Day of the Devs followed the Summer Game Fest stream, showcasing upcoming games that deserve attention.

The show featured a complete section for each game with the developer describing the game and what inspired it. Aside from the games I am already anticipating, such as Hyper Light Breaker, the stream had several trailers for games that bend existing genres or have a very clean visual style.

All of these games are on Steam, so you can add them to your wish list to find out their release dates. It's a little disappointing that none of the games have a specific release date, but several are targeting this year.

Release date: 2024

Beastieball is from Greg Lobanov and the development team at Chicory and Wandersong. It is like Pokemon, a volleyball-like game with cute little monsters (Beasties). Instead of catching all the monsters, you collect the ones you like, build relationships with them, and unlock new powers to play the game.

A kickstarter is coming soon to crowdfund part of the game's development.

Wish List: Steam

Release Date: "Coming Soon for PC"

Simpler Times sounds the Unpacking alarm with a coming-of-age story and tasks dedicated to getting organized. This first-person packing game takes you through Tiana's memories as the protagonist, Tiana, prepares to move out of her childhood home. You can take Polaroid pictures, pick apples, play records, and slowly (and sadly) select items to take with you.

Wish list: Steam

Release date: 2023

Viewfinder is a game with very ambitious mechanics. This first-person puzzle game is visually similar to The Witness, which mixes modern architecture with a bright art style. The trailer shows players taking pictures of staircases and using them to climb up to previously inaccessible areas. The area in the photo appears to be mostly from the past, perhaps suggesting that there is more to it than a sandbox puzzle.

Wish List: Steam

Read more: In 2023, the Most Mind-Bending Puzzle Game Gives You a Magic Camera and Invites You to Break the World

Release Date: 2024

Hauntii imagines a black and white Hauntii imagines a world of black and white, where ghosts search for the remnants of their lives. In this twin-stick shooter, rendered in a hand-drawn visual style, you play as one of them, and the 2D scenes are impressive, especially when the game breaks away from the isometric camera angles and fills the screen with surreal art. One scene reminded me of the circus area in Automata: a character in a little cape looking down on the city on a roller coaster. It is not yet clear how much of a shooter it is, but it looks like it could be many things, including a platform-like sequence for collecting feathers.

Wish list: Steam

Release date: TBD

Summerhill's tagline is "a folk tale about life, loss, and livestock," and whatever that means, I think I can agree. In this story-driven puzzle game, you control a small shepherd as he searches for his lost flock of sheep. In a small trailer, you can watch from high above as the character and his dog chase down sheep from a cliff. The pastoral setting of Summerhill and its folkloric soundtrack have definitely caught my attention, and I'm looking for sheep not only in beautiful environments like warm, sun-drenched cliffs, but also in darker places like an abandoned stone cathedral bathed in green light.

Wishlist: steam [41]