These include DON’T NOD, Hooded Horse, Thunderful, Thunder Lotus, Serenity Forge, Skybound Entertainment, Raw Fury, Pathea, Wired Digital, poncle, and Cult Games. The appearing titles have yet to be confirmed, but we could see the likes of The Lonesome Guild and Aphelion, the former published by DON’T NOD and out later this month. The latter is developed by the same and launching in 2026.

Hooded Horse could showcase Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, which was suddenly delayed to next year, while Serenity Forge may showcase its horror farming title, Fractured Blooms. How many of these will be available for Game Pass on day one? Time will tell, so stay tuned for more details.

"The visual concept began with sketches of the initial room and the “rat” character, establishing the game’s visual style characterized by grotesque imagery and a dark, cold aesthetic."

Centum boasts a gorgeous art style that instantly catches the eye. Can you tell us how you landed on this look for the game?

Centum is focused on its storyline, so the art department closely collaborated with the screenwriter. The goal was to emphasize the game’s originality and unconventional nature. The visual concept began with sketches of the initial room and the “rat” character, establishing the game’s visual style characterized by grotesque imagery and a dark, cold aesthetic. The art style drew inspiration from various sources, including well-known dark fantasy games like Dark Souls and Fear and Hunger, as well as The Golem, a novel written by Gustav Meyerink, and even dungeon synth albums. The art director maintained the style, while each artist added their personal touch to the project, bringing in their interesting visions and references. So collective creativity also allowed us to bring many interesting aspects into Centum’s look.

A narrative adventure game with an unreliable narrator- surprisingly we don’t see a lot of them. What prompted you to explore this storytelling technique, which has become popular in other media, but doesn’t seem to have caught on as much in games?

The reality of Centum is hostile to the characters for their own good—a paradox, indeed. It views the player as a character in the game, but the player doesn’t necessarily have to agree with it. Therefore, this narrative device seems the most appropriate for telling this story.

⁠In your opinion, why are unreliable narrators rare in video games?

Some of our greatest inspirations for Centum are games where the plot and narrative used this technique to some extent, from relatively unknown projects to widely acclaimed hits. It implies a somewhat greater involvement of the player in the narrative process, pushing them to act and resist the game world, essentially becoming a game within a game.

⁠What games would you say were your inspirations for this title? The Stanley Parable comes to mind as an obvious analog, but were there any others?

The Stanley Parable to some extent, and to some extent Doki Doki Literature Club. However, the main source of inspiration was the Cyberdreams1995 masterpiece I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.

"The main source of inspiration was the Cyberdreams1995 masterpiece I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream."

Tell us about the dynamic dialog system. How does that work, and how much variation can players expect from it?

The dialogue system is not much different from those found in other games. However, it is self-aware of its own limitations. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes a completely non-obvious choice may appear. Here, we tried to create a part of a game that an artificial intelligence might create, not fully understanding what it is doing and how games of this genre should work. And this AI knows he’s terrible at his job. Of course, we tried not to cross the line where it stops being a narrative method and turns into an annoyingly poorly made game with bad dialogue.

How significantly will players’ actions impact the ending? How many different possible endings does the game have?

This is more a game about the illusion of choice. In the reality of Centum, all choices have long been made, and we are merely observing the consequences. The endings of the game are more about why these decisions were made rather than what consequences they led to. There are quite a few possible answers to this question, so despite there being five endings in the game, they can differ in various nuances across different playthroughs. The player’s decisions are crucial, even though the end is predetermined.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

You can expect about 8-10 hours.

Inspired by the likes of Mario and Luigi, Keylocker is about songwriter/singer BOBO, who uses music to dismantle the overbearing regime on Saturn. Battles play out with rhythm-based elements, though there’s some comedy, mystery and even concerts for players to experience.

There are multiple move sets available in combat, allowing one to swap and even different classes to choose from. Outside of combat, Saturn is an extensive world to explore with various cities and characters to build relationships with (including romantic options). Branching quests, player choice and more also await.

Interestingly, Keylocker was originally also announced for PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch, though Serenity Forge didn’t mention the same with this recent update. A representative offered no comment to Gematsu on whether these are still coming. As always, stay tuned for updates.

Described as a “genre-defying first-person narrative adventure,” it’s essentially two games spread over three acts, as various characters deal with the fallout of an “ecological disaster.” What is real, what’s not, what it all means – those are just some of the questions players will have to answer. In addition to adventure, puzzle and simulation games, Roman Sands uses gacha, horror and visual novel elements.

