Pre-Orders for the Ultimate Toolbox PS5 Release are Open Now!
Macclesfield, UK – 12 May 2026
Stop hunting for seasonal sales and start swinging the sledgehammer! Silver Lining Interactive and Frozen Way are bringing the whole “flipping” experience to PlayStation 5 with a physical release that defines the word “complete.” The House Flipper Remastered Collection arrives on store shelves Q3 2026, bundling the ground-up remaster of the original game with all 10 expansions ever released, all on a single disc. Pre-orders are available now through Silver Lining Direct and local retailers for £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99.
The All-Inclusive Blueprint
Why settle for a starter home when you can have the whole estate? This physical edition is the true “one-and-done” purchase for renovation fans. Every DLC that expanded the House Flipper universe over the years is included from the start! No codes, no extra downloads: just pure flipping bliss.
The Remastered Collection Physical Edition includes, among others:
Silver Lining Interactive is a collaborative video games publishing house based in the North of England. Founded by seasoned industry professionals with one goal: make games publishing feel like a partnership. With a passion for fostering creative talent and great games, the team is committed to bringing innovative, high-quality games to players worldwide, physically and digitally.
About Frozen Way
Frozen Way is a game development studio and publisher based in Cracow, Poland. You may know them from co-creating House Flipper along with its Pets DLC, Farm DLC, and Dine Out DLC, as well as developing and releasing House Flipper VR. They have also co-released Builder Simulator and Chornobyl Liquidators. Currently, the team is working on House Flipper Remastered Collection, House Flipper 2 Pets DLC, Honeycomb: The World Beyond and Farmbotic.
Frozen Way is a group of passionate and friendly developers who see game development as both a lifestyle and philosophy. There’s nothing more rewarding for them than seeing their creations bring joy to the community. After all, we’re all nerds at heart, aren’t we?
About Frozen District
Frozen District is a group of gamers passionate about virtual entertainment – regular people still ready to pull some all-nighters playing their favorite titles. They know what gamers need, as they are a part of the gaming community, and through creating their projects, which they would play themselves, they fulfill their ambitions.
At the same time, they all want to be the best at what they do, still trying to reach the peak of their performance by polishing their skills and seeking innovative solutions. That is why you can find experts in programming, marketing, graphics, design, and many more in their midst. Their main priority is constant improvement and crafting all the valuable experience gathered this way into the uniqueness present in their current and upcoming titles.
The Top-Rated Hotel Tycoon Sim Leaves Early Access with New Locations, Deeper Systems, and Full Sandbox Freedom
Watford, United Kingdom – 12 May 2026 – Independent publisher Wired Productions and developer Pathos Interactive are fired up to share that after a standout year in Early Access shaped alongside its community, Hotel Architect, will officially launch in full on Steam, May 14.
Hotel Architect is a modern take on the tycoon genre, giving pure sim depth mixed with chaotic fun and complete creative freedom! Players design, build, and manage fully reactive hotels where every decision impact staff, guests, finances, and the wider operation. Whether creating a smooth five-star luxury experience or watching everything spiral into chaos, the game’s systems naturally create memorable stories through play.
“The industry is panicking about launching a game on the same day as Subnautica 2. I say embrace it.” said Leo Zullo, Managing Director at Wired Productions. -“Hotel Architect didn’t quietly pass through Early Access, it earned its place as one of the highest-rated hotel management games on Steam through constant evolution, community feedback, and a team willing to keep pushing bigger with every update. What Pathos Interactive has built is smart, chaotic, creative, and endlessly entertaining. Leaving Early Access isn’t the finish line; it’s a Grand Opening for everyone.”
Accel Sjöström, CEO &Co Founder at Pathos Interactive said: “After an incredible year in Early Access, we are thrilled to finally welcome players to the Hotel Architect. From day one, the community has played a huge role in shaping the game – through feedback, ideas, bug reports, and countless passionate discussions. Many of the features and improvements in the launch version are a direct result of that collaboration. We can’t thank our players enough for their support, patience, and creativity throughout this journey.”
The definitive release builds on the games strong Early Access foundations, with a wide range of features, including:
Eight Locations to check-in to: Each complete with their own scenario and free play modes, offering a variety of map sizes and climates.
Custom Sandbox Modes: Offering players greater creative freedom to design, build, and manage their own hotels, including the ability to customise the buildable area size, maximum floor limits, difficulty settings and climate.
Difficulty Settings: Available across the scenarios, free play mode and custom sandbox mode.
Multiple Different Guest Types: Who may check-in alone, or as a couple. Each guest type has their own unique set of needs when it comes to staying in your hotel.
Impress Critics: Every detail in your hotel matters. Hospitality reviewers will scrutinise every aspect of their stay, from each zone to the food quality, to the amenities available. Earn glowing ratings to attract wealthier guests and grow your hotel business.
Deep Staff Management Systems: Hire, fire and train the right staff to meet the needs of your business. Each staff member arrives with their own personality traits that may have positive, or negative, consequences.
Dynamic Building Meets Careful Planning: Design your layouts, hire constructors, and watch as your vision comes to life. But be careful not to wake up, annoy or disturb guests with noisy construction workers.
Numerous Zones to place, build and design. Including hotel staples such as receptions and bedrooms, as well as more luxurious amenities such as Spas and Casinos!
Gardens, Balconies and Outdoor Spaces: Because exterior decoration is just as important as interior decoration when you’re trying to impress your guests and critics.
Hotel Architect offers a deep and flexible management experience. With the addition of two brand-new locations in 1.0, players can now build across eight unique destinations, including London, the Black Forest, Las Vegas, New York, Gothenburg, Santorini, Paris, and St. Anton. Across these locations, players unlock rewards by completing objectives, cater to diverse guest types with unique requirements, and manage staff with individual strengths and weaknesses that directly impact hotel operations.
With countless ways to design, decorate, optimise, or completely mismanage a hotel across multiple floors and systems, Hotel Architect delivers a deep, flexible, and highly creative simulation from the ground up.
Hotel Architect is launching on 14th of May on Steam. To celebrate the full launch, the game will be available with a 22% launch discount off its full price of £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99.
About Wired Productions
Wired Productions is a true Indie Publisher proudly presenting a diverse range of specially curated games from some of the greatest storytellers and independent developers. Named as “Indie Publisher of the Year” at the MCV / Develop Awards. Wired is also home to Black Razor Records, its own music label dedicated to original game soundtracks and rhythm-driven experiences – with titles like DIG VR and Arcade Paradise.
Wired has an award-winning collection of titles including Hotel Architect, Task Time, KARMA: The Dark World, Gori: Cuddly Carnage, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, and Martha Is Dead. Announced upcoming titles are When Sirens Fall Silent and BrokenLore: DON’T LIE.
Find @WiredP on YouTube, Discord, and X or search Wired Productions on Google.
About Pathos Interactive
Pathos Interactive is a game studio founded in 2015, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company is driven with a deep passion by gamers with an ambition to make the best games, striving for excellence and releasing one quality game at a time. Having released the real-time strategy game, Bannermen, on Steam, Pathos are currently working on Hotel Architect, a management and simulation game.
With Earth on its last legs, the crew of the Cassiopeia is given the urgent mission to find hope for humanity on a brand new world but the crew soon finds that they are in far greater danger than just system malfunctions as we play through the entirety of Supermassive Games’ Directive 8020.
Directive 8020 – Full Play Through
Directive 8020 is a cinematic sci-fi horror experience and the next chapter in The Dark Pictures Anthology, taking players deep into the cold isolation of space. Set aboard the colony ship Cassiopeia, a crew on a mission to secure humanity’s future encounters a deadly extraterrestrial organism capable of mimicking its victims. As paranoia spreads and trust begins to crumble, every decision you make shapes the fate of the crew — and determines who survives the unfolding nightmare.
Blending branching storytelling with tense exploration and quick-time events, Directive 8020 delivers a gripping narrative where choices carry real consequences. Enhanced visuals, stealth mechanics, and a stronger focus on survival horror elevate the experience, while multiplayer modes allow you to share the story with friends. With its mix of psychological tension, sci-fi terror, and cinematic presentation, Directive 8020 pushes the series into darker and more suspenseful territory.
Directive 8020 Developer: Supermassive Games Publisher: Supermassive Games Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam) Release 13th May, 2026 Price: $49.99 USD
Recommended – “Directive 8020 delivers slow-burn sci‑fi horror with added player agency, blending stealth, mystery, and dread into one of Supermassive’s strongest Dark Pictures entries.”
Slay monsters. Harvest ingredients. Build the dungeon’s most delicious food empire. Chef Knight launches June 1st, 2026 on Steam.
[May 11th, 2026]: Clover Bite, the indie incubator celebrated for the critically acclaimed Metroidvania series GRIME (Metacritic: 81), has announced that their next game, Chef Knight, will launch on Steam on June 1st, 2026. A cozy fantasy incremental game with a hand-drawn aesthetic, Chef Knight invites players to dive into dungeons, slay delicious monsters, cook their remains into gourmet meals, and sell their dishes to fund the next foray into the dark.
In Chef Knight, every monster is a menu item waiting to happen. Players explore top-down dungeons filled with creatures both deadly and delectable – dodging traps, aiming attacks, and unlocking powerful culinary weapons as they push deeper into increasingly dangerous depths. Back in the kitchen, the spoils of combat become the raw ingredients for an ever-expanding cookbook of monster cuisine, from humble broths to highly sought-after delicacies. Sell the results to hungry goblin customers and reinvest the profits into a vast skill tree that improves how fast you fight, how efficiently you cook, and how far you can push each run.
Chef Knight is the latest release from Clover Bite, which operates as part of the Tiltan School of Design and Visual Communication, publishing games made by teams of students. The game has previously attracted attention from content creators, with coverage from Idle Cub, Nerfed Reflexes, and Sifd, and is currently available to wishlist on Steam ahead of its June 1st release.
Key features of Chef Knight include:
Cook What You Kill. Every monster in the dungeon is a potential ingredient. Slay enemies, collect their remains, and transform your haul into an ever-expanding menu of monster-themed meals, from simple broths to exquisite delicacies.
Deep Dungeon Combat. Explore top-down dungeons filled with deadly and delicious monsters. Aim your attacks, dodge dangerous traps, and unlock powerful culinary weapons to handle the darkest depths of the dungeon.
A Kitchen Full of Secrets. Discover new ingredients, unlock recipes, and watch your monstrous menu grow from humble meals into highly sought-after delicacies as you master the art of dungeon gastronomy.
Vast Skill Tree Progression. Sell your dishes and reinvest the profits into a sprawling skill tree. Improve your combat speed, cooking efficiency, and dungeon endurance to push further with every run.
Hand-Drawn Cozy Aesthetic. A charming, hand-drawn art style brings the dungeons, kitchens, and critters of Chef Knight to life, a world that is warm and inviting even when the monsters are trying to kill you.
Chef Knight launches on Steam on June 1st, 2026. A free demo is available now. Players can wishlist the game on Steam and follow Clover Bite on Discord.
About Clover Bite
Clover Bite is an independent game publisher and part of Tiltan School of Design and Visual Communication based in Haifa, Israel, most known for the critically acclaimed Metroidvania series GRIME and GRIME II. With a passion for deeply crafted worlds and inventive mechanics, Clover Bite publishes games made by teams of students aiming to push the boundaries of what independent games can achieve.
About Chef Knight
Chef Knight is a cozy fantasy incremental game in which players slay dungeon monsters, cook them into delicious meals, and build a thriving food business. Featuring top-down dungeon combat, deep kitchen progression, and a charming hand-drawn art style, Chef Knight launches on Steam on June 1st, 2026.
Lo-fi vibing, (un)dead plants, and a deliberate slow-paced design await aspiring supernatural gardeners in Greenhearth Necromancer- Out Now!
[Canada] May 11, 2026 – In a world of breakneck pacing, it’s time for a break: Silverstring Media and indie.io proudly announce that Greenhearth Necromancer, a cozy semi-idle gardening sim, is now available on Steam! In place of countdown tickers and anxiety mechanics, it offers cozy, laid-back gameplay where there is truly no rush. Just an inherited garden, deliberate pace, and plenty of plants to keep alive or undead as the hours tick by — accompanied by a phenomenal lo-fi soundtrack and a heartwarming story to enjoy at the player’s pace.
Players are Echo, a freshly graduated non-binary necromancer who moves into their late grandmother’s apartment at the Greenhearth co-op. While she was a green thumb and a pillar of the community, Echo is the opposite: an adept of black arts and a new arrival just finding their place in the community. As it turns out, both are an asset: animating the dead works just as well on plants as on animals, while the blank slate they start with allows them to define their relationships at the Greenhearth Community however they see fit.
Each of the dozens of plant species comes with its own preferences for sun exposure and temperature, and requires different amounts of water and fertilizer to keep happy — regardless of whether it’s alive or revived. Additional wrinkles in gameplay are provided by the occasional pest and fungus invasion, which may be kept at bay with potions brewed in Echo’s cauldron or magical charms obtained throughout the game.
There is no pressure or time limits. Plants are patient and will grow as they wait for the next visit , allowing players to pop in and check on their garden every now and then to catch a break as they keep it running in the background to let the lofi soundtrack provide good vibes for their daily routine.
