D to 2D to dodge traps in a temple by hiding from rolling balls and leaping over spikes. In the Realm of Dead, for example, there’s a top-down section where you run from a ghost. The game truly introduces some interesting ideas and worth mentioning is the Buried City areas that combine multiple mechanics.

Ruffy’s moveset includes jumps, gliding with Pip, punches, spin attacks, and sprints, controlled via joystick or keyboard. While gliding and sprinting help travelling, their limited stamina requires coin upgrades. Combat is rather average; enemies pose little threat, and types are repeated. Given that combat isn’t a major focus, the game would have been better as a pure platformer filled with collectibles and puzzles. Boss fights don’t happen often and offer minimal challenge and usually feature predictable attack patterns and segmented health bars. The SWAP mechanic is also underused in combat.

The graphics are truly impressive

Ruffy and the Riverside ties progression to main quests and side content, with collectibles naturally appearing as you advance. While its collectathon structure rewards completionists, some collectibles like Etoi feel less impactful without specific quests, and coins become redundant after early upgrades. If you love collecting and puzzles, this game offers a satisfying experience. Expect about 10 hours for the main story, but around 20 hours to complete the entire game.

The graphics are impressive; just standing on a high hill overlooking the plains and buildings reveals the game’s detail and optimization. There’s an insane amount of content spread across regions, including beaches, farms, and graveyards, while characters like Ruffy and Pip are 2D sprites with thick marker strokes, animated with crayon-like charm.

A solid platformer with its strengths and weaknesses

The game definitely has its charm, especially in its humor and plot. There are moments where it genuinely feels like playing an old cartoon. While I admittedly skipped a lot of the dialogue, I grew quite fond of Sirsil the snake. Reaching the highest point of Riverside and playing barrel games, like riding one over a waterfall or jumping from barrel to barrel, was a surprisingly interesting part of the experience. Honestly, the game truly surprises you with these moments.

Another drawback worth mentioning are the controls. If you’re planning to play with a keyboard, forget about it — it’s not intuitive and quite difficult to manage. A controller is your best option. I’m still surprised how challenging it is to navigate the various cluttered menus, an issue that hasn’t been fixed since the demo. In the end, you won’t be entirely let down by this game. Is it perfect for everyone? Sure, if you can overlook some shallow mechanics and tolerate irrelevant dialogue. But if you enjoy collecting items and want a chill gaming experience, this game is definitely for you.

Review copy provided by the publisher

3.8

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The sale runs until July 10th, meaning you still have plenty of time to explore the various offers. We’ve taken a deep dive and picked out the best deals currently available.

The post The Steam Summer Sale has started, here are the indie games you shouldn’t miss first appeared on IndieGames.

The inspiration for the name “yotsuba”, which means four-leaf clover in Japanese, comes from a desire to convey the excitement and joy of a child finding a four-leaf clover for the first time. In a time where players are faced with an overwhelming amount of games to play, Yotsuba Interactive aims to support games that feel hyper-personalised, as though the game was created specifically for you.

Yotsuba Interactive’s first title is indie game I Write Games Not Tragedies which is slated for release in late 2025. The game is developed by Studio Wife and Cornmandog, two female developers now living in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong after studying together in London. The game’s exploration of emo and goth subcultures is one that resonated strongly with the Yotsuba team, which led to the formation of this partnership.

I Write Games Not Tragedies explores three eras of life and lessons through the eyes of protagonist Ash. Players will both adore and cringe over him during his “baby bat” years in the late 2000s, resonate with his anxieties and battles with alcoholism in the 2010s then join him on his quest for the meaning of life as an elder emo in the 2020s. Relish in his humor, encounters with romance and discomfort through a visual novel meets rhythm game experience. True to the punkitude, players will not only be tasked with hitting lyrics to the beat at the right points but screaming out their frustrations in order to obtain a high score!

The name of the game itself is an homage to the 2005 song I Write Sins Not Tragedies by American pop rock band, Panic! At The Disco.

The post Japanese-Swedish marketing agency Neon Noroshi embarks on their own publisher journey with Yotsuba Interactive first appeared on IndieGames.

The game’s monochromatic world, filled with dense forests and secluded huts, creates a somber atmosphere where every shadow hides a threat. Armed with only a few matches, you’ll navigate through the darkness, using fire to light your way and solve complex puzzles. You’ll also uncover hidden truths as you piece together clues scattered throughout the environment.

One-Eyed Likho’s unique gray-scale art style heightens the sense of dread. Simultaneously, the light-burning mechanic adds tension, requiring you to carefully manage your limited light source to solve puzzles and fend off the encroaching darkness.

