Do you believe in love at first sight? What about when the subject of that affection is a video game? I don't think I would have said I do, until the first trailer for the heavily anime-inspired Orbitals from developer Shapefarm and publisher Kepler Interactive dropped. And, all of the sudden, I did believe in love at first sight – maybe especially for video games. But this also turned out to be Orbitals' fatal flaw.

My immediate infatuation obscured a much more important fact: Orbitals is a co-op only video game. There's literally no way at all to play on your own, though you can do local co-op or more traditional online multiplayer. Whatever the case might be, you're playing with another person. Discovering this particular detail so late was, in a word, deflating.

Pondering the Orb'

While the aesthetics and art design of Orbitals are heavily influenced and inspired by '70s and '80s anime, the actual game underneath the surface is much more modern. The style of co-op game so closely associated with Hazelight – It Takes Two and Split Fiction, for example – requires some decently clever puzzling and well-timed responses from a duo in order to progress. Sounds satisfying, right? In my specific case, this is actually a problem.

Let me begin by saying that I love my partner, the person I most want to play couch co-op games with and the one that I previously attempted to play It Takes Two with some years back. After some particularly excruciating platforming, however, we ultimately stopped, and I didn't even consider bothering trying out Split Fiction with them. (That one would, ultimately, wait until my brother was briefly back in the country, and even though we didn't complete it – I have never once considered asking my partner to tag in.)

The simple fact of the matter is that my partner does not have the institutional gamer knowledge required to effectively play games like Orbitals. Even with it being entirely up both of our alleys, artistically, the actual act of play at work here is a significant barrier. While they grew up playing games, they were turn-based RPGs like Final Fantasy 7 or something like Katamari Damacy or Spyro. Orbitals, and games like it, require an entirely different set of skills.

Something I increasingly think about is how certain games assume a standard level of knowledge. If you've played a platformer before, you likely understand how jumping often works in video games. If you've played a first-person shooter before, you understand aiming and shooting. Many modern video games don't bother to start with first principles and instead opt to leap several steps ahead to combining preobtained knowledge.

This isn't necessarily a problem, or at least an exceedingly common problem, but it's certainly one for my own personal experience. Having not grown up on platformers or shooters or really anything that required twitchy reflexes, my partner struggled to keep up with what many people might assume to be simplistic tasks. Need to jump and shoot at the same time while swapping between targets? Orbitals might as well have been asking them to complete a CIA tryout.

I hesitate to lay any of this at Orbitals' virtual feet, in part because I'm not one to judge a game by what I wish it were rather than what it is. But I would love for there to be something in this style of game that both encourages significant others to play a game together while also dialing down the absolutely necessary requirements to do so. Whether that's some kind of scaling slider or what I don't know – I'm not a game designer – and maybe this kind of wishful thinking is actually in direct opposition to why games like It Takes Two or Split Fiction work for so many people.

I just wish they worked for me and mine.

Orbitals was played on Nintendo Switch 2, with a code provided by the publisher.

Orbiting around wanting to play more like this? Our best co-op games has recommendations for more with a pal, or our best single-player games has advice for those craving going solo.

"We leaked our trailer," admits Left 4 Dead 2 project lead and Valve veteran Chet Faliszek in a new YouTube video. "I think we can't get in trouble for that now, it's like 20 years ago," he then says, with an air of mild nervousness about him.

In his YouTube confessional, Faliszek explains that the ESRB had originally blocked Valve from releasing a trailer for Left 4 Dead 2 which, in the opinion of the ratings board at the time, was too graphic to publish. The video is actually about the fabled "lost lines" from Left 4 Dead that were cut from the game but unearthed in the game files, but at a certain point Faliszek lets it slip that a leaked version of an early trailer was actually put out there by the development team at Valve itself, which is a pretty bold move.

"We leaked our trailer ahead of time because they wouldn't let us release the trailer ... so it's funny seeing leaked stuff now, because I don't think you can look for leaked Left 4 Dead 2 trailer, cause it's lost now," says Faliszek. "But yeah, it originally got leaked because we had this with the ESRB, so that's why a lot of the language had to get toned down."

I would say that late '00s Valve is a very different Valve to today's Valve, and that the sort of hijinks they pulled back then wouldn't ever happen today, but honestly, it's pretty miraculous how the decades have failed to whittle down the company's reputation as a fiercely independent anomaly that marches to the beat of its own drum, ESRB ratings be damned.

Steam earned Valve $15 billion in revenue so far this year, with Crimson Desert alone topping $203 million according to analyst

A How to Fish console release for PS5 and Xbox Series X is on the cards as the developer duo seem to be working on a port. But that's unfortunately all there is to say for now on the topic. However, the surprise success of the game means the developers have said there's more fishing action to come. Here's what we know about a console release for How to Fish and what the future holds for the game.

How to Fish console release

The two developers at Dazed Games are planning on bringing the game to consoles (and Mac), but there isn't a release date. In a response on the Dazed Games website to a frequently asked question, they say "Yes! But we don't know when yet". I also presume that by "consoles" they mean PS5, Xbox Series X, and maybe Switch 2, but that hasn't been clarified.

And that's all there is to it for now. If you really want to play How to Fish, you need to find some way of playing it on a PC via Steam. How to Fish is also Steam Deck Verified, so if you happen to own one of those handhelds, that's another option for you.

When How to Fish eventually arrives on consoles, those players should at least get a bigger game as the developers have also said that more content will be added and plenty of bugs will get fixed. Again, there's nothing concrete about the specifics of new content – new islands and fish seem like a safe bet – but it's hardly surprising that they're committing to console ports and more content considering the game sold one million copies in two days.

Anyway, whichever platform you're able to play the game on now, consider reading my How to Fish islands walkthrough, which guides you through all five of the game's islands.

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This How to Fish guide serves as a complete walkthrough for the bizarre co-op fishing game, showing you how to complete all five islands in the game. The objectives on each one are usually very simple, requiring you to get some sort of special bait that you can use to catch or summon a boss. Kill the boss, provide proof of said kill to a nearby NPC, and you're off to the next island on your boat. It's therefore not a very long game but can be a bit tricky at points, so if you're really stuck, this walkthrough will show guide you through exactly what to do in How to Fish.

Full walkthrough for How to Fish

As mentioned, How to Fish features five islands for you to complete, each one with their own objectives, bosses, and shop equipment. You'll need money to buy crucial items like lures and weapons, so this walkthrough assumes that you'll be doing lots of fishing between steps and feeding your catches to the appropriate NPC to build up cash. To make the most money, use the best lures available to you as you'll catch the most valuable fish – for example, on island 3, you should be using Standard Lures rather than Beginner Lures.

Furthermore, as soon as you reach a new island, make sure you buy the Extra Inventory Slot straight away. Use those extra slots to store more fish to sell or eat, and you should be eating regularly to keep your hunger bar as full as possible. This bar serves as a reserve health bar, letting you heal over time, but if it empties, you'll start taking damage! If you're inventory is also full of equipment, you can sell what you don't need, such as guns that aren't very effective anymore, to get a bit of cash back.

With all that out the way, here's how you complete all five islands in How to Fish:

Island 1

Island 1 introduces the basics, featuring a Crab-Fishing Rod, melee weapons, and Hot Dog Bait. Nothing fancy here – just get fishing:

1. Buy the Crab-Fishing Rod, start fishing for crustaceans, and feed what you catch to the lighthouse keeper to get money. You can also buy Hot Dog bait to catch more valuable creatures.
2. Buy and upgrade the knife.
3. Buy the can of beer and feed it to the lighthouse keeper then take the empty can he hands back.
4. Equip the empty can as bait on your fishing rod and use it to catch the Spider Crab.
5. Kill the How to Fish Spider Crab boss then feed the crab's shell to the Lighthouse Keeper and take the keys to the boat he hands you.
6. Buy the radar tablet next to him for $10 then get in the wooden motorboat.
7. Check the radar for the green dot and sail over to it to reach island 2.

Island 2

The second island in How to Fish introduces guns, specifically the pistol and shotgun, as well as Beginner-level lures and dynamite. This is also where trickshot mechanics are introduced, so you can get stylish with your fishing to increase the value of each catch:

1. Buy the Fishing Rod and start catching some proper fish. You should also use Dynamite to blow up multiple fish at once.
2. Buy and upgrade the shotgun.
3. Collect three How to Fish Leeches and feed them to the woman. She'll give you Leech Bait in return.
4. Equip the Leech Bait and go fishing with it to reel in the Giant Piranha boss.
5. Kill the How to Fish Piranha boss, then feed the Piranha Skeleton to the woman. She'll update your radar with the location of island 3, the yellow dot.
6. Buy the Big Motor upgrade for the boat.
7. Sail over to the next island, following the yellow dot.

Island 3

Upon reaching the desert island, you'll notice a substantially larger shop offering an SMG, more gun attachments, Standard lures, and the Boat Radar upgrade, the latter of which you should definitely buy before leaving. It's also where you'll find the grill master and his extinguished grill. Reigniting it is an optional objective, but I'd say it's worth doing to help you make more money and improve the healing you gain from food for tougher boss fights ahead:

1. Buy and upgrade the SMG. Do not get rid of this gun once you've completed this island.
2. Buy a Standard Boss Lure and use it to catch a Blue Shark miniboss.
3. Kill the How to Fish Shark, then feed it to the grill master. Take the lighter he gives you in return to light the grill, letting you cook your catches to a nice golden-brown to increase their value.
4. Buy a Standard Lure, catch an "endangered" fish, and feed it to the tourist on the beach to get carrot bait. Needlefish, Bowlfish, and Seahorses count as endangered fish.
5. Use the carrot bait to catch the Pufferfish boss.
6. Kill the How to Fish Pufferfish and feed the Pufferfish Fin to the tourist. He'll hand you the coordinates for island 4.
7. Follow the red dot on your boat radar to reach island 4.

