Crashbook #36

They found it in the gloom of a forgotten loft, pressed into the dirty blanket of foam glass insulation. In his final years, the old man had scribbled down every strange idea, every vivid dream, desperate to save these treasures of the mind. Twenty years after his passing, they uncovered the Crashbook.

A new page turns, revealing twenty-two more games I have not played.

598/ The Darkest Files

Germany, 1956. The war is over, but justice is not served. Former Nazis walk free, while their victims lie in unmarked graves. As a prosecutor, you’ll unearth long-buried evidence, confront witnesses and hunt down perpetrators. Will you have the courage to bring these “ordinary men” to court?

Crash notes: I was convinced I’d added this before, but no. This won the Best Serious Game and Best German Game in the Deutscher Computersprielpreis in April.

Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Released Mar 2025

599/ Snap & Grab

Do crimes using only your camera and your crew! In Snap & Grab, any photo you take could be the key to cool crime success. Travel to exotic sandbox locations, photograph treasures and reveal threats, then combine your photos in unique ways to create a rad heist plan.

Crash notes: Not entirely sure I got how this works from the trailers, but perhaps a good marriage of the heist and photography genres?

Windows | Steam Link | Released Apr 2026

600/ Saros

SAROS is an action game with the haunting story of a lost off-world colony on Carcosa under an ominous eclipse. You play as Arjun Devraj, a powerful Soltari Enforcer who will stop at nothing to find who he is looking for. Our goal is to create an emotional and powerful character study that explores the cost it takes to create a new future.

Crash notes: New Housemarque title, everyone. Sounds like they’re not bringing it to PC.

PS5 | Steam Link | Released Apr 2026

601/ Plentiful

Plentiful is a nature sandbox. You shape the land and everything responds—water, plants, animals, and your people. Learn how this world works. Your tribe’s survival depends on it.

Crash notes: I like the ingredients here but cannot tell if the concept has legs. Moving individual hex blocks looks fun – but is it wearying if you have to move a lot around?

Windows | Steam Link | EA

602/ Backtrace: Mechanisms for Forgetting

Backtrace is a yuri mystery and puzzle game set inside a retro computer. Log on night after night to uncover a story of internet exploits, unexpected friendships, and a chaotic crew of 80s hackers. Solve 2D grid-based puzzles to piece together the mystery.

Crash notes: So I had not heard of “yuri” which is, according to Wikipedia, a genre of Japanese media focusing on intimate relationships between female characters. Anyway, this looks great although I haven’t looked closely at the puzzling which I might need convincing on.

Windows, Mac, Linux | Steam Link | Unreleased

603/ Inkblood

You’re an Inquisitor following a trail of death. A cult is at work, your predecessor has vanished, and the region teeters on the edge of chaos. Find the truth. Uphold the Inquisition. Do not fail.

Crash notes: Oh, such fantastic animations on show here, although note not entirely wholesome with hands being stabbed, crows picking at dead bodies…

Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased

604/ Dungeons of Freeport

A Daily Extraction Roguelike Dungeon-Crawler. Play the same dungeons as everyone else, once a day. Select your gear and delve into dungeons, attempting to escape with the loot you obtain. Inspired by classical roguelikes of decades past, but with a modern interface and metagame.

Crash notes: Completely missed the release of this on itch, but fortunately I caught the notice about the Steam page going up…

Windows, Mac, Linux | Steam Link | Just released

605/ MOTORSLICE

Parkour through the ruins of a megastructure, climb massive bosses, and hunt down every construction equipment in this slice of life action-adventure with immaculate vibes.

Crash notes: Normally, megastructure is a byword for grey brutalist buildings. Sure, Motorslice has a lot of grey – but the trailers reveal a world accented with yellow and blue.

Windows | Steam Link | Just released

606/ Automaton Heart

Automaton Heart is an RPG with platforming elements where you visit obscure and interesting places while upgrading your organs and strategizing about which items to bring along.

Crash notes: On Crashbook as this looks quirky and weird.

Windows, Linux | Steam Link | Just released

607/ Mixtape

On their last night together, three friends embark on one final adventure. Play through a mixtape of memories, set to the soundtrack of a generation.

Crash notes: Plenty of folks saying this is great and it’s got the coveted Overwhelmingly Positive review status on Steam. Initially the critical outlook was positive but that was followed by a backlash, calling it out as fake nostalgia. It was the videogame drama for a week. Anyway, here it be.

