Oh my God, I forgot how packed June was for gaming announcements! Even with the death of E3, the month still is a moment when dev teams around the world, big and small, show how their projects are going (and hopeful some launch dates too). Although a lot of people is excited for new things from Xbox, Ubisoft or who just paid Geoff Keighley the most money, the indie showcases is what sells the month from me.

Like, I almost wishlisted half of this year's Wholesome Direct, loved to see the amazing works showed on Guerrilla Collective 2024 and I was a proud Latino seeing our people saving the gaming industry on the amazing Latin American Games Showcase!

And, as the cherry at top of a delicious chocolate cake, the Steam Next Fest gave me the opportunity to try a lot of those games (and many others) and get a glimpse of what the future reserves in the next months and years. I even played some demos that aren't in the event, but were showed in other presentations too!

So, let's start my recap of June 2024's Next Fest + all the summer showcases! Of course, this list will reflect my personal taste on games, so please check the Next Fest page on Steam to more demos, and GamesRecap to every other event you may have missed. I'll be focusing more on the demos I've played, and finish with some extra games that had trailers.

LOK Digital

Letibus Design/Icedrop Games/Draknek & Friends, releasing in 2024

I discovered the original LOK last year and the concept of a physical word search book about little creatures delighted me — that said, LOK Digital is gonna be the perfect adaptation of the concept! In each level, you have to find some special keywords and use their abilities to cover all the grid (like LOK, that allows you to fill another any cell). New rules are added in a great pace, and you have to discover some of the interactions by yourself too. This will be one of the greatest puzzle games of the year, no doubt! Launches in 2024 for PC.

SCHiM

Ewoud van der Werf/Nils Slijkerman/Extra Nice/PLAYISM, releasing in July 18th 2024

I actually had the pleasure of play an Exclusive Preview of SCHiM, a 3D platformer where you control a creature that can only jump into the literal shadows of the objects that are on the map. You probably have seen a GIF of it on social media and the game seemed really cool, but I can affirm now: playing it is also marvelous! There's a puzzle aspect involved of finding the right path through the shadows, and the story that's been told during the levels feels interesting too. Launches next month on PC, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4/5.

Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island

Polygon Treehouse/Whitethorn Games, releasing in Q3 2024

Being stranded in a mysterious island, trying to explore to know its secrets and find a way to go home? I'm interested. But also your isle friends are Greek gods with amnesia, and you need to help them recover their memories? SIGN ME IN! I've been following Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island for a while now, and I was really happy to get a sneak peek of the gameplay on the demo. It's really exploration-focused (what I love) with some puzzles here and there. Totally a game I will play in the future. Launches in Q3 2024 on PC.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo

Pocket Trap/PM Studios, Inc., releasing soon

This was one of the big surprises of the month to me! Created by Brazilian team Pocket Trap, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo doesn't hide its Game Boy Advance influence, and it can look like a modern-day spiritual successor to Zelda: Minish Cap. That said, Pipistrello is way more fast and fluid than Link ever was: the yo-yo attacks are not only great for combat, but a great tool for environmental puzzles. There isn't a launch date yet, but I know that I'll be there to fight crime with my yo-yo.

WHAT THE CAR?

Triband, releasing 9th September 2024

The team at Triband lives in my heart since they transformed the most boring sport ever in one of the greatest video games that I played in WHAT THE GOLF?, and this is their next step! Breaking free from Apple Arcade prison, WHAT THE CAR? has simpler controls, but the demo has all of the non-sense jokes and concepts that made the first game awesome. Without a par score in the levels, exploring the stages as a two-legged car is more cool than ever, and I loved it. Launches this September on PC.

Lost and Found Co.

Bit Egg Inc./Gamera Games, releasing soon

I'm always down for a new hidden object game, specially if it has personality, great visuals and a cute story. Lost and Found Co. has literally all of those things and finished the package with good character design and a lot of extra challenges that feel fair and fun. I never would think that find lost things as a duck that became a teenager and a dragon trying to regain her power would be that cool, but we live to be surprised, right? No release date was revealed yet, but the game will be launched on PC.

