Indieventure

#35. What is a cosy game? A love letter to gaming's gentler side (feat. Wanderstop)

Sakes alive, we're 35, and in this episode we've been inspired by the recent release of Wanderstop to turn our attention to the nebulous topic of cosy games. Is "cosy" a genre? A theme? A vibe? Are all cosy games broadly the same, or is it just a blanket term that can refer to any game without a central combat mechanic? Is "cosy" even still a valid classification now that we've moved so far past all major new titles being, essentially, Doom with a different paint job?
All these questions and more will be debated enthusiastically by the Indieventure trio, even if we entirely lack the ability to form a consensus that provides you with definitive answers. What we can manage, however, is to rattle off a bunch of cosy game recommendations, drawing from personal favourites and cosy classics (and indeed both) to come up with a list that encompasses indie titles as disparate as Stardew Valley (naturally), Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Dorfromantik, Dungeons of Hinterberg, the Frog Detective trilogy, House Flipper 2, Lil' Gator Game, Ooblets, PowerWash Simulator, Proteus, Tangle Tower, Tiny Life, TOEM, Wilmot Works It Out, and Frostpunk (no, really!).
We also have a crack at an informal group review of Wanderstop, which has elicited an impressive array of thoughts and opinions among a trio of people who normally tend to kind of agree on most things. Who thought what? You'll have to listen to find out, but I can reveal it's a good chat. (And if you haven't yet listened to the recent Indieventure Extra episode where Liam interviews creators Davey Wreden and Karla Zimonja, here's the link to that!)
Finally, as always, we end with our current hyperfixations. Liam is still absolutely caning through an essential catalogue of new and recent game releases, and has this time turned his attention to Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest in Capcom's long-running series about invading the habitats of majestic creatures and turning their hides into some fancy pants. Rebecca is trying to live by Wanderstop's example and be kinder to herself, which mainly involves taking a lot of naps at the moment, but she also throws in a couple of bonus recommendations for anti-burnout narratives in the form of Travis Baldree's high fantasy coffee shop novel Legends & Lattes, and of course the evergreen Pokémon Concierge miniseries. And Rachel's circled back to Mindhack, a dystopian visual novel about neutralising enemies of the state with beautiful electronic flowers that painfully rewire their dissident thoughts. You might remember this one from a couple of years ago, and it's good to see it still steadily making its way through early access, and now including four chapters of a planned eight-slash-nine.
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!

EXTRA: Spilling the tea with Wanderstop's Davey Wreden & Karla Zimonja

Hello and welcome back to Indieventure Extra, our bonus series where we interview key members of the games industry.
Liam recently sat down with Davey Wreden (The Stanley Parable, The Beginner's Guide) and Karla Zimonja (Gone Home) to chat about Wanderstop, their recently released game about a burned-out warrior attempting to find solace by running a tea shop in the woods.
If you've yet to play Wanderstop, there are no spoilers to be found here, so don't worry. Davey and Karla mainly chatted about how the game came to be, what it's like to make a game about burnout that is actively burning you out as you're making it, as well as the challenges - and the benefits - of making a narrative-led game within the cosy genre framework.
We also spoke about Boro. Best Boy Boro.
Here is the TTRPG about parrying that Karla mentioned in the Hyperfixations section.
Enjoy!
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts.
 

#34. Listener mailbag V3 + Lost Records Tape 1 chat

Do you need to say #SPON #AD if all you're advertising is your own free-to-join Discord server? That's the question our intrepid Indieventure trio ask ourselves this episode, as we return to answer more of your listener questions in a shameless plug for the lovely little community space we've built up for ourselves over the past few months!
If you've ever wondered which indie game character would react best to their beloved partner waking up one morning to discover they were just a tiny little mealworm lying on the pillow, amazingly it turns out you're not alone – unless you're the person who submitted that very thought experiment to us in the first place, in which case… well, now everyone else has to think about it too! We also mull over questions such as which indie game character(s) would be most helpful if you needed to hide a body and which Monster Prom monsters we'd all be, as well as some slightly more serious topics, like our dream "X meets Y" indie game elevator pitch, and which indie games we'd like to see expanded into other media.
But that's not all because a recently-released AA title has landed right at the intersection of all our interests, which means it's time for another group-review-in-progress! We've all played Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 and – between Life is Strange die-hard Rebecca, Life is Strange enjoyer Rachel, and Life is Strange novice Liam – we can guarantee some interesting chats when it comes to Dontnod's self-published spiritual successor to the game that made their name. Be sure to check back in with us sometime around late April-ish for a longer discussion as we review Tape 2 and the game as a whole.
Last but not least, of course, are our hyperfixations, and Rachel is still firmly in the grip of Real Housewives fever. Rebecca has finally rolled credits on Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Happy Home Paradise DLC and is absolutely obsessed with the DJ KK remixes of every song in the game you get at the end, which you can listen to here. And Liam has not only finished Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but he's also found time to check out recent retro indie racer Parking Garage Rally Circuit.
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!