Windows | Steam Link | Just released

608/ Phonopolis

Phonopolis is a story-driven puzzle adventure set in a hand-painted 3D world made of cardboard. Solve a wide variety of playful puzzles and help Felix end the Leader’s oppressive influence in a resonant dystopian city inspired by avant-garde art.

Crash notes: It’s Amanita time again. Their last release was Happy Game in 2021.

Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Just released

609/ Elmin

Elmin is a serene first person platformer where you bring winds back to a forgotten archipelago of islands. Fly between islands in a vibrant open world on the back of a mysterious giant bird, unlock wind routes and do parkour across the interconnected remains of an ancient civilization.

Crash notes: Immediately thought of Samurai Punk’s Feather when I saw this.

Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased

610/ Wall Street Raider

Wall Street Raider offers the deepest stock market simulations in gaming history. Control publicly traded corporations, futures, options, and even crypto. Whether you want to make billions in equities, short-sell overvalued stocks, or hedge risk using derivatives, the market is yours to conquer!

Crash notes: Picked this one up from fellow traveller CampfireBurning on BlueSky. Wall Street Raider is “the deepest stock market simulation in gaming history you’ve never heard of” and has been “in active development since 1986”. The game’s website has testimonials of those the game inspired to get into finance. Hmm, is that a good thing? (Says the person who works in finance…)

Windows | Steam Link | EA

611/ The Talos Principle 3

The Talos Principle 3 is the last chapter of the thought-provoking first-person puzzle series, taking you on a cosmic journey across more than a dozen worlds and testing your mind with all-new challenges.

Crash notes: Yeah, I think I’d better finish that DLC. Of course there’s an omega in the logo, now. Of course.

Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased

612/ They Took the Sun

They Took the Sun is a short action flight game. Speed through vast forsaken environments in search of gigantic mechanical monstrosities. Find their weak points and shoot them down.

Crash notes: From the developer of Elmin. This has a top vibe and people are making comparisons to Shadow of the Colossus.

Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased

613/ she danced in the wind like a holographic dream before the world died

“The very last flower grew in concrete. She danced in the wind like a holographic dream before the world died.” A short interactive poetry experience, and science fiction, about the end. Explore brutalist ruins to collect memories of a dead world.

Crash notes: Nathalie Lawhead. She also recently released a short called Meanderware.

Windows | Steam Link | Released Mar 2026

614/ Luna Abyss

Luna Abyss is a single player story driven action-adventure with fluid platforming and bullet hell combat. Follow the journey of Fawkes, a prisoner of Luna caught between a cryptic prophecy and their prison sentence.

Crash notes: Visually this is stunning. The dialogue in the trailers I am less excited about.

Windows | Steam Link | Just released

615/ Algolemeth

“Connect the nodes and hack the Dungeon!” Algolemeth is an RPG where you control golem behavior through visual programming and let them conquer dungeons fully automatically. Refine your logic and, through trial and error, aim to master the dungeon!

Crash notes: A wild twist on the algorithm puzzle game has entered the chat. Heard about this on Bluesky – summarised as ‘insanely cool’ by Aura.

Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased

616/ Éclaircies

Lost in a bewildering forest, discover a new way to run and walk through a vast and intricate environment. Create new trails, map the forest, leave your mark and use the stars to chart your way out as you make the most of your journey.

Crash notes: I can’t help getting some Proteus vibes from this. It’s a walking simulator, of course.

Windows | Steam Link | Just released

617/ Deck & Conn

Take command of a nuclear-powered space corvette in a Cold War-flavored sci-fi campaign. Balance tactics, crew, and limited resources in a dynamic forever-war. Retro pixel art meets deep strategy fifteen minutes into the future of 1989.

Crash notes: Another repeat developer in this episode! From the same developer as Dungeons of Freeport.

Windows, Mac, Linux | Steam Link | Unreleased

618/ Entropy

Entropy is a tactical turn-based RPG inspired by classic JRPGs. Assemble your party of mercenaries and forge your own path towards an expedition into hell to stop the demonic incursion. Choices you make along the way will determine the fate of your world.

Crash notes: I’ve never played Morrowind except for the character generation bit – but this reminds me of Morrowind. Yes, Morrowind that I’ve never played. Ah! It’s from the same crew who made Dread Delusion. I haven’t played that either.

Windows | Steam Link | EA

619/ DITTORI

Deep beneath the world, an ancient god stirs. Master the forbidden power of DITTORI, discover its secrets, and use it to bend reality to your will. Herald the end of all things.

Crash notes: Draknek & Friends are publishing this. I’ve heard very good things about DITTORI.

Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased