Indies to Catch in May 2025!

May is upon us! It is a glorious time of the year, my Active Period, when the gracious Sun God lets us bask in the golden rays. When the days start early and last seemingly forever! I am a solar-powered creature, so this time fills me with Determination. And so, we are back with reviews, demo dives, and the usual platter of texts - starting the month proper with the selection of five Indie Games I will definitely try to put my hands on this month. Let's roll!

DROP DUCHY | 5th May

One of the titles I checked in previous Demo Dives is finally coming out, and I must say, I am delighted to see it. And eager to get my hands all over it. In fact, the demo is still out, so if you're on the fence or the trailer above didn't immediately catch your attention, give it a try. The formula works perfectly for me. A blend of Tetris roguelike (because of course...) with a bit of very loosely defined city building and tactics. A unique mixture to be sure, one that I would never figure out can work so smoothly. And yet... There's a solid bit of cerebral flexing here on every stage of the run. Picking good buildings, investing wisely, and preparing your stack of tiles ahead of time is equally as important as actually placing them during the match.

Add to that fun audiovisual, warm mood of the setting, the presentation, and a bit of combat to spice things up, and here we are. DROP DUCHY might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're looking for a pretty out there concept, this one might fit the bill.

THE MIDNIGHT WALK | 8th May

I was following this one for quite some time. My excitement is through the roof, but I reckon I am hardly alone in that anticipation. On many sites and feeds, this seems to be THE big Indie to come out this month, and it is rather obvious why - the production value is absolutely through the roof. Extremely unique visuals, Burtonesque is a little bit here and there, with stop motion animation to spice things up. Everything looks eerie, creepy, but not in a cheap and easy 'just meld random giblets together' kind of way. It's more curated, lovingly crafted from some dark imagination that hankers to the old idea that original Fables were also dark and full of gore. The studio says they made over 700 real models to animate within the game, of clay and fabric, wood and stone. That's powerful. And you can see that attention to the real physicality of things in every screenshot, every video shown of the game.

It looks like nothing else on the market. This alone earns it quite a lot of leeway in my eyes. I am still not sure what kind of game it is. Descriptions say a narrative driver psychological horror, but we see mechanics from various genres tossed in - even FPS had a lick here and there, it seems. Remains to be seen!

INTO THE RESTLESS RUINS | 15th May

A roguelike with a lovely twist! I shared my insights about this title from a Demo, back in the distant past, and I had to say - I loved the concept and the novelty of it. It is, sort of, 'build your own dungeon' fair, where all the roguelike elements are in your control. Quite literally so, as your progress through the chambers, rooms, traps, and events is governed by your hand. You draft new rooms into your 'deck' and then connect them on an expanding maze, which you must memorize and plan well... Because every time you are done with the designing phase, your valiant hero must now traverse it to gather resources, battle enemies, and unlock the secrets of this forsaken place.

It's a great idea, and the Demo showed potential in using it well. It feels unlike anything else I've played, a fresh concept to mess with, and so I will be happy to dig my claws into it and see how far it goes and if everything gels together well, in the end.

DUCK DETECTIVE: THE GHOST OF GLAMPING | 22nd May

It is hardly a surprise that I am waiting with some eagerness for this one. After all, the first title in the series - DUCK DETECTIVE: THE SECRET SALAMI - was a fun couple of hours to play through, and I had a blast reaching that 100% on Steam with this little gem. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a breakthrough title that aims to redefine the genre. If anything, it was - in core experience - GOLDEN IDOL on casual difficulty, with hilarious characters, voice acting, and silly premise. With, of course, bountiful puns filling the pond. After all, there was fowl play and only a skilled deduction could see through the breadcrumbs to solve it!

Alright, alright... So yeah, nothing much more to add. Maybe just my little spark of joy that the first title was obviously successful enough to push the creators to make it a series. My heart felt hollow with the ending of the FROG DETECTIVE masterful trilogy, and so, I welcome a duck into that spot in my soul.

PIPISTRELLO AND THE CURSED YOYO | 28th May

This is pretty much the first time I heard about this game, and I must say, I am sold. I am not a massive Metroidvania enthusiast. But once every few moons, a title in this genre manages to completely overtake my life, like the case of both ORI games - which were sublime in every way, an experience for the ages. But most other examples of the genre often start strong, but then kinda flounder around, fizzle out. Run out of steam, be it thanks to backtracking, lost pacing, or by playing their cards too early and running out of new things to show. I am not sure which one of those PIPISTRELLO is going to be, but I will admit that the Yoyo-based combat had my eyebrows coaxed up. It looks... Interesting, to say the least. The first time I saw the yoyo bouncing off angled walls and obstacles to score a combo against a bunch of enemies in motion or solve a puzzle, a switch in my brain flipped. Perhaps I can have lots of fun with this one!

And so, I am including it here, on my short list of games I am surely going to play this month. Even if just to confirm if my relationship with Metroidvania is as on and off as I expect. Or, hopefully, to find the next gem in the genre.