EXTRA: From murder to mascots with Kaizen Game Works (Paradise Killer & Promise Mascot Agency)

Welcome back to Indieventure EXTRA, our bonus series where we interview key members of the games industry.
In this episode, Liam sits down with the directors at Kaizen Game Works to chat about their highly anticipated next title: the open-world mascot management crime adventure Promise Mascot Agency. Rachel Noy (Art Director), Oli Clarke Smith (Game Director) and Phil Crabtree (Technical Director) discuss the game's unusual origins, what it's like to work alongside Ikumi Nakamura and the - quite frankly - bizarre story of how the voice of Kazuma Kiryu himself, Takaya Kuroda, came to voice their protagonist.
The Kaizen Trio also reflect on (our beloved) Paradise Killer five years after its original release.
Enjoy!
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts.

#33. Dark Valentines: Indie horror and the 2020s

It's Valentine's Day(ish, still, shush) and so naturally the Indieventure trio have turned our attention to… horror games! Yes, we're really on-form with our historic refusal to do normal seasonal celebration episodes, as it's recently occurred to us that it's been about a year and a half since we last did a dedicated horror deep dive. And since resident goth-at-heart Rebecca is steering the ship this week, and the only thing she craves more in games than a relatable love story is a good spookening with a side-order of existential dread, this theming makes total sense, trust us.
Since our Season Zero horror episode focussed on the stone-cold classics of the indie space, we've decided to make this episode specifically about the cool indie horror games and gaming trends that we feel have emerged in the first half of this decade. (Also, do you ever think about how the 2020s are half over already? Surely that's the scariest thing of all.) 
We've got it all covered here: liminal space horror, hidden object horror, mascot horror, retro horror, even non-horror games that borrow liberally from the horror aesthetic! Because it's love day and all naturally we touch on the up-and-coming genre that is romantic horror too, which just as naturally leads to a discussion about queer horror. There's also some chat about the indie horror developers whose work is codifying the whole scene for this decade, as well as some of the formerly-indie devs who've broken out into AA and AAA spaces thanks to their earlier work.
It's a whistlestop tour but we take in all the hits, and if there's an essential work of indie horror from the past five years you think we've missed, please do let us know – we love a good recommendation!
We end as ever with our hyperfixations, and Rachel has been watching all of the various Real Housewives series, and we mean all of them, no city has been spared as long as it has a ready supply of disgustingly filthy rich families willing to entertain and amaze reality TV aficionados with their antics. Liam is still on a roll with hunting down cool recent indie releases following our last episode, this time in the form of Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match 3 To and Rift of the Necrodancer. And Rebecca has some big feelings to share following her recently-completed first-time playthrough of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, which means she has now finally finished the whole main story of the franchise (but somehow still has a lot of supplementary materials left to go before she's really done-done).
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!

#32. What we've been playing (Citizen Sleeper 2, Nurikabe World, Eternal Strands)

In this episode, the Indieventure trio ask ourselves a surprisingly complicated question: how do you play video games specifically in January? Do you take the time to go back over some exciting titles from the year before that you still haven't got around to yet, or do you write all that off and start the new year with a blank slate ready to fill up with brand-new releases?
Obviously we're all games media types, so our answers are slightly skewed from the norm – listening back, it's only just occurred to me that none of us said "in January I mainly play the games I received for Christmas, of course!" So there's that, but still, the resultant chat should leave you with a pleasant mix of recent and upcoming game recommendations, as well as some drawn from a bit further back.
The brand-new indie titles we've been checking out in January 2025 include Cursed Digicam, Eternal Strands, Nurikabe World, The Roottrees Are Dead, and – of course – Citizen Sleeper 2. But we also reach a full five years into the past for a look back on Tangle Tower, and take a peek into the future with the demo for intriguing upcoming game Locator.
We end, as always, with our most recent round of hyperfixations. Rebecca has been watching indie horror films again and thinks you should all go and see Presence, which recently got its belated theatrical release after premiering at Sundance a full year ago. Rachel's recent disenchantment with modern cinema has led her to revisit some of the classics from her film school days, which has her feeling enthusiastic about movies again (even as her specific rankings spark some lively debates!). Liam has been reading Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent and does recommend it with some massive caveats, but his actual hyperfixation for a much better time is the dark comedy TV show Search Party.
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!