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You’ll race through diverse levels and cityscapes like Sonic, battling various enemies along the way. You'll have to utilize flashy, genre-typical directional attacks, master combo moves, and an eight-directional dash mechanic to overcome obstacles. The developer calls this fluid movement system “schmovement,” combining jumping, wall-running, and standard dashing.

The game’s stunning cyberpunk-inspired pixel art and futuristic aesthetic will immediately grab your attention. While inspirations from Mega Man Zero and Celeste are visible, Neon introduces fresh elements through its platforming and combat, along with character personalization options for Neon himself.

The post Lightning-Fast Platformer Advent Neon Arrives on Steam Next Month first appeared on IndieGames.

You play as Deniz, man trapped in a state between life and death, while simultaneously acts as both judge and accused in a confrontation with his own soul. Pera Coda explores Deniz’s traumatic memories through branching dialogues and layered environmental puzzles. Each time loop in this surreal Istanbul forces you to confront regrets, relationships, and hidden truths, uncovering mysteries that reshape the world around you.

Iconic real-world locations reflect Deniz’s fragmented psyche, merging the city’s East and West, chaos and peace. The gameplay uses intuitive point-and-click mechanics to focus on exploration, dialogue, and choices, rather than combat or item collection.

The post Mysterious Adventure Pera Coda is Set in Istanbul, Releases on Steam in 2026 first appeared on IndieGames.

Dark Queen of Samobor draws from the dark fantasy of Croatian folklore, weaving a linear narrative around the mythical Black Queen, Barbara of Celje, inspired by Antun Šenoa’s poem “Zmijska kraljica” and the works of Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. Josip and his brother Mato aim to create an atmospheric experience reminiscent of games like Inside, blending 2.5D visuals with a haunting story.

The game’s development has been supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), which provided crucial funding through a competitive grant, allowing the brothers to focus on their vision. However, Vincetić emphasized that financing remains their biggest challenge, describing it as a “marathon” that lasts the entire development cycle.

Dark Queen of Samobor may join Xbox Game Pass, as Josip Vincetić shared that they have talked with people at Xbox about a program that support games in development. This could greatly increase the game’s visibility to millions of subscribers. However, Vincetić noted that such deals need careful financial review, as some involve upfront payments but sacrifice royalties post-launch. “It’s a big chance to reach players”, he said, “but we must weigh if it’s financially better than selling directly after release.”

Optimization remains a big challenge, as the team works to make Dark Queen of Samobor run smoothly on various PCs. Vincetić said balancing optimization with core development is time-consuming, with much work still to do. Early on, they tried smaller side projects to fund the game, but this slowed progress. Instead, they secured support from HAVC, HAMAG-BICRO grants, and Zagreb’s tourism board, though these funds are limited.

The game is preparing for closed alpha testing in late 2025 on Steam and an open beta in early 2026. A Steam Next Fest demo is planned, along with potential releases on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, depending on funding and publisher support.

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Surprisingly, Hell Maiden marks a massive shift for the team. They’re taking the famous setting from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy to create a horde survival rougelite deck-builder. It will be interesting to see how the team approaches this new genre. This is where we asked them about the game’s features, its tarot-inspired card system, when to expect the first demo, and if their iconic anime graphics will still be present.

In Hell Maiden, you play as Dante who inexplicably finds herself back in Hell after already reaching Paradiso, her memories completely wiped. Determined to claw her way back to Heaven and uncover the truth, she’s joined by the wise Roman poet Virgil and the saintly Beatrice. Your journey takes you through the nine Circles of Hell, where you’ll face swarms of fiends and bosses. You’ll build your arsenal by collecting, stacking, and merging tarot-inspired cards.

The game is set to release on PC via Steam with no current date, and the developers describe it as “Touhou meets Vampire Survivors”.

Hell Maiden is described as an original retelling to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. What inspired you to reimagine this classic work as a horde survival deck-building game with an anime-inspired twist?

The idea was initially proposed by our creative director, Kira (António Lopes), based on his own original character designs for two of the main characters of Dante’s Divine Comedy — Dante and Beatrice. This spontaneous character design exercise was what kicked everything off and led to the creation of Hell Maiden.

As fans of the horde survival genre and games such as Vampire Survivors and Halls of Torment, we decided to pair it with another much beloved genre among our team members, deck-building, to create an unlikely combination of mechanics that work surprisingly well together.

