Respawn Point

I’m back after a few hectic weeks for another roundup of awesome indie games coming to Steam this coming week! Here’s a hand-picked selection of games from small devs scheduled to release December 8 – 14 that you might not have heard of.

Note: I haven’t personally played these (yet!), but I’ve hand-picked some of the most interesting upcoming releases—most of them indie! (For a chance to be featured in future lists, feel free to contact me here.)

Steam Games Releasing Dec 8–14:

• Unboxathon by Skye < 3 (Dec 8): I very kindly received this cute little game for free so I actually got to try it. It’s an active clicker with some very satisfying pixel art and music. It’s not long, and the gameplay is pretty shallow and I was lost at first, but I can see myself playing this as a “brain off” pick.
• Zilar: Empire Of The Underground by Sthard Game (Dec 8): I can’t find any information about this dev, but I’m intrigued by this title, where you play a demon-like creature who has to fight and parkour his way through an Underground realm.
• Cat Named Mojave by Stargazers Studios (Dec 8): Ever have one of those nightmares where you have to run through the desert hunting down strange creatures for an anthropomorphic cat to skin? This is that dream, in game form.
• Liminal City by LIGHTWORKER GAMES (Dec 8): This is exactly what it sounds like—a walking simulator experience through creepy liminal spaces.
• Megalocephalo by Flapjack (Dec 8): Guide Pancake through an adorable Mega Man style side-scrolling 2D gunner in this student project from a team at DigiPen Institute of Technology. It’s free!
• High Fructose by Chazak Games (Dec 8): It’s Fruit Ninja, if the fruit were demons and monsters!
• Unbeatable by D-CELL GAMES (Dec 9): I’ve been excited about this rhythm game since it was announced in Gamescom this year. The pop cartoon style is beautiful and the side-scrolling beat-’em-up genre-meets-rhythm game mashup is a fun take on one of my favorite game genre.
• Ultimate Sheep Raccoon by Clever Endeavour Games (Dec 9): Team up with your friends to build race tracks then race your bikes through them. Looks like a good time!
• Death Howl by The Outer Zone (Dec 9): A deck-building Soulslike with a stunning artstyle and a story about a mother trying to save her son from death itself.
• Dissimilar by Opal Grave Games (Dec 9): This isometric game mixes turn-based tactical combat with an intriguing mystery and exploration through the hand-drawn rooms of a castle.
• Pancito Merge by Fáyer, Sketchy Ceviche (Dec 9): A delightfully cozy and cute pastry-merging game that celebrates Mexican baking and culture.
• Anxiety Puppy by 小狗工作室 (Dec 9): A beautifully illustrated game where anxiety is a little puppy, and your task is to track it down and give it a hug.
• Dead Format by Katanalevy (Dec 10): This is what it would look like if you could boot up an old horror film VCR… and then take control of the main character.
• NeverAwake FLASHBACK by Neotro Inc. (Dec 10): This is a remake of a game I don’t know, but it looks like an amazingly good time. A retro shmup with neon colors and a pulsing soundtrack (if the trailer is anything to go by).
• Drywall Eating Simulator by Peripheral Playbox (Dec 10): A weirdly cute game about eating through walls to relieve stress because “Therapy is expensive, but drywall is plentiful.”
• Cave Crave VR by 3R Games S.A. (Dec 12): Explore real and fictional caves in VR with audio narrated by a real rescuer. Very cool!