NBA streetball, crafting with renewable energy and other new indie games worth checking out

Plus, the next game from the Mouthwashing devs and trying to survive as a sentient guitar.

Play by Play Studios

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. We're in a short lull between Summer Game Fest (and its literally hundreds of announcements) and Steam Next Fest starting on Monday. However, we've still got some neat new games that you can play this weekend to highlight, and news on a bunch of intriguing upcoming titles that might have slipped under your radar during SGF.

Before all of that, I have game bundles to tell you about. Inkle has offered up a collection of all of its games (and the four-part novelization of Heaven's Vault) on Humble Bundle. A $9 option will get you seven items, and you can pay at least $20 for everything.

That's a killer deal for a collection that includes the terrific A Highland Song, the highly regarded Overboard games and the very intriguing TR-49, which only hit Steam in January. Best of all, some of the proceeds will go toward Breakthrough T1D (formerly known as JDRF), a type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization.

Elsewhere, Brandon Sheffield of Demonschool studio Necrosoft Games is putting together an Itch bundle that should go live in July. Proceeds will go to a hardship fund for laid-off game industry workers, which is a laudable effort.

I have a few other items to share before we get rolling today. There are a couple of events and sales on Steam that are worth your attention. As the World Cup gets underway, you can snag lots of soccer games at a discount via Football Fiesta 2026. Rematch, for instance, is half off at $15, as is Despelote (one of our faves of last year) at $7.50. The event runs until June 25.

You have a bit less time to check out Steam Bullet Fest, which ends on Monday. This is all about bullet hell and bullet heaven (which is what we're seemingly calling games like Vampire Survivors) titles. There are lots of great games on sale there too, including Ball x Pit.

In terms of announcements during the fest, Slot Machine Gun caught my eye. Every time you reload, it triggers a slot machine that randomizes your weapons and their effects. You have some control over the elements that appear in your slot machine, so you might be able to bend the odds in your favor to help you land on a strong synergy. This project from Lakeview Games is coming to Steam next year.

Last, but by no means least, be sure to check out our Summer Game Fest recap! It features all of our coverage from SGF, including previews and hands-on impressions of several games that were featured at in-person events.

New indie game releases

NBA The Run

Developer and publisher: Play by Play Studios

Platforms: Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Price: $30

Basketball fever has taken hold for many as the New York Knicks are just one game away from their first NBA title since 1973. If you're a Knicks (or San Antonio Spurs) fan looking for a way to kill some time until tonight's Game 5, NBA The Run might have you covered.

This is a 3v3 streetball game and a spiritual successor to NBA The Street from a team including some developers who worked on that series. It features more than 30 real NBA players — including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić and Kevin Durant — and it leans more into arcade action rather than taking the simulated approach of the NBA 2K series. I'm not quite as into basketball as I was as a kid, but NBA Jam has a permanent place in my heart, so I'm definitely interested in trying NBA The Run.

Solarpunk

Developer: Cyberwave

Publisher: Rokaplay

Platforms: Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2

Price: $23 (available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

Solarpunk is a game I've had on my radar for a little while. It's a relaxing crafting game set on a group of floating islands that you can travel between using airships. The two-person team at Cyberwave have baked in some "light survival mechanics," though this is said to be an uplifting game that you can play with friends.

Given the title, it may not be too surprising that sustainability is a key focus of Solarpunk. You'll build devices that can draw power from renewable energy sources and use that to automate systems across your farm and home.

It looks lovely, and lots of other folks are interested in this one. Solarpunk saw more than 500,000 demo downloads during a previous edition of Steam Next Fest. More than a million people wishlisted it too.

Crushed in Time

Developer and publisher: Draw Me A Pixel

Platform: Steam (coming to Switch and mobile later this year)

Price: Usually $25, with a 20 percent discount until June 24

As a fan of LucasArts point-and-click adventures, Crushed in Time is a game that speaks to my soul. This is a spin-off from There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson make their return as they travel through time and space in search of a character that has gone missing from their own video game. You'll be exploring the game's development pipeline to track down this missing NPC.

Aside from the highly meta concept, what helps Crushed in Time stand out is that it takes place in an elastic universe. You'll be tugging on objects and environments to help you solve puzzles (so it's really more of a click-and-drag game). This looks very much up my alley. Ironically, I haven't had time to jump in yet, but I plan on playing Crushed in Time as soon as my schedule lets up.