Asgard's Fall

Soulpotion/Assemble Entertainment, releasing Q4 2024

Bullet heavens became my guilty pleasure since I discovered (and finished) Vampire Survivors, so it's great to see new ideas inside the genre! Inspired by Norse mythology, Asgard's Fall was my favorite from all the showcases. Great visuals, easy to learn controls and an interesting level up system, where you alternate between getting new weapons and use currency to give stats boosts in your character. The game launches on PC at end of this year.

Mythmatch

Team Artichoke, releasing soon

From one European mythos to another, Mythmatch was my big surprise from Wholesome Direct this year. I'm always looking down for creative ways to bring overused mechanics to life and this take on match-3 puzzle games is truly interesting. As Artemis (before she becomes a god) trying to get her place at Olympus, putting three equal items together transforms them! Add this with fast movement and you have a really dynamic match-3 that I will look for more. No release date yet, though, but the game will be available on PC.

Blue Prince

Dogubomb/Raw Fury, releasing soon

It's hard to define Blue Prince in a single line: a puzzle-filled, tabletop-inspired escape room roguelike experience, where learn about your surroundings is more important than advance physically sometimes. Every time you enter in the mansion, the map resets and you can start filling it with new rooms and challenges — at least, until you still have steps to go inside each one. No release date yet for this genre-defying adventure, but it will be available on PC in the future.

Fishbowl

imissmyfriends.studio, releasing soon

If it's already difficult for a game to make me cry, imagine the emotional burden of a title that made me cry just with the demo? Fishbowl tells the story about a young adult that is living through a pandemic, trying to connect with family and friends during isolation. Although the visual is great and the minigames are cool, the sensibility and the respect built in the story were the ones that deeply connected with a version of myself that I thought I had already overcome. The game will be available on PC and PS5 in the future.

MORE games to look and wishlist

  • A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars: one of the greatest cozy puzzle games ever created will receive a new DLC focused on levels with multiple solutions (my favorites!). And it launches next week already!

  • Escape from Ever After: a Paper Mario-inspired RPG about fairytales fighting against capitalism. Exploration, action commands, turn-based battles and proletarian unity is everything I ask from my games.

  • SOPA: Tale of the Stolen Potato: as a Latino myself, seeing this game already connected with my heart in so many levels, and it's also promising in the gameplay and fantasy departments. A game just named "SOUP" can't be bad.

  • UFO 50: the long awaited collection of 50 (FIFTY) small games from the creators of Spelunky, Downwell and more will finally release this September. It will be impossible not to like at least half of the experiences in this package, to be honest.

  • Squeakross: Home Squeak Home: a cute nonogram/Picross collection about puzzling your way into make furniture to a rodent pet. More cute and made for me, impossible. (and from the team of The Spirit and The Mouse, that I also love!)

  • Temtem: Swarm: a pocket monster bullet heaven is a million dollars idea, and I'm happy that someone is doing it, and even more happy that Temtem is the one creating it. If this game manages to mix these two worlds well, I might need an intervention...

  • On Your Tail: an interesting detective game that incorporates "find the difference" puzzles into the investigation process. I also loved the Italian-inspired setting and the characters, and it has everything to be a great title.

  • Castaway: inspired by Link's Awakening (one of the best Zelda games in my opinion), this tiny adventure game has everything you love and expect from a castaway action RPG experience. And even an infinite, roguelite mode, if you like it.

Please, don't forget to wishlist your favorites on Steam (and all other platforms). This helps a lot the developers to get more attention in the stores, and you can keep updated about their latest news.

And that's it! If you want my full curated list of games from this summer, go to this Backloggd list. And, if you like to play in your PC, you can also subscribe to my Steam curator page and receive my next recommendations through there too!