The people Echo encounters at Greenhearth form the other side of gameplay. Encounters penned by Lindsay Ishihiro(I Was a Teenage Exocolonist) explore Echo’s life after moving in: their interactions with neighbors, memories of school or their grandmother… Each vignette offers a peek into their inner life and explores themes of community, grief, adulthood, and the cycle of life — all explored at the players’ pace when they want.
This respect for the players’ time is built into the game’s core design. Instead of ticking timers and anxiously collecting rewards, players are instead encouraged to step away and enjoy the ambience with the game running in the background. Checking in allows them to water their plants and add fertilizer — but whenever the player clicks away, plants heal quicker, and the game draws new encounter cards at a faster pace, encouraging treating it not as a job, but as a welcome break in the daily routine. And if a plant dies? That’s OK, Echo has their revivify spell always on hand, bringing the plant back to undeath.
“Coming at a particular time in our lives, and after the onset of the pandemic, the themes of trying to grow a little, manageable balcony garden while dealing with the death of someone close to you really resonate with the whole team,” says Lucas J.W. Johnson, Studio Director of Silverstring Media. “Echo is an introvert with limited social battery, set out into a world that demands extracting value from your skills, but with skills many distrust. Community, queerness, housing, capitalism, and especially death and grief are major themes we explore throughout the narrative. And who hasn’t accidentally killed a plant and wished you could have a do-over?”
Ready for some supernatural gardening? Greenhearth Necromancer is now available on Steam for USD $10.99, with a limited time 20% launch discount, and can be found on the indie.io store.
ABOUT SILVERSTRING MEDIA
Silverstring Media is a queer-led videogame and narrative design studio, focusing on creating games and providing sophisticated storytelling services. With leadership based in Vancouver and a team of diverse talents across Canada, each of their developers brings a unique voice and multiple valued perspectives to the development process focusing on pushing the boundaries of digital media, narratives, and architectural experiences, experimenting with form and content with a goal to bring diversity and hope to the stories they tell.
ABOUT INDIE.IO
indie.io is home to over 100 of the world’s best independent video games and developers. Our platform was built to provide independent developers with the resources, services, and management tools needed for success. Through collaboration and passion, we strive to cultivate a diverse and vibrant gaming landscape that resonates with players and creators alike!
When it comes to crafting a cinematic horror game that gives players real consequences for their choices, no team has delivered better over the years than Supermassive Games. With their breakout hit Until Dawn back in 2015 with Sony, the company went on to create a mixed-bag of games making up The Dark Pictures Anthology under Bandai Namco with House of Ashes proving to be their biggest highlight and Little Hope their lowlight. Over this time they were even tapped by 2K to develop The Quarry which helped expand their usual formula and even Dead by Daylight‘s Behaviour Interactive with The Casting of Frank Stone, that once again saw new tools added to the team’s playbook.
Now, after taking a four year break since their last game in the anthology and dropping the namesake from the title, despite still being part of the anthology, the developers are back with Directive 8020 entirely on their own and looking to deliver something far different than what fans have come to expect.
Story
Players can come into Directive 8020 as their first game, though returning players will likely be caught off guard by more than a few things eventually. That being said, Directive 8020 is set roughly forty years into the future and Earth is in such a dire strait that humanity is searching for a new home among the stars and seemingly located one in the form of Tau Ceti f, a planet twelve light years away and just prime for terra-forming. With this being humanity’s only hope, despite a rival company stating resources would better be used to revive Earth, the crew of the Cassiopea sets off into space with the majority of its crew entering hypersleep and only two “wake technicians” set to monitor the ship’s progress and the slumbering crew alongside the ship’s advanced AI, Oracle.
With the Cassiopea serving as the scouting ship leading the way and the Andromeda landing crew following a few weeks behind, the mission is simple, wake up the flight crew when approaching the planet, establish orbat around Tau Ceti f, and wait for the following ship to arrive to make the next big steps for mankind on an alien planet. Or at least that’s how things should have been. Not long before the scheduled wake-up time for the rest of the flight crew, a meteorite strikes and pierces through multiple hulls of the Cassiopea, forcing the sleep technicians Simms and Carter to investigate and repair the breech themselves after the AI is thrown into an error and locks down most of the ship to prevent further malfunction. After arriving at the breech and doing some spacewalking, the pair manage to (possibly) avoid disaster before returning in and starting repairs, or at least they would until Simms suddenly goes into a murderous rage and chases Carter down.
