TECHMASH

Tag: #indiedev

  • Arcane Fantasy Beckons: ‘Utopia: Birth of the Heroes’ Lands on Steam Early Access This Month!

    Arcane Fantasy Beckons: ‘Utopia: Birth of the Heroes’ Lands on Steam Early Access This Month!

    Indie gaming fans, it’s time to expand your wishlists. Mana Core Game Studios has just dropped a major announcement regarding their highly anticipated debut title. The Monterrey-based studio has officially revealed that Utopia: Birth of the Heroes will launch on Steam Early Access on July 27!

    If you’ve already played through the gripping five-chapter demo currently available on Steam, you know exactly how captivating this world is. Starting later this month, you’ll finally be able to dive much deeper into this dark, beautifully crafted arcane fantasy realm.

    What is Utopia: Birth of the Heroes?

    Developed by a passionate two-brother team (Dante and Daniel Arjona), Utopia: Birth of the Heroes is a character-driven, choice-heavy visual novel. Set in a war-torn medieval fantasy realm, the narrative doesn’t follow your typical “good vs. evil” tropes. Instead, it revolves around three distinct protagonists—Frederick, Diomedes, and Eskil—each driven by their own conflicting, intense vision of what a “perfect society” should look like.

    The Early Access Deal: Diving into Early Access gives you immediate access to Chapters 0 through 17, which covers the entire first half of the game! That translates to roughly 8 to 10 hours of rich, narrative-driven gameplay. Even better? Everyone who jumps into Early Access will automatically receive the full game upon its official launch.

    Why You Should Keep an Eye on This One

    • Morally Grey Dilemmas: Your choices ripple across kingdoms. A heroic decision from one protagonist’s perspective might just be an absolute tragedy for another.
    • Massive Replayability: With branching paths, multiple perspectives, and numerous distinct endings, your choices genuinely dictate the fate of the world.
    • Stunning Atmosphere: The game features gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and an incredibly atmospheric, emotionally charged score composed by Peter Reid Jones.
    • Community-Driven Polish: Mana Core is using this Early Access period to actively collaborate with players, refining the narrative pacing, UI, and localisation before the 1.0 release.

    Alongside the release date announcement, the studio also unveiled a brand-new character spotlight trailer for Eskil Ilhamy, giving fans a closer look at the steady, calculated perspective of the game’s third playable hero.

    Mark Your Calendars!

    The journey to find out what you’d sacrifice for a perfect world begins in earnest on July 27. Head over to Steam right now to check out the 5-chapter demo and add Utopia: Birth of the Heroes to your wishlist!

    Find out more here

    #UtopiaBirthOfTheHeroes #ManaCoreGameStudios #VisualNovel #IndieGames #SteamEarlyAccess #PCGaming #FantasyGaming #IndieDev

  • Hack, Slash, and Survive: Phantom Tower Hits Steam Early Access This July!

    Hack, Slash, and Survive: Phantom Tower Hits Steam Early Access This July!

    The wait is almost over for action RPG fans. After four long years of passionate development, Horien Studio has officially announced that their highly anticipated title, Phantom Tower, is launching into Steam Early Access on July 13th, 2026.

    If you’ve been craving a fresh, adrenaline-pumping challenge that tests your reflexes and tactical thinking, this is the title to watch.

    What is Phantom Tower?

    Phantom Tower is a fast-paced, roguelike action RPG that masterfully blends fluid, high-stakes hack-and-slash combat with the eerie, unpredictable nature of deep dungeon crawling.

    Players will find themselves scaling a shifting, perilous tower where no two runs are ever the same. Every floor throws new enemy types, environmental hazards, and brutal bosses at you, demanding split-second decisions and absolute mastery over your arsenal.

    Key Features to Get Hyped For:

    • Dynamic Combat: Chain together devastating combos, parry lethal attacks, and animation-cancel your way through hordes of enemies.
    • Deep Dungeon Crawling: Explore procedural layouts filled with hidden secrets, lore fragments, and game-changing loot.
    • Roguelike Replayability: Die, learn, upgrade, and repeat. Build synergies with unique perks and weapons to craft your ultimate playstyle.
    • 4 Years of Polish: Developed with love and meticulous attention to detail by Horien Studio to ensure the combat feels incredibly tight and responsive.

    Try the Demo Right Now! Can’t wait until July 13th? You don’t have to. Horien Studio has released a free playable demo on Steam right now. It gives you a taste of the first few floors, the core combat mechanics, and a sneak peek at the build variety.

    Why Early Access?

    Horien Studio is taking the Early Access route to collaborate directly with the community. Over the next phase of development, player feedback from the Steam community will actively shape balancing, new weapon types, additional tower floors, and endgame content.

    Mark your calendars for July 13th, head over to Steam, and wishlist Phantom Tower today to support an indie gem four years in the making.

    Find out more here

    #PhantomTower #HorienStudio #IndieDev #ActionRPG #Roguelike #HackAndSlash #SteamEarlyAccess #PCGaming #GamingNews #TechMash

  • Nautical Nightmares: Survival Horror ‘SENARA: The Sacrament’ Hits Steam This July

    Nautical Nightmares: Survival Horror ‘SENARA: The Sacrament’ Hits Steam This July

    Get ready to test your nerves and your survival instincts. Indie developer Influsion Inc. has officially announced that its highly anticipated first-person survival horror game, SENARA: The Sacrament, is launching on Steam on July 30th.

