I know why you're here, you know why you're here -- let's not get coy now! It's demo time! But before I roll out the red carpet, I want to throw a deserved spotlight on Glizzy's first-ever showcase, featuring over 80 indie games! Luigikid Gaming was a sublime host, and I hope nobody's surprised when a few of the games highlighted in this chunky showcase receive write-ups over the next few weeks!

And now, your featured indie presentation! As always, if you see anything you like, wishlist it on Steam for visibility's sake and experience these bite-sized dopamine hits yourself!

‘You Don’t Belong Here’ Is A 2D-To-3D Platformer Carrying All The World’s Nihilistic Wrongness In A Short Demo

Who knew a Steam playtest would make me want to reevaluate my entire life? You Don’t Belong Here initially presents as a Mario-esque 2D platformer. Yahoo, wahoo, and then you befriend a green dinosaur. No, not quite. Instead, after a minute or two of the lie, your adorable, polygonal bunny (dog, maybe?) protagonist falls into the abyss. Suddenly, the surrounding world is a few degrees more realistic than before.

Dropping into this bold, new world, you’re introduced to your first friend, who proceeds to tell you that you’re not likely to live much longer! With your trusty pink hammer, you trek onward, bumping into—GOOD GOD, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING??? SMACK IT, END IT, GET IT AWAY FROM ME. ...Is it losing its resolution every time I hit it?

Here, knowledge is truly a curse. The more you learn, the less you know. The only way to beat this game is to never play it. But humans are curious creatures by nature, so you’ll play. You’ll live. And only a small part of you will die!

‘Hollow Home’ Is A Harrowing, Heartfelt CRPG That Fully Honors Its Inspiration

Hollow Home revolves around 14-year-old Maksym – “Max” for short – who is enjoying his last day of unbridled naivete before Russia invades Ukraine. Disco Elysium would be proud of Hollow Home’s bravery and unerring sincerity as Max’s world is upended, and the adults in his life have no choice but to be truthful about their anxieties and fears.

The demo offers players a hell of a ride, ranging from battling your best friend, Vika, to see who can shoot down the most battleships at their local arcade, to fulfilling your mother’s request of preparing the house for the worst as distant explosions come closer and closer to Max’s neck of the woods. The balance between Max’s innocence and tough decision-making situations is expertly handled. As is tradition, I’m not going to sit here and add adjectives to a gameplay system you’re likely familiar with if you’re reading this. It plays like Disco Elysium, but it has so much of its own personality poured into every interaction that it almost feels disrespectful to compare it to the best the CRPG genre has to offer.

Trust me on Hollow Home. If I’m confident of nothing else, my indie gaming “This is a future superstar” senses are usually spot-on. Play the demo, tell your friends, and buy the full experience when it releases!

‘Stabjack’ Combines Blackjack, ‘Slay the Spire’ Deckbuilding, And Kick-Ass Mystery Overtones

Now, you can breathe easy as I pivot into satisfying gameplay systems. Stabjack has a core mystery tale: you’re Jack, a detective trying to find out who killed his wife. You can pursue different investigations and take on multiple cases. To be clear, those elements are amazing. The demo lets you dig into those nuances enough for a robust sample. But for me and how my brain works, fuck all that. I wanna play Blackjack and indulge in Slay the Spire-styled roguelike deckbuildin’, dammit!

I said it once, I’ll say it over, and over, and over again. If you want to hook me on a dopamine high, give me a deep deckbuilder. Stabjack fulfills that requirement and more – card modifications, run-altering pick-ups, and everything else fans of StS could ever want! There are gorgeous battle animations, too! If you play this one, you’ll lose so many hours in a flash, I promise you. It’s that good, and it has time to be even better before it launches early next year!