Well Dweller

• Developer: Kyle Thompson
• Publisher: Top Hat Studios
• Release Date: Out Now
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

Get whisked away on a dark fairy-tale adventure in Well Dweller, a 2D Metroidvania where you play as Glimmer, a tiny bird armed with a matchstick. Your family has been whisked away by the evil Queen, and it is up to you to save them from a gruesome fate.

Fight your way through the many chambers of the queen’s kingdom, full of twisted bosses to defeat, charming characters to meet, and secrets to seek. Explore every crevice of the well to find trinkets to upgrade your abilities, try out different combinations to find your own playstyle, and use the light of your matchstick to illuminate your path. Just make sure not to let your little flame be snuffed out!

Check out our Well Dweller Review to get our full thoughts on the game.

A demo is available on PC and PlayStation 5.

Knuckle Jet

• Developer & Publisher: Rain Games
• Release Date: Out Now
• Platforms: PC

Get ready to ball up your fists and bounce off the walls in the jetpunk momentum-based platformer, Knuckle Jet, a new physics-defying game from the developers of World to the West and the Teslagrad series.

Fly, smash, and ricochet your way through dozens of standalone levels, packed with enemies to blast your way through and secrets to uncover as you chase that perfect, explosive run. Unlock and equip an array of gear options for Anastastia that dramatically alter how you play, optimising your setup for each level, fashion trends be damned!

Wind up and launch yourself across the various biomes of Motorland, all in the tight grip of the fiendish industrialist Tychoon and his crew of business goons. Save the orphans and the day on your own, or team up with a friend for co-op Knuckle Jet action! *Predator handshake*

A demo is available on PC.

Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered

• Developer & Publisher: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
• Release Date: Out Now
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Relive the epic one-versus-a-thousand gameplay of Dynasty Warriors 3 and DW3: Extreme Legends with the Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered.

Take to the battlefields as over 40 different officers, each with their own combos and special attacks, and carve your way through hordes of enemy soldiers as you become a legend of the Three Kingdoms. Play through each officer’s story in Musou Mode, take on specially designed missions in Challenge Mode, customise and level up your own retinue of bodyguards, and upgrade your weapons to their peak.

Fight alone or with a friend in split-screen co-op, and enjoy the over-the-top action that has become synonymous with the Dynasty Warriors series!

A demo is available on PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Songs of Glimmerwick

• Developer & Publisher: Eastshade Studios
• Release Date: Out Now
• Platforms: PC

This might sound strange, but there’s something about Songs of Glimmerwick that reminds me of a browser game. I do mean this in the most complimentary way possible – the art and the writing, made me very nostalgic for my teens playing things like DragonQuest to all hours of the morning. The game is obviously much more polished than this, but there’s definitely a very cosy handcrafted vibe to the entire game that I was immediately drawn to. 

In terms of gameplay, Songs of Glimmerwick makes a delightful first impression with its cosy, storybook aesthetic and unique music-based spellcasting mechanism. Rather than wielding traditional magic or weapons, players solve problems, tend gardens, and interact with the vibrant world by playing tunes on their flute. The charming artwork, relaxed pacing, and enchanting soundtrack create a whimsical atmosphere that will easily captivate fans of cosy life sims and magical academy adventures.

A demo is available on PC.

RetroSpace

• Developer: The Wild Gentlemen
• Publisher: Kwalee
• Release Date: Out Now
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, and XBOX Series X/S

Play your way in RetroSpace, a first-person immersive sim where you explore an interconnected space station swallowed by a sentient black hole and now populated by alien horrors and reality-bending anomalies.

As a simple janitor, you’ll have to use everything at your disposal to navigate the corridors of Aurora 5, whether that’s sneaking past threats, hacking security systems, setting traps, or blasting your way through with various weapons. You’ll use Mutamods to unlock mutations that boost your skills or bestow you with new ones, but don’t be surprised if there are some strange side effects!

With its retro-futuristic art direction, blend of cosmic horror and dark humour, and reactive gameplay that forces you to adapt on the fly, RetroSpace is here to scratch that imm-sim itch. It’s time to be the hero you were meant to be… or not. It’s your choice!

Check out our RetroSpace Review to get our full thoughts on the game.

A demo is available on PC.

Colorbound

• Developer: Panpipe Studio
• Publisher: Whitethorn Games
• Release Date: October 12th
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

Colorbound is a cosy, colour-based puzzler where you paint blocks, the sky or even yourself to manipulate platforms and reach the goal. You play as Anku, setting off with his late grandfather’s Zampona to get his old band back together for a farewell performance. It’s a charming premise and a very charming game. 

The demo lets you play through the first areas puzzles, some of which definitely had me stumped for longer than I anticipated. Luckily the game also has a very good hint system – it doesn’t outright tell you the solution, but gives you enough information to get you thinking along the right lines. Later puzzles introduce new mechanics like flipping gravity and moving blocks, so if you enjoy the demo you won’t need to wait long to play the full game on October 12th.

A demo is available on PC.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse

• Developer: Evil Empire
• Publisher: KONAMI
• Release Date: October 15th
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

After 17 years, the next entry in the mainline Castlevania series is nearly here with Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse.