Island 4

The fourth How to Fish island has Professional lures in the main shop and a separate gun shop with a sniper rifle and more attachments for sale. You'll also find a grill on the beach and there's a casino with a roulette table that you can use to gamble your catches, but I personally found this a bit pointless as regular fishing is very lucrative at this point. There's a lot to buy on this island so here's what you need to do:

1. Buy and upgrade the sniper rifle and upgrade your SMG from island 3 as well.
2. Buy a Professional Boss Lure and use it to catch and kill a How to Fish Tuna.
3. Drop the dead Tuna on the grassy patch in the middle of the island to summon the Albatross boss.
4. Kill the Albatross and give its head to the man hiding in the shop. He'll give you the location of the fifth island.
5. Hop in your boat and sail over to the magenta dot on your radar to reach island 5.

Island 5

The fifth and final island of How to Fish is a large volcano with lava flows that replace the grill as a cooking method – drop fish into the lava to instantly cook them! There's also a well-stocked military camp on the island that has an assault rifle for sale. You'll need it to fight some very tough bosses and finish the game:

1. Buy and upgrade the assault rifle and upgrade your sniper rifle from island 4. You can now sell your SMG as the assault rifle is better.
2. Catch any five fish and feed them to the scientist to get Fish Bucket bait. The best option for getting the fish quickly is to use dynamite.
3. Collect the Fish Bucket bait and use it to reel in the Bowhead Whale boss.
4. Kill the Bowhead Whale boss. I advise using your assault rifle, sniper rifle, and any dynamite if possible. Also watch out for when it flies into the air then belly flops back down as this can almost kill you in a single hit.
5. Pick up the whale's corpse then climb to the summit of the volcano. There's a wooden plank not too far from the military encampment on the island that shows where the ascent starts, then it's a case of following the path and jumping across gaps.
6. Throw the whale into the volcano, to summon the Mutated Bowhead Whale, then jump back down the encampment.
7. Kill the Mutated Bowhead Whale boss. The same strategy as before applies, only this time the whale spits lava blobs so you need to be extra careful.
8. Feed the Whale Fin to the scientist then collect the keys to the black boat.
9. Hop in the black boat and follow the button prompt to go back to the mainland.

And with that, you've completed How to Fish! If you didn't catch every fish or unlock every skin during your time playing, don't worry, as you can continue playing the same save file after the credits roll to catch 'em all.

The game is also only on Steam right now, but the developers have said that a How to Fish console version is coming, along with more content, but there are no dates for either.

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Catching and killing the How to Fish Tuna can be tricky as, despite only being a miniboss, it's a particularly furious fish. The Tuna is massive, can bounce and leap very high, and hits like a truck, so you need to take care when fighting one, especially since the lure required to catch it is rather expensive too, so you don't want to waste them. But you need to kill a Tuna every time you want to fight the final boss of island 4, so it's good to know the best way to defeat one in How to Fish, which I've laid out below.

How to catch and kill a Tuna in How to Fish

Like the How to Fish Shark, the Tuna seems to be a guaranteed catch from the Professional Boss Lure, which you can buy from the shop on island 4 for $1,200.

But be warned that the Tuna is a pretty tough fish and I recommend packing an upgraded SMG (if you've still got your old one from island 3, swap the compensator for a suppressor and get all the bullet upgrades) and a sniper rifle with a suppressor, extended magazine, and all the bullet upgrades you can afford. I personally preferred the SMG as it was much easier to spray bullets at the Tuna rather than be precise with the sniper rifle, but both are good to have.

When it comes to fighting the Tuna, there's nothing particularly special about the fight to be aware of other than that it can leap very high and almost attack from above. Again, it's like the Blue Shark or the How to Fish Piranha boss fight in that it's just a very big and very aggressive fish that flops about and pounces towards you to try and bite. Strafe to avoid its lunges, and shoot it as much as possible when it repositions to have another go.

The only other thing to bear in mind is that island 4 doesn't have much to disrupt the path of the Tuna, unlike the trees on island 3, so it can move a bit more unpredictably. You can try luring it into a building in the hopes that it will get stuck, but you also put yourself at risk of getting battered in the tiny rooms. Although, I recommend having some clams or spare fish on you to eat and heal if the Tuna does indeed strike you.

Once you've killed the Tuna, you can cook and sell it, which should bag you roughly $4,000 – more than enough to make up for the expensive Professional Boss Lure. But you also need one to summon the final boss of island 4, the Albatross. To do this, you just need to drop the Tuna's corpse on the central grass patch, and the Albatross will eventually swoop in and destroy it, so you won't be able to sell it afterwards.

If things go well in the Albatross fight, you'll be able to head to island 5 and my How to Fish walkthrough can guide you on what to do there.

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I'd like to imagine the folks at Dazed Games, the indie studio behind viral friendslop sensation How to Fish, are kicking back with a cooler full of brewskies, angling for salmon in a crystal clear alpine lake in Sweden where they're based. In reality, they're probably hard at work keeping servers stable trying to manage the absolutely staggering amount of players logging on every day to instead catch virtual fish with their friends. How to Fish is huge, it's everywhere, and seemingly everyone is playing it right now.

According to SteamDB, which provides numbers tracking the amount of people playing a given game on Valve's platform, How to Fish managed a ridiculous new player peak of 373,971 just five days after its launch. In case that number alone doesn't tell you how shockingly hot this game is right now, let's quickly compare it to another fairly recent Steam-exclusive (for now) co-op game often categorized, lovingly or otherwise, as friendslop.

Peak was huge when it released in 2025 and remains an incredibly popular online game to play with friends, having sold enough last year to earn a place in Valve's coveted "chocolate tier" of highest earning developers. With an all-time peak of 170,759 from about a year ago, How to Fish has managed more than double its highest player count ever. And it's worth noting that Peak benefits from publishers in Aggro Crab and Landfall games, while How to Fish is self-published.

Meanwhile, Big Walk, the other big friendslop(ish) game of the moment, currently has an all-time peak of 46,409, but that's less of a useful comparison since Big Walk is available on a bunch of other platforms, making its actual comprehensive player figures harder to track. Regardless, it's staggering to see these micro-budget games hit numbers usually reserved for the biggest AAA releases, and it's proof in the market value of simple, mindless fun with a modest price tag.

Here are the best co-op games to play right now.

Defeating the How to Fish Pufferfish isn't that easy as this boss fish starts off small and agile but then balloons into a massive, poison-spewing monstrosity. Regardless of its form, it can kill you very quickly and is a quite a step up from the How to Fish Piranha boss. With that in mind, I've laid out the best strategy for killing this powerful pufferfish in How to Fish below.

How to Fish Pufferfish boss tips

The best method for killing the Pufferfish in How to Fish is to start by strafing backwards in small circles, shooting at the Pufferfish with a fully upgraded SMG. As with the How to Fish Shark miniboss that you can fight on this island, an SMG with an extended mag, compensator, and all the bullet upgrades is arguably the best option, though the shotgun is also a good choice given that the Pufferfish is almost always very close to you.

Strafing backwards in circles is also a bit awkward, but is a great way to keep out of the Pufferfish's way without it being able to properly catch up to you. It's a very fast fish when it rolls in a straight line, but is much slower when it must constantly turn. Also bear in mind that the Pufferfish expands the more you shoot it, so it'll get bigger and a bit less agile the longer the fight goes on.

Fill it with enough bullets to get it to half-health, and it'll start a second phase in which it starts spewing lingering poisonous purple clouds. Because of this, you need to change strategy and start running all over the island. Again, like the shark fight, you can now use the boss' size against it and run through the trees too, causing the pursuing Pufferfish to get stuck and giving you good opportunities to shoot it as much as possible until it eventually dies. Feed the Pufferfish Fin remnant to the tourist on the beach and you'll get the location of island 4!

You could also try luring the Pufferfish into a pile of dynamite, but given how aggressively it chases you, I think the chances of either the Pufferfish escaping the worst of the blast or you getting caught in it are too high for it to be worthwhile.

But if the Pufferfish does kill you (or you blow yourself up), remember that you'll need to get the carrot bait from the tourist to catch this boss again. That means you need to catch and feed the man another endangered fish using a Standard Lure, such as a Needlefish, Bowlfish, or Seahorse.

Once the pufferfish is dead, you can head to island 4 and fight a How to Fish Tuna which serves as bait for another boss. And if you get stuck on these later islands, make sure you check my How to Fish guide and walkthrough for pointers.

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To catch a How to Fish shark for the grill master, you need to buy a specific boss lure for your fishing rod. That means reeling in a shark is actually very easy - you just need to afford the lure - but killing the Blue Shark miniboss is much more of a challenge. But, even though getting a shark for the grill master isn't required to complete island 3, the grill comes in handy later so it's well worth doing. So, to get this side objective done easily, here's everything you need to know about catching and defeating a shark in How to Fish

How to catch a How to Fish shark

To catch a shark in How to Fish, you need to buy a Standard Boss Lure for $280 and then go fishing with it. As far as I can tell, the Blue Shark miniboss is guaranteed to grab this lure.

But don't reel one in just yet as you should get equipped to fight the shark first, otherwise you'll be wasting quite an expensive lure. I highly recommend having an upgraded SMG equipped – that's one with all the bullet upgrades, an extended mag, a compensator, and an optional red dot sight and laser sight – and maybe some spare fish or clams in your inventory for healing that you can chow down if the shark bites a chunk out of you.

How to kill a How to Fish shark

Catch a Blue Shark as I've explained above, then draw your SMG and get ready to fight. Since the Blue Shark is very fast, capable of lunging aggressively at you, and deals massive damage with its bites, it's best to keep strafing away from it and running in large loops, shooting in controlled bursts when the shark isn't lunging. Unlike with the How to Fish Piranha boss, you should also charge between the trees as the shark is long enough that it will often get slowed by them, giving you an opportunity to fill it with lead.

Just keep shooting the shark and you'll eventually bring it down, at which point you can feed it to the grill master. He'll then hand you the lighter, which will ignite his grill and let you cook your catches. Hold anything you catch over the grill, and it will start to cook and change color quickly. As soon as a fish hits a golden-brown color all over, it's done and you'll get more money than usual when you sell it.

Next, you need to focus on catching an endangered fish that you can trade for bait to summon the How to Fish Pufferfish boss and finally get off island 3.

To help you with islands 4 and 5, you can read my How to Fish walkthrough. Island 4 requires you to catch another miniboss like the Blue Shark in the form of the How to Fish Tuna.

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The How to Fish Giant Piranha boss requires good firepower and manoeuvring if you're to make it out alive. Later bosses make this Piranha look like a goldfish but it's quite a significant step up from the How to Fish Spider Crab fight, as this big fish is pretty tough and moves unpredictably by flopping all over the place – oh, and it spits out aggressive normal piranhas too so there's a lot trying to kill you all at once. Here's the best strategy for bringing this boss down in How to Fish.

How to defeat the Piranha

Before you even begin the Piranha boss fight in How to Fish, it's best to have an upgraded shotgun on you. It costs $150 and then you need to pay an additional $90 in total for three ammo upgrades, and there's an optional $140 laser sight upgrade too (dynamite fishing is by far the quickest way of getting enough money). Once you're equipped, get some How to Fish Leeches and reel in the Giant Piranha!

While the shotgun is very powerful, getting close to the Giant Piranha to deal maximum damage isn't without risk, so outmanoeuvring this boss is key. The Piranha isn't especially fast and can be kited around quite easily, so the best strategy is to sprint away from it, turn around and blast it with both barrels, then run away again as you reload. If the Piranha is far enough away that you can reload on the spot and fire another two shots, even better.

Use this method as you run around the grassy area of the island that doesn't have any trees and is away from the cabin as you'll always be able to see the Piranha and will know where to run. It also means you'll have a good view of all the smaller piranhas this boss spits out, which are significantly less threatening unless several attack at once. It's therefore a good idea to shoot these whenever you have a chance to thin their numbers, then pick a few up and eat them to heal if needed.

Repeat the above strategy of alternating between running away in loops and using your shotgun and you'll eventually kill the Giant Piranha boss, causing it to explode into bloody chunks. You can feed/sell these chunks to the captain for some money and then you need to give the Giant Piranha Skeleton to the woman to progress. She'll update your radar with the location of island three. But before you leave, I strongly recommend getting the Big Motor upgrade for the boat if you haven't already!

When you get to island 3, you need to know how to catch a shark in How to Fish so that you can unlock the grill and cook what you reel in. Then you can work towards getting the right bait for the How to Fish Pufferfish boss. If you need more pointers, be sure to check out my How to Fish walkthrough as well.

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How to Fish Leeches are the sole ingredient for the bait that's required to summon the boss of island 2, so you won't be leaving without finding any. The problem is that they appear as tiny black lines that are very easy to miss - much harder to find than the beer can needed for the How to Fish Spider Crab but at least you don't have to pay for them. Here's how you can reliably find Leeches in How to Fish to take on the blood massive piranha boss.

Where to find How to Fish Leeches

Leeches are found on the ground of the second island, usually hidden in the grass. The best way to get Leeches that I found was to wander around the perimeter of the main island looking all over the ground for Leech button prompts, letting me pick one up.

This is a lot easier than it sounds because the island is tiny and the prompts aren’t difficult to find. I also found that Leeches tend to be relatively clustered together like the Clams on the first island, so if you find one, there's probably another nearby. They also occasionally wriggle onto the dirt path from the central cabin and are much easier to spot there since there's no grass to hide them.

Either way, once you've got three Leeches, feed them all to the woman and she'll hand you one Leech Bait (it's best not to think about the implications of this). Then all you need to do is equip your fishing rod, make sure you've got the Leech Bait selected, and cast off. Slowly reel in the bait and the How to Fish Giant Piranha should eventually grab on, starting the second major boss fight. Bear in mind that if you die during this fight, you'll have to find more Leeches to make more bait and summon the piranha again.

You'll need other bait types for all the bosses in the game, including carrot bait for the How to Fish Pufferfish boss, and a whole How to Fish Tuna on island 4. Be sure to read my How to Fish walkthrough if you don't know how to get the bait you need.

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The How to Fish Spider Crab boss seems terrifying at first due to its size and ability to utterly eviscerate you with its claws. However, defeating this beer-stealing crab isn’t that difficult once you have the right weapon and know it's vulnerable to attacks. I've explained all of that below so that you can easily beat the Spider Crab boss in How to Fish and finally sail to the next island.

How to Fish Spider Crab boss tips

To kill the Spider Crab, you ideally need a fully upgraded knife since it's the most powerful weapon you can get on the first island – using the knuckledusters or even your fists to beat the Spider Crab to death is possible but not advised unless you're playing with other people and can all attack the crab at once.

Buy the knife for $45 dollars, then pay to upgrade it using the anvil three times, which costs an additional $78 in total. Keep fishing using the hot dog bait and selling clams to efficiently gather enough cash. With a nice and sharp knife, reel in the Spider Crab using an empty beer can as bait.

The knife will deal good damage to the Spider Crab, but you also need to attack at the right time to avoid dying. The crab's main way of attacking is charging in a straight line towards you, so get out of the way and then start stabbing it as soon as stars appear over its head, indicating it is stunned. As soon as the crab recovers and starts to turn, run away again to avoid getting snipped then wait for it to charge again.

Rinse and repeat until the Spider Crab is dead. It will then violently explode, letting you grab and sell the meat and Spider Crab Shell by feeding them to the lighthouse keeper. He'll give you the keys to his boat in return, letting you leave the island, but you must also buy the radar tablet next to him for 10 bucks so that you know where to go next.

You'll have to collect How to Fish Leeches to get the right bait for the boss on the second island, the How to Fish Giant Piranha!

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Another week, another viral indie co-op game overtaking Steam – and this time, it's a cozy (chaotic) little "physics-based fishing simulator" you can enjoy alongside pals.

As Meccha Chameleon continues to make waves with its Prop Hunt-esque mechanics and Big Walk enjoys the limelight as a more recent multiplayer puzzle delight, a new co-op gem takes center stage with its silly premise and engrossing gameplay loop: How to Fish.

If you haven't seen its official Steam page yet, it's designed for one to four players and is about, you guessed it, fishing. There's a lot more to its charm, however.

Like, erm, shiny knives reminiscent of Counter-Strike 2 blades, literal guns, gambling… and trick shots? Put simply, it's a hilariously wild bundle of very many things, but a very good one at that.

"Fish fish, kill fish, sell fish," as developer Dazed Games describes it – and then gear up with armor and weapons, because who doesn't do so while fishing? And, much to my Animal Crossing-loving delight, "Try to collect the rare variant of all the different fish."

How to Fish already boasts "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews, so I'm clearly not the only one won over by its chaos.

There's also the fact that, you know, it's reached over a million sales in two days, as Dazed Games reveals in a new announcement. The studio exclaims, "WE HIT 1 MILLION FISHERMEN! THANK YOU ALL!"

The dev isn't finished with the viral new hit, either. "Yes, we'll be adding more content!" Or finished fixing it, for that matter. "Yes, we'll be fixing bugs!"

Comments show grateful fans, with some even dubbing How to Fish the "game of the year." Others make requests for what they'd like to see out of Dazed Games' teased future content, from new islands to more bosses and variants of fish – and, honestly, something tells me we'll see those things come to fruition, as it's evident the dev is only getting started here.

Keep your eye on the Steam page for updates – or, should you not have How to Fish yet, grab it on sale for $4.95 while its introductory offer of 38% off lasts.

Looking to support some more smaller developers? Here's a roundup of the best upcoming indie games arriving this year and beyond to wishlist now.

Earlier today, a wave of hands-on previews for FromSoftware's The Duskbloods went up around the internet. One of them claimed that the upcoming Switch 2 game is due to be released on September 24. Now, Nintendo says that information is "inaccurate," but it's done so in the least convincing way possible.

"The release date is inaccurate because there is no information regarding [the] release date of the Duskbloods," a Nintendo spokesperson tells Eurogamer. I don't know about you, but that's such a bizarrely specific framing that it almost inclines me to believe that the September 24 date is real. Like yeah, sure, maybe the date is "inaccurate" in Nintendo's eyes because it's not officially been revealed yet.