Anime being an integral part of our artistic expression, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to reimagine Dante’s Divine Comedy with an all-female cast, which lines up perfectly with our studio’s previous titles. More than a retelling, Hell Maiden is mainly a sequel that picks up from where the original poem left off.

Your previous titles Pocket Mirror and Little Goody Two Shoes leaned heavily into horror and narrative-driven RPGs. What motivated the shift to a more action-packed genre?

The team had been itching to explore other genres that involved more action and fast-paced gameplay ever since the development of our previous title, Little Goody Two Shoes. While we’ll forever love the horror RPG genre and would be happy to revisit it in the future, we consider it’s the right time to expand our horizons and explore other genres, ideas and possibilities for our small studio. Personal taste and creative vision weren’t the only factors going into Hell Maiden’s creation and genre choice.

As an independent game development company, we feel ready to explore not only different creative avenues, but especially the possibility of self-publishing. After Little Goody Two Shoes, we decided to aim for a project that makes the most of our in-house strengths, skills and abilities in order to develop a game that’s more in line with what we can accomplish independently at this point in time.

Dante is portrayed as a female character who has lost her memories and is back in Hell after reaching Paradiso. What can you tell us about her character?

Hell Maiden’s Dante is rather different from the original poem’s protagonist: from her motivations to her circumstances. Contrary to the original Dante, our protagonist isn’t solely motivated by the prospect of meeting her beloved, Beatrice, in Paradiso and instead is moved by a strong sense of justice and determination to get to the bottom of why she was cast out of Heaven.

While the original poem’s protagonist personality encapsulates common and universal traits, our Dante is unreasonably determined, passionate and incredibly willful. She isn’t easily swayed by her emotions, nor is she intimidated by her opponents — no matter how tough. The one trait she does have in common with the original Dante, however, is her prideful nature.

The game features a cast of characters like Virgil, Beatrice, and the Poets of Limbo. How did you decide which figures from Divine Comedy and history to include?

Virgil and Beatrice are integral characters of the original poem and we couldn’t go without including them in our main cast. All other characters, however, were directly mentioned by Dante.

Right at the beginning of Inferno, Dante lists a series of virtuous poets, polymaths and philosophers (among others) from antiquity whom he admires. Virgil, Ovid, Homer, Lucan and Horace are among the most virtuous of all which made our decision to include them as the five main Poets of Limbo rather straightforward.

While Dante’s list is quite extensive, we’re taking our own liberties and including others with similar characteristics to the canonically included historical figures as well. The same doesn’t apply to the antagonists, however, as they’re all canonical residents of Hell.

The graphics feature that unique anime style you showcased in Little Goody Two Shoes. Do you now consider this your signature style, or is it simply a style you’re comfortable working with?

Our visual identity is very much intentional and unique to our studio — more specifically to our creative director, Kira, whose personal style in illustration and design shapes our games’ visuals. In that sense, it is very much our signature style although we collaborate with different artists for our games and often enjoy working with mixed media elements as well.

We’ve been experimenting with 3D as of recently, so there’s still plenty of room to experiment with and explore our signature style!

What’s the current state of the game, when can we expect its release, and when might the demo be available?

While we don’t have a release date yet, we’re currently working hard on a demo version of Hell Maiden which we’re hoping to release soon. In a general sense, the game is still in early development, but we’ll be keeping everyone updated with our every move!

Moving onto the gameplay, can you walk us through the process of designing the tarot-inspired card system? How do Spirit Cards, Weapon Cards, and Mod Cards work together?

Hell Maiden’s card system is meant to provide players with unique skills throughout each run. There are two types of Spirit Cards — Weapon and Mod Cards.

Weapon Cards empower players with unique skills and abilities. For example, Dante’s signature Weapon Card, “Blazing Quill’, unleashes a close ranged attack upon players’ targeted enemies. Other Weapon Cards include different abilities such as periodically summoned lightning bolts and spikes, energy spheres that surround Dante’s character sprite and damage surrounding enemies, projectiles, among others.

In order to enhance the chosen Weapon Cards, players will be able to equip them with Mod Cards which, as the name suggests, modify that weapon’s attacks — from increasing attack speed, damage and area, to imbuing them with status effects such as poison, burn, slow, etc.

We’re also developing other ways players can influence and diversify their runs with meta-progression mechanics, Spirit Cards you can acquire after defeating certain bosses, a perk system and more! We believe Hell Maiden’s deck-building will be exciting for players to tinker with and explore.

The Poets of Limbo, like Homer and Ovid, provide Blessings and Signature Weapons. What do these characters bring to the gameplay?