    If you think you’ve handled everything the horror genre has to throw at you, think again. SENARA is taking you out to open water, and there is nowhere to run.

    Welcome Aboard the Terror

    Set aboard a mysterious, derelict cruise liner teetering on the edge of ruin, SENARA: The Sacrament traps players in a claustrophobic, rust-eaten labyrinth. What was once a vessel of luxury has transformed into a floating purgatory.

    As you navigate the decaying corridors and flooded decks, you aren’t just searching for a means of escape—you are fighting to stay alive against unspeakable horrors lurking in the shadows. The game promises a tense, atmospheric experience where every creak of the ship’s hull could be your last warning.

    What to Expect:

    • Immersive First-Person Horror: Experience the terror up close with a deeply atmospheric POV that makes every corner feel dangerous.
    • A Haunting Setting: Explore a massive, decaying cruise liner filled with environmental storytelling and dark secrets.
    • Pure Survival: Resources are scarce, tension is high, and the entities hunting you aren’t showing any mercy.

    Watch the Release Date Trailer

    Want a taste of the dread awaiting you at sea? Catch a glimpse of its nautical nightmares in the official release date trailer below:

    Mark Your Calendars

    Will you uncover the dark truth behind the sacrament, or will you sink with the ship? Wishlist SENARA: The Sacrament on Steam now to ensure you’re ready to board on July 30th.

    Find out more here

    #IndieDev #GamingNews #SurvivalHorror #SENARATheSacrament #InflusionInc #SteamGames #PCGaming #HorrorGames #GamingCommunity

  • No Jump-Scares, Just Pure Dread: ReinerTheGod Games Unveils ‘JAWED’

    No Jump-Scares, Just Pure Dread: ReinerTheGod Games Unveils ‘JAWED’

    Indie horror fans, brace yourselves. If you’ve been craving a horror experience that opts for deep, psychological discomfort over cheap, loud jump-scares, solo developer ReinerTheGod Games has just answered your prayers. Following the eerie footprints of The Protagonist and Lost in Voice, the studio has officially announced its next narrative-driven nightmare: JAWED.

    And trust us, this one sounds like it’s going to stick with you long after the credits roll.

    Muzzled by Grief and Silence

    JAWED drops players into the fragmented, agonising world of Adam, a man who has been living a life of silent torture ever since his fiancée, Vivian, vanished. Symbolising his trauma, Adam literally wakes up with a steel muzzle clamped to his face, trapped in a self-imposed apartment prison.

    When sudden evidence emerges that Vivian might still be alive, Adam is forced to venture into the abyss to find her. But this isn’t just a simple rescue mission—it’s a confrontation with grief, a broken relationship, and the heavy things we choose to leave unsaid.

    Check out the official teaser trailer below to catch a glimpse of the heavy atmosphere:

    Heavy ‘Silent Hill’ Inspiration

    Built in Unreal Engine 5, JAWED relies on slow-burning, oppressive dread. The developer has explicitly noted that the game’s tone draws heavy inspiration from the legendary storytelling styles of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4.

    Instead of throwing monsters in your face every five seconds, JAWED relies on a chilling gameplay loop and impeccable sound design:

    • The Rotting Truth: Vivian’s trail unfolds through a series of old VHS tapes. As Adam gets closer to the truth, the recordings become more degraded and rotted, mirroring his unravelling psyche.
    • Unnervingly Immersive Audio: Every thump, creak, and pulsating musical note has been handcrafted to build tension. But as the developer warns, the only thing worse than the sounds is the silence.
    • A Story of Trauma: This is a narrative-driven experience structured across a prologue, six distinct chapters, and an epilogue, heavy on environmental storytelling, journals, and notes.

    When Can You Play It?

    JAWED is currently slated for a November 2026 release on PC. With its focus on emotional distress, psychological dread, and atmospheric exploration, it’s shaping up to be a mandatory playthrough for hardcore survival horror enthusiasts.

    You can already head over to Steam to check out the official page and add it to your wishlist!

    Are you ready to face the silence? Let us know your thoughts on the trailer in the comments below!

    Find out more here

    #JAWED #HorrorGames #IndieDev #PsychologicalHorror #GamingNews #ReinerTheGodGames #SilentHillVibes #PCGaming #SteamGames #UnrealEngine5

  • Drive, Automate & Detonate: Space Engineers 2 Drops Massive VS2.3 Alpha Update

    Drive, Automate & Detonate: Space Engineers 2 Drops Massive VS2.3 Alpha Update

    If you’ve been tracking the evolution of the Space Engineers 2 Alpha, it’s time to strap back into your cockpit. Keen Software House has officially deployed its latest milestone update, VS2.3: “Drive, Automate & Detonate.” Living up to its explosive name, this update injects a massive dose of mechanical freedom, advanced automation, expanded planetary warfare, and gruelling survival overhauls into the VRAGE3-powered sandbox.

    Here is everything you need to know about how VS2.3 is changing the engineering landscape.

    Drive: The Mechanical Toolkit is Complete

    For ground-pounders and planet explorers, the days of being restricted to thruster-based movement are over. VS2.3 introduces Wheel blocks, allowing players to engineer everything from nimble scout rovers to towering, resource-hauling mobile bases and trailers.