#31. Our most anticipated indie games of 2025

Happy New Year, Indieventurers! It's 2025 and there are so many flavours of existential dread tied up in that particular statement that we have no choice but to distract ourselves for at least a couple of hours a day with lovely video games – or (we hope you make this choice, at least) with podcasts about video games!
While there's a lot of uncertainty ahead, one thing we can be reasonably sure of is that there are some absolute bangers due to make their debut on the indie gaming scene this year – although as ever, we 100% support devs who put their own wellbeing first, which is why there's absolutely no hard feelings if any of the games on this list get pushed into 2026 and beyond. Settle in as we rhapsodise on the upcoming merits of Blue Prince, Citizen Sleeper 2, Demonschool, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Metropolis 1998, Monster Prom 4: Monster Con, Morsels, Paralives (complete with bonus chat about fellow upcoming indie life sims Vivaland and Alterlife), Promise Mascot Agency, Skate Story, Strange Antiquities, Streets of Rogue 2, Tiny Bookshop, and Wanderstop.
Because it's our first episode after our long Christmas break, everyone brought along a double helping of hyperfixations this week! Rebecca recommends going into zombie horror-comedy movie One Cut of the Dead knowing as little as possible, and going into Waterstone's book of the year Butter by Asako Yuzuki knowing a bit more than what's printed on the cover. Rachel is, naturally, hooked on The Traitors Season 3 (but not The Traitors Australia Season 2, thankyouverymuch) and the second season of Severance. Liam recommends checking out indie rocker Blondshell if you haven't already, and also thinks that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle might be the greatest triple-A game in years – which draws out a surprising consensus across the whole group.
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!

EXTRA: The reality of covering indie games with Reviews Editor Ed Thorn

This episode of Indieventure Extra is a long-awaited reunion between Liam and Ed Thorn, reviews editor at PC-focused website Rock Paper Shotgun (we've never heard of it).
Ed discusses his history with games, how he became a games journalist and the challenges of balancing indie game coverage alongside more financially stable AAA content. The pair also chat about what makes a good video game review, Ed reveals his favourite indie from 2024, and there is a 5-minute section where the phrase "Beast Mode" is uttered about 45 times. It makes sense in context. Sort of.
You can find Ed's good words over at Rock Paper Shotgun.
Here are the Redfall and Sonic Frontiers videos mentioned in the episode. Inventory Space only lasted two episodes, but it's still worth a watch.
Enjoy!
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts.

#30. The Best Indie Games Of 2024

As 2024 draws to an end, the Indieventure trio return to discuss their favourite indie games of the last 12 months. That's right, folks, it's time for our annual Game Of The Year episode!
We won't spoil which games we chat about here in the description (you can find that over on our website if you're the type of person who hunts around the house looking for their Christmas presents in mid-November like a wrong 'un) but what we can say is that although we each brought along a personal list of our five favourites, we only ended up discussing 13 due to a couple of overlaps.
As always we end with our hyperfixations. Liam's been playing the MySims-inspired city builder Go-Go Town! Rebecca has been rethinking her relationship with attention, and is doing something every day that makes her happy (we have no choice but to stan). Meanwhile, Rachel was put on the spot and decided to dream about the upcoming (when we recorded, anyway) open-world fashion adventure Infinity Nikki.
A reminder! After this episode, we're taking a short break to drink a few buckets of gravy and have a nice long nap, but we'll be back on the 23rd of January 2025 with our usual nonsense. Thanks once again for all your support this year, we hope you have a lovely Christmas, happy holidays, or a peaceful winter break!
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can join our dedicated Discord too!
 

#29. Was 2024 a great year for indie games?

Christmas is almost upon us, and before we ring in the New Year with our GOTY picks, it's time for us here at the Indieventure podcast to pour ourselves a generous glug of mulled wine and reflect on the year as a whole as it pertains to indie games.
Has it been a good year for indies? How did it stack up against previous years – especially the wall-to-wall hit machine that was 2023? And, putting personal preferences aside (because we'll be digging into that in-depth in our next episode, don't worry) what have been the biggest indie games of the year?
Naturally expect Balatro, 1000xRESIST, Hades 2, and Pacific Drive to get a lot of airtime in this one, as well as Silksong (still conspicuous in its absence as we head into 2025). We also look back over our most-anticipated games from the start of the year, checking in with what came out, what got delayed, and what landed unexpectedly (or not) from a list that included Anger Foot, Creepshow, Crow Country, Demonschool, Europa, Loco Motive, Lost Records, The Mermaid Mask (née The Mermaid's Tongue), Rise of the Golden Idol, Sucker for Love 2, Synergy, Thank Goodness You're Here!, and Tiny Bookshop.
And then – just in case you thought we were going to be if anything a bit too sensible in this one – an old friend returns to deliver a self-indulgent quiz! There's really no point in outlining the premise here, just trust us when we say that it has to be heard to be believed.
We end, as always, with our current hyperfixations! Rebecca has been defying gravity thanks to the Wicked movie, Rachel has been reading a stack of queer fiction (specifically Julia Armfield's Salt Slow, Eliza Clark's She's Always Hungry and Rachel Yoder's Nightbitch), while Liam has turned his attention to the skies - and the places it leads - with Mark Vanhoenacker's Imagine A City.
Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget that you can now join our dedicated Discord too!