This is a brief write-up of 12 indie games that caught my eye from the 2024 Summer Game Fest showcases. There’s also links to all the showcases because there’s too many games and I’m crying.

Here are around 30 demos I played and enjoyed from February 2024’s Steam Next Fest. I hope you find something to wishlist and look forward to!

For most of my Dredge playthrough I didn’t stop to question the player character. But when I got the ending, the one you get when you gather all the relics and give them to the Collector, the plot grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me into the depths of hyperfocus and would not let me go for days. This essay explores the cosmic horror themes of self and monstrosity in the indie fishing game Dredge.

Here are the indie games that stood out the most from what I streamed in 2023

BOSSGAME: The Final Boss Is My Heart is a delightful boss rush indie game with amazing queer characters. It’s complex and thoughtful—and the queer relationships aren’t doomed to tragedy, subtext, or queerbaiting. The fact that this game exists brings me joy. I love it not only because it gave me several emotions but also because it shows a lesbian couple being honest, communicating in the face of difficult moments, and being unashamedly in love with each other and flirting constantly, it’s great.