If that weren’t enough, alternate realities are at play. Interestingly, it’s seemingly based on a previous game called Roman Sands by the same developer. RE:Build seems to expand on the mechanics while offering a brand-new story. Check out the trailer below to see it in action, and stay tuned for more indie reveals in the coming days.

Serving as an Epilogue to the main game, it adds a new boss fight against Ash which unlocks a more difficult version called “The Eldritch Hand.” The Halls of Cruelty have been added for platforming fans and completing all of the new challenges will reward new items. You can also choose different game modes from the start like Randomized Items, Madness Mode (which, barring weapons, destroys all equipped items on dying) and Fink Mode (which sees Fink ambushing you at different points).

Death’s Gambit: Afterlife – Ashes of Vados will be coming to PS4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One this Spring. Stay tuned for more details and a proper release date in the coming weeks.

Releasing on February 10th for PC and in Spring for PS4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One (which also marks the game’s debut on Xbox platforms), it will retail for $8. The DLC adds a new boss fight with Ash. Upon defeating her, a more challenging version will be available dubbed “The Eldritch Hand.” A new Arena with a Horde Mode and Boss Rush mode (with both normal and heroic variants) is also coming.

If you’re keen on testing your platforming skills, the Halls of Cruelty will offer a tough new level. New game modes like Random items, Madness Mode, Fink Mode and Heroic Forced are also being added for new playthroughs. And for those who complete the Arena’s challenges along with conquering Ash and the Halls of Cruelty, there will be new loot to earn. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

While there’s plenty of new content to jump into, various quality of life changes have also been made. You can now try out each class at the selection screen and along with a general talent tree, there’s a separate tree for each. It will also be possible to multi-class in this game and mix-and-match skills.

Additional story content and multiple endings along with crafting and improved combat are also coming with the update. If you’ve ever wanted to revisit Death’s Gambit, then Afterlife seems to offer plenty of reasons. Stay tuned for more details and in the meantime, check out our review of the base game here.

The class selection screen has been changed, now allowing players to try out each before committing to them. Input buffering has been fine-tuned to provide more control over one’s actions, meaning the player can now change directions when starting an attack. Endurance and Haste will be capped at 30 but now provide more significant increases to damage, stamina and cooldown reduction.

As for talents, each class has a general talent tree and their own specific talent tree – one can unlock a second class talent tree and multi-class. Upon completing the game, Advanced talents become unlocked which provide boosts even when starting in New Game+. Lots of new weapons have been added, some being available in the open world and others being boss drops.

The full trailer is worth checking out due to the overwhelming number of changes. Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is out later this year and will be coming to Nintendo Switch first. It will then launch a month later for PC and another month after that for PS4.

Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, the narrative adventure title from Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge, didn’t do all that well financially. Nevertheless, it continues to receive updates. After free stories, auto-walking and even a free standalone companion game, the developers have released the Gold Mountain update.

Free for those who own the base game (which is currently 50 percent off on Steam), Gold Mountain adds some new tales. The twist is that these focus on Chinese Americans and their stories during the Depression-era of the United States. Full support for Chinese language has been added as well.

Other content included in the update is bug fixes, improved performance and controls, fixes for localization bugs and issues, and fixes to story locations. Overall, the new stories are worth checking out, even for those who never played the game before. As for what else will be added to the underrated narrative title, time will tell, so stay tuned.

Good Shepherd Entertainment’s Where The Water Tastes Like Wine was an intriguing tale, as players explored Depression-Era United States and collected stories. It didn’t set the sales charts on fire, but received a decent amount of post-launch support. That pales in comparison to the latest standalone companion experience, Where The Water Tastes Like Wine: Fireside Chats.

Serving exclusive content for all the stories from the base game’s characters, Fireside Chats also focuses on wandering the United States and meeting different people to hear their stories. It’s also free, and provides the Dire Wolf’s first chapter from the base game completely free as well. Considering the unique aesthetic and the fact that multiple writers are penning the tales, it might be worth a look.

In case the free chapter wasn’t enough, Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is available at a discount on Steam. It’s currently 35 percent off until November 19th. Despite the slow-paced nature of some stories, it might be worth your while solely based on the presentation and voice acting talent (including former Police front-man Sting).