My Summer Games Week Highlights
Ow my backlog
The summer of gaming is over and with it came a huge number of world premieres, wholesome streamers whispering, and games that look exactly like Elden Ring.
The number of games announced feels astronomical in comparison to other years and independent developers were the star of the show. For every “revolutionary AAA Souls-like experience” there were 10 unique ideas from an small development team.
Even without the inclusion of a classic June Nintendo Direct, there are so many games to look forward to in 2025 and beyond. Too many games, in fact. To make this piece more digestible, I’ll limit myself to one or two sentence per game. If it peaks your interest, I’ve also included the link to the trailer that got me hooked, and the Steam link for you to wishlist.
Unlike last year, I don’t plan on grading the presentations themselves, as most of them were indie showcases and I would feel like an ass critiquing a bunch of independent streamers that put these together.
But with all that being said, here are my favorite games shown in Summer Games Week.
MIX Summer Game Showcase | June 3rd
Becrowned
PS1 horror now is a genre, and this game does an excellent job of matching that vibe. I don’t typically play horror games (I am part of the scaredy cat gang), but this new age of indie horror feels fresh and exciting. [Trailer] [Steam]
Flick Shot Rogues
Dungeons, Dragons, Pirates and… Billiards? This strategy rouge-like ditches grid-based combat for “flicking” your character across the battlefield. [Trailer] [Steam]
Absolum
A hand-drawn rouge-like beat-em-up and other words with hyphens. The animations look soooo crisp and fluid. [Trailer] [Steam]
Autonomica
I’m probably not even getting this game, but this trailer goes places. Looks like it’s trying to rival Fortnite as the “everything game”. [Trailer] [Steam]
State of Play | June 4th
Hirogami
Plays like a Shantae game in 3D, with animal transformations and all, and the origami aesthetics are sublime. [Trailer] [Steam]
(And that’s it for Playstation lol I don’t care about marvel fighting games, sorry)
Summer Game Fest | June 6th
Lego Voyagers
Couch co-op is thriving and this game is another example of it. I’m not normally into the Lego videogame aesthetic, but this game feels like the imagination of a kid playing around with scattered Lego parts. And I love it. [Trailer] [Steam]
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
HATSUNE MIKU??? [Trailer] [Steam]
Fractured Blooms
Obsessed with the idea of an anti-wholesome, creepy, bloody farming sim. [Trailer] [Steam]
Mina the Hollower
From the creators of Shovel Knight, this GameBoy-inspired game will kick my ass but I still want to play it. [Trailer] [Steam]
Mixtape
One of my most anticipated games from last year! I’m glad this trailer showed a bit more gameplay, even though I still don't know what this game is. [Trailer] [Steam]
Wholesome Direct 2025 | June 7th
Is this Seat Taken
Super cute puzzle game about putting lil guys in seats while catering for their pet peeves, such as asking for a window seat or not sitting next to a stinky passenger. [Trailer] [Steam]
Squeakross
The best named game on this list. It is a Picross game where the puzzles become furniture you can use to decorate your mousehold. And it’s out now! [Trailer] [Steam]
Big Hops
I am a sucker for a sandbox 3D platfomers in general, and this one in particular feels easy to start but hard to master. I can just tell I will be able to break this one (in a good way). [Trailer] [Steam]
Everdeep Aurora
I’m noticing a trend where I like games where you just play as a little guy. This one’s about a small black cat in a dark, mysterious underground world. [Trailer] [Steam]
Omelet you Cook
Principal Clucker is Coming. [Trailer] [Steam]
Women-Led Games | June 7th
Perfect Tides: Station to Station
Nostalgic Point&Click with a MS Paint-like art style where you play a young adult in 2003. [Trailer] [Steam]
Death & Faeology
I was already down with the dark, gritty aesthetics of this detective game, but the addition of fairies being part of this universe sealed the deal for me. [Trailer] [Steam]
Fallen Tear The Ascension
Always a fan of a fluid, 2D, hand-drawn action platformer with a beautiful art style and character design. [Trailer] [Steam]
Drywall Eating Simulator
Self explanatory. [Trailer] [Steam]
Grave Seasons
Once again, love the concept of a wholesome game on the surface with a hidden, darker tone, and this one plays like an F’ed up Stardew Valley. [Trailer] [Steam]
Danchy Days
I am hypnotized with this GameBoy inspired colorful game. I don’t have much more to say, its bright art style got me like a casino machine [Trailer] [Steam]
Latin American Games Showcase | June 7th
Wander Stars
I can’t stop thinking about this anime-inspired RPG. Just the art direction alone is enough to get me obsessed, and yet the gameplay is also very clever and unique, having you stitch together words to create attacks (e.g., “Super” “Fire” “Kick”). [Trailer] [Steam]
The Shadow Syndicate
The furry version of LA Noire, do I need to say more? [Trailer] [Steam]
Teios’ Journey
Would play this game for the art style alone, but this hand-drawn metroidvania looks fantastic. [Trailer] [Steam]
Colorbound
Immediately became a fan of this color changing puzzle game. [Trailer] [Steam]
Desktop Explorer
These desktop games are becoming a trend, but I found this one in particular quite interesting… and a bit nostalgic with its Windows 95 interface. [Trailer] [Steam]
The Trolley Solution
If there’s something I love more than a puzzle game, is a silly puzzle game, and this one tackles the trolley problem in chaotic ways. [Trailer] [Steam]
Xbox Games Showcase | June 8th
Clockwork Revolution
Before the name reveal, I was convinced this was a new BioShock game. It looks like it has a ton of fun FPS action and interesting time-bending mechanics [Trailer] [Steam]
Aphelion
I just trust everything Don’t Nod makes. [Trailer] [Steam]
There are No Ghosts at the Grand
Straight up a weird first person… shooter? with a lot of mystery, a lot of silliness and absolutely zero ghosts. [Trailer] [Steam]
At Fate’s End
Similar to the transition from Gris to Neva, Spiritfarer’s creator made a 2D action platformer. And it looks AWESOME. Artstlye, Story and combat looks stunning and I cannot wait to play it. [Trailer] [Steam]
And that’s it! I am pleased by the incredible quality of the games this year. The indie scene is alive and thriving.
Other than Sonic Racing, there isn’t a single Big AAA franchise being represented in this list, and I love that. Creativity is stored in the indie developer, and I am very happy many had a space to present their games to the world.