Dispatch20203 factsGame page →Dispatch was made 'in isolation' during the 2020 COVID lockdown over a couple of months and released deliberately for October's spooky season — free, as a name-your-own-price itch.io game playable in about fifteen minutes.itch.ioProgrammer Jacob Vincent built a custom visual-scripting interaction system so his non-programmer teammates could visually script the game's scenes — he cites it as the project's main technical focus.jacobvincent.comIts distinctive purple 'void' colour palette for Lovecraftian horror drew specific praise from players, and the game carries an explicit epilepsy warning for its bright flashing colours.necropolygon.itch.ioRead 1 more fact
Hero Tale20213 factsGame page →The Gńansk-based studio markets Hero Tale on an anti-mobile-game manifesto: single-player, no pay-to-win, no difficulty scaling and 'zero notifications' — unusual for an idle RPG.weirdjohnnystudio.comThe endgame turns an idle game into a de-facto speedrun ladder: beating the final boss faster yields better rerun rewards, with brackets spanning roughly 600 hours down to under 9.steamcommunity.comIt began as a free itch.io demo and mobile early-access build before the March 2024 Steam release — and its pricing differs by platform: paid on Steam, free-to-play with IAP on mobile.weirdjohnnystudio.itch.ioRead 1 more fact
House Builder: First Job20213 factsGame page →The prologue contains exactly two free levels — Arctic and Tropical Forest — teaching primitive construction, from surviving an Arctic night to raising a neolithic shack.store.steampowered.comThe series premise is a one-man construction crew building through the ages — the full game spans ~11 locations from igloos and African mud huts to modern houses, with loading screens delivering mini history lessons on tools.lifeisxbox.euIt shipped on July 15, 2021 — four months before the full House Builder even entered Early Access — pure wishlist-funnel strategy from the PlayWay simulator family.univers-simu.comRead 1 more fact
Lumberjack's Dynasty20203 factsGame page →It is a spiritual successor to UMEO Studios' Farmer's Dynasty, sharing its life-sim and dynasty-management template.mobygames.comIt launched in Steam Early Access on 30 April 2020 and left Early Access with its 1.0 release on 25 February 2021.glitchedrevie.wsYou inherit a run-down logging camp from your aunt and uncle and rebuild it into a forestry business.store.steampowered.comRead 1 more fact
OnlyFuck: RuRu's Adventures20213 factsGame page →The core mechanic is 'LEWDOKU' — a Sudoku-variant puzzle solved to unlock content while managing the heroine's profile on 'OnlyFuck', a fictional parody of OnlyFans.opiumpulses.comAll artwork is by Taiwanese-scene illustrator Ruria Raw, whose original character RuRu also headlines her separate visual novel Love RuRu — a loose character-based franchise across two studios.patreon.comDespite being an adult title, it ships with standard Steam infrastructure — ~23 achievements and 5 trading cards.opiumpulses.comRead 1 more fact
Outlast: Journey of a Gladiator20203 factsGame page →It is a turn-based gladiator strategy-RPG following a 'slavery to freedom' story, with 37 campaign levels, a boss every fifth level and three final bosses.store.steampowered.comIt supports cross-platform online PvP and spawned a mobile sequel, Journey of a Gladiator 2 (2022, iOS and Android).pocketgamer.comDespite sharing the word in its title, it is entirely unrelated to Red Barrels' Outlast horror series.store.steampowered.comRead 1 more fact
Routine Racers20203 factsGame page →Despite 'Racers' in the title it's not a vehicle racer: the game is a comedic side-scrolling 3D runner where the 'race' is against everyday life — escaping work, supermarket shopping, drinking at a bar, stopping a fire or capturing narcos.store.steampowered.comIts endless bonus level is titled 'the Tyranny of Monday'.store.steampowered.comThe game markets itself as deliberately punishing — described as 'one of the most challenging, frustrating, and just plain punishing video games ever' — and is the solo project of a Barcelona-based developer under the alias Eutiquiano.devuego.esRead 1 more fact
Ultrakill20203 factsGame page →It is solo-developed by Arsi 'Hakita' Patala (started February 2018), who also composed the music, wrote and directed it.en.wikipedia.orgIts signature 'blood is fuel' mechanic lets you heal by getting close to enemies and showering in their blood.store.steampowered.comA cult hit, it passed 100,000 Steam reviews at around 98% positive by May 2024.store.steampowered.comRead 1 more fact
Until Last Tomorrow20233 factsGame page →The game is set in a real Brazilian city, Goiânia — an unusual real-world Brazilian open-world setting for a zombie-survival game.store.steampowered.comIt's made by a Brazilian studio, BRDynamic Studios, and much of its community discussion is requests for English and other localization.steamcommunity.comThe in-game pandemic is caused by a fictional pathogen called the 'Nerphus' virus, which the protagonist Felipe searches for a cure to.store.steampowered.comRead 1 more fact
Until Sunset20213 factsGame page →The store tagline — 'There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man' — is a direct quote from Patrick Rothfuss's novel The Name of the Wind.store.steampowered.comIt's a stealth-puzzle game set in a school-shooting scenario: you avoid several active shooters and piece together what happened using clues, favouring stealth over confrontation.store.steampowered.comPublisher 14BitsStudio has published only this single game on Steam.store.steampowered.comRead 1 more fact
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game20202 factsGame page →It originally launched into Steam Early Access on 6 December 2018 and left Early Access with its 1.0 release on 20 August 2020.store.steampowered.comIt is the debut commercial title of the Italian studio Inner Void Interactive (near Rome), whose earlier project was the RPG ICY.moddb.com
