Welcome to our latest recap of what's going on in the indie game space. This week, Nintendo held its latest Indie World showcase to spotlight titles that are coming to Switch and Switch 2, as well as some that arrived on the eShop on the day of the presentation.
One of the latter was UFO 50, which featured on many best of 2024 lists after it debuted on PC. Another was Is This Seat Taken?, which is about placing picky people in the right seats. This chill puzzle game from Poti Poti Studio and publisher Wholesome Games Presents arrived on Steam, iOS and Android as well this week. It has a look that reminds me a little of last year’s pretty platformer, Schim.
Looking further ahead, the Indie World revealed the October release date for Ball x Pit, a Breakout-esque roguelite I'm very excited for. In addition, Mina the Hollower, the next game from Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games that we already knew was coming to Steam on Halloween, has been confirmed for a Switch and Switch 2 release on the same day.
The showcase also revealed that Neverway, a creepy life-sim RPG from a studio founded by Pedro Medeiros (the pixel artist of Celeste) and Murder Engine creator Isadora Sophia, is coming to Switch and Steam in 2026. Meanwhile, sci-fi RPG Caves of Qud is coming to Switch as a console exclusive later this year. This is a turn-based, sci-fi roguelike RPG from Freehold Games and publisher Kitfox Games that's rated overwhelmingly positive on Steam after nearly 10,000 player reviews (a quick scan indicates that those who get into Caves of Qud can sink hundreds of hours into it).
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Elsewhere, The International Game Developers Association, The International Game Developers Association Foundation and Women in Games International teamed up for an interesting announcement this week. The organizations are collaborating on a project called Port Quest, which is designed to help successful developers bring their games to mobile platforms. Studios who take part can receive assistance from industry veterans, access to workshops and more.
Applications are open now and will close on September 15. Those chosen to participate will be featured in a showcase. However, only games that have earned at least $10,000 per month for the last six months are eligible. The games can't have previously been made available on mobile devices either.
New releases
A game called Ritual of Raven, from Spellgarden Games and publisher Team17, arrived on Steam and Switch this week. It's billed as a "cozy, story-based farming sim" but you're not going to be making your character till the land, plant seeds and carefully nurture crops here.
Instead, this is more of a deckbuilder, as you'll collect tarot cards and make use of their magical powers to do the work for you. It seems like an interesting twist on the Stardew Valley formula, especially if you're into card-based games.
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