With the Wake Technicians now missing, the Oracle wakes the rest of the flight crew upon approaching the planet including Nolan Stafford, the ship’s stoic and hardened commander, Noah Mitchell, a brash but experienced pilot, and Brianna Young, a highly skilled pilot with a pedigree to back it up. Knowing that something is wrong but unable to investigate due to their narrow window for orbit closing, the group does what it can to try and nail their orbiting window only for catastrophic control failures to break out at a pivotal moment, forcing the ship to do the one thing it wasn’t meant to do, crash land on the planet and take everyone with it. Now, with the rest of the crew awoken by the crash and soon discovering the gruesome remains of Carter, it soon becomes clear that landing on this planet might not be the worst of their problems, as a murderer is among them and worst of all, it isn’t even human.
Directive 8020 is an incredibly interesting beast thanks to the way that Supermassive Games has handled the story this time. Through the eight total episodes that make up the game, players will swap between the five total playable characters, with some of the characters never actually being playable but their fates still depending on the player’s actions. Throughout these episodes players will spend most of their time exploring and discovering little secrets or tidbits of information that slowly build together a picture that something odd is already happening on the ship long before meteorite impact, let alone the events following it. In fact, what the story evolves into past the first contact with the hostile threat turns into a unique blend of sci-fi horror that takes samples out of some of the most classic horror films to date, and while we’ll avoid naming them to spoil the potential threat, it is weaved into the story exceptionally well.
This is partially thanks to the fact that while the threat itself often appears in monstrous forms that are twisted beyond recognition, with half-grown appendages or faces sticking out of their sides while a giant mouth full of twisted teeth are eager to feast on the player character, there are just as many moments that a threat will be walking around like nothing is wrong. In fact there are key moments players can poke and prod with information to realize that something is wrong, even if they cannot directly act on it in the moment. Never knowing if the character the player is standing next to is someone they can trust, or the same person they even entered a room with, creates a unique choice dynamic in some truly dire situations that arise.
One thing that does hinder Directive 8020’s story is the fact that, until the last few chapters, the game isn’t necessarily scary. Then the fright meter is dialed up to maximum in these moments especially as the truth is revealed. Prior to this however players are left mostly wandering around and exploring with only a few flash-forwards in time showing just how dangerous things will eventually become, giving players a sample while also dictating character’s fates all at once as they eventually converge at the later chapter. It also doesn’t help that the usual dread of failing a “hiding sequence” or a “heartbeat” event is gone. Instead the game features an entirely different stealth mechanic that we will discuss momentarily and even this has an option to dodge around a failed stealth attempt.
Another element that returns in Directive 8020 is Little Hope’s focus on personality mechanics. Throughout the game players will make dialogue choices both in conversation and in the game’s “message system” that is also a new feature that allows characters to talk with one another through online communication. An element that also comes into play with regards to certain… horror features later. Depending on how players respond they will shift a character’s three primary “stats” around with two determining a certain “locked in” destiny and personality trait. While some of these are smaller in scale and don’t have much repercussion, others can play a pivotal role in how characters automatically react in a given situation.
Directive 8020 keeps players guessing as to what the real threat may be and what the fate of the crew could possibly be and offers so many branching paths and outcomes that it is rather surprising, using its slow build to unveil secrets and potential nods to danger only to be red herrings, or are they? In fact, the sheer amount of deaths and choice variation is probably the most the game has ever had given what is shown through the menu screens, and this is for good reason. Not only are there areas where a complete catastrophe can break out, but also plenty of moments where savior moments can pull everyone out of the fire and aim for safety. Thus the title delivers a satisfyingly tense horror experience that takes just a bit too long to build up steam but once it does it fires on all cylinders while keeping players guessing at just how many conspiracies are afoot and the many different kinds of horror that can exist in one story.
Gameplay
Usually when it comes to a Supermassive Game players believe they will be in for a series of cut-scenes and dialogue choices broken up with exploration segments where they can find various collectables here and there, followed by danger and quick time events. This is mostly still true but Directive 8020 expands upon most of these features greatly. First and foremost, as players make dialogue choices they will not be shown a “heart” or “brain” gauge like past entries, players will instead need to make choices based on their own thoughts, these dialogue choices dictating a character’s personality and “destiny” that will be locked to a certain trait.
Similarly during exploration a lot of new elements have been added. Most of the time every character will have a “utility strap” attached to their wrist that can be used as a scanner as well as interact with various electronic systems in a location. The scanner not only works as a way to adjust electrical signals to open doors or undo lockdowns, it also highlights any living organism in an area, meaning both crewmates and hostiles are shown as silhouettes when scanned, making it essential for the new stealth sequence. As previously mentioned, “hold your breath/don’t move” segments have been removed entirely in favor of a stealth system that actively puts the player in danger from enemies that are roaming around an area.