At least, that was my first reaction – my less conspiratorial side is starting to win out. The September 24 date was originally published in a Duskbloods preview by The Guardian, as a footnote at the end of the article. Author Kirk McKeand later posted on Bluesky that "the editor added that in by mistake. It's not accurate and they're amending it."

In my mind, there are two possibilities for how this date slipped into that preview. One is that September 24 is the real release date, and it was meant to be revealed as part of a later embargo. The other is that an under-informed editor thought the article should note the game's release date, then somehow stumbled upon an inaccurate date and simply inserted it. There are, after all, plenty of other notable games launching on September 24, including Control Resonant and Silent Hill: Downfall, so there's plenty of room for confusion.

Ultimately, I do now think the release date was a true mistake, not a leak. Since the launch of the first Switch, Nintendo has tended to release one game per month for the platform. The Duskbloods isn't technically a first-party launch, but it is a big Switch 2 exclusive that Nintendo is marketing heavily. I suspect that the company's partnership with FromSoftware goes far enough that neither would want to step on the other's toes – and with Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave set to be released on September 17, a September 24 launch for The Duskbloods would certainly be a poor dance partner.

The Duskbloods is officially set to launch in 2026, but we've not yet gotten any information more specific than that. There are only two months in Nintendo's 2026 release calendar left unaccounted for, and only two big 2026 Switch 2 games left to fill them. I think the real question is whether we're getting The Duskbloods or the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake first.

Hidetaka Miyazaki says The Duskbloods is full of ideas FromSoftware couldn't fit into Dark Souls or Demon's Souls: "That was always at the forefront of my mind."

Seven years after terrorizing the world (in a good way) with Untitled Goose Game, developer House House is back with another world-dominating indie game, as Big Walk has quickly become one of the highest rated games of 2026 so far. Usually, the developer behind a game launching to such unanimous praise is quick to reveal what's next, but in this case, you're just going to have to settle for what's already on offer for a while, as House House says it needs a Big Nap for more than anything.

In a Reddit AMA, the developers at House House take questions about the future of Big Walk and the studio itself, and while technically quite a few words are typed out, not a whole lot is actually said. Essentially, these guys are tired, and they are in mood to start thinking about plans beyond the game's initial launch.

"We're not really sure what Big Walk's future looks like - getting this far took heaps of work and a long time!" reads one of the developer's responses. "We need a good rest before we start thinking about what's next."

The developers add that there are currently "no content plans" for Big Walk in the works at House House, but the good news is that, in case you haven't played Big Walk, it's designed in such an "unrestricted" way that there's already a ton of interactivity to play around with as is. This is all my editorializing and not based on anything said by House House, but for a game that costs $20 (discounted to $15 right now), I'd say Big Walk is already a pretty fantastic value proposition.

House House's suggestion for anyone looking more to do is to try and come up with new, unintended interactions and games within the game, if you will. "We've had great success playing hide-and-seek amongst ourselves," reads another one of their answers. "We hope the game world is generous enough to make your own games within it."

Game of the Week – Big Walk is a brilliant co-op puzzler that's more than "friendslop"

The final biome update for Peak, last year's friendslop phenomenon, drops tomorrow, but its developers had to rely on a whole lot of subterfuge to keep its content secret.

The final update introduces two new biomes to Peak - The Gloom and The Citadel, which replace The Kiln and Caldera and will rotate in much like the other new biomes. But co-developers Landfall and Aggro Crab didn't want the new arrivals to be spoiled by dataminers, so they had to find a way to hide their names within Peak's files.

In a video on YouTube, developer Paige Wilson says that the team "worked hard to keep [the biomes] secret for months," but knew that "there's no reason to fight" the fact that dataminers will also be able to see upcoming information before it drops. Knowing they couldn't win in a fair fight, Wilson says Aggro Crab "decided to have fun" with their solution.

That solution was simple. Aggro Crab just added "a load of fake biomes in with the real biomes." In the weeks leading up to the final update, anyone who snooped around in the files would see all the real biomes, like Tropics and Mesa, but also seven fake biomes. Those included some legitimate-sounding options, like Grasslands and Temple, but also some sillier options, including Skyblock, Hell, Heaven, and Mars.

As if that weren't enough of a distraction, it looks from Wilson's peek at the files like the two real biomes were codenamed. 'Wisconsin' and 'Void' are also on the list of biomes that miners would have seen, meaning that even if you saw through the subterfuge, you wouldn't really know what you were looking at. The real Gloom and Citadel biomes will be available from tomorrow, and the final update means that Peak will finally be ready to get its console ports sorted after that.

Peak co-dev says games like its iconic friendslop hit "wouldn't exist" if the studio tried to turn everything it makes "into the next Fortnite" with endless content updates.

• Big Walk is perfect if you want mind-bending puzzle design combined with the joy of hanging out with friends.

Here's the 60-second pitch for why you should play Big Walk this weekend: Big Walk is, if you'll pardon the horrifying combination of words, thoughtful "friendslop" – if such a thing exists. It is the perfect sort of game to goof around with friends, kicking objects into the distant dark or firing flare guns haphazardly into occupied buildings. It's also the perfect sort of game to challenge your intellect and ability to collaborate. It is both, if you want it to be, and despite the fact that it sounds like the two flavors would combine into mush, Big Walk makes it work from the moment you hit the tutorial area.

Why play it today?

• With Untitled Goose Game, developer House House made such a tremendous splash that anything it decided to do next would have seen the same level of massive scrutiny. Big Walk is the next evolution.

Thankfully, rather than return to the same exact well, House House has expanded beyond the small town of Untitled Goose Game (literally and figuratively) to produce what might be my favorite gaming experience of the year so far.

It's tough to explain exactly why Big Walk works so well without getting into the mechanical details of how you solve puzzles, but the shortest possible version is: the game does nothing to help you. There are no explicit signs or instructions; you have to figure it out for yourself.

And figure out how you're even going to figure it out! Without names for objects, you have to collectively decide what to call everything before you can even talk about using them. It's a bit like having to build a language as the very first puzzle, which is fascinating in practice.

Time commitment:

If you're curious how long it takes to beat Big Walk, the exact amount of time will vary depending on how frequently you can actually get multiple players together. You can expect to roll credits on Big Walk after somewhere between 12 and 15 hours, though it really depends how much goofing off you do. Expect to spend several long sessions just working on puzzles. Or, alternatively, many bite-sized co-op sessions.

Play Big Walk if you love:

Skip Big Walk if you want:

One thing to know:

Big Walk is a multiplayer-only video game, so that means you'll need at least one other friend to play, and puzzles actually scale up as more players are added. Never fear, however; while more than four players can play at the same time, that's roughly the extent of where the puzzles scale and even then it's more about managing the number of players rather than overall difficulty. You'll be fine.

A moment you'll remember:

The first time it grows dark on the island in Big Walk is perhaps the first real magic moment. Unable to see anything at any real distance, it quickly becomes apparent how important light is – and how to spot the roaming eyeballs of your compatriots in the dark. It's an early lesson that pays dividends throughout, and one I am constantly reminded of.

The final verdict:

Despite the obvious comparison to other games in the "hang out with friends and be silly" genre, Big Walk stands alone. The puzzle design and deliberate brick-by-brick learnings required to complete them feel more in tune with Portal or Myst, which is about the highest compliment I can give. Big Walk wastes no time, and every moment I played is one I now cherish. If that sounds hyperbolic, please understand: Big Walk earns it.

So, where can you play it?

Big Walk is now available on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2, but as a reminder: it's multiplayer-only, without couch co-op, and requires at least two people to play. It's also part of August 2026's PlayStation Plus Essentials, if you're subscribed.

How to get started with Big Walk:

I would actually recommend going into Big Walk with as little knowledge as possible about what to expect. But if you're the type that needs to know more before committing, and you're looking for where to start with Big Walk this weekend, we've got you covered.

Have your say:

If you're looking for something in a similar vein, both Overcooked 2 and Peak feature in our best co-op games ranking and are regularly part of game nights among friends.

Being able to lower the red bridge in Big Walk is essential for progress, as this presents the first roadblock you encounter to stop you moving on from the opening area of the game. To cross the drawbridge you'll need to acquire four of the 'red gourd' reward objects (as I'm calling them) by solving puzzles in the surrounding environment, which will in turn unlock the key needed to drop that bridge.

There are four puzzles you need to solve in order to lower the Big Walk red bridge. If you head down the stairs from the tutorial room and go straight ahead from the corridor to the cliff edge, you can see them in the following locations:

1. Blue house / symbols puzzle
2. Green pillars / switches puzzle
3. Orange platform / telescope puzzle
4. Yellow girders / crane puzzle

Below, I have laid out instructions for how to complete each of these puzzles, along with what to do afterwards to prepare the key and lower the red bridge in Big Walk. To get through these challenges you'll need to use Big Walk crossplay to join at least one friend to work together with, and the nature of the tasks also highlights why Big Walk couch co-op is intentionally excluded to preserve the puzzles as intended.

Big Walk blue house / symbols puzzle solution

There are two sections to the blue house – one that has a display showing five symbols, and the other that has a selection of symbol tiles that can be placed on the wall. One player needs to enter the area on the left and hit the button, which randomizes the five symbols on the display and shuts the door so no one outside can see the code. That player then needs to communicate the five symbols in the correct order to a player on the other side, who can place those tiles on the wall then hit the button beside it to unlock the red gourd.

Big Walk green pillars / switches puzzle solution

There are switches on each of the green pillars corresponding to the number of players (maximum of four), which all need to be pressed at the same time. However, they are far enough away from each other that the proximity voice chat won't carry, so agree a signal for one player to make (say, dropping their raised arm) then use that when everyone is in position to hit the switches simultaneously and unlock the red gourd.

Big Walk orange platform / telescope puzzle solution

The telescope on the orange platform is in a fixed position looking at a locked box containing the red gourd at the opposing end of the area, and holding the button next to it opens the box while highlighting it with a red light. One player needs to stay on the platform with the button ready to open the box when needed, while another walks to the opposite side of the area to collect the red gourd.

Big Walk yellow girders / crane puzzle solution

The set of yellow girders, which looks a bit like a crane, has a button on the underside of the horizontal beam that releases the red gourd. The height of that beam is determined by the number of players the session is set for (to a maximum of four), and to reach it all players need to stand on top of each other (interact with another player to put them on your shoulders) then if anyone in the stack jumps the top player can reach the button to unlock the red gourd – if the player at the bottom jumps, it won't break the stack if the button is missed and you need another attempt.

How to get the key and lower the red bridge

Once you have all four of the red gourds from the puzzles, bring them to the platform with four buttons near the beach. For each, you'll need one player to hold the button while another player places the red gourd in the respective holder – with all four deposited, the key will be released.

Once you have the key, look immediately to the right of the buttons and just outside of the platform you'll see a keyhole on a pillar. Insert the key into this and the first notch will be carved, then an arrow will appear on top of the pillar pointing you to the next keyhole, where you can repeat this process with subsequent pillars until the key is fully cut.

Finally, once the key has been prepared, take it up the red walkway along the cliff and then insert it in the recess next to the red bridge to lower it so you can progress to the next area. Note that the 'Big Walk' trophy or achievement doesn't unlock until you actually cross the drawbridge, so you won't receive it until you reach the other side.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Big Walk is a multiplayer puzzle game. It's an open-world co-op game where you explore an island and successfully complete challenges with friends using in-game proximity voice chat. It is a "friendslop" game, insomuch as that means a relatively low-lift game that you play with friends featuring sometimes-wacky physics. Big Walk is a new game from House House, creator of the infamously beloved Untitled Goose Game.

Big Walk is a COVID game.

Let me explain. Big Walk isn't about illness or pandemics, unless I've really misunderstood something, but it is thematically and mechanically a direct result of COVID. There's a direct line between the two, and it's not even subtext. You don't even have to take my word for it.

"End of 2020 was when we wrapped up Goose Game and we'd been obviously cooped up in our house under lockdowns and not spending time with each other," says House House developer Nico Disseldorp when I ask why the team decided to stake its future on a game where you walk around an unnamed island for indeterminate reasons. "We'd gone from working on a video game, standing behind each other and pointing at the computer and hanging out every day to only really spending time with each other in video games. And that was the time in the week where we felt most connected to each other."

"So we said," continues Disseldorp, "'Well, let's make one of these video games that we can play together. It'll be fun for us, and we'll get to spend time with each other inside the video game we're making, but let's make one where it's all about the feeling of togetherness. So rather than we're going to be hanging out together while doing something else, it's like the video game will be about hanging out together, and we'll figure out what that means as we go along.'"

Walker-talker man

You could more broadly associate the rise of "friendslop" games with post-COVID development, and people certainly have. It doesn't exactly take a genius to answer the question of: why are so many video games where you just sort of hang out and complete tasks with friends, regardless of distance, coming out and resonating? Why, perhaps it was the sudden and stark isolation of quarantine and distancing that went on for months and years, starving people of social interaction globally!

Trying to talk about Big Walk's mechanics and how they grow out of this fertile soil is difficult in part because it's a puzzle game. If I say too much, I've basically given away the puzzle. But it's also difficult in precisely the way that makes it a COVID game. More than anything else, Big Walk is about learning to communicate effectively and collaborate despite numerous obstacles deliberately frustrating or even entirely preventing both.

Because the various items and puzzles have no names or designations, any given group of players has to start from scratch on describing, expressing, and instructing. How do you indicate "yes" from a distance if someone can't hear you? What does "no" look like? What do you call the little… gourd-looking key items? (Every session I've ever played ended up calling these "babies," by the way. Your mileage may vary.) This is, you'll be shocked to learn, entirely deliberate on the part of the developer.

"We've kind of left a lot of built-in ambiguity – lots of the items, the characters, lots of the spaces in the world, they're deliberately a bit difficult to describe," says Disseldorp, "and that's part of the game is for you to figure out what language you want to use with your friends."

"This isn't a game where you can just not describe them," adds Disseldorp. "There's so much teamwork that you will need to kind of build that shared language. But through doing that, you take ownership and build a shared understanding of the game together."

Art is reflective of the time in which it was made, regardless of intent, but I'd argue that Big Walk is absolutely intentional. If you work together, regardless of how isolating the distance and difficulty to communicate or how big the problem (or walk), you can come to a solution together. There is, I think, a lesson somewhere in there.

Big Walk is currently available on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2. If you're looking for something in a similar vein, be sure to check out our ranking of the best co-op games.

Couch co-op in Big Walk is something that many players will be anticipating or hopeful for, as this multiplayer cooperative game would arguably lend itself to local co-op by definition. However, while it's possible to get a large group of friends together in Big Walk on multiplayer online servers, I'm sorry to say that couch co-op isn't something you should expect from Big Walk right now, as I'll explain below.

Can you play Big Walk couch co-op with friends?

No, Big Walk does not have local or couch co-op mode, only online multiplayer.

That may change in the future, but there's no actual evidence that it will, and in fact developer House House may not include it for specific reasons concerning player communication.

See, much of Big Walk's gameplay and challenge is centered around in-game audio and proximity chat - the idea that players' ability to communicate diminishes the further away their characters are from each other. That isn't just a fun gimmick, but an essential part of the game to be managed and overcome. Playing local co-op, where you can turn around and talk to your friends at any time, would diminish or compromise that element accordingly. For more details, I definitely recommend you check out the official Big Walk FAQ page, which explains this element of the game further.

Find out more about who you can and can't play with in our guide to enabling Big Walk crossplay! Or if you get stuck in the opening area then we have a puzzle walkthrough to help you lower the red bridge in Big Walk.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Knowing the Big Walk release time is important information, if you're keen to start exploring the wide-open world of House House's latest quirky adventure. This is especially true here as the game is launching globally at different times, depending on whether you're playing on PlayStation 5 or PC and Nintendo Switch 2, and if you're based in the United States or elsewhere. To help you fathom out when your journey can begin, I've rounded up all of the Big Walk release times and explained the differences.

You can't play solo, so we've also got the lowdown on Big Walk crossplay to help you join your friends, plus a puzzle walkthrough to show you how to lower the red bridge in Big Walk if you get stuck.

What time does Big Walk come out?

The game launches on August 4, but by checking the various regional PlayStation Stores and SteamDB information I have identified two separate Big Walk release times depending on your location and format. These are broken down as follows:

• PS5 (EU Store)
  • 9am BST
  • 10am CEST
• PS5 (US Store)
  • 6am PDT
  • 9am EDT
• PS5 (AU/NZ Store)
  • 6pm AEST
  • 8pm NZST
• PC (Steam)
  • 6am PDT
  • 9am EDT
  • 2pm BST
  • 3pm CEST
  • 11pm AEST
  • 1am NZST (August 5)

It appears that globally Big Walk will release first on PS5 in the UK/EU and Australia/New Zealand, then five hours later it will launch on PS5 in the US alongside a simultaneous worldwide release on PC via Steam. There is currently no information available about the Nintendo Switch 2 release time, though based on previous third-party launches this is likely to mirror the Steam timings.

Unlike with the Xbox, there is no "New Zealand trick" on PS5 to switch your internal clock to NZST so you can get access sooner, which means if you're based in the United States then the only way to play Big Walk early is to purchase it from the UK/EU or Australia/New Zealand PSN Store. Given the difference is only 5 hours and it's happening overnight, the best option is to wait until it becomes available in your region – especially if you're picking it up for free via PlayStation Plus!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Anime-inspired co-op title Orbitals has confirmed all of the different ways you'll be able to play the Switch 2 game in co-op, with a free friend's pass confirmed for launch.

Orbitals is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year for many, and despite September getting ready to be the pre-GTA 6 armageddon where every game under the sun is releasing, it's certainly one of the standouts. The anime-style adventure looks so visually striking it was immediately on my radar, but with it being co-op, it throws into question how I'll be playing it. Thankfully developer Shapefarm has laid everything out.

Over on Twitter, the official Orbitals account reveals all the myriad ways you'll be able to experience this co-op focused adventure. First, and most obviously, you'll be able to play Orbitals in couch co-op with you and whoever is within your immediate vicinity. But even if your co-op partner is away or… not wanting to play on the same console, for whatever reason, Shapefarm's new game has you covered.

GameShare is available both locally and through Nintendo Switch Online, allowing someone to join the person who bought the game via the power of wireless communications. However, the local play version has the added benefit of allowing players on the original Nintendo Switch to join you via GameShare co-op.

