Peek at the Week [Sept 28-Oct4]
PLUS: Silver Pines giveaway!
I'm officially calling it: it's Over The Garden Wall season.
Okay, it might be in the 20s here in Northern California (the 60s, for the Fahrenheit enjoyers), but I'm feeling autumnal regardless. It's one of my favorite times of year: the leaves start changing, there's a nice chill in the air, and all I want to do is curl up at home under a blanket with a cup of tea and a game*.
Luckily for me and for you, there are plenty of games coming out this week to get stuck into, so here's your weekly primer.
*background soft jazz/rain sounds optional.
Giveaway
This week's giveaway for Supporters is Silver Pines! Longtime readers will recognize it as our first LFG pick, and it's launching next week (October 8). If you're not already a Supporter, hit the button below to join, link your Discord, then enter in the #giveaways channel. I'll draw winners on October 8, good luck!
New releases
These are the new releases I have my eye on this week.
📸 Time to get snap happy: TOEM 2 is the sequel to one of my favorite games from 2021, and I'm thrilled to say that I've played it and it's great! Look out for more thoughts on Wednesday
🎟️ The Unshine Arcade has a dark past, and by taking a crack at its games, you might just get to the bottom of it in this action roguelite game. And is it just me, or is something off about the virtual pet in the prize cabinet?
🔧 Rejoice! RetroSpace is a love letter to the immersive sim genre where you have to get through the spaceship Aurora 5 and by its unwelcome guests any way you can. Use your brains, use weapons, hell, even use mutations on yourself
🪄 What if casting spells was as easy as playing music? Well, in Songs of Glimmerwick it is! Attend magic school, grow and harvest plants, and get to know your classmates in this gorgeous farming sim. I love the art style and color palette, feels very autumnal
🍜 Start your way from a single noodle stall to a booming business empire in Nivalis Nights, a slice-of-life sim set in a gorgeous cyberpunk city
🧟 End of Abyss I've previewed this one a couple of times at SGF and I can't wait to dig in. An atmospheric twin-stick Metroidvania set in an underground complex filled with untold horrors is perfect for spooky season
🙌 Big release of the week: Does The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered count? Okay, okay, then this week it's Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, which my podcast co-host SkillUp could not have more positive things to say about if he tried
Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
Soar through the skies and rise above every challenge to earn your place among the elite. Engage in intense aerial combat to dominate the battlefield with powerful weapons. Experience a breathtaking campaign filled with high-stakes missions, hard choices, and deep squad connections.
Events
- 28 Games Later: A Horror Showcase is airing on Thursday 1st October at 3 PM ET / Noon PT / 8 PM BST. It'll feature announcements, updates, and exclusives all about, ya guessed it, horror games and will also have prizes to give away to viewers. It'll air on the Insider Gaming YouTube and Twitch channels
- Melbourne International Games Week kicks off on October 2, a fantastic celebration of the games industry with plenty of events for both developers and players. There are also over 100 new indies from around the wold being showcased at the event
- Boston Festival of Indie Games (BostonFIG) takes place on October 3 in Boston, featuring a bunch of awesome indie games as well as fun activities for all ages
- IAM Gaming Expo is taking place in Elgin, Scotland on October 3. It'll bring together over 20 indie developers from the region in this inaugural festival
- Super Indie Games will take place October 3-4 in Mexico City and promises to be a celebration of independent developers and experimental ideas from the region
LudoNarraCon
I'm delighted to reveal that lookingfor.game is supporting this year's LudoNarraCon!
It's a fantastic event put on by publisher Fellow Traveller (Titanium Court, Citizen Sleeper, Paradise Killer to name just a few!) to celebrate narrative games. 51 games have made the event's official selection, and it couldn't be a more Lucy-ass group of indies if it tried.
The event will be hosted on Steam from October 8-15, and not only will there be discounts and demos aplenty, but there'll also be some fantastic fireside chats with game developers, as well as streams that you won't want to miss.
Thanks for reading!
Hope you have a lovely week, I'll be back on Wednesday with the weekly bonus newsletter. Catch you then!