Is Ardenfall The Next Big Indie RPG? - 'Rich Plays Ardenfall For The First Time' ⚔️ @ardenfall #GameDev #IndieGame

Rich steps into the world of Ardenfall, a deeply immersive, choice‑driven RPG inspired by classic open‑world adventures.

In this PC demo gameplay video, we explore the opening areas, test out the systems, chat with the locals, and get a feel for the worldbuilding that’s already turning heads in the indie RPG scene.

Quick Facts (For Early Access Version)

• 2 Regions to Explore
• 2 Major Settlements
• 16 Skills
• 20+ Unique Monsters
• 100+ Characters with Dialog
• 30+ Spells

Let’s Journey Nintendo Switch 2 Review 5/10 "Not as idle as you’d think" 🎒 @PotionPlayer #IndieGame #GameDev

A couple of weeks ago I fancied something a little straightforward and was offered the opportunity to cover Let’s Journey. Originally released on PC in 2020, it has now found its way to the console market. 

Whilst it has its moments, due to it not being a true idle experience – requiring player interaction to proceed – it ties you to the game, and unfortunately, whilst there is a lot of content here, the lack of variety creeps in pretty quickly, and it starts to feel more of a time sink than a fun time to be had.

Five games to heal a broken heart this Valentine's Day 💝💘💔

Whilst couples celebrate Valentine's Day, a games expert has revealed five titles offering an alternative for those nursing broken or lonely hearts.

Nick Rodriguez, Dean of Games and Creative Technology at MetStudios, believes certain games do more than distract from emotional pain, providing a structure for processing difficult feelings.

 

Research from the Oxford Internet Institute published in April 2025 identified 13 distinct ways video games can influence players' mental health, both positively and negatively. 

 

A separate UK study published in August 2025 found video games offered psychological benefits during times of stress by providing agency, social connectedness and a sense of progression.

 

Here are the top picks:

Crimson Capes PC Gameplay (10 Minute Taster) | A Pixel Art Souls-Like Action RPG ⚔️💀🪦 @poorlocke @CrimsonCapes @realkoyima 🌸

Rich steps into a world of high adventure where steel clashes, monsters prowl, and witches lurk in the shadows. Crimson Capes invites you to master fluid 2D pixel‑art swordplay, track down powerful foes, and carve your legend across a land steeped in Sword and Sorcery.

Join the Guild of the Crimson Capes, take on daring contracts, and explore a hand‑crafted fantasy realm filled with danger, mystery, and old magic. Hunt monsters, challenge witches, and rise through the ranks as you uncover the secrets that shape this world.

Sharpen your blade. Embrace the adventure. The Crimson Capes await.

Pie In The Sky PC Gameplay "An Aussie Magpie On A Mission" 🐦‍⬛ @MonsterShopAU #IndieGame #GameDev

Rich decides to take to the skies as Australia’s most notorious menace: the magpie.

Dive‑bomb the unsuspecting, snatch unattended snacks, and unleash pure feathered mayhem in this chaotic action‑arcade adventure. Pie in the Sky brings old‑school PS2‑era vibes with fast, silly, satisfying gameplay built for maximum havoc. Expect swooping. Expect screaming humans. Expect snacks. It’s glorious. If you enjoy retro‑styled indies, chaotic physics fun, or just want to role‑play as a winged terror, this one’s for you.

GuliKit Partners with Starsand Island to Launch ES Pro and Elves 2 Special Edition Controllers 🎮🌴 @GuliKitDesign

🌴 Starsand Island Launches in Early Access — GuliKit Unveils Special Edition Controllers

Starsand Island, a cozy life simulation game inspired by storybook illustrations, officially launches in Early Access today, February 11, 2026, on Steam and Xbox Game Pass. Blending farming, ranching, exploration, building, fishing, and crafting, the game offers over 100 hours of gameplay across a richly detailed island world filled with expressive NPCs and emotionally driven storytelling.