Meanwhile, if you're dedicated to making sure the GameChat button on your Switch 2 is never pressed, there is another way to let your friends play for free. Just like the Hazelight co-op games that inspired it (although given that Orbitals co-director Jakob Lundgren worked on those, maybe that isn't the right word), Orbitals will let the second player download a "Global Friend's Pass" to join you, right from launch. Plus, if you're unsure, the friend pass app will feature a local co-op demo to allow you to dip your toes in space.

If you've already pre-ordered your copy of Orbitals, check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases to aid you on your upcoming anime co-op adventure.

The devs behind cartoony stealth-'em-up Meccha Chameleon have had to do some serious patching on the game after a couple of custom maps reportedly allowed malware to spread. According to the team, the vulnerabilities have been rectified, including hacking in the official Discord server.

Over the weekend, a player in the community known as Feint published a blog outlining how Laser Tag Neon, a Steam Workshop map in Meccha Chameleon, was allegedly a "malware dropper." The piece was later updated, claiming that Chroma Grid Arena was plagued by the same problems.

"A couple of my friends reported seeing a command prompt window briefly appear while Steam was downloading a custom workshop map," they write on the discovery. "The map was being downloaded through the game's in-game lobby and, once the download completed it immediately began loading for the match."

They add, then, that after looking through the map's files, they realized "it appears to be a malware dropper, despite having passed workshop review." They then go on to list how to spot problems like this, and how the malware works, to help players protect themselves.

The blog has since been updated to note developer lemorion_1224's fixes, which include removing these maps at present. A tweet from the dev says the malware's been disabled after the latest round of patching.

However, another problem emerged when it looked like someone had taken control of the Meccha Chameleon Discord server. "This is literally what your discord looks like right now," someone says in replies, with a screenshot of the server reduced to two channels.

Regular programming has resumed on the server, lemorion_1224 confirming on Twitter a bad actor managed to get into the Discord owner's account. All the admins were locked out at one stage, according to a machine translation of the studio's tweets, but all is well now. I've since joined and can confirm it seems like business as usual.

An update on Steam reiterates this, stating the "malicious mod map issue" is now remedied, and "the game itself is 100% SAFE and virus-free." Another post on Steam adds referring to the Discord situation: "All the hackers have been banned."

Although the fires have been put out, much like in the game itself, treat everything with some caution. There could be repeat incidents, and it may be harder to fix the next time around.

Steam indie hit Meccha Chameleon made more money than any other PC game last month apart from Fortnite, according to new data.

Indie hide and seek hit Meccha Chameleon was apparently the second-highest-grossing PC game of June, just behind Fortnite.

Going viral is the best thing that can happen to an indie game. We've seen it happen a number of times now with the likes of Peak, Among Us, R.E.P.O, and Lethal Company, and the result is smaller titles absolutely popping off.

Meccha Chameleon is easily 2026's biggest contender in this category, with the viral hit that takes classic hide-and-seek game modes to the next level selling 7 million copies in its first two weeks, before going on to sell 15 million copies within its first month, making it not only the fastest-selling game of 2026, but also the best-selling game of the year. If it keeps that momentum up, it stands a good shot of holding that title… until GTA 6 releases, but no one's taking that one on.

Unsurprisingly, with sales like that, the game has made a good chunk of money. According to games industry data firm Newzoo (via Gamesindustry), Meccha Chameleon was the second-biggest PC game of June 2026 in terms of revenue, just behind Fortnite. Given that the game is $5.99 (which isn't even enough to get you the lowest bundle of V-Bucks), it's quite the impressive figure.

Despite how overwhelming it is, Fortnite actually came third in May, but with the launch of Chapter 7 Season 3, it bounced back up to the top. May's top game, Forza Horizon 6, dropped five spots after the launch wave.

Aside from Meccha Chameleon, Marvel Rivals, The Sims 4, and Dead By Daylight were the other new faces in the monthly top 10, with Dead By Daylight jumping 16 spaces thanks to its 10th anniversary celebrations.

Earlier this month, Meccha Chameleon's popularity spawned the inevitable result of any Steam popoff: a fast-follow AI ripoff that even uses the same name in some regions.

Of course, in typical Roblox being the worst fashion, clones of the game on there are actually outdoing the original in terms of playercount.

Whether stemming a tide of Tyranids in Warhammer 40:000: Space Marine 2 or whaling on one of Left 4 Dead's chargers to make it stop pummeling your pal, the best co-op games thrive when you're hard-pressed to keep up. Far Far West, developer Evil Raptor's breakout co-op shooter, is no exception. It's equal parts maximalist and stubbornly simple, pitting spellcasting robot cowboys against escalating hordes of supernatural cowpokes – accompanied by the greatest (and first) techno-banjo soundtrack I've ever heard.

To dig into Far Far West's creation, inspirations, and the philosophy driving the small team at Evil Raptor, GamesRadar+ caught up with developer Arnaud Petit.

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity

Goin' out West

How did the development team come together?

Petit: Evil Raptor was born out of Pumpkin Jack back in 2020, when Nicolas, the head of the studio, was solo-developing the game. Following its success, we had the opportunity to hire more people and become more ambitious with our projects. Most of the current team already worked together on our previous title, Akimbot. So, transitioning to Far Far West was just a natural continuation of our work as a group, with a few new additions to ensure we could make the game as good as possible.

Similarly, how did the creative vision of Far Far West take shape?

Petit: The art direction, the atmosphere, mood, and overall fantasy come from Nicolas, who is incredibly skilled at creating spooky and moody vibes. As for the concept of spell-slinging robots fighting skeletons… honestly, it's just cool. Gameplay-wise, our main objective was to create a fun (a very important word for us!) experience that anyone could enjoy, from casual to more hardcore gamers.

Far Far West actually went through three major iterations. Our first prototype was a fresh take on tower defense, and the second leaned into a linear, mission-based structure similar to games like Left 4 Dead. When we realized those directions weren't clicking the way we wanted, we decided to take our best ideas, throw them all in the same bag, and focus entirely on tight gunplay, funny spells, and wacky combos. We mixed it all into a replayable game loop, and the game finally found its footing! While we had a solid foundation, we iterated heavily and integrated player feedback right from the start, which really helped shape the game into what it is today.

Far Far West had a lot of hype at the demo stage, but that doesn't always translate to launch. Ahead of release, how did you feel? How about now?

Petit: Running several open playtests followed by a demo with open reviews definitely helped ease our nerves, as we could see people were enjoying the game. However, since the demo was free at the time, it was impossible to know if that interest would translate into actual sales at launch. Thankfully, it did! We honestly didn't expect the full release to be received this well, nor did we anticipate such a high player count. We couldn't be happier with its success! Now, we're back hard at work and can't wait to bring more content to the players.

Far Far West reminds me of some brilliant co-op shooters – think Space Marine 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Borderlands – more so in spirit than design . What do you think creates the right environment for a shooter to thrive in a group environment?

Petit: For us, the key word is simply fun. Everybody loves wacky concepts and flying around the map at lightspeed, so we thought, 'Why not let them?'. Once we ensured the gunplay felt satisfying and the core loop was engaging, there were still a lot of things to consider. But our philosophy is straightforward: if we think an idea is fun for us, we don't hesitate to implement it for the players.

I adore the music, particularly that crescendo in the final stage of an extraction. Could you tell me a little about why Far Far West's musical direction felt right? (Bonus question: would you like to name your electro-gothic-Western genre, if you haven't already?)

Petit: Like with pretty much everything we do, we just went with a vibe, and that vibe perfectly matched the rhythm of the game. Our composer also did the OST for our previous game, Akimbot, which was heavily electro-based. Since that's his specialty, we wanted to carry that energy over. You just slam some banjo over it, think cowboys, and you get this "electro banjo bop." Not tying ourselves to a specific name or genre keeps the door open to pretty much anything, so we're just going with the flow!

Are there any other developers – solo or studio – that you look up to?

Petit: There are obviously a few names that constantly come up when people compare Far Far West to other titles, like Helldivers 2 or Deep Rock Galactic. They are staples of the co-op shooter space, and they both did an excellent job defining the genre in their own unique ways. When it comes to the gunplay itself, I also have to mention Overwatch. They did an incredible job making shooting feel as satisfying as possible for an FPS, and we definitely studied their animations closely!

If you liked this...

Meccha Chameleon, the latest "friendslop" hit on Steam to absolutely dominate the web, is now second in player count to its fan-created Roblox clones.

The new indie gem is no stranger to clones, having seen an AI ripoff so bold as to use its title in some regions come to light earlier this week – but those on Roblox are arguably more of a "threat," so to speak, seeing as they're freely available… and the platform boasts millions of daily users.

Unsurprisingly, there are a good few, too, ranging from "Paint and SEEK!" to "Paint Or Seek" to… "Paint To Hide!" and so on.

What is surprising, however, is that these Roblox clones have now reportedly overtaken the actual Meccha Chameleon in daily peak player count.

A Reddit chart from RoWatcherHQ, an account that focuses on gathering data from and about Roblox, highlights this, showing that around 150,000 to over 200,000 players still engage with the clones.

These figures aren't as high as Meccha Chameleon's record of 340,534 – but they're higher than its current numbers.

Right now, as per the chart and SteamDB, Meccha Chameleon has about 55,000 players in-game. That's how many users it's boasted daily for a few days now, meaning that it's faced quite the drop – especially when lined up against the free Roblox clones, which only started to surface some three or so weeks ago.