    To complement the existing pistons and rotors, Keen has finally introduced Hinges. This completes the core mechanical toolkit, giving you the power to craft intricate cargo ramps, variable-sweep wings, and complex robotic arms. Even better, newly introduced limits for rotors and pistons make these moving subgrids far easier to tune and control without triggering accidental, physics-defying catastrophes.

    Automate: Complex Grids Without the Coding

    If you love building self-sustaining industrial loops or reactive defence grids, the automation overhaul in VS2.3 is a game-changer. The update adds three core components to your terminal:

    • The Event Controller: A powerful block capable of tracking real-time grid parameters—such as speed, altitude, power levels, inventory capacity, and weapon ammo—and triggering specific actions based on those conditions.
    • Timer Blocks: Designed to queue up and sequence automated actions, either instantly or after custom-defined delays.
    • Sensors: Allowing your ships and stations to seamlessly detect approaching physical objects, players, or threats.

    Whether you want hangar doors that automatically close when your ship leaves, or emergency batteries that kick in when primary power drops below 10%, you can now build deeply logic-driven grids entirely through the game’s native blocks.

    Detonate: Combat and Total Destruction

    Space and planetary warfare just got significantly more lethal. Keen Software House has added Warheads (in both small and large grid formats), which can be detonated manually or triggered via your new automation systems.

    Furthermore, combat realism has taken a major leap forward:

    • Chain Reactions: Damaged O2/H2 tanks, active reactors, and packed ammo containers will now violently explode if compromised.
    • Heavy Payload Defences: New automated Rocket Turrets and rapid-fire Rocket Launchers have arrived to protect your territory.
    • Character Combat: If you prefer boots-on-the-ground skirmishes, character weapons now feature proper iron sights, complete with projectile impact decals and manual turret controls.

    Survival Reworks and Environmental Threats

    Surviving on the planets of the Almagest System is no longer a walk in the park. VS2.3 introduces a dedicated Classic Survival Start, dialling up the challenge to mimic a traditional, harsher survival loop. This brings voxel-based resource yields from terrain, restrictive backpack building limits, adjusted ore distribution, and rebalanced crafting recipes.

    Adding to the planetary pressure is the introduction of Wind Physics. Atmospheric weather events, like sandstorms, are no longer purely cosmetic. Strong winds will physically push airborne characters, loose debris, floating objects, and dynamic grids. To help you harness this chaos, the update adds Wind Turbines, allowing you to generate scalable green energy based entirely on local wind speeds.

    Behind the Scenes: Optimisation & What’s Next

    Alongside 46 brand-new building blocks and the exclusive Pioneer Suit for Pioneer Edition owners, Keen has delivered substantial engine optimisations under the hood. Vegetation culling, shadow rendering, and voxel processing have all been upgraded to keep performance smooth, even in dense forests or during chaotic, high-fracture explosions.

    For those tracking the long-term Space Engineers 2 Roadmap, Keen also dropped an exciting development update: the team is prioritising Co-op Multiplayer & NPCs (VS4) ahead of the highly anticipated Water Update (VS3), aiming for a release window around November/December 2026.

    The Verdict

    The “Drive, Automate & Detonate” update successfully bridges the gap between raw creativity and practical survival. With robust physics, deep automation logic, and high-stakes combat, the Space Engineers 2 Alpha is quickly shaping up to be a worthy, next-generation successor to the original masterpiece.

    Space Engineers 2 is currently available in Playable Alpha on Steam.

    Find out more here

    #SpaceEngineers2 #KeenSoftwareHouse #GamingNews #SciFiGaming #SandboxGames #PCGaming #SpaceEngineers #IndieDev #TechMash

  • Burn Rubber in The City: DRIVE Drops Massive ‘Liberty & Steel’ July Update!

    Burn Rubber in The City: DRIVE Drops Massive ‘Liberty & Steel’ July Update!

    If you love the smell of burning rubber, the roar of classic V8 engines, and the unmistakable aesthetic of 1970s road movies, then we have some fantastic news for you. Indie developer Pixel Perfect Dude has just dropped their highly anticipated July update for #DRIVE, officially titled the Liberty & Steel Season.

    Available right now on iOS and Android, this massive update is a massive love letter to American independence and classic muscle car heritage. But it’s not just a coat of patriotic paint; Pixel Perfect Dude has completely overhauled the game’s core mechanics, progression systems, and economy.

    Here is everything you need to know about what’s waiting for you on the blacktop.

    Welcome to ‘The City’

    Get ready to trade the dusty country roads for a brand-new urban jungle. The City is the latest map to hit #DRIVE, offering a dense, high-traffic environment built to test your reflexes. Navigating tight streets while dodging heavy civilian traffic is the ultimate way to embrace your inner muscle car spirit.

    The Caps Challenge

    To celebrate the season, players can take part in the brand-new Caps Challenge. Keep your eyes peeled while tearing through the streets—collecting enough of the caps scattered across the road will unlock an exclusive, highly sought-after patriotic ride.

    5 Brand-New Rides

    No racing update is complete without fresh metal. The Liberty & Steel update introduces five distinct new vehicles to add to your digital garage:

    • Magnate
    • Bully
    • SuperSanta
    • Rosso
    • Slimey

    Deep Gameplay & Stat Overhaul

    Pixel Perfect Dude didn’t just add new content; they completely reworked how cars behave and perform, ensuring every single vehicle in your garage has a more distinct personality.

