Author: Josh Bycer

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"

Next Fest Feb 2025 Showcase Part 2

Part 2 of my (Josh Bycer’s) favorite demos from the Steam Next Fest event.

0:00 Intro
00:18 Gentoo Rescue
1:37 Nitro Express
2:43 Mother Machine
4:01 The King is Watching
5:53 Repose
7:53 Demon Tides
10:02 Chromagun 2: Dye Hard
11:27 Sliding Hero
12:39 9 Kings
14:06 Twilight Monk
15:24 Squeakross: Home Squeak Home
16:22 Last Report
17:25 Deck of Haunts

Favorite Demos From Steam Nextfest Part 1

This is a collection of my favorite demos from our first nights of streaming next fest 2025 February edition.

0:00 Intro
00:17 Monster Train 2
1:50 Moadra
3:44 Chainstaff
5:33 Ruffy and the Riverside
7:02 Scaravan 66
8:16 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown
10:14 White Knuckle
11:35 Twisted Tower
13:34 Shotgun Cop Man
15:08 Empyreal

Indie Showcase For 4/14/25

The indie showcases highlight the many indie titles we play here on (Josh Bycer’s) channel. Games shown are either press keys, demos, or games from my collection.

0:00 Intro
0:14 Solar Raiders
1:30 Sol Cesto
2:47 Spider Fox
4:13 Preserve
5:43 Lightyear Frontier
7:17 Metal Mind

Adventure Game Design With Krunchy Fried Games

For this podcast, I spoke with Dominic O’ Reilly from Krunchy Fried Games who is working on the adventure game Five Day Detective. We spoke about adventure game design and writing along with the challenges of creating the story alongside the puzzles.

Team Ladybug’s Latest Metroidvania Review

This is a review of Blade Chimera played with a press key provided by the developer.

Magenta Horizon Review

This is a review of Magenta Horizon played with a press key. After I recorded this review, the developer updated the tutorial with a new version, but I have not had a chance to go back and play through it.

Haunted PS1 Demo Showcase

This is a showcase of almost every demo featured in the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc Flipside Frights.

0:00 Intro
00:55 Sorrow
2:15 Spyrit Walker
3:46 Subversive Memories
5:08 Axyz
6:14 Scissors In Hell
7:36 Ticky’s Tower of Time
8:24 Prison of Husks
9:27 500 Calibur Contractz
10:39 Blessed Burden
11:34 Toree Saturn
12:26 Death in Abyss
13:44 Eclipsium
15:00 FriendShapes
16:37 The Hungry Fly
17:45 No Strings Attached/ Vladimere Lhore Collection
18:36 No Players Online
20:03 Trip
21:09 Children of Saturn

Short and Stylish Platformer Reviews

This is a double review of Inmost and Transiruby played with retail keys.

0:00 Intro
00:17 Inmost
3:45 Transiruby

Josh’s Favorite Horror Games of 2024

For this entry, it’s my (Josh Bycer’s) favorite horror games for 2024.

Indie Showcase for 3/12/25

The weekly showcases highlight the many indie games we play here on the channel. If you want me (Josh Bycer) to look at your game for a future one please reach out.

0:00 Intro
00:14 Sheepy A Short Adventure
1:40 Dungeons & Doomknights
2:57 Sky Settlers
4:26 Into the Necrovale
5:44 Immortal Life
7:08 Clown Meat

From Casual Jumping to Casual Cleanup

The weekly indie showcases highlight the games we play on stream, all games shown are either press keys or demo submissions.

0:00 Intro
00:14 Anomaly Agent
2:16 Ak-Xolotl
4:35 Ve Than: Divine Guardian
6:12 Dream of the Star Haven
7:14 Boxes: Lost Fragments
9:38 Spilled