In one word — complexity. All Poets of Limbo have their own Signature Weapons which are unique to them. These open up a myriad of possibilities throughout each run by allowing players to experiment and tinker with different card combinations. The same applies to their Blessings which are character-themed card pools which offer Mod Cards that are unique to each Poet.

As such, players will be able to mix and match Weapon and Mod Cards from various different pools to create truly unique combinations. The more Poets players rescue from the depths of Hell, the more cards they’ll have at their disposal!

Do you plan to make Hell Maiden highly replayable to keep players returning, and since it’s releasing in Early Access, how often do you intend to update it?

Yes, we’re focusing a lot on replayability and making sure the game remains fun throughout with new cards, features and characters to unlock!

This also applies to the narrative’s progression — from side quests that further expand on the lore, to new interactions with the Poets of Limbo after each run and even new dialogue every time players revisit bosses they’ve already defeated.

Our plan for Early Access is to update the game regularly and keep a close relationship with our community to make sure we’re maintaining a good pace while simultaneously addressing players’ concerns, bug reports and suggestions. At this point in time, we cannot say how often we’ll be making updates, but we’ll most definitely keep everyone updated!

Is there a unique mechanic you’d like to highlight, something you’re particularly proud of?

Just like all our other titles, Hell Maiden is very near and dear to our hearts.

One of our flagship features for the game is its deck-building elements which bring a new and fresh take into the horde survival genre. We’ve been having a ton of fun playing around with the different combinations of attacks, buffs and enhancements this system allows for. It’s a really magical experience when the game you’re making turns out to be genuinely fun and compelling!

The addition of a complex and gripping narrative is also one of Hell Maiden’s unique features we’re most proud of as it’s something we haven’t seen being done before in the genre.

Dante’s Divine Comedy is the perfect fit for something like this and we’ve been having a lot of fun deconstructing and redesigning its narrative into something that’s playful and lighthearted while also retaining all the passion, earnestness and sincerity we’ve weaved into our previous titles’ storylines. All in all, we’re very excited about Hell Maiden as it’s allowing us to explore new possibilities while still retaining 100% of our identity, self expression and signature style.

Why did you decide to go with Early Access? What can you tell us about bosses and enemies we’lll face in the game?

There are two main reasons why we think Early Access is the right choice for Hell Maiden.

Having worked alongside publishers for previous two titles, we’ve reached a stage in which we feel ready to follow our own path and release a game independently. As such, our fans’ support is now more essential than ever as we’re relying solely on our growing community to take AstralShift further.

In that same vein, working alongside our community is priceless to us and Early Access allows us to do just that by involving players in the development process to a certain extent. As independent developers we’ll be able to freely take in and implement feedback from fans and keep a closer relationship with everyone on our own terms.

As for the opponents you’ll fight throughout the game all we can say is that we hope you’re good at bullet hell games!

What’s your view on the gaming industry overall? Are you seeking a publisher for Hell Maiden, or will you self-publish it?

Our goal is to self-publish Hell Maiden for both the sake of independence and autonomy, but also for financial reasons.

Game development was never easy, but it has recently become even tougher to stand out even when we do our best every day and we’re very glad that AstralShift’s charm continues to reach so many people even in today’s climate.

Now more than ever we need our fans’ support to be able to further grow our studio and continue to deliver what’s expected from us and what we love doing the most — creating immersive, visually stunning and narrative-driven gaming experiences!

The post AstralShift Reveals More About Hell Maiden, Project Which Combines Anime and Vampire Survivors Gameplay first appeared on IndieGames.

S.p.l.i.t. blends psychological tension with methodical puzzle-solving, immersing you in a claustrophobic digital world where every command feels like a step deeper into danger.

From a computer terminal, you’ll solve various command-line puzzles, navigating directories and running software. The game features retro tech aesthetics, using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to connect with other hackers, gather intel, and uncover secrets. What to expect from it, be sure to watch the trailer below.

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Just like in the Victoria series from Paradox Interactive, you command a chosen nation, guiding it through diplomacy, industrialization, and warfare to achieve global dominance. The game’s world is alive and interactive, letting you place cities, railways, and buildings anywhere on the map, shaping your nation’s growth with precision.

Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender stated: “We love grand strategy games, and Gilded Destiny is shaping up to be one of the most exciting titles in the genre.” Aquila co-founder Kenneth Mei added: “Partnering with Hooded Horse will gild the road ahead, helping us realize our vision for a living world with deep military and economic systems.”

Funded by a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $150,000 from 2,300 backers, Gilded Destiny is targeting an Early Access launch in late 2026.

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