Day of the Devs followed up our Summer Game Fest stream with some notable upcoming games.
In the show, each game had a full corner where the developers explained their game and its inspiration. Apart from the games I’m already looking forward to, such as Hyper Light Breaker, there were several trailers on the stream for games that flexed existing genres and had very beautiful visual styles.
All of these games are on Steam so you can add them to your wishlist to find out when they are released. It’s a bit disappointing that these games don’t have specific release dates, but some are targeting this year.
Here are five not-to-be-missed games from the Day of the Devs stream.
Beastie Ball
release date: 2024
Beastieball was born from the team of Greg Lobanov and Chicory and Wandersong. A Pokémon-style game where you play a volleyball-like game with cute little monsters and beasts. Instead of catching them all, we encourage you to collect what you like and build relationships to unlock new powers for your matches.
A Kickstarter will be available soon to crowdfund part of the game development.
wish list: vapor
simple times
release date: “Coming soon on PC”
Simpler Times sounds the unpacking alarm with coming-of-age stories and organization-focused tasks. First-Person Packing Her game follows the protagonist Tiana as she prepares to move out of her childhood home, following her memories. She can take Polaroid pictures, pick apples, play records, and choose items to carry around slowly (and sadly).
wish list: vapor
viewfinder
release date: 2023
Viewfinder is a game with a very ambitious mechanic. Find pictures, take them, and turn them into a part of your environment. This first-person puzzle his game is visually similar to The Witness in that it combines modern architecture with a bright art style. The trailer shows players taking pictures of stairs and using them to climb into previously inaccessible areas. The area in the picture looks almost a thing of the past, which might suggest there’s a lot more going on than sandbox puzzles.
wish list: vapor
read more: The most mind-blowing puzzle game of 2023 gives you a magical camera and invites you to destroy the world
Haunty
release date: 2024
Hauntii imagines a black-and-white world where ghosts seek the remnants of life. You play as one of them in this twin-stick shooter with a hand-drawn visual style. 2D scenes have a striking look, especially when the game seems to break away from things like isometric camera angles and fill the screen with surreal art. At one point a little cape-clad character is riding a jet-his coaster overlooking the city, and this instantly reminded me of a similar section of Nier’s Automata circus her area . It’s still unclear how much of a shooter it will be, but it seems like it might be able to do a lot of things, like platforming sequences to collect feathers.
wish list: vapor
Summerhill
release date: to be decided
Summerhill’s tagline is “folk tales of life, loss, and livestock,” but I can’t seem to figure out what that means. It’s a story-driven puzzle game where you control a little shepherd looking for a lost flock of sheep. A small trailer lets you watch from a height above a character and his dog as they drive a sheep off a cliff. You will be hunting sheep in beautiful environments such as warm, sun-drenched cliffs, but also in dark locations such as an abandoned stone cathedral lit by green lights. Summerhill’s idyllic surroundings and folksy soundtrack definitely grab my attention.
wish list: vapor