It’s been a busy week in indie gaming. The Steam Summer Sale is in full swing, Valve’s mysterious Steam Machine just opened reservations, and a few notable new releases are worth your time.
Let’s start with the sale itself — it runs through July 9. Valve’s timing with the Sparkling Stream Machine reservation is probably not a coincidence. The machine starts at $1,049, which is steep for what’s essentially a low-spec Linux box, but you don’t pay for online multiplayer, and PC game prices tend to be lower than console. Plus, if you’ve got spare AMD parts, you can build your own version running SteamOS right now. NVIDIA support won’t arrive until 2027, though.
On the release front, Dark Scrolls by Doinksoft and Devolver Digital stands out. It’s a side-scrolling platformer with heavy FromSoftware influence — old-school Master System vibes, co-op support, and no tutorial. You figure things out by playing. Or by calling an actual phone hotline the developers set up. Yes, really. It’s $10 on Steam and Nintendo Switch, with a 10% launch discount.
Sad news this week: Douze Dixièmes, the studio behind the critically praised MIO: Memories in Orbit, has shut down. The game’s gorgeous and got strong reviews, but it couldn’t break through in a crowded market. A reminder that good games don’t always find their audience.
And Ratatan, the spiritual successor to Patapon, has been delayed from July 16 to October 15. The devs say they need more time to polish it. We’ve heard that before, but at least they’re being honest about it.