    • Coolness & Durability stats: Car skins (referred to in-game as Coolness) are no longer just for show. Equipping a unique skin now directly alters your performance by granting specific Durability (damage resistance) and Coolness (distance points multiplier) stats. Your style now dictates how long you survive.
    • Home Turf Affiliation: Every vehicle now has a designated home map. Unleashing a car on its Home Turf grants massive gameplay bonuses:
      • +50% Coolness Multiplier
      • +20% More Caps collected
      • +10% Grip
      • -10% Max Speed (a small price to pay for ultimate control!)
    • High-Stakes Police Chases: Watch your rearview mirror! Police Damage has been introduced. Cop cars hit much harder now, forcing you to actively manage your car’s condition if you want to survive the pursuit.

    Progression & Economy Redesign

    Say goodbye to the grind! The old progression loop has been heavily streamlined for a much smoother experience.

    Cards Have Been Removed: You no longer need to hunt down specific car cards to upgrade your vehicles. Moving forward, you can upgrade your rides directly using your Caps!

    • Garage Value Progression: Unlocking new maps and content is no longer a tedious chore. It is now tied directly to your overall Garage Value. The more you grow your collection, the more of the world opens up to you.
    • Reworked Power-Ups: Power-up cards are also a thing of the past. Now, passing a junkyard instantly grants you a randomised power-up. Even better, the rarity and strength of these drops scale with your distance—the further you drive, the better the loot gets.

    Quality of Life: Check Out the New Cinematic View

    Want to appreciate those gorgeous low-poly muscle cars in all their glory? A brand-new Cinematic Camera view has been added. Furthermore, Pixel Perfect Dude has consolidated all camera options directly into the in-game settings menu, making it incredibly easy to tweak your perspective on the fly.

    This massive update lays down an awesome new foundation for the future of #DRIVE, and the development team promises that everything we see here will continue to grow and evolve.

    Head over to the App Store or Google Play, grab the update, and see how far you can make it down the highway!

    Find out more here

    #DRIVE #PixelPerfectDude #LibertyAndSteel #MobileGaming #GamingUpdate #MuscleCars #IndieDev #AndroidGames #iOSGames #TechMash

  • The Stanley Parable With a Loaded Rifle: ‘War Fantasy’ is the Ultimate Technophobic Mindfk

    The Stanley Parable With a Loaded Rifle: ‘War Fantasy’ is the Ultimate Technophobic Mindfk

    The modern military shooter has a formula. You drop in, follow the waypoint, shoot the bad guys, and feel like an absolute hero. But a freshly dropped announcement trailer from indie developer Non-Euclidean is about to violently tear up that script.

    Enter War Fantasy, an upcoming psychological horror FPS that aims to systematically dismantle the genre. Described by its creators as “The Stanley Parable with a loaded rifle,” this title is a deeply unsettling, technophobic dive into how the line between military simulations and real-world warfare has completely dissolved.

    Check out the trailer breakdown below and see why this game is already messing with the heads of FPS fans.

    Psychological Conditioning as a Gameplay Mechanic

    Instead of stepping into the combat boots of a glorified action hero, War Fantasy casts you as a blank slate being systematically broken down. You are trapped inside an infinite military training compound under the thumb of a demented, emotionally abusive commanding officer who watches, logs, and analyses your every move.

    The horror here isn’t jump scares; it’s the insidious psychological pressure. Every shot you fire, every order you blindly follow, and every second you spend hesitating is fed back into a cold, uncaring algorithm designed to strip away your humanity.

    The game draws a direct line from Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket straight to the modern military shooter, forcing players to ask a terrifying question: What have video games actually been training us for?

    Navigating the Impossible: Non-Euclidean Terror

    True to the developer’s name, the world of War Fantasy doesn’t adhere to standard physics or geometry. As the psychological conditioning intensifies, the physical environment breaks down:

    • Looping Corridors: Hallways that fold in on themselves, trapping you in a perpetual maze of military-industrial architecture.
    • Kaleidoscopic Arenas: Training simulations with no logical exits that shift and reassemble based on your compliance.
    • Hyper-Realistic Weaponry: An incredibly detailed arsenal of modern firearms, drones, and near-future tech. The game intentionally makes the weapons feel real—because authenticity is part of the conditioning.

    The game is banking heavily on technophobia, weaponising the player’s choices and behaviours against them. With Steam tags like Narrative, Psychological Horror, and Choices Matter, your attempts to resist or obey will actively shape the nightmare.

    Are We Playing Games, or Are Games Playing Us?

    What makes War Fantasy look so brilliant—and deeply uncomfortable—is its meta-commentary on the gaming industry itself. It directly targets the normalisation of violence through the gamification of real-world warfare (think drone pilots using controllers).

    It isn’t interested in making you feel powerful. It wants you to feel controlled, analysed, and thoroughly trapped inside a machine that won’t let you leave until you’ve been turned into the perfect weapon.

    War Fantasy is currently slated for a PC release via Steam, and it’s safe to say our wishlists are already updating. If you’re tired of the same old military power fantasies and want a shooter that will genuinely mess with your head, this is the one to watch.

