No Small Games

Welcome back to the NSG Indie Game Roundup, our monthly series featuring indie games news, plus game demos and new release discussions. If you thought your Indie Game of the Year pick or top 10 of 2026 was locked in, September probably threw all of that out of whack. It certainly made us question everything we previously thought, because this month was relentless with its deluge of incredible indies. From Well Dweller, to Woodo, to Sucker for Love, we really drew from every genre and vibe this month in our selection. We're also looking ahead to October, because 2026 does not appear to be slowing down with the game releases. Also, huge thanks to our newest Patreon supporters! In addition to other fun perks, members on Patreon get early access to all of the Indie Game Roundup episodes. If you love No Small Games and would like to support us in growing the show, while also unlocking fun, exclusive content, you can check out our Patreon page. You can find our full show notes, including links and shoutouts, on the No Small Games site: Indie Game Roundup - September 2026 Show Notes Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:27 - Icebreaker Question 00:13:08 - Indie Game News 00:25:54 - Demos 00:35:14 - Kernel Hearts 00:44:25 - Sucker for Love: Crush Landing 00:51:47 - Well Dweller 00:59:16 - the mountain is as it always was 01:02:43 - Woodo 01:10:53 - TOEM 2 01:17:47 - Fruitbearer Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social  Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social  No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social  No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames  Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com

Wax Heads, developed by Patattie Games, is a slice-of-life visual novel mixed with a record store management sim. You'll spend your shifts at Repeater Records recommending albums to a parade of strange and charming customers, learning about the panoply of fascinating artists from the Wax Heads cinematic universe, and chatting with your coworkers. Everyone on staff at the store has a fascinating backstory to unpack, but none more than your elusive boss, Morgan Macintyre. But just as you're getting to know and love the store, your customers, and your colleagues, the threat of a closure begins to loom. Can Repeater Records be saved? In Episode 71, we had the pleasure of chatting with content creator Kevin Cortez about this quirky musical-centered game. Everyone had their own personal experience of spending day in and day out recommending music to the Repeater Records customers, and you'll get to hear about everyone's favorite coworkers. Most importantly, perhaps, you'll also hear our definitive berry rankings!  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:05:38 - Weekly Boss Battles 00:13:02 - Meet our Guest - Kevin Cortez 00:26:28 - Wax Heads Discussion 01:35:38 - Wax Heads Spoilers 01:41:12 - Game Ratings 01:46:02 - One Small Thing Meet our Guest Kevin (he/him) @kevincortez.huffpost.com Kevin Cortez is the Shopping Editor at HuffPost, a contributor to the gaming blog site Mothership, and a content creator who curates recommendations for a variety of fun product types, including gaming merch. We're big fans of all of his work and loved getting a peek into his process in this episode! Check out Kevin on: Tiktok  Instagram  Bluesky Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social  Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social  No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social  No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames  Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com

We're bringing you along for our first PAX West in Seattle! We're stoked to share all the indie demos, side events, and shenanigans! Our very first PAX West in Seattle had us feeling like games media babies all over again. Two buildings, many floors of expo booths, panels, and programming, and so much to explore! But we played more indie game demos than ever at this PAX! We also got to attend some wonderfully indie-centric side events like the MIX Fall Showcase and the Seattle Indies Expo. We're a little loopy from all the travel, but we hope you enjoy this recap of all the games we got to check out, including some exclusive sneak peeks! Curious to hear and see more about these games? Check out our roundup of 11 stellar indie games we got our hands on at the show, including our Game of the Show! Also, check out the full show notes for the names of and links to all of the games we talk about in this episode! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:05 - NSG Off the Cuff: PAX Day 1 00:07:53 - PAX West 2026 First Impressions 00:19:10 - Unofficial Side Events 00:27:47 - NSG Off the Cuff: PAX Day 2 00:50:20 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights 01:15:20 - Interview - Manda Farough and Greg Rogers, Causeway Studios 01:33:34 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights Continued 01:38:18 - Interview - Ben Escobar, Genie Boy Games 01:42:56 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights Continued 02:12:21 - Interview - Quintin Pan, ambedo studio 02:20:20 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights Continued Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social  Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social  No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social  No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames  Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com

Welcome back to the NSG Indie Game Roundup, our monthly series featuring indie games news, plus game demos and new release discussions. We may be almost through summer, but the gaming news continues to flow, for better or worse. We dig into some big indie game news stories from the past month, plus a little internet discourse, as a treat. As usual, we also have a ton of awesome game demos and new releases to tell you about! Make sure you stay through the end of the roundup because we have a very special bonus segment at the end, where we got to chat with our dear friends Cognitive Clips and Cecilie about this year's Games for Change Festival. They shared some great highlights from this year's event, some of which you can watch at the links in the show notes. Also, huge thanks to our newest Patreon supporters! In addition to other fun perks, members on Patreon get early access to all of the Indie Game Roundup episodes. If you love No Small Games and would like to support us in growing the show, while also unlocking fun, exclusive content, you can check out our Patreon page. You can find our full show notes, including links and shoutouts, on the No Small Games site: Indie Game Roundup - August Show Notes Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:48 - Icebreaker Question  00:13:00 - Indie Game News 00:34:15 - Demos 00:47:10 - Big Walk 00:57:36 - Capy Castaway 01:00:39 - Mind Inc. 01:03:10 - Sephiria 01:08:50 - Nimbit Frontier 01:13:52 - Lost & Found: A This Bed We Made Story 01:20:32 - Walk 01:24:46 - Fields of Mistria 01:38:28 - A Musical Story Meet our Guests CognitiveClips @cognitiveclips.bsky.social Jordan, aka CognitiveClips, is a gaming content creator and one of the co-hosts of Drop-in Drop-out Podcast. Jordan produces video essays, game impressions and playthroughs for YouTube. As a co-host on Drop-in Drop-out, he joins a large cast of rotating hosts and guests to discuss video game news, new releases and everything in between. Check out Jordan's content on: Bluesky  YouTube  Instagram  Drop-in Drop-out Podcast C3C1LIE @c3c1lie.bsky.social Cecilie works in advocacy and policy work at the United Nations, with a focus on international migration and displacement. She works with governments, NGOs, UN agencies and other stakeholders to uplift grassroots experiences and bring them to policy making spaces at the UN. She also occasionally streams on Twitch, including recapping events like Games for Change. Follow Cecilie on: Bluesky  Instagram  Twitch Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social  Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social  No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social  No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames  Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com

Road 96, developed by Digixart, is a choices matter adventure game where you make your way through a procedurally generated road trip, trying to cross the border out of your authoritarian country. A pivotal election is coming up and teens are being hunted down and imprisoned. Your only hope is to travel north in hopes that you can escape to freedom. In Road 96, every player's journey will be entirely your own. In Episode 70, we were delighted to be joined by gaming content creator Rogan, to help us unpack the wild twists and turns we experienced on the road. We discuss everything from video game hot takes to our thoughts on the choices matter genre. True to the premise of the game, all of our journeys were extremely different and we had a great time comparing what we encountered.  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:13:00 - Weekly Boss Battles 00:22:00 - Meet our Guest - RoganPlaysGames 00:48:10 - Road 96 Discussion 02:00:15 - Game Ratings 02:06:37 - One Small Thing Meet our Guests Rogan (he/him) @roganplaysgames.bsky.social Rogan is an indie gaming content creator known for short form videos highlighting lesser known titles similar to AAA favorites, upcoming indies to look out for, and more. With years of experience in the games industry, he brings both deep knowledge of and passion for games to his content. Check out Rogan on: Tiktok  Instagram  YouTube  Bluesky Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social  Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social  No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social  No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames  Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com