Set in Paris at the end of the 15th century, you play as Rose, the daughter and protogee of the legendary vampire hunter, Trevor Belmont. A looming castle has appeared, with hordes of demonic creatures spilling into Paris’ burning streets, and it is up to Rose to save the city, all while being pulled deeper into a dark conspiracy.

Castlevania’s iconic blend of 2D combat, platforming, and exploration is reimagined in a beautiful new art style, with stylish animations giving Rose’s attacks and movements with her whip, the Vampire Killer, a new level of fluidity. Face off against epic bosses, both new and returning, and seal their powers within your Tarot Cards, letting you cast powerful spells and perform unique actions, and equip a variety of weapons and relics to craft your perfect playstyle.

The original vampire hunters are back!

A demo is available on PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

Final Fantasy Resonance

• Developer & Publisher: Square Enix
• Release Date: October 22nd
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2

Classic turn-based Final Fantasy returns in HD-2D form with Final Fantasy Resonance, a pixel art adventure where you call upon Visions to help you in battle, including the protagonists of every mainline FF game, from I to XVI!

Filled with many of the classic elements of the Final Fantasy series, including airships, crystals, chocobos, and moogles, Resonance sees you forming and leveling up your party as you gather and improve your Visions, as a mysterious figure in black armour from centuries in the past threatens ruin upon the world.

Recruit Espers to summon in battle, equip skills bestowed by your Visions, and harness their power: Resonances, powerful abilities that can turn the tide of battle. Embark on a new adventure that celebrates the Final Fantasy series, and pick up where the demo finishes when Resonance releases later this month!

A demo is available on PC, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

On Love, On Monsters

• Developer & Publisher: Lighthouse Theory Games
• Release Date: October 31st
• Platforms: PC

This upcoming visual novel takes a look at themes of love in its many forms. You play as three characters with different perspectives, personalities, and stories. Inspired by Frankenstein, Lighthouse Theory Games explores different bonds, personal growth, acceptance, and what it means to love. The demo will take you through the introduction of the characters, getting to see a bit of their relationships, and understanding the relationship system these developers have built. 

On Love, On Monsters allows its characters to really shine. None of these characters are blank slates, and player choices will shift the way the characters respond without feeling out of character. The demo features its full voice acting, truly bringing not only Frankenstein’s monster, or in this case the child, to life, but all of this wonderful cast.

To hear more about this game, be sure to check out our Interview with Lighthouse Theory Games on the GSC YouTube Channel.

A demo is available on PC.

Tax-Force

• Developer & Publisher: Outsider Games
• Release Date: November 10th
• Platforms: PC

It’s time to bring those tax-evading billionaires to justice, and you’re just the one to do it in Tax-Force, an action-roguelite platformer with a punchy hand-drawn art style inspired by 90s comic books.

The planet’s Solar Shield debt needs to be paid off, but how to cover the cost? Punch and kick your way through hordes of mutated henchmen in challenging close-quarters combat, equip special abilities, negotiate with your targets, and invest the funds how you see fit to rebuild society. Each of your choices will affect the world and story, as you upgrade biomes, make tough moral decisions, and discover a time-looping narrative.

A demo is available on PC.

Dark Rail

• Developer: Steam Veil Games
• Publisher: JanduSoft
• Release Date: November 18th
• Platforms: PC

Command an industrial city on the empire’s edge, manage resources, upgrade your settlement, maintain order, and keep the trains running on time in Dark Rail, a dark management roguelite. Every decision you make, from raising taxes to delivering shipments of prisoners, affects your settlement’s Resources, Revolt, and Madness, so be careful how you choose to govern to stay prosperous and keep your citizens from revolting.

Time your construction and research projects according to what resources you have available, and train your inquisitors at your barracks to improve their stats and assign skills before sending them off with the next train shipment. They’ll undertake quests, fight monsters, and keep your deliveries on time, but at what cost?

Earn Blood Points from various actions such as completing quests, fulfilling quotas, and sacrificing prisoners, and use them to permanently unlock powerful abilities and augment your strategy to better avoid the end of the line.

A demo is available on PC.

Midgardr

• Developer & Publisher: Holy Radish
• Release Date: January 2027
• Platforms: PC

Midgardr is a board game where you play as a Duke, stuck in the middle of an inheritance battle between two Kings. The demo covers the prologue; introducing how to draw cards, build your town and choose your advisors (or Curtes as the game calls them). The game is gorgeous – with different seasons and events changing the board: famine will cover the board in dead plants; winter will blanket your town in snow and drinking wine from the suspicious Oracle’s cup will cast a hazy filter over the events of the current turn. 

There’s a lot of mechanics to juggle – from resource generation to random events that will have positive or negative immediate outcomes based on your choices and potential wider repercussions later. I can only imagine the skill ceiling in the finished game will be on par with something like a ROOT, where you’ll really need to plan out turns to see benefits later. But that’s not the only thing you’ll need to get your head around, as there seems to be more at play outside the board too.

A demo is available on PC.