    Find out more here

    #HorrorGames #WarFantasy #IndieDev #PsychologicalHorror #FPSGames #GamingNews #TechMash #PCGaming #SciFiHorror #GamingCommunity

  • Don’t Make a Sound: Fearwoods Drops Terrifying New Trailer and Full Development Roadmap

    Don’t Make a Sound: Fearwoods Drops Terrifying New Trailer and Full Development Roadmap

    Indie horror fans, it is time to rally your gaming squad and double-check your flashlights. The solo developer behind the highly anticipated indie title Fearwoods has just dropped a massive presentation update, giving us a chilling new trailer, refreshed screenshots, and a crystal-clear look at the game’s future development roadmap heading toward its Q3 2026 launch window.

    If you thrive on the high-tension, panic-inducing energy of games like Phasmophobia or Lethal Company, you’ll definitely want to put this one on your radar.

    Check out everything we know about the updated Steam page and the terrors lurking in the trees below.

    What is Fearwoods?

    Fearwoods is a 3-player online co-op survival horror experience that throws players into the heart of a deeply cursed forest. Your ultimate goals? Work together, search for scattered GPS pieces, piece together the tragic mystery of a girl named Aveline, and find a way to escape.

    The catch? You are being actively hunted by a relentless, supernatural demon.

    In Fearwoods, light and silence are your only real weapons. Turning on your flashlight might help you find a crucial clue, but it also transforms you into a giant neon sign for the entity stalking you. Teamwork and tight communication are absolute musts if you want to survive the night.

    A Fresh Look at the Nightmare: New Trailer & Screenshots

    The newly updated Steam page features a revamped trailer and polished screenshots that show off significant visual improvements. The developer has dialled up the environmental lighting and atmospheric density, capturing the suffocating dread of a fog-laden forest.

    The trailer highlights just how vital audio and visual cues will be. From the terrifying crunch of leaves behind you to the sudden, chaotic flicker of a teammate’s flashlight in the distance, the gameplay looks spectacularly tense.

    The Development Roadmap: From Demo to Full Release

    Alongside the visual makeover, the developer shared an official infographic detailing exactly how Fearwoods will evolve across its development cycle. Here is a breakdown of what to expect from each phase:

    PhaseMaps & ExplorationEnemy AI (Aveline / Demon)Narrative & Mechanics
    Current Demo• 1 Partial Map
    • Small exploration area    		• Basic behavior• Fragmented narrative content
    • Playable online co-op
    Early Access (Coming Q3 2026)• 1 Full Map
    • Larger exploration areas    		• Improved behavior
    • Hallway appearances    		• Dynamic horror events
    • Story fragment system (Lose fragments on death)
    Full Game• 3 Chapters across 3 Maps
    • Ultimate exploration spaces    		• Advanced behavior
    • Ceiling crawling
    • Reality distortions    		• Complete narrative
    • Scripted chase events
    • Higher difficulty story fragments

    The risk-versus-reward mechanic in the upcoming Early Access build sounds especially brutal—losing your hard-earned narrative fragments upon dying means every risky trek into the dark carries severe consequences. By the time the Full Game rolls around, the demon will be capable of ceiling-crawling and causing full-blown reality distortions.

    How to Play Right Now

    If you don’t want to wait until the Early Access launch later this quarter, you don’t have to. A playable co-op demo is available right now on Steam, allowing you and two friends to test your survival instincts in a smaller slice of the cursed woods.

    Head over to the Fearwoods Steam Page to check out the brand-new trailer, browse the fresh screenshots, and add the game to your wishlist.

    TechMash Verdict: With its heavy reliance on sensory mechanics and high-stakes co-op play, Fearwoods is shaping up to be one of the most stressful—and exciting—indie horror games of the year. Keep those flashlights off, people.

    Find out more here

    #Fearwoods #HorrorGames #IndieDev #GamingNews #CoOpHorror #SteamGames #SurvivalHorror #PCGaming #TechMash

  • Don’t Touch That Dial: Tequila Works Veterans Reveal Spooky New Title ‘Tuned In’

    Don’t Touch That Dial: Tequila Works Veterans Reveal Spooky New Title ‘Tuned In’

    The indie gaming landscape just got a major jolt of adrenaline. Vercors Games, a newly formed boutique studio based in Madrid, has officially broken cover to announce its debut title: Tuned In.

    If the studio’s name doesn’t ring a bell yet, the pedigree behind it certainly will. Vercors Games features a powerhouse core team composed of senior staff from Tequila Works—the brilliant minds responsible for atmospheric hits like RIME, GYLT, and Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story. If that wasn’t enough star power, they’ve also recruited seasoned industry talent from Airship Syndicate and Blizzard Entertainment.

    With a pedigree like that, expectations were always going to be high, and their first teaser does not disappoint.

    A Shifting Anthology of Nightmares

    Vercors Games dropped the curtain on Tuned In via a mysterious, deeply unsettling short video hosted on their newly launched Kickstarter pre-campaign page. Check out the teaser below:

    The premise is pure, unfiltered psychological dread. In Tuned In, players find themselves trapped by a dark, malevolent entity inside a cursed television broadcast. To survive, you must navigate a sinister lineup of puzzles, endure shifting layers of horror, and make impossible, branching choices.

    The core gameplay centres around a fascinatingly tactile mechanic: mastering the controls of an old-school cathode-ray tube (CRT) television to alter the broadcast. As you play, the boundaries of reality and the television signal begin to warp and bleed into one another. You’ll manipulate the dials to encounter, embody, and attempt to save different survivors across an interconnected narrative.

