Indie Spotlight - Part 13

Tetris Effect: Connected

Few games manage to combine nostalgia and sensory overload as perfectly as "Tetris Effect: Connected". The concept is unchanged, but the effect is different: everything lights up, vibrates and reacts. You play Tetris and at the same time experience the most beautiful acid trip with the most sensational soundtrack.

The project is backed by Enhance, the studio that already translated synaesthesia into movement with "Rez Infinite" and "Lumines". Here, minimalist design meets orchestral sound, electronic beats meet flowing forms. Over 30 visual worlds merge with music and rhythm until thinking becomes dancing.

Whether in VR mode or on the screen, "Tetris Effect: Connected" is meditation, ecstasy and flow all in one. If you're not smiling while stacking blocks, you've probably forgotten what excitement feels like.

Biped 2

Two little robots, four sticks and countless opportunities to accidentally push each other to virtual doom: "Biped 2" is back, more colourful, cleverer and even more chaotic. The mechanics remain ingeniously simple: everyone controls their character's legs with both analogue sticks, which looks as cute as it is nerve-wracking. After just a few minutes, you'll be stumbling through the levels laughing, juggling balls, balancing over precipices and suddenly flying off into the sunset on a hang glider.

Next Studios and Meta Publishing are expanding the principle with new biomes, a 2-on-2 mode and fresh gadgets such as the grappling hook. If you like, you can create your own levels in the Steam Workshop and share them with the community. "Biped 2" is pure gameplay at its best, precise, playful and with a heart of pure fun.

Spilled!

A small boat, a big ocean and lots of rubbish: "Spilled!" makes rubbish removal fun. In around an hour, you steer a recycling boat through colourful waters, suck up oil slicks, rescue animals and take plastic to the collection centre. The simple mechanics, soft colours and relaxed rhythm create a gaming experience that is more reminiscent of daydreaming than work.</p

Developer Lente lives on a houseboat herself, and perhaps that explains why each level feels like a quiet afternoon on deck. "Spilled!" is not an epic, not a puzzle, not a battle, it's pure digital tidying happiness, charming, entertaining and surprisingly liberating.

Thrasher

If a game feels like a rush, then it's called "Thrasher". Artist and composer Brian Gibson - known from "Thumper" - transforms a space eel into an instrument of light and movement with his new project. Players control a magnificent eel as it elegantly weaves its way through cosmic currents, battling giant bosses and challenging the psyche in the process. The game merges music, images and game mechanics into a transcendental experience.

"Thrasher" is more than just an action game, it's a trip through space and sound. Every bend, every impact follows the beat, every boss feels like a concert for the senses. Those who want to can relax in the meditative flow, those who can can chase the best times on the leaderboard. The game runs on PC, VR and Steam Deck and uses sound design and haptics to create the illusion of limitless speed.

It's no surprise that "Thrasher" has already won the Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year award. It's an experience that doesn't so much play as perform, wild, precise, hypnotic. A digital work of art that makes bass tangible and will certainly change your own appearance for a short time after the sessions in a humorous way.

Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders

For years, the Berlin-based studio Megagon Industries has stood for lovingly charming sports games with high standards. With "Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders", it continues its successful series, this time on skis instead of bikes. The concept remains the same: come down, crash, try again. Every descent is a battle for seconds and control, every finish a small triumph over oneself.</p

With the new Highlands DLC, the action shifts to the Scottish mountains. Four new tracks await, including steep black runs and quieter tours through autumn forests. There are also fresh challenges, new leaderboards and a tongue-in-cheek look: if you want, you can now ride in a kilt. The Highlands fit in seamlessly and add a new, atmospherically dense region to the game.

The free multiplayer update also strengthens the community. Cross-play, leaderboards and stable online races turn the quiet solo experience into a joint test of strength. "Snow Riders" thus remains what Megagon does best: a lovingly charming game about movement, focus and a little luck at the finish line.

Decktamer

You start with a small pack of cards and a big goal: to reach the bottom of the abyss. "Decktamer" by Horizon Edge and Assemble Entertainment is set in a world where monsters can not only be defeated, but tamed. Every defeated creature becomes a potential ally if it is brought under control in time. But if it dies in battle, it disappears from your deck forever.

The game is based on clear strategies and high risk. If you experiment, you can transfer abilities between monsters and create new synergies. Every game is different and every decision can determine success or failure. This creates a tactical gameplay experience that thrives on planning, instinct and a touch of madness.</p

Visually, "Decktamer" impresses with hand-drawn creatures and a striking fantasy style that perfectly captures the mixture of tension and unease. The music complements the action with unobtrusive intensity. The result is an unusually focussed roguelike that grows with each round and rewards players with patience, curiosity and clever moves.

Verho: Curse of Faces

A world in which every face tells a story and every curse takes on a new form. "Verho: Curse of Faces" is an extraordinary action RPG that immediately stands out with its mask mechanics. Each mask you find gives you new abilities, changes your play style and makes every game different. This idea gives rise to a roguelite that tells more about identity than many games manage with words.

The dungeons are procedurally generated, the atmosphere dense and unmistakable. The edgy low-poly visuals conceal a world that is both eerie and fascinating in equal measure. Between battles and exploration, fragments of a lost civilisation unfold.

The game was developed by Siltbreaker Studios, a small team with a great flair for suspense and symbolism. "Verho: Curse of Faces" is an intense, artistically ambitious adventure that thinks experimentally and impresses with its craftsmanship - a real insider tip for anyone who enjoys discovering new things in games.

Detective Dotson

A classic detective adventure meets Indian street life. Developed by studio Masala Games, "Detective Dotson" tells the story of several interconnected criminal cases that weave together to form a larger narrative. Players explore the streets of Mumbai, question witnesses, trade at markets and piece together clues to form logical solutions.

The world is vibrant and colourful. More than 50 characters populate alleyways, film sets and cookshops, while small mini-games such as cricket or dance interludes provide variety. Humour and atmosphere balance each other out, giving the game a pleasantly light tone despite the crime thriller plot.

Masala Games aims to put the cultural diversity of India centre stage with "Detective Dotson" - and succeeds in doing so with noticeable dedication. A charming, detailed adventure game with a lot of heart and its own signature, now new for Nintendo Switch.

As Long As You're Here

What remains when memories disappear? "As Long As You're Here" seeks answers to this question and finds them in quiet moments. The story follows Annie, an elderly woman whose Alzheimer's disease is gradually dissolving her memory. In letters, old photos and fleeting dialogues, her life unfolds between clarity and confusion.

Autoscopia Interactive from Copenhagen developed the game as a personal experience, inspired by real-life stories and their own family histories. The calm production, unagitated music and clear narrative make the game an emotional, almost documentary-like experience.

This project is important because it gives perspective: it does not force us to sympathise, it invites us to understand. "As Long As You're Here" makes visible what is often overlooked: the humanity in the disintegration of memory.

→ If you still haven't had enough after this mixture of space, waves and humour: You can find more highlights in our "Level Up" section - and of course in the current issue.