Obviously, Meccha Chameleon isn't hitting mind-boggling lows here or anything… but it's still disheartening to see.

This isn't a first for Roblox, either, as the platform features a plethora of other game clones. From REPO to Dead by Daylight, its users have copied just about everything under the sun – and evidently, they won't be slowing down any time soon.

I do wonder if Meccha Chameleon's own developers will share their thoughts on the matter at all, or if they'll strike down the paid clones over on Steam.

Only time can tell, I suppose, but I'd advise folks to give the original game a go – it's a whole lot of chaos, and even more fun, if you ask me.

Viral indie hit Meccha Chameleon sells a massive 15 million copies in less than a month, becomes the fastest and best-selling game of the year

Meccha Chameleon, the latest "friendslop" hit on Steam to take over our social media feeds, is officially so popular that it's spurring shameless clones.

It's no secret that Meccha Chameleon has absolutely dominated the web for the past month or so, with its unique Prop Hunt-esque hide-and-seek gameplay. Flying by seven million sales in under two weeks on Valve's PC platform, it was only a matter of time before the new indie gem would spur copies from other developers – and that it has.

Scribble Hunt is one such copy, sitting on Steam with screenshots that look straight out of Meccha Chameleon.

Developed by mysterious studio "Scribble Bunny," Scribble Hunt sounds a whole lot like the smash-hit game from lemorion_1224, too. "Paint the bunny man and blend into the scene like a chameleon," reads its description. "2–10 player online hide-and-seek. Sample colors, match the lighting, tune your materials – disguise yourself to perfection and slip away right under the Hunters' gaze."

And, erm, yes… there is an AI-generated content disclosure declaring that "some store page images and promotional art of this game are made with generative AI."

Interestingly, as pointed out by South Korean outlet INVEN, the game's name is perhaps the most egregious "rip-off" of all here. In Korean, it translates to – you guessed it – Meccha Chameleon. This feels far too close for comfort, perhaps paving the way to potential legal issues.

I'm instantly reminded of other recent supposed game "clones," like Monster Fantasy and, of course, Pickmos, which made headlines for similar reasons.

The maps showcased in Scribble Hunt look like fan-created Meccha Chameleon maps as well (I mean, that is the Art Museum map redone, is it not?), but we can't see too much of the game yet. As for its release date, it isn't out yet – and Scribble Bunny doesn't disclose when it'll launch, either, simply stating that it's coming sometime this month.

If I'm honest, though, I'm not certain it'll last… at least not in its current state.

I suppose only time will tell what ends up happening to Scribble Hunt – it might make a comeback with a different name and design, if nothing else.

Searching for more to look forward to? Browse our quick roundup of the best upcoming indie games to anticipate, or our rundown of the coolest new games underway.

Paddle Paddle Paddle developer Mateo Covic of studio Zoroarts went viral this month for his comments on Steam's refund policy, which, after more than 55,000 people refunded his well-reviewed but short rage game, he called exploitable. Speaking with GamesRadar+, Covic defends much of his argument but stresses that he supports the refund system overall and doesn't want to see consumer rights eroded.

"I'm 100% pro refund but the current 'no questions asked if you request a refund within two weeks and with less than two hours of playtime' policy just makes it super easy for players to abuse this rule," Covic says.

Referring to Valve's refund rules, which expressly prohibit gaming the system "as a way to get free games" under threat of refund denials, Covic adds, "Steam says that refunds are not for people to play games for free, and refunds in general should be requested (in my opinion) when the Steam page misled you with wrong information, the game had problems that prevent you [playing or enjoying] the game, and other similar reasons that can be found in the Steam policy."

He says he isn't dissatisfied with his game's sales or refund count, which he acknowledges is not out of band for a game like this. "My tweet was targeted towards the people who enjoyed the game, wrote a positive review, and refunded the game just because they can," he explains. "Many people think that I'm a complete asshole now and want to remove the refund policy in general but that was never my intention."

This whole saga led to more "hateful DMs and insulting comments" than he'd ever seen, Covic says, and Paddle Paddle Paddle was "review bombed already and went from very positive recent Steam Reviews to mixed ones." He reasons, "I guess it's a big learning opportunity and I will think twice before posting a statement / request like that in the future."

Covic singles out an argument made, among others, by Twitter user and game curator Indie Game Joe: the existence of Steam's refund policy gives users a level of protection that makes it easier to try out some games, which can lead to more sales overall even if it can also result in more refunds. Covic says this stance did give him pause.

"Sure my refund rate is high with 55,000+ refunds, but when I did some research I found out that a refund rate of 20% is pretty normal for a rage game," he says. "Overall, a refund rate of 10% is normal for games on Steam. I'm super grateful for the game's success after all, and I just learned that it's a normal thing to have that many refunds when you have an amount of 270,000 sold units... Regarding your question: I don't know if people think, 'Yeah let's try it out, I can refund it anyway.' What helped my game way more was the cheap price. When I showed people the game's trailer they often were like, 'Oh looks fun,' but when they found out about the price of $2.99 on sale they were willing to try it out right away."

One thing he does firmly dismiss is the idea of intentionally making games longer just to dodge the two-hour Steam refund window. He worries Steam's policy could discourage shorter games in this way. Despite this hiccup, Covic says Paddle Paddle Paddle "changed my whole life," enabling him to work on games full-time, and now specifically making short games has become a joy and a focus for him after spending years on hybrid action game Makis Adventure.

Covic concludes, "I don't know how many people really refunded my game with a true reason since you could just lie and choose one of the possible refund reasons. Steam's 'no question asked' policy makes it super easy and quick to do that. I can see how many players refunded the game because it was too difficult, for example, but it would help if they left a helpful comment too since that would help me to work on that problem."

Here are the biggest upcoming indie games for 2026 and beyond.

If your online algorithms have even a small appetite for gaming content, there's a good chance you've seen clips from Meccha Chameleon, the viral multiplayer sensation that's taking the internet by storm. The small indie game that could has now sold a whopping 15 million copies in under four weeks, making it both the year's best-selling and fastest-selling game.

Just in case it's missed your feed, Meccha Chameleon can loosely be described as a multiplayer hide-and-seek game. Before a round starts, the so-called Hiders will find a secret spot and paint their all-white bodies to hopefully camouflage into the background. The Seekers then walk around with their guns and shoot anything they suspect of being a Hider, sometimes accidentally gunning down suspicious rolls of toilet paper.

In two weeks, the game shot past seven million sales. Less than a month after the game dropped on Steam, Meccha Chameleon has now moved a whopping 15 million units, per the developer's recent short blog post.

"Thanks a million! Get ready for a new collaboration with a famous Japanese star next week," the dev writes.

Niko Partners video game analyst Daniel Ahmad tweets that the sales milestone makes Meccha Chameleon "both the fastest selling and highest selling game of the year." That means the small indie game has outsold heavy hitters like Resident Evil Requiem, Forza Horizon 6, and Crimson Desert - its affordable price tag probably doesn't hurt, though.

"Also just to note that the two devs working on this game have done an amazing job updating it," Ahmad adds. "Often when small indie games like this blow up overnight, they can’t support the demand for updates / bug fixes. But MC has added new features and fixed bugs quite consistently."

Browse our quick roundup of the best upcoming indie games to anticipate and our list of the coolest new games on the horizon.

Meccha Chameleon, the latest "friendslop" hit on Steam to take the web by storm, now boasts a whopping seven million sales… and news of a fresh "Japan-themed map," too.

In case you've missed it, Meccha Chameleon has been circulating online forums and social media reels like no tomorrow – in fact, it's pretty much all I see right now as I scroll.

It's already proven a smash hit on Steam, with developers constantly updating folks on the number of sales it's reached. 500,000, then a million, then two million, three million, five million… and today, a whopping seven million sales in total.

For context, Meccha Chameleon only released on June 10. That means less than two weeks have passed, and it's already reached over seven million players worldwide. That's no small feat, especially for an indie game with just a couple of devs behind it. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they're thrilled.

A new post on Steam celebrating the milestone proves as much, with the small studio writing, "7 million copies sold! Thank you so much!"

The devs then tease an update coming within the next couple of days: "The new official Japan-themed map will be added today or tomorrow."

Honestly, I'm thrilled to hear it – I may or may not have spent the latter half of the weekend cycling through Meccha Chameleon's few existing maps (please, no more Backrooms) and exhausting the Steam Workshop of all its player-created options… so I'm more than ready for something fresh.

It seems I'm not alone either, as comments show people praising Meccha Chameleon. One person exclaims, "W development, keep it up." Another jokes that the "friendslop" game just keeps winning – and I'm inclined to agree.

There are nearly 10,000 reviews, after all, and a solid "Very Positive" rating to boot for the Prop Hunt-esque gem from lemorion_1224. I'm almost certain that number (and score) will continue to soar, too.

Here's hoping Meccha Chameleon keeps flying toward the moon and the devs keep on with their work on the hide-and-seek hit. I don't think there'll ever be enough maps to paint in, but every new addition is a very welcome one.

Searching for more to look forward to? Browse our quick roundup of the best upcoming indie games to anticipate, or our rundown of the coolest new games underway.

After indie gems like Lethal Company and REPO, fans have lovingly branded plenty of little games "friendslop" – the latest of which is a Prop Hunt-esque title currently taking the web by storm: Meccha Chameleon.