Voidling Bound

Developer and publisher: Hatchery Games

Platforms: Steam, Epic Games Store (coming to consoles later)

Price: $25, with a 10 percent discount until June 23

Voidling Bound is from a studio that includes former Skylanders developers, so maybe it's not too much of a shock that this is a creature feature. It's fundamentally a creature taming game in which you'll breed, nurture and evolve critters using skill trees and the like.

You'll then take control of said creatures in combat as this is also a third-person shooter. It looks like an interesting spin on the creature taming format.

33 Immortals

Developer: Thunder Lotus

Publishers: Thunder Lotus, Kepler Ghost

Platforms: Steam (previously on Xbox Series X/S and Epic Games Store)

Price: $10 until June 17 on Steam. It's also on sale on Epic Games Store and Xbox. It's available on Game Pass Ultimate and Premium, as well as PC Game Pass

33 Immortals is a neat game that I'm looking forward to diving back into. I played a chunk of it in early access and now Thunder Lotus has released the full version, which is also making its debut on Steam.

33 Immortals 1.0 features three playable worlds, other fresh content, more customization options and a new final boss encounter to properly conclude a run. It's a co-op action roguelite that brings 33 players together to battle hordes of enemies and hulking bosses. There are miniboss rooms that you can conquer with a few of your teammates (after you call for help with emotes) and earn upgrades for the crew. It's a good time!

Upcoming indie games

Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia

Developer: Ocellus Studio

Publisher: Microids

Platforms: Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch

Release date: September 3 (demo available on all platforms)

Price: $30

I picked up Marsupilami: Hoobadventure on a whim in a Steam sale a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed the 2D platformer, so I'm all about a sequel. Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia was announced during Summer Game Fest and it swiftly joined the absolutely stacked slate of games coming out in September.

I don't have any real connection to the Marsupilami franchise other than playing the previous game. Marsupilami: Hoobadventure reminded me quite a bit of the Donkey Kong Country series, and I hope that feeling carries over to the new game.

Don't Fret

Developer: Scary Kid Studios

Publisher: Digital Pajamas

Platforms: Steam (PC), Xbox Series X/S, PS5

Release date: October 1 (demo available on Steam)

Music-themed first-person horror game Don't Fret got a release date during the SGF festivities. I love the concept and the trailer looks neat, so this was an instant wishlist addition. I'll have to check out the demo too.

You play as a sentient guitar stuck in a creepy music school. The only way out is to perform well in a winter recital, and to do that you must collect talent canisters from around the building. To progress, you'll need to solve instrument-based puzzles. Since noise attracts enemies, you may have to find ways to distract monsters so you can focus on your task. Otherwise, you'll have to evade the attackers or stun them so you can make an escape.

Carcass Clad

Developer and publisher: Wrong Organ

Platform: Steam

Release date: to be announced

The team behind the widely acclaimed Mouthwashing has returned to show off its latest project. At first glance, the deliciously named Carcass Clad seems similarly unnerving and claustrophobic.

This is a co-op game for two or three players in which your crew takes control of a damaged tank that's winding its way through a seemingly abandoned, war-ravaged city. You're low on fuel and ammo, and there might be something in the shadows that's much more terrifying than enemy tanks.

Each player has a dedicated role — commander, driver or gunner — with their own tasks and responsibilities. Effective communication seems like it'll be key to your team's chances of surviving this hellscape.

Virtue and a Sledgehammer

Developers: Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Platform: Steam

Release window: 2026 (demo available now)

I dunno about you, but I am very much into the idea of smashing robots with a sledgehammer right now. We'll get to do that and bash through the protagonist's hometown in Virtue and a Sledgehammer. A demo covering the first half hour or so of the game dropped this week. It seems the developers are trying to keep the thrust of the story under wraps for now. Given that this is a narrative exploration game, there isn't much sense in revealing too many twists and turns or the story in the first 30 minutes.

Thankfully, the Steam page and trailer shed a little more light as to what's going on. Your hometown is "haunted by the android ghosts of your digitized neighbors" and you might have to bash through walls to get to where you're going. Since this was the place where your character grew up, naturally some memories and secrets will bubble to the surface as you "destroy the remnants of your childhood." Yeah, this definitely sounds like a game for me.

Devolver Digital has long promised to release a game on the day Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out. I have to applaud that, because nearly every other publisher has been running scared from Rockstar's blockbuster. If Devolver decides to put Virtue and a Sledgehammer up against GTA 6, I might have a dilemma over what to play first in mid-November.