    From Gritty Slashers to Folk Horror

    Rather than sticking to a single flavour of fear, Vercors Games is building Tuned In as an ever-shifting anthology. Each chapter draws from a completely different horror sub-genre, giving every segment a distinct visual and atmospheric identity.

    The studio has promised everything from the gritty, heavy-ink shadows reminiscent of classic 80s slasher films to the muted, grainy, slow-burn textures of atmospheric folk horror. The entire experience is bound together by a gorgeous, hand-drawn graphic novel art style.

    Want to Play It Early?

    While the full game is slated for a 2027 release on Steam and Steam Deck, you won’t have to wait that long to get a taste of the nightmare.

    Vercors Games has announced that anyone who signs up early on their [Kickstarter Pre-Campaign Page] will receive exclusive, free access to a playable prologue of the game, which is set to drop very shortly.

    Between the pedigree of the developers and the brilliant, retro-tv framing device, Tuned In is instantly rocketing to the top of our “ones to watch” list. Head over to their Kickstarter page to secure your prologue access before the broadcast goes live!

    Find out more here

    #GamingNews #TunedIn #VercorsGames #IndieDev #HorrorGames #TequilaWorks #SteamDeck #Kickstarter #GamingCommunity #TechMash

  • From Canvas to Cannon Fire: How Tactical Boar Reworked the Montenotte Map for Veterans: Napoleonic Wars

    From Canvas to Cannon Fire: How Tactical Boar Reworked the Montenotte Map for Veterans: Napoleonic Wars

    If you are a fan of historical strategy, you’ve likely been keeping a close eye on Veterans: Napoleonic Wars. Developed by indie studio Tactical Boar, this highly anticipated single-player real-time tactics game tosses out base-building and economy management to focus entirely on what matters: formations, troop morale, and the deafening roar of black powder artillery.

    In their latest developer update (Dev Blog #5), the team pulled back the curtain to give players a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how they construct their historical battlefields. Specifically, they detailed the massive design overhaul of Montenotte—one of the very first maps players will encounter in the game.

    Here is how Tactical Boar is reshaping the map to ensure your first taste of 19th-century command feels completely authentic, punishing, and tactically brilliant.

    The Problem with the First Draft

    Montenotte was originally built very early in the game’s development loop, before many core gameplay mechanics (like the fortification system) were even fully integrated.

    After initial playtesting, the feedback from the community was loud and clear: the map felt too cramped. Players found themselves squeezed tight between steep mountain passes with virtually zero room to manoeuvre or pull off authentic flanking tactics. Worse yet, Austrian reinforcements in the second phase were spawning far too close to the action, allowing aggressive players to simply rush cavalry and end the battle before the tactical chess match could even begin.

    Tactical Boar took that feedback to heart and went back to the digital drawing board.

    What’s Changing: Space, Strategy, and Sabres

    The reworked Montenotte map isn’t just a visual upgrade—it completely alters how the battle plays out. The level designers focused on three major pillars for the redesign:

    1. Room to Breathe (and Flank)

    The team has significantly expanded the boundaries of the battlefield. By widening the distances between major points of interest, commanders finally have the breathing room required to plan complex manoeuvres, deploy lines, columns, or squares, and actually commit to a long-term strategy rather than engaging in an immediate meat-grinder.

    2. Reinforcements as a Calculated Risk

    To fix the “cavalry rush” meta, reinforcement positions have been pulled back drastically. Now, bringing fresh battalions into the fray is a conscious tactical choice that requires careful timing and positioning, rather than a frantic, automated scramble.

    3. A Redoubt Worth Fighting For

    In earlier builds, the battlefield’s redoubt felt like little more than background decoration. Following the update, it has been transformed into a vital historical objective. If you want to secure the map, you’ll have to fight hard to capture, fortify, and hold this defensive position.

    Sharp, Honest Combat Mechanics

    This map overhaul coincides with a few massive structural upgrades to how Veterans: Napoleonic Wars handles engagement. The developers are moving away from arcade-like “snapping” mechanics. Units will no longer act like magnets pulling face-to-face from their centre points; instead, they lock onto frontal contact zones exactly where they overlap.

    Combined with a revamped “Fallback” command—which requires genuine tactical withdrawal rather than acting as a quick-dodge exploit—the battle for Montenotte promises to be a gripping, honest simulation of historical warfare.

    As a crucial early-game mission, Montenotte is designed to set the tone for the entire campaign. Thanks to Tactical Boar’s commitment to community feedback, it looks like that first impression is going to be incredibly strong.

    Veterans: Napoleonic Wars is currently in development for PC via Steam. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming demos and playtests!

    Find out more here

    #VeteransNapoleonicWars #TacticalBoar #IndieDev #PCGaming #StrategyGames #RTS #Gamedev #NapoleonicWars #GamingNews #TechMash

  • Extinction-Level Event? Nah, We’ve Got Fences: Very Safe Dino Park is Coming to Steam!

    Extinction-Level Event? Nah, We’ve Got Fences: Very Safe Dino Park is Coming to Steam!

    We’ve all been there. You build a beautiful, sprawling theme park, invite thousands of unsuspecting tourists inside, and then—boom—a thunderstorm hits, the power goes down, and suddenly your star attraction is playing catch with a tour jeep.

    Well, indie developer Panic Stations is here to assure you that absolutely none of that will happen in their upcoming title, Very Safe Dino Park, officially coming soon to Steam!

    Check out the chaotic (but totally controlled, we promise) teaser below:

    What is Very Safe Dino Park?

    At its core, Very Safe Dino Park is a management simulation game with a healthy dose of dark humour and high-stakes damage control. You are tasked with building, operating, and expanding a prehistoric safari.

    The twist? The title might be a tad bit sarcastic.

    While the marketing brochure promises a tranquil day out for the whole family, the gameplay looks set to challenge players with keeping prehistoric predators contained, guests alive, and corporate lawyers firmly at bay. You’ll need to balance your budget between high-voltage fencing and guest amenities, all while praying your Velociraptors don’t figure out how to use door handles.

    Key Features to Expect:

    • Enclosure Management: Build custom habitats for a variety of prehistoric beasts. Just remember: the bigger the teeth, the thicker the walls need to be.
    • Guest Satisfaction vs. Survival: Keep your visitors fed, entertained, and—most importantly—uneaten. Happy guests mean bigger budgets!
    • Crisis Mitigation: When things go wrong (and they will), you’ll need to deploy security teams, patch up breaches, and distract the carnivores before the press catches wind of it.
    • Tech & Research: Unlock new DNA strains to breed even bigger attractions, and upgrade your security tech to keep up with your increasingly clever assets.

    Why We’re Excited

    Management sims are at their best when everything is on the brink of collapse, and Panic Stations seems to have captured that frantic, joyful chaos perfectly. It’s got the strategic depth of classic park builders mixed with a satirical edge that feels incredibly fresh.

    Will your park live up to its name, or will it become a buffet? There’s only one way to find out.

    Very Safe Dino Park doesn’t have a concrete release date just yet, but it is officially listed on Steam. Head over to the store page now to hit that Wishlist button and stay updated on the upcoming beta phases!

    What’s the first dinosaur you’re going to breed? Let us know in the comments below!

    Find out more here

    #VerySafeDinoPark #PanicStations #SteamGames #IndieDev #PCGaming #DinosaurGame #GamingNews #TechMash #TycoonGames #UpcomingReleases

  • Tactical Realism Reborn: ‘GROUND BRANCH’ Prepares for Full 1.0 Launch on Steam This July

    Tactical Realism Reborn: ‘GROUND BRANCH’ Prepares for Full 1.0 Launch on Steam This July

    Tactical shooter fans, check your corners and prep your loadouts. GROUND BRANCH, the uncompromising tactical first-person shooter developed in collaboration with BlackFoot Studios and published by MicroProse, is officially ready to leave Steam Early Access.

    Mark your calendars for July 16, 2026, when Version 1.0 officially deploys.

    Led by a development team featuring one of the original minds behind the golden era of Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon, GROUND BRANCH has spent years meticulously forging a reputation for deliberate, raw, and highly customizable gameplay. Version 1.0 is set to be the game’s most definitive milestone yet, moving past its long-standing “V1036” label to deliver an entirely rebuilt framework.

    Here is what you need to know about the major tactical upgrades coming on launch day.

    The Return of Operations: A New Narrative Prologue

    For solo players and co-op squads looking for structured immersion, Version 1.0 introduces Operations—the game’s official campaign framework.

    The full launch kicks things off with an all-new Prologue set deep in the rugged mountains of Northwest Pakistan.

    • Story-Driven Depth: The Prologue features two narrative-heavy introductory missions that set the stage for the broader global conflict unfolding later in the campaign.
    • Persistent Progression: Expect complete tactical briefings, full voice-over narration, and tracking that makes every deployment feel connected to a larger operational goal.

    Overhauled AI and Advanced Mission Types

    If you’ve played earlier builds, you know the AI could occasionally be unpredictable. BlackFoot Studios has spent months migrating behaviour trees directly from Blueprint into C++ code, unlocking massive performance gains and significantly smarter enemies.

    • High-IQ Targeting: Enemy AI now factors in your visible profile. If you’re behind cover with only your head showing, they will adapt and target your head, rather than losing track. Higher-skilled enemies will instinctively target your chest.
    • Morale and Suppression: Missing a shot now carries real tactical consequences. Unaware enemies will react dynamically to near-misses by suppressing and fleeing to cover. Witnessing a teammate fall will actively tank enemy morale, altering their decision trees in real time.
    • New Environment & Mission: Players will deploy to Outpost, a stark new map featuring an old mountain fort overlooking the volatile Afghan border. This setting pairs perfectly with the newly added Extraction mission type, introducing complex hostage rescue scenarios and smarter captor behaviours.

    Fluid Locomotion and Next-Gen Physics

    The physical feel of moving through tight spaces has been completely modernised. Version 1.0 rolls out an entirely overhauled player locomotion system using fresh motion capture data. Weapon transitions, stance changes (including a heavily refined prone state), and general traversal feel dramatically smoother.

    Techmash Verdict: By modernising the underlying infrastructure while keeping weapon customization and squad communication hyper-realistic, BlackFoot Studios isn’t chasing modern arcade trends. They are firmly cementing GROUND BRANCH as the true spiritual successor to old-school tactical gaming.

    GROUND BRANCH Version 1.0 drops on Steam on July 16, 2026. If you want a pure shooter that rewards patience, planning, and precise communication, this is one milestone you cannot afford to miss.

    Are you ready to take your squad into Northwest Pakistan, or are you just eager to test out the new breaching mechanics? Let us know your tactical loadout strategies in the comments below!

    Find out more here

    #GroundBranch #BlackFootStudios #MicroProse #TacticalShooter #PCGaming #SteamGames #MilSim #GamingNews #IndieDev #Techmash #FPSRealism

  • Kitman Substituted Back On: Over 50,000 Sign-Ups Later, the Ultimate Football Game Playtest is Back!

    Kitman Substituted Back On: Over 50,000 Sign-Ups Later, the Ultimate Football Game Playtest is Back!

    Football fans, lace up your boots and grab your controllers. After an absolutely massive first playtest that saw over 50,000 managers and players sign up to test their skills, the highly anticipated football game Kitman is opening its pitch gates once again.

    If you missed out on the first round of chaotic, tactical action, don’t worry—you’ve just been handed a second-half substitution. Here is everything you need to know about getting back on the field.

    Why is Everyone Talking About Kitman?

    The first playtest blew expectations out of the water. With tens of thousands of players flooding the servers, the feedback was loud and clear: Kitman is bringing something fresh to the virtual football world.

    It’s not just about running down the wing and smashing the cross button; it’s about the culture, the tactics, and the beautiful game itself. The developers have spent the last few weeks analysing data, fixing bugs, and tweaking gameplay based on exactly what the community demanded.

    What to expect in Playtest #2:

    • Optimized server stability (to handle the next massive wave of players).
    • Refined gameplay mechanics based on direct community feedback.
    • A sneak peek at new features that weren’t available in the first round.

    How to Get Involved

    Don’t get left on the bench this time. Spaces are bound to fill up fast given the hype generated by the first 50K testers.

    1. Head over to the official Kitman website or Steam page.
    2. Hit the “Request Access” or sign-up button.
    3. Keep a close eye on your inbox for your golden ticket to the pitch.

    Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of football simulators or just looking for a fresh competitive sports game to dive into with friends, Kitman is shaping up to be a must-play. See you on the pitch!

    Find out more here

    #KitmanGame #FootballGaming #GamingNews #Playtest #PCGaming #ConsoleGaming #TechMash #SoccerGaming #IndieDev #BetaTest

  • Full Steam Ahead: Rail Estate Pulls into Steam this July with Massive Upgrades!

    Full Steam Ahead: Rail Estate Pulls into Steam this July with Massive Upgrades!

    Tycoon fans, grab your conductor hats. Swiss indie studio Holonautic—the brilliant minds typically known for pushing boundaries in the VR space—has officially announced the release date for its highly anticipated first “flat-screen” title.

    Mark your calendars: Rail Estate is officially arriving on Steam on July 16th, 2026!

    If you’ve been following the game’s development, you know it was initially revealed earlier this year as a fast-paced, multiplayer-first experience. Think Ticket to Ride meets Power Grid, but live, cutthroat, and packed with high-stakes blind auctions. However, Holonautic hasn’t just been sitting back; they have used the time leading up to launch to massively expand the scope of the game.

    Here is a breakdown of the massive new features pulling into the station this July.

    What’s New in the Final Track?

    Holonautic has loaded the launch version with a massive haul of new content based on community feedback, transforming it into a complete real-time strategy package.

    • A Full Single-Player Campaign: No internet? No problem. If you want to hone your skills before taking on real opponents, the game now features a robust single-player mode. You’ll tackle a variety of strategic scenarios and face off against a merciless cast of AI rivals to claim your tycoon crown.
    • Top-to-Bottom Visual Redesign: The entire game has undergone a major graphical overhaul. Expect polished, vibrant visuals that bring your burgeoning transportation empire to life.
    • New Cargo Hauling System: Managing passengers is one thing, but the new cargo system adds a whole new layer of economic depth. You’ll need to carefully balance speed, capacity, and resource management to keep your profits climbing.
    • Fresh Biomes & Dynamic Terrain: You’ll be building across procedurally generated world maps featuring brand-new biomes. Every map forces you to adapt your strategy to the layout of the land, meaning no two matches will ever play the same.
    • Full Steam Deck Support: For tycoons on the move, Holonautic confirmed that you’ll be able to manage your multi-million-dollar rail network right from the palm of your hand.

    Cutthroat Capitalism on the Living Grid

    At its core, Rail Estate challenges you and up to seven other players to build the country’s most profitable transportation business. You will outbid opponents in tense blind auctions to secure lucrative routes, upgrade your trains and stations to maximise revenue, and intentionally create tactical bottlenecks to sabotage your rivals.

    As one early playtester famously put it, “It’s truly a capitalist’s wet dream game. It’s very cutthroat and so true to life.”

    The Verdict: Whether you are a hardcore fan of economic simulators or looking for a fast-paced 20-minute strategy showdown with friends, Rail Estate is shaping up to be an absolute must-play this summer.

    Wishlist It Today!

    The wait is almost over. Head over to Steam right now to add Rail Estate to your wishlist so you’re ready to dominate the rail economy the second it drops on July 16th.

    Find out more here

    #Techmash #RailEstate #Holonautic #SteamGames #PCGaming #IndieDev #TycoonGames #GamingNews #StrategyGames #SteamDeck