To celebrate the launch, GuliKit has announced a partnership with Starsand Island, revealing two new controller models: the ES Pro and Elves 2 Starsand Island Edition. These special edition controllers are designed to complement the game’s relaxed yet immersive playstyle, featuring:

• Ultra-low Bluetooth latency

• Refined vibration feedback

• Drift-resistant Hall Effect joysticks

• Long-lasting battery performance

• Gyro aiming and Switch 2 wake-up support

PinKeep PC DEMO Gameplay "A Pinball Deckbuilding Roguelite" 🏐 @okomotive #indieGame #GameDev

Today Rich flippers into the PinKeep PC Demo, a wonderfully weird mash‑up of pinball physics, deckbuilding strategy, and roguelite progression. If you love games that take a classic idea and flip it on its head, this one is absolutely worth a look.

Nioh 3 BASE PS5 Gameplay [FPS MODE] – Early Combat, Skills & Fights ⚔️ 🥷 @nioh_game

Rich steps into the brutal world of Nioh 3 as we dive into fresh PS5 gameplay on a base PS5. Expect fast‑paced combat, punishing enemies, slick weapon transitions, and that signature Team Ninja intensity. This is raw gameplay captured directly on PlayStation 5— with commentary and pure action. If you’re into Soulslikes, samurai combat, or you just want to see how Nioh 3 performs on PS5, you’re in the right place. Grab a brew and enjoy the chaos.

I Hate This Place | PC Gameplay | Indie Comic Book Horror Adventure 🧟‍♀️ ⚰️ @BMGhorrors #IndieGame

Rich steps inside the twisted isometric comic book world of PC game 'I Hate This Place'. It's a surreal indie horror adventure where nothing feels quite right and every corner hides something unexpected.

In this PC gameplay video, we dive into the opening moments, explore the strange environments, and try to piece together what on earth is going on in this bizarre world. If you enjoy weird indie gems, atmospheric exploration, and games that keep you guessing, this one is absolutely worth a look.

NOVA Antarctica PC Gameplay 🏔️⛏️☃️ @parco_games #IndieGame #GameDev

Rich steps into the frozen unknown with NOVA Antarctica, a chilling narrative adventure set at the edge of the world. In this PC gameplay video, we explore the game’s atmospheric environments, tense encounters, and the mysteries buried deep beneath the ice.

I Hate This Place | PC Gameplay 🧟‍♀️ ⚰️ @BMGhorrors #IndieGame

Rich steps inside the twisted isometric comic book world of PC game 'I Hate This Place'. It's a surreal indie horror adventure where nothing feels quite right and every corner hides something unexpected.

In this PC gameplay video, we dive into the opening moments, explore the strange environments, and try to piece together what on earth is going on in this bizarre world. If you enjoy weird indie gems, atmospheric exploration, and games that keep you guessing, this one is absolutely worth a look.

Ancient Farm PC Review By Ayden 7.5/10 "This is a FUN Time Sink" 🐖🌱🥬 #IndieGame #GameDev

A lot of us still carry points of fascination we picked up as young children. There's no shortage of dinosaur obsessed young boys, or kids that dream of growing up and making a life among the stars. For me, ancient civilisations were that obsession. The idea of forgotten words and ways of living is something that encourages a particular curiosity. Unfortunately most of the games, movies and TV shows that are based in such worlds rarely focus on immersing the audience within the day-to-day life of these amazing environments.

Enter Ancient Farm. Long before sprinklers and robotic harvesters, early man farmed with rudimentary tools and very few shortcuts. In that respect, Ancient Farm is true to life. This is not a sim in which, after a couple hours of grind, you are able to fully automate your farm and watch your gold grow. But I think this is the strongest selling point on offer here. The continuous engagement required to grow your homestead keeps you actively invested, and truly does lead to a definitive sense of reward as you continue to progress.

Passport to Adventure: The SCUMM Story – A New Documentary Journey Begins 🎥🎞️🎬

If you’ve been wondering what Richard Moss has been cooking up after TerrorBytes and A Tale of Two Halves, the wait is officially over. Richard is developing a brand-new documentary with the team at CREATORVC:Passport to Adventure: The SCUMM Story

(And for those of you who loved the original Age of Empires… keep an eye out. Richard's next book is coming very soon.)

Carmageddon Rogue Shift PS5 Review 7.5/10 *Almost thirty years on, the Eagle revs again!* 🛻☠️ @playcarmageddon #IndieGame #GameDev

I’m very familiar with the Carmageddon franchise, the original was something incredibly unique in both its gameplay and style back upon its initial release in 1997, and the follow ups (Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now (1998), Carmageddon TDR (2000), and Carmageddon: Reincarnation (2015) tried to modernise the experience visually whilst retaining the same mechanics as the original, which didn’t set the gaming world alight, although those early games still had their fans. 

This newest entry - developed by 34Big Things, the minds behind the Redout series – takes things in a different direction, and whilst I can imagine it will annoy purists, whilst there are still issues, this feels like the right approach for the series at the moment, making it a more focused, linear experience as opposed to the sprawling, slightly clunky vibes of the more recent entries.

Set in 2050, the world is... well, it’s completely buggered, quite frankly. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland – natch – your character enters the ‘Carmageddon’ in a bid to win their freedom. The narrative is handled by graphic novel-esque cutscenes and adds to the larger-than-life feel of the whole setup and are brisk in their approach to allow players to get a quick understanding of the basic premise before getting into the meat of the game proper, the violent racing.

Tomb Of The Bloodletter "A Tough Turn Based Type 'em' Up" 🅰️🅱️🆑🅾️ #IndieGame #GameDev

Rich plays Tomb of the Bloodletter and gets dropped into a grim, word‑driven roguelike where every key press becomes a weapon. He gets to build tactical word combos from the letters at your disposal, unleash powerful attacks, and outsmart the creatures lurking in this filthy, forgotten tomb. Rich tries to Fight his way through its depths and prove he's worthy of claiming the legendary Bloodletter.

Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog | Video Gaming Memories by Imraan Nazir 🪠🦔 #RetroGaming #SuperNintendo

In the 90s Mario and Sonic were the two biggest mascots in the gaming industry. Mario
represented Nintendo and Sonic represented Sega.

Mario came out in the 80s on the Nintendo Entrainment System (NES) and in the same period
Sega had a mascot named Alex Kidd which came out on the Sega Master System. Both were 8 bit consoles, took cartridges and only needed two buttons to play a game. The unique thing that Sega had at that time was that they had games built into the Sega Master System console itself, which I thought was an excellent idea from Sega as I had not seen a console with a built in game.

A fun fact about me is the first game that I owned was Alex Kidd in Miracle World and the first console I owned was a Sega Master System 2, which had Alex Kidd built into the console itself.

Taxi Chaos 2 Xbox Series X Review 7.5/10 *A sequel that steps up to the plate* 🚖🚕 @currentgamers #IndieGame #GameDev

I covered the original Taxi Chaos back in 2021, and whilst the fundamental mechanics and visuals were top-notch; the grating music, irritating voice acting, and repetition of the gameplay loop in such a flat, bland world was pretty wearing, and I awarded it 5/10 at the time. Whilst this sequel doesn’t solve all of those issues, in terms of enjoyment and polish, it’s a far better game, and a worthy sequel to the niche genre of arcade-led taxi driving action.

Beginning with much more of a story than the original – not that a story is particularly what you expect from this genre – you are Vinnie, an old school taxi driver plying his trade in a bit of a junkheap through a futuristic city wherein AI-driven ‘Taxibots’ are taking over from the classic cabbies. 

Determined to prove that humans can do a better job, Vinnie takes it upon himself to pick up the customers scattered throughout the city and surrounding areas, leaping over obstacles, swerving around hazards, taking myriad shortcuts, destroying – or avoiding! – said Taxibots and ensuring his passengers get safely to their destination.

Blightstone Gameplay – "This Tactical Roguelite Surprised Me" 💎🪨 @blightstonegame #IndieGame #GameDev

Rich steps into the dark tactical world of Blightstone, a roguelite RPG packed with tense encounters, clever combat, and atmospheric exploration. In this gameplay video, I dive into the opening areas, test out early abilities, and see how far I can push my luck before the Blight takes over.