In case you missed it over the weekend, Meccha Chameleon seemingly came out of nowhere and impressed thousands of fans with its hilarious chameleon-like hide-and-seek chaos.

Put simply, you place a little guy (who you play as) somewhere and paint over him to match whatever his surroundings are at the time – and then you sit and wait, hoping your friends don't realize that hey, something isn't quite right about that person-shaped brick wall…

It's as amusing as it sounds, and I've honestly spent the last couple of days scrolling through various funny clips of Meccha Chameleon in action.

Unsurprisingly, it's been dubbed a new "friendslop" hit by players over on Steam, where it sits with "Very Positive" reviews right now. Not only is it well-received already, but indie developer and publisher lemorion_1224 (say that 10 times fast) is celebrating over two million sales.

That's just five days after release – in other words, a pretty big number for any brand-new title, not just an indie game.

The reviews see fans drawing all sorts of comparisons to other multiplayer experiences, namely Garry's Mod's own Prop Hunt. As one person so eloquently puts it, "Like Prop Hunt, but chameleons." Another calls Meccha Chameleon "a unique and refreshing take on the hide-and-seek genre."

I'm inclined to agree. In an era of various silly viral games like this one, it's not often that a title stands out – and Meccha Chameleon does just that. The creative possibilities feel nearly endless, and the co-op aspect makes it all the more fun.

Searching for more to look forward to? Browse our quick roundup of the best upcoming indie games to anticipate, or our rundown of the coolest new games underway.

Big Walk crossplay forms an essential part of your experience on this quirky journey, as you won't be able to progress the adventure on your own due to the cooperative nature of the puzzles standing in your way. You also need to team up with friends, as the developers have intentionally omitted online matchmaking to encourage the same group to work together over multiple sessions. While the experience can be adjusted to suit either 2-, 3-, or 4+-player groups, up to 12 players are supported if you want to go for maximum chaos!

It's likely that your friend group will be split across multiple platforms, so if you want to join them and go trekking together then here's what you need to know about crossplay in Big Walk for PC, PS5, and Switch 2.

If you get stuck during the opening section of the game, we have a puzzle walkthrough to help you lower the red bridge in Big Walk.

Does Big Walk have crossplay?

Yes, Big Walk does have crossplay, which means you can go on adventures with friends whether they're playing on PC, PlayStation 5, or Switch 2. If your friends are using the same platform as you and are on your friends list, they will automatically appear in the menu to connect with. If your friends are on other platforms, the host can provide a unique Join Code for their session that anyone else can use to connect with them.

Do note that while crossplay is supported, Big Walk couch co-op is not available as the intended experience is for all players to be physically separate with communications between them managed by the game.

How does hosting and progress work in Big Walk?

Big Walk is a journey designed to be experienced over multiple sessions, and to maintain your progress throughout the host is the keeper of the save game. Once the host sets up a new game or continues an existing one, others can connect through their platform friends list or a Join Code and continue where they left off last time, then when the host disconnects the session will end for everyone. This means you should pick your host carefully, as if they are not available to start the session then you won't be able to access your progress.

When creating a new game, the host can set an optional password to manage who can join, and this can be activated or disabled at the start of each session. They then need to choose if the version of Big Walk used will be designed for two players, for three players, or for four or more players. This setting can't be changed while a game is in progress, but it can be adjusted at the start of each session and the puzzles will be adjusted accordingly so you're not making a commitment for your entire playthrough.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

10 long years later, Until Dawn 2 has been revealed, but if you were hoping for a direct continuation of the first game from OG studio Supermassive Games, you'll be disappointed on both counts. Until Dawn 2 seems to revolve around an entirely new cast of characters, and it's in development at Firesprite, the first-party PlayStation developer behind Horizon Call of the Mountain and a handful of other VR-first titles.

PlayStation dropped the announcement trailer for Until Dawn 2 during today's State of Play showcase, revealing a group of ghost hunters who don't know they're about to become the hunted. The trailer shows the young fools partying it up at an exotic and seemingly abandoned tropical destination called Akashima Island, which of course is said to be haunted. Then Baldur's Gate 3 star Neil Newbon shows up and belly flops into a pool. "Who's the buff idiot," one ghost hunter asks. "Does no one know this guy?" another asks, possibly a wink at Newbon's household status.

From there, things take a dark turn. Notably, I didn't see any mention or sighting of a Wendigo, the former humans-turned-monsters that serve as the main bad guys of the first Until Dawn. Instead, the only antagonists shown in the reveal trailer are some masked, machete-wielding hunters, which whack off one of the characters' legs.

Assuredly, this is still an Until Dawn game. We see one extremely critical quick time event toward the end of the trailer that results in a lad named Luke falling off a cliff to his bloody death, and the trailer closes out with the reveal that the psychiatrist character from the first game is back. "Can you do what needs to be done?" he asks ominously as a 2027 release window is shown.

I'm conflicted about this one. I have extremely fond memories of the first Until Dawn and have played it and re-played it at least a dozen times, but there's no denying Supermassive quality is inconsistent at best these days. That said, Firesprite hasn't proven itself as the lead developer on a non-VR, non-mobile first-party PlayStation game, so we'll have to wait and see how that shakes out. So far, I'm liking what I see.

Here are the best PS5 games you can play right now.

Ikumi Nakamura, the iconic horror artist known for her work on Okami, Bayonetta, The Evil Within, and Ghostwire Tokyo, has unveiled a brand new project that looks like some of the best parts of all those games combined and enhanced with a three-player co-op option.

Kemuri: Hunt the Unseen made its debut during today's PlayStation State of Play, and quite frankly, it woke me out of the slight boredom I was experiencing watching Wolverine impale someone's face for the 15th time. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Marvel Games and I'm looking forward to Marvel's Wolverine, but that trailer was just a whole lot of slashing people to a bloody pulp and not a whole lot else. Kemuri: Hunt the Unseen, on the other hand, looks like something fresh, new, and weird in a way you would rightfully expect from Nakamura.

Fast, fluid, frenetic, and brimming with colorful J-pop style, Kemuri looks like a decidedly non-spooky take on Ghostwire Tokyo, the supremely underrated 2022 action horror game that Nakamura was originally creative director on. You team up with up to two other players and take on Kemuri City, which of course is the city "closest to the afterlife," and hunt down some ghosts inspired by Japanese folklore. It seems you have numerous ways of traversing the city both horizontally and vertically, with the trailer showing player characters gliding around environments, wall-running up buildings, and rail-grinding across ledges in pursuit of yokai which you can form contracts with and absorb their powers, changing your appearance, combat, and movement.

In terms of battles, it seems there's a mix of fast-paced supernatural ability-based melee and ranged combat, with what looks to be a Devil May Cry-influence.

Kemuri is in development at Nakamura's new studio Unseen, hence the subtitle. There's no release date just yet, but you can expect it to land on PS5 at some point in 2027.

In the meantime, here are the best PS5 games you can play right now.

The studio behind Party Animals has found itself in hot water after announcing an AI-generated video contest that promised $75,000 worth of prizes for participants, a plan that prompted heated backlash on Steam and an apology from the developers.

As you might remember, Party Animals is the co-op brawler that came out almost three years ago. What began as a physics-based hoot reheating Human Fall Flat's nachos has since turned into a more generally pleasant party game that includes a chill fishing minigame, what looks like a kart-racing mode, and other activities to enjoy with friends.

Things went sideways for the normally well-liked game earlier this week, however, when the devs welcomed players to enter a contest for AI-generated videos. "A short film you've been dreaming of making, a story that breaks all the rules, a character tribute to your favorite beast," the studio wrote on social media. "In the past, ideas like these could only exist in your head. Now, with AI, they finally have a chance to become reality."

The contest promised a grand prize of $15,000 and more prizes totaling $75,000 altogether, all for prompt videos about players' "wild ideas" for the game. "AIGC must be the core creative tool," was one of the rules.

The Party Animals contest, as you can imagine, didn't go down too well. On Steam, the game's 1,200 recent reviews are 'Mostly Negative' with 73% of people giving it a red score. Limiting the contest to AI content only and having people enter via online hashtags made the competition seem more like a way to flood social media algorithms with mass-produced slop.

"Rest in peace," one such negative review says, "loved this game but they're leaning into AI now so I will no longer support this company."

"Sucks to see a good party game stoop so low to replace assets and/or community competitions with AI garbo," another writes. "COMPENSATE ACTUAL ARTISTS!!!"

Complaints eventually got so loud that the Party Animals account stepped in to respond with an apology of sorts: "We'd like to address the recent discussion around the AI video contest, and first of all, we're sorry for upsetting players with this event. We're also sorry that we didn't communicate with everyone clearly enough before the event started."

Developer Recreate Games claims its "original goal was to lower the barrier to creation" for people who might not have the editing, modeling, or animation skills to otherwise participate. "We hoped AI could be a more accessible tool that lets more people take part," it adds, before saying it didn't mean to "dismiss handmade work or disrespect creators."

In an effort to make amends, the studio is now giving the player base three options to vote on via Twitter or the official forums: Cancel the contest entirely, turn it into a non-AI contest, or have the AI contest proceed as planned,d with a separate category for human-made videos.

Even that response hasn't swept the controversy under the rug, judging by replies in the Party Animals forum, at least. Talking about generative AI as a tool - a means to an end - somewhat dismisses real concerns people have around the tech's environmental and ethical impact. