15 Games You Might Have Missed at Summer Game Fest
June is a great time for gaming, with the combined force of Summer Game Fest, all kinds of Summer sales, and long evenings with short nights that invite whole nights spent doing “just one more level”. And we love getting hyped with Summer Game Fest (and hopefully only disappointed for some of the titles), where we saw awesome announcements and long anticipated trailers, including new material for Silksong and Cuphead! But I, as you certainly know, am a connosieur for all things that make people go “wha, never heard of that one”. So if you’re on the lookout for some shiny trailers that did not garner as much attention, you’re in the right place! Here are
15 Games You Might Have Missed at Summer Game Fest
Of course, this list totally depends on what caught my eye. However, I tried to keep it a bit varied, and include trailers from different streams and different genre! This includes streams such as Guerilla Collective or Wholesome Games that aren’t directly at Summer Games Fest, but still part of the bigger event. If you love indie games or niche genre, you will be sure to find something that catches your eye!
1: The Last Case of Benedict Fox
Benedict Fox is a game with an unbeatable combination: Metroidvania and tentacles. In this Lovecraft inspired action-adventure, you descend into a dark and mysterious limbo and gain power by bonding with your own demon. If you’re ready for this twisted tale, wishlist it on Steam, or find it on Epic. Still on the fence? It’s also coming to Game Pass, so if you’re a subscriber, you can dive in as soon as it drops in Spring 2023. And if your hunger for metroidvania can’t be satiated, also check out the new trailer for 9 Years of Shadows.
2: The Entropy Centre
There will probably never be a Portal 3, but there will be The Entropy Centre, a first person puzzle game that takes you to a scientific facility on a foreign planet, just to see Earth explode. But whereas Portal takes you through space, The Entropy Centre takes you through time, as you solve puzzles by rewinding time on objects, all aided by your friendly time reversing gun assistant Astra. The game is coming to Steam, Xbox and Playstation in 2023.
3: Skate Story
First of all, if you haven’t seen the Devolver Digital, go watch it. Not only are all the trailers looking amazing, but Devolver has delivered another “what the hell did I just watch” cinematic experience worthy of, I’m not sure what award, but I’m sure there is SOME award that describes this. I could have picked out any of their games, but I decided to go with Skate Story, since it seems to have fallen under people’s radar. Do you love skating games? Do you love art games? Does this sound like a combination that would never happen? Well, you’d be wrong. Become a demon made of glass and pain...who must skate. Ollies onto Steam in 2023.
4: Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
There’s a billion great looking wholesome games this year, but none that I’m as excited for as Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley. The Moomin franchise is a staple of many people’s childhoods and has been an important comfort for me during recent difficult times™, and I’m so excited that a small indie studio not only is making a game that really looks and sounds and feels like Moomin, but that also has my favorite character at the center: Snufkin. Restore harmony in Moominvalley, spread mischief, and meet many of the habitants of the valley, including many many characters from the book and the series. Oh, and I guess Sigur Rós is collaborating for some music too, just in case you weren’t convinced yet.
Oh, what’s that? You want even more wholesome games with nature or cottagecore elements? Then check out Wholesome: Out and About, where you learn foraging and recipes that you will be able to apply in real life, or Paradise Marsh, where you catch frogs and restore stars in the sky.
5: American Arcadia
If you’re looking for rich narrative experiences, American Arcadia is a game you can’t miss. Did you ever want The Truman Show as a game? Escape this false 70s style utopia as you switch between two different playstyles and unravel a story about living not for views, but for your own sake.
6: Voidtrain
You know, I’m not a big fan of survival games usually, but when you are traveling on a train through the void, battling imcomprehensible creatures, it just hits different. Grab a buddy, or up to three buddies, and face the big mist together. Early access is coming to Steam in October, and it will be available on Epic as well.
7: Thirsty Suitors
Thirsty Suitors has been on my radar for a while, and this new trailer just makes me all the more hyped. Return to your hometown and battle your exes in emotional hyperspace. Face the consequences of your past choices, and examine yourself and who you want to be. Reconnect to your culture and your family, and maybe even find love. Oh, and skateboard.
8: Ereban: Shadow Legacy
Become the last one of your kind in this stealth game. You choose whether you sneak or kill, whether you will be an invisible ghost or a fatal shadow. Will you find out the truth of what happened to the Ereban – and what will it cost you? This shadowy tale will come to Steam and Xbox.
9: I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
The story of this RPG is already in the title: You’re a teenager, you go to space, you join a colony on a faraway planet. The story comes with 1000 events, and the gameplay is based on cards and loosely inspired by Poker rules, where you make the best out of the hand you have. Unlock all kinds of physical, emotional and social abilities, date ten wildly different characters, and grow up – or don’t, because the 50 different endings of this game promise some creative ways to die young. And the best part? It’s already coming to PC on August 25th.
10: Robobeat
Sometimes, you want rich, deep, narrative experiences. Sometimes you just want to hit robots. I’m glad to report that in this roguelite, you can hit robots to the beat of music. Robobeat promises a fast paced action rhythm game with combos, platforming, and technicolor robot explosions. Turn the music up to 11 when this game drops on Steam in 2023.
11: This Rain Will Never End
This Rain Will Never End is a noir narrative game developed by Ukrainian developer WooFoo games. Developing a game is challenging at the best of times, and I can’t even imagine the kind of horrors that come with war, and the grief of having to leave your home. And yet, there are developers who, in the face of it all, sit down and develop games. This Rain Will Never End takes you to Sunny City, where after the mayor’s death, the rain simply will not stop. Wishlist on Steam, and check out the other Ukrainian games that were given a spotlight during the Future Games Show. Every single one looks really promising.
12: Melatonin
Pastel colors, reflection on life, and a more classic approach to rhythm games is what you will find in Melatonin. If you are a fan of Rhythm Heaven, enjoy rhythm games, or just love the pleasant color palette this game is painted in, Melatonin is a must on your Steam wishlist. It’s also coming to the Epic Games Store, and to the Nintendo Switch.
13: River Tails
This list wouldn’t be complete without a fun co-op experience, and River Tails is right there for it. Follow the unlikely friendship of a cat and a fish, travel along the river, and solve puzzles that require you to work together and communicate – right next to each other with couch co-op. And if you’d rather have some wholesome alone time, River Tails will also have a single player mode. Wishlist on Steam and stay tuned for more.
14: Wanted: Dead
I feel like after watching this trailer, I know less about the game than I did before. What is going on? I have no clue! But there’s guns and strange story snippets, so you bet I’ll be playing this to find out.
15: Kaichu
Oh yeah. And I guess there was a trailer for a Kaiju dating sim.
Summer Game Fest has blown up my wishlist, and I can’t wait for these titles. Even after this list, there are plenty of under the radar trailers still to be discovered, so if you want more, check out the Guerilla Collective, the Wholesome Games Stream, the Devolver Digital and the Future Games Show for a whole lot of trailers that may have passed your attention. Remember to wishlist everything you’re interested in on Steam – it really helps the developers! - and hop over to our Discord to let us know what YOU are looking forward to the most!