Indie Wednesday – Countdown To Osaka, Part 1

Way Too Many Indies Wednesdays

Welcome to Way Too Many Indies Wednesdays where we highlight four recently released or upcoming indie games that have caught our eye. In a market where so many games can get lost in the shuffle, some true gems can sneak right past us without us knowing. These are the four games this week that we want to keep our eye on, and we think you should as well!

This week’s collection is brought to you by Oliver Shellding. As everyone gets excited for the upcoming Tokyo Game Show, Oliver has been eagerly ticking off the days for his own backyard adventure, The Osaka Indie Games Summit. Now going into it’s second year, the Summit is expanding rapidly from its previous iteration as more and more developers realize that TGS is simply too crowded, and a smaller venue is better for more meaningful facetime with fans and customers. Oliver has already locked in on several titles he’s excited to see and hopefully report on (seriously, Oliver, do some work, don’t just collect keychains), and will be sharing them over his next couple Indie Wednesday pieces.

Beautiful Life Show

 

Indie Wednesday - Countdown To Osaka Part 1 Beautiful Life Show

Developer: Fukudanuki
Publisher: Fukudanuki
Genre: Side-scroller, Adventure, Puzzle Platformer
Platforms: PC via Steam
Release Date: Coming Soon
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“Welcome to the deadly stage of The Beautiful Life Show a side-scrolling horror action adventure. As the star of a bizarre performance, you face fatal trials. Rewind time 3 seconds before death and collaborate with your replay ghost. Will you survive to witness what lies beyond the abyss?” Solid core gameplay approach with some Prince of Persia: Sands of Time mechanics and an appropriately creepy atmosphere, Beautiful Life Show caught my eye earlier in the year and has been on my radar ever since. It’s got the right degree of menace, misplaced whimsy and overall appeal. Plus, I can easily see this being a console release, so fingers crossed that Fukudanuki has a successful PC launch!


Wired Tokyo 2007

 

Indie Wednesday - Countdown To Osaka Part 1 Wired Tokyo 2007

Developer: Daikichi_EMP
Publisher: Digital Ramen Studio
Genre: 3D Platformer, Puzzle Platformer, Runner
Platforms: PC via Steam
Release Date: 2027
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“โ€” Dive into Tokyo. Dive into the past. โ€” WIRED TOKYO is a vertical 3D action game where you climb toward the vast skies above Tokyo. To unlock new abilities, you may have to deliberately โ€œdiveโ€ from above. A climbing game where falling has meaning โ€” thatโ€™s WIRED TOKYO.” Hoo boy. There was a period of time where super janky anime games were cropping up in the indie scene all over Japan, but it got quiet for a while. Now there’s this one about suicidal maids in Tokyo set in the distant past of…2007. But here’s the thing: 2007 was the last great heyday of Akihabara, so this period piece of artistic mayhem seems like a perfect capsule of all things nerdy, uncomfortable and wildly weird. I’m here for it.


Kafka at the Station

 

Indie Wednesday - Countdown To Osaka Part 1 Kafka at the Station

Developer: Neji. Games
Publisher: Neji. Games
Genre: Adventure, Interactive Fiction
Platforms: PC via Steam
Release Date: 2027

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“I found myself at the station. The story unfolds as you type commands on your keyboard. As the days repeat, I keep wondering what I can do for her. A command-driven adventure steeped in nostalgic pixel art and sound.” A clear nod to the Haruki Murakami novel Kafka on the Shore, this deceptively simple looking piece draws on a lot of classic ideology of gaming in the past: static screens, keyboard input, and limited choices. However, using modern tools and thought processes, Kafka promises to have a depth of revelations and slow burns to keep players entranced. Personally, this is some throwback goodness that excites me: it’s not quite The Crimson Diamond, but it’s damn promising.


Near the Sun

 

Indie Wednesday - Countdown To Osaka Part 1 Near the Sun

Developer: Nonlinear
Publisher: Nonlinear
Genre: Action Adventure, Platformer, Post-Apocalyptic
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2026
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Near The Sun is a 2D action-adventure game where you slice through enemy lines with sharp dashes and race across a collapsing underworld. Experience a story that changes depending on the order you explore, and discover a way to save a girl from a long-lost “previous world.” Japanese devs are focusing a lot on post apocalyptic themes, I can’t tell if that’s just nihilism or wishful thinking. In either case, this pixel art adventure is drenched in atmosphere and grim but exciting looking action, with additional elements of skillful tool usage and detailed worlds. Additionally, Nonlinear released one of the most underrated 3D titles of all time, Starchaser, almost a decade ago, so it’s excellent to see their journey has progressed so far.

And thatโ€™ll do it for this iteration of Way Too Many Indies Wednesday! Go ahead and wishlist those that caught your eye; that kind of metric really matters for developers and publishers. Also, show support for these games in your own way: follow the devs if you can and spread the word so that these dreams can come rushing forward even faster. Thereโ€™s always something for someone, so donโ€™t forget to always be searching for the next big game that really speaks to you. If you think thereโ€™s a game that should be considered for our roundup, be sure to let u know! Have fun, and keep the indie parade going!

If you missed last weeks picks, here is a quick link to go check them out!

 

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