Forty games in 45 minutes: last week’s Triple-i Initiative showcase packed a lot into one stream. The indie-only event brought an unpredictable lineup compared with shows such as Summer Game Fest. Alongside updates on The Talos Principle 3 and Pony Island 2: Panda Circus, it introduced an eclectic batch of new games.
These six picks stood out, from hand-drawn robot puzzles to escaping a cop who towers over a city.
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1. Machinarium 2
Amanita Design is following this year’s Phonopolis, which Polygon praised as wonderful, with Machinarium 2. It’s a sequel to the studio’s 2009 cult-classic puzzle adventure about a lost robot.
[IMAGE:static0.polygonimages.com stand in a canyon in Machanarium 2.]The showcase offered only a brief glimpse, but it showed the sequel returning to hand-drawn art that Polygon called absolutely stunning. The image above, supplied by Amanita Design, shows robots standing in a canyon.
2. Jiaohun
Jiaohun’s terrifying debut trailer left plenty unexplained. It introduced a psychological horror game from developer 12AM Blackout, though little is known about it beyond that first look.
The footage looks like a surreal trip through hell. Polygon compared its weirdness to Silent Hill f, framing Jiaohun as something for players who wanted an even stranger experience. That’s an impression of the trailer rather than a detailed account of how it plays.
3. Militsioner
Militsioner takes the familiar stealth-game task of avoiding guards and changes the scale. Here, you’re trying to evade a titanic cop looming over an entire city.
It’s coming next year from Critical Reflex, the publisher behind Mouthwashing. The premise is deeply unsettling, with the giant officer turning the city into nightmare fuel. Beyond that horror hook, the footage also suggests an immersive sim, though that remains an early impression of the game.
4. Lazare’s Sacrifice
Lazare’s Sacrifice initially resembles a more illustration-focused take on Gwent, the card game in The Witcher 3 that Polygon calls excellent. There’s a direct connection behind that resemblance: Gwent creator Damien Monnier collaborated on its development.
Its distinctive twist is the story those card battles tell. Lazare’s Sacrifice retells the French Revolution within a card-battling game, giving its illustrated clashes a historical setting.
5. Prison of Husks
Imagine Dark Souls running on a PlayStation 2. That’s roughly the visual pitch for Prison of Husks, an upcoming Soulslike that resembles a demake of a FromSoftware game.
Developer Glass Head Dolls uses fuzzy polygons to give the world a dreamy look. Polygon’s praise is specifically visual: on that front, the studio seems to have nailed the assignment. That early assessment isn’t a verdict on the combat or the wider game.
6. Gods With Badges
Strange Scaffold is returning to tactics after dipping into the genre with last year’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown. Its next project in the genre is Gods With Badges, an upcoming turn-based strategy game.
This time, the subject is policing. Gods With Badges will address timely questions about the responsibility that comes with police authority and how easily that responsibility can be abused. The showcase details don’t establish how its battles differ from the studio’s previous tactics game.