In these locations players will need to use cover to sneak around and avoid being seen by an enemy, or straight up run away from them when they get an opening towards an exit, all while avoiding using their flashlight or standing up to give away their position. In these moments players can often find hackable monitors to trigger distractions to lure an enemy away and create an opening but generally players will need to rely on keeping an eye on their patrol patterns and sneaking through. Ironically, these sneaking segments tend to be a bit too easy and kind of on the slow side, especially since many of them drag on far longer than they feel like they should. It is only near the end of the game that some teleporting style enemies appear that things grow more dangerous, especially since getting caught can result in a death.
Or perhaps not, as Directive 8020 does give players an option to avoid instant-death upon being caught but the risk is still there. Eventually every character will be given a wedge tool that is meant to override door lockdowns using a simple mini-game but this wedge-tool is also basically a powerful mace combined with a cattle-prod that can be used to stun and escape a foe if players nail the QTE correctly. The wedge-tool does have a cooldown upon use, though players can adjust the cooldown timer to fit their playstyle if they see fit. In fact, there are a lot of elements players can adjust to fit the game to their style, making Directive 8020 ironically one of the most approachable horror games yet.
While the title still offers previous accessibility options such as holding rather than button mashing to complete certain prompts, limiting prompts to one button only, and even giving warnings about important incoming QTEs, players can now adjust other features as well. This includes adding on-screen indicators of where enemies are located, though this can glitch a bit and show enemy directions when looking through camera systems or even during a cutscene, and the aforementioned cooldown timer to parry a grab. Of course, there are still plenty of ways to die in Directive 8020 and many of them come down to either failing a quick time event or making the wrong series of choices and getting one or two characters killed as a result.
Though remembering what players have already done in the past can be key to staying alive here, as some play a pivotal role in certain life or death choices. Earlier it was mentioned that the game has a messaging system and this is also done through the utility strap. Here every character can occasionally send messages to other characters, talking about what is happening and getting questions all the same. Sometimes these questions can be quite informative, especially with how players should react accordingly to what they find out.
Another returning element from a previous game, but one not attached to The Dark Pictures Anthology but instead The Casting of Frank Stone is the ability to “rewind.” Called “Turning Points” this time around, players can rewind to literally any point in the story and either explore a location to find collectables they may have missed or reload a sequence that saw a character die early and play on from there, seeing how fate might have unfolded differently with everyone alive. Or perhaps killing someone on purpose to see how things can change without them. Explorer Mode turns this feature on right from the get-go, giving players the option to automatically be able to rewind if they stumble into a deadly choice or failed quick time event while Survivor Mode is the classic experience. This sees players living and dying by their choices and only unlocking the ability to rewind upon completing the game, though given that there is a very special secret hidden away behind solving a lengthy puzzle that can only be accessed through rewinding, it is certainly worth it. Though sadly, the long requested feature of being able to skip previously seen dialogue or events is still not available, meaning players will need to play through entire segments again if they wish to see someone’s fate change fully.
Audio & Visuals
One thing that was always impressive about Supermassive’s games even back with their original Until Dawn release was how expressive and impressive the character models and faces appear and over time we’ve seen this develop through every horror game the company has worked on. Now, after taking two years to bring Directive 8020 to fans after Frank Stone it is clear that the company has overhauled their graphics engine as it is easily one of their best looking games to date with the most lifelike looking characters possible, especially since the title does feature a signature actress as one of the primary leads as well as other actors. As a result the expressions characters make while talking are quite impressive and it also results in some of the most brutal looking deaths that players can stumble into if they aren’t careful. It also helps create some wonderfully twisted monster and environmental designs, especially in the latter half of the game when everything goes to hell.
The voice work throughout Directive 8020 is handled exceptionally well as all of the actors whose appearances have been used for their characters voice them as well. This means that the voice work not only matches the mouth flaps perfectly but the voice work is completely believable, whether someone is acting horrified, stern, or incredibly creepy. As for the soundtrack the title features a decent collection of standard background music throughout the game and surprisingly includes unique songs for every chapter’s ending screen.
Overall
Directive 8020 is not just Supermassive Games’ first step into space, it’s also their first step into trying to create a cinematic horror game that is more than just a series of walking cutscenes and QTEs. By reducing the potential failure states of mini-games and including stealth sections the title places more agency on the player, even if the stealth itself is rather basic and a bit too easy, especially since players always have at least one “escape card” per sequence. Thankfully the storyline it has to tell is one that builds up a quiet dread that something isn’t right, not just with the horrific thing that has crashed into the Cassiopea, but perhaps the entire mission itself. This keeps players guessing as to what truly is going on, layering on the mystery and dread until it all explodes, just like the character’s might if players aren’t careful in what turns out to be close to one of Supermassive’s best Dark Picture games yet.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
London, May 11, 2026 – Magical Something and Tiny Dragon Games announced today that the demo for their upcoming game, IKARUS, is now available on Steam and Itch.io.
IKARUS fuses the lightning-fast, skill-based chaos of classic arcade shoot ’em ups with the deep strategy of a rogue-like deck-builder.
The game casts the player as a lone, ancient guardian, flying to the rescue of the Sun-Goddess, Amaterasu, fighting through hordes of hostile machines in an unforgiving robotic world, as the clock ticks to Armageddon. Battle through multiple levels, each with themed waves of unique robot enemies, mini-bosses, and titanic final bosses.
Each run starts with the player picking one of three Archetypes, each combining two card colours and weapon-types for unique playstyles. They can then combine cards and augments from their chosen Archetype into powerful synergies. For example, a player can spawn the Butterfly.exe construct, which fires missiles every time you draw a card, and then use cards like Pyre and Flash of Genius to churn through their deck, unleashing a continuous and deadly swarm of homing missiles.
Every battle is a two-phase dance of strategy and execution. Before each wave, the player crafts an attack plan by queuing cards in the perfect sequence. Then, the battle begins, and the player’s skills and strategy are tested as they dodge, parry, shoot, and unleash powerful combos at the perfect moment. In true roguelike fashion, players can add new cards and upgrades over their run – and even sacrifice their cards to gain powerful weapon upgrades – offering plenty of ways to craft game-breaking synergies.
Every run makes the player stronger. Persistent Progression means you earn experience to level up and permanently expand your arsenal for all future flights, turning failed runs into future victories by unlocking new cards, upgrades, and player skills.
The demo features the first level of IKARUS. The full game, coming this Summer, will feature two additional levels, each with a unique roster of enemies, mini-bosses and formidable level boss, leading to an epic final showdown, as well as high-skill challenges, and an expanded arsenal, with new cards, augments and skills. The full game will also introduce even more replayability, with a difficulty-scaling Ascension system and Endless Mode
Founded in 2024, Tiny Dragon Games is an independent video games publisher and marketing consultancy firm gathering experienced professionals passionate about helping great games find their audience. For more information about Tiny Dragon Games, please visit the official website at www.tinydragongames.com
Brno, Czech Republic / Vienna, Austria, May 11, 2026: The sound of a medieval city is impossible to ignore: the constant hum of shouting merchants, ringing hammers, marching guards, and the quiet whispers of those working in the shadows. It’s the sound of opportunity, of risk, of a future being shaped in real time. These cities are more than just places on a map. They are the driving force of progress, where medieval tycoons make their fortunes, claim power, and start their legacies.
In the latest developer diary for The Guild – Europa 1410, the focus shifts to the four playable cities themselves and what makes them special. Inspired by their 15th-century counterparts, each city is shaped by distinct districts with their own character, risks, and rewards. Set up shop near a marketplace for easy profits, or take your chances beyond the city walls – just don’t act surprised if things get… stabby.
And trouble has a way of spreading. Cities evolve over time, influenced by player actions and political decisions. Districts can prosper or fall into decline, crime can rise, reputations can shift, and every choice leaves a lasting impact on the people living there.
This adds a new layer of strategy to The Guild – Europa 1410. Invest in infrastructure, enforce order, or take advantage of chaos to further your own ambitions. Shape a district into a respectable hub of commerce or turn it into exactly the kind of place your competitors would rather avoid.
Because you’re not the only one chasing power. Rivals, families, and opportunists are all working to tip the scales in their favor. Sometimes openly, sometimes from the shadows.
Award-winning writer shares insights on storytelling, characters and hope in new dev video ahead of May 26th release
Leicester, UK – 11th May 2026. Megapop, the studio behind the upcoming underwater city builder Life Below, has released a new behind-the-scenes video offering a closer look at the game’s narrative design ahead of itsMay 26th release.
The new dev video centres on award-winning writer, hobby diver, and aquarium aficionado Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb Raider, Mirror’s Edge, Heavenly Sword), who dives into how Life Below approaches environmental storytelling without heavy-handed messaging.
“When it comes to human made disasters, it’s very subtle,” says Pratchett. “The characters don’t talk about the ‘surface dwellers’, but they might talk about the strange debris floating above them and how it’s causing problems in the reef. You’re being put into the perspective of someone that’s having to deal with the consequences of it, rather than finger-wagging the naughty humans.”
Alongside its environmental themes, the video explores the game’s character-driven storytelling. Pratchett highlights the importance of relationships between Pontus, the begrudging mentor and the player’s character, Thalassa.
“I wanted Thalassa to have someone to talk to that was on the same level with her,” Pratchett explains. “Not like her boss, but a colleague, to have a growing relationship with in a way that she’s not going to do with Gaia, her boss.”
Blending narrative depth with systemic gameplay, Life Below delivers a fresh and distinctive take on the city-building genre. Developed in collaboration with marine biologists, players are tasked with cultivating coral reefs, attracting diverse wildlife, and maintaining delicate ecosystems in an ever-changing ocean environment. However, hope is a theme that runs throughout the narrative.
“It’s about nurturing, for both the reef and the characters,” says Pratchett. “Even those who feel like their time has passed can still make a difference. There’s always a way forward, always something you can do to help or change your circumstances. That felt like a powerful message to explore.”
This latest installment is just one of a series of behind-the-scenes dev videos that have already covered subjects such as how the sounds and music of Life Below were made and howLife Below combines science with fun, all of which can be found on the Kasedo Games channel.
Kasedo Games work closely together with enthusiastic & talented indie developers from around the world to publish ‘Triple I’ titles that players will love.
Through our vast knowledge of producing, PR, marketing and distribution, we always strive for quality games made by quality indie teams and we understand that every game and every studio has different requirements. The support, creative freedom and platform we provide means we can make great games happen without forgetting their roots.
Titles under the Kasedo label include: ‘IXION, ‘Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus I & II’, ‘City of Gangsters’, ‘Filament’, ‘Rise of Industry 1 & 2’, ‘Project Highrise’ and ‘Crowntakers’. www.kasedogames.com
ABOUT MEGAPOP
Megapop is an independent game studio based in Oslo, Norway, and a proud member of Oslo Game Hub. We create premium strategy games for PC and console, built on originality, depth, and the science of fun. With a legacy of globally featured and top-ranking games, we bring a deep current of experience into every new project. We’re currently developing Life Below, a genre-bending city-builder where you shape the fate of a coral reef from nature’s point of view—a true reef builder.
TOKYO – May 10, 2026 –PLAYISM, the oldest indie publisher in Japan, best known for favorites like Bright Memory: Infinite, The Exit 8, and Rusted Moss, announced eleven updates across its esteemed catalog during this weekend’s PLAYISM Game Show.
No Case Should Remain Unsolved, a text-based mystery adventure developed by Somi, where detectives merge memory fragments like puzzle pieces, coming to PlayStation 5 in Q3 2026
A Passing in the Night, the atmospheric psychological horror adventure developed by .iris, haunts PC via Steam in 2026
DevilConnection, the devilishly cheeky adventure developed by ChaoGames, summons new adventures on Nintendo Switch in 2026
The Dream Of A Cockspur, developer roccay’s Lovecraftian point-and-click horror survival adventure, will witness otherworldly phenomena on PC via Steam in Q3 2026
Idol Manager: Virtual Venture, a sequel to the pop star management sim Idol Managerdeveloped by Glitch Pitch, molds the next generation of world-renowned artists on PC via Steam in 2027
Commemorate PLAYISM’s 15th anniversary with the PLAYISM Publisher sale starting today. Enjoy discounts on PLAYISM’s greatest hits, including 20% off of Crimson Dusk’s bullet hell fighter Homura Hime, 30% off of developer Heaviside Creations’ immersive typing adventure Dyping Escape, and many others.
No Case Should Remain Unsolved arrives on PlayStation 5 in Q32026 with language options in English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Russian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian), and Indonesian. For more information, visit the official website.
The Dream Of A Cockspur arrives on PC via Steam in Q3 2026 with language options in English, Japanese, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). For more information, visit the official website.
About PLAYISM
Japan’s oldest indie publisher, PLAYISM is known in the West for supporting popular indie games such as the Momodora series, the Bright Memory series, The Exit 8, the La-Mulana series, Refind Self, Ib, Mad Father, LiEat, The Silver Case, Fight Crab, Samurai Bringer, DEEEER Simulator, Gnosia, Idol Manager, among other titles.
PLAYISM’s motto is “Bringing a Different Breed of Indie Game to the World”.
