The Flipside of Gaming
This is part 2 of my (Josh Bycer’s) favorite demos from the June 2025 Steam Next Fest event.
00:00 Intro
00:18 Baby Steps
1:58 Ball X Pit
4:12 Sands of Hope
5:28 Blaze of Storm
6:24 Chico’s Rebound
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
This is the first part of my (Josh Bycer’s) coverage of Steam Next Fest June 2025 edition.
00:00 Intro
00:21 Mina the Hollower
2:48 Moonlighter 2 The Endless Vault
6:11 Multiplanetary
7:12 Ninja Gaiden Ragebound
9:34 Undermine 2
11:04 Trainatic
12:41 Idle Boss Rush
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
This is part 1 of my (Josh Bycer’s) coverage of Turn-Based Thursday Fest from June 2025. This part features the games I received press keys to cover, the following parts will be demos.
00:00 Intro
00:21 None Shall Intrude
2:43 Lost for Swords
4:58 Pyrene
7:30 Arc Seed
9:25 Zet Zillions
11:50 Rogue Voltage
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
This is a showcase looking at my (Josh Bycer’s) favorite demos from Cerebral Puzzle Showcase June 2025 Edition.
00:00 Intro
00:20 Öoo
1:50 Node: The Last Favor of the Antarii
3:56 Puzzle Depot
5:37 The Button Effect
07:17 Trackastrophe
8:40 Glowkeeper
10:15 Looking for Fael
12:05 Miss Paint
13:37 Chipwits
I’d like to point out that Chipwits is a game we’ve covered here before!
In other news… itch.io has come under a firestorm over the past couple of days over their delisting a whole bunch of games that covered adult subjects because of pressure from their payment processors. As it turns out, those processors themselves have been targeted by a campaign from right-wing “Christian” organization Collective Shout. I have tried to prioritize links to itch.io, and even distribute software and books through that site, but now I’m going to have to think hard about alternatives. PCGamer has a good overview of the situation.
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
My (Josh Bycer’s) latest review is up for Zexion and how it is one of the best metroidvanias of 2025, provided you are in the mood for a challenging game.
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
The indie showcases highlight the many games we check out on the channel. Games shown are either demos, press keys, or from my own collection.
00:00 Intro
00:14 Withering Rooms
2:08 Encounters: Music Stories
2:57 Deck of Souls
4:15 Kingsgrave
6:46 Dungeons of Hinterberg
9:19 Into the Restless Ruins
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
This is a video review of Magic Research 2 and Click to Continue played with a retail key and press key, respectively.
00:00 Intro
00:17 Magic Research 2
03:20 Click To Continue
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
This is a video review of Old Skies played with a press key provided by the developer.
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
Each indie showcase looks at the variety of games we cover on the channel. Games shown are either press keys, demos, or from my (Josh Bycer’s) collection.
00:00 Intro
00:14 Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
1:34 Void Carrier
2:56 Mech Engineer
4:35 Freakhunter
6:15 Hard West 2
8:48 Cavalry Girls
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
This is a double review of Soulslinger: Envoy of Death and Viscerafest, both played with press keys.
00:00 Intro
00:18 Soulslinger Envoy of Death
5:41 Viscerafest
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
Each week, the indie showcases highlight the many games we play on the stream here (at Game Wisdom). All games shown are either demos, press keys, or from my (Josh Bycer’s) own collection.
00:00 Intro
00:14 Tunnet
02:07 Schim
03:19 Astor Blade of the Monolith
05:03 Flathead
6:25 Tower of Mask
8:01 Devilated
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
The weekly indie showcases highlight the many games we play here on the channel (Game Wisdom). Games shown are either press keys, demo builds, or from my (Josh Bycer’s) collection.
00:00 Intro
00:14 Path of Achra
01:32 When the Light Dies
3:34 Moonglow Bay
4:49 Hemlock
6:04 Baladins
7:54 The Tower on the Borderland
Owner of Game Wisdom with more than a decade of experience writing and talking about game design and the industry. I’m also the author of the “Game Design Deep Dive” series and “20 Essential Games to Study”
