Sam Ito
Sam writes about small studios and the games they ship against the odds, and turns the hardest parts of them into guides that get to the point.
Patch Guide
How to Use Core Keeper's New Saddle and Hookshot After the 1.3 Update
Core Keeper's Riders of the Underground update added rideable cattle and a Hookshot. Here's how to craft, mount and use both after three rounds of hotfixes.
Launch Date
Arcane Ermine's Obstacle Overdrive Locks In an October 2 Steam Launch Date
Reno startup Arcane Ermine has confirmed October 2 for Obstacle Overdrive's Steam launch, a toy-car off-roading game staged inside a 1990s bedroom.
Evidence Guide
How to Read Phasmophobia's New Duplicate-Evidence Clues and Restricted Maps
Phasmophobia's Quality of Life Part 2 update changed how cameras, recorders and the Journal work. Here is how to use every new tool to find evidence faster.
1.0 Launch
Invisible Walls Takes Neighbors: Suburban Warfare Free-to-Play in Its 1.0 Launch
Copenhagen studio Invisible Walls has taken Neighbors: Suburban Warfare free-to-play at 1.0, adding a new Hero, a new map and full crossplay.
Biome Guide
How to Beat PEAK's Reworked Caldera and Kiln After Patch 2.5.a
PEAK's Caldera and Kiln are back in rotation with new condors, petrifying rocks and hot rock bridges. Here's how to survive them after Patch 2.5.a.
Sequel Launch
TOEM 2 Launches Today as Small Swedish Studio Adds Jumping to Photo Adventure
Something We Made's cosy photography sequel is out on Steam, PS5 and Switch, adding jumping, climbing and a two-camera 3D world to the 2021 original.
1.0 Launch
Mars Attracts Leaves Early Access as a Five-Person Team Ships Its Alien Zoo Sim
Outlier's licensed Mars Attacks tycoon sim exits a year of Early Access with Sandbox Mode, a finished campaign, and a Very Positive Steam rating.
Beta Guide
How to Access Manor Lords' New Farming Beta and Its Six Rural Perks
Manor Lords' 0.8.110 beta overhauls farming with Fertilizer, mandatory Crop Rotation and six new perks. Here's how to opt in and use every change.
Deep North
How to Fix Valheim's Deep North Terrain Bugs and Beat Kall Fimbulbringer in 1.0.16
Valheim's Patch 1.0.16 fixes Deep North terrain and boss-arena bugs. Here's how to repair old seams, unlock Mörkhalla and reach Kall Fimbulbringer.
Vampire RPG
Wadjet Eye's Nighthawks Launches After Steam Wrongly Flagged It as Adult Content
Wadjet Eye Games' eight-year vampire RPG Nighthawks launched after Steam briefly slapped it with an adults-only rating days before its release week.
Guide
How to Solve Puzzledorf's New Ruins Match-3 Jewel Puzzles
Puzzledorf's free Ruins update mixes match-3 jewels into its Sokoban formula. Here's how the new sliding-jewel mechanic works and how to solve it.
Indie Reboot
Double Fine Goes Independent, Debuts Action Labs With Thank You Bus Driver
Freed from Xbox, Double Fine launches its Action Labs label with the slapstick sim Thank You Bus Driver, out October 14, while a Kickstarter picks its next release.
Strategy Guide
How to Play Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis's Classic Mode, Tower by Tower
Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis shipped with a built-in Classic Mode. Here is how to select it per stage, which towers and heroes you get, and how it changes the run.
Milestone
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs Tops 500,000 Sales With Free Update
Mandragora's Y2K repair sim ReStory has sold more than 500,000 copies since its August debut, and its delayed free content update finally landed on September 21.
Event Guide
How to Unlock the Legendary Irisalis in Aniimo's Windchaser's Departure Event
Aniimo's new Windchaser's Departure event runs through December 10, and farming weekly Iris Petals is the only path to the legendary Irisalis. The full breakdown.
Launch Day
Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis Launches Today With a Classic Mode Built for Its 15th Year
Ironhide's tower defense prequel launches today on Steam and mobile with 18 new stages, plus a 15th-anniversary Classic Mode that revives the original four towers.
Update Guide
How to Tame a Mount and Use the Hookshot in Core Keeper's 1.3 Update
Core Keeper's free Riders of the Underground update adds rideable mounts, a grappling Hookshot and a Moss sub-biome. Here's how to unlock all three.
Launch Day
Well Dweller Launches Day One on Xbox Game Pass as Kyle Thompson's Next Metroidvania
Kyle Thompson's dark fairy-tale metroidvania Well Dweller launched September 22 on Steam, GOG, Switch, PS5 and Xbox Game Pass, following Crypt Custodian and Islets.
Launch Guide
Graveyard Keeper 2 Launches Today: A Beginner's Guide to Your First Hours
Graveyard Keeper 2 launched today on PC and consoles. Here's how to pick the right settings, carry over your demo save, and prioritize your first hours as Inquisitor.
Launch Day
Packed Lair Turns Tetris-Style Building Placement Into Villain Warfare on Steam
Solo Belgian developer Patrick Pilmeyer's Fables of Wits launches Packed Lair today, a roguelike where packing buildings into a cramped lair is the real fight.
Solo Guide
How to Survive Brandrgarde's New Solo Mode in Mistfall Hunter
Bellring Games opened Brandrgarde's Normal and Cataclysm difficulties to solo play in September, then rebalanced six classes days later. Here's how to survive it alone.
Early Access
Stormforge Dates Its Steam Early Access Launch for November 10
Roboto Games set Stormforge's Early Access launch for November 10, promising three biomes, class-based builds and a co-op world built on magical storms.
Getting Started
BloomKeeper Beginner's Guide: Taming the Scorched Zones With Your Pouics
BloomKeeper launched September 16 with a co-op colony-management loop where corruption spreads back in behind you; here is how new Guardians keep their Pouics alive.
Demo Live
Graveyard Keeper 2's Free Demo Lands With a Save-Carry Into the September 22 Launch
Lazy Bear Games' zombie-apocalypse management sequel is playable now in a free Steam demo, and your save carries straight into the September 22 launch.
Beginner's Guide
Endless Legend 2 Beginner's Guide: Your First Faction and the Tidefalls Ahead
Endless Legend 2 just left early access. Here's how to pick a faction, grow your first camp and prepare for the Tidefalls that reshape the map.
Launch Day
Woodo Launches on Five Platforms as a Two-Person Studio's Diorama Puzzler Debuts
Tiny Monks Tales, a two-person indie studio, launched Woodo on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and Switch 2 this week, turning wooden dioramas into a cozy puzzle game.
Getting Started
Grail Beginner's Guide: How to Build a Deck That Wins Fights on Its Own
Sokpop Collective's autobattler deckbuilder Grail launched September 1. Here's how upgrades, traits and hero picks actually decide your fights.
Final Map
RV There Yet? Wraps Its Trilogy With the St. Búttin Bay Finale Map
Nuggets Entertainment shipped RV There Yet?'s third and final map, St. Búttin Bay, closing out a game-jam project that has sold over 4.5 million copies.
Patch Guide
Wanderburg guide: how the 0.9.9 and 0.9.10 hotfixes changed your best build
Randwerk shipped five hotfixes in a week. Here's exactly what 0.9.9 and 0.9.10 changed in Wanderburg, and how to rebuild your castle loadout around it.
Indie
Wanderburg's castle-on-wheels roguelike reaches 150,000 owners in three days
Berlin co-op Randwerk's castle-on-wheels roguelike was picked up by 150,000 people in three days, and is now patching its Early Access build almost daily.
Deckbuilder
Slay the Spire 2: eight rules the tutorial never explains
Six months into Early Access, Slay the Spire 2's sharpest rules live in Mega Crit's patch notes rather than the game. Here are eight that change how you play.
Progression Guide
WARDOGS progression guide: cash, role tracks and what to buy first
BULKHEAD rewrote the XP curve and vendor prices the day before launch, so here is what to spend your first $10,000 on and which track to level.
Indie
How to Fish hit one million players two days after its $7.99 launch
Dazed Games is two people in Skövde, Sweden. Their $7.99 co-op fishing game passed a million players within two days of its 20 August launch.
Indie
Paralives: seven years of Patreon funding, a million copies in 30 days
Alex Massé quit his job in 2019 to build a Sims rival. Paralives hit a million Steam sales 30 days after its Early Access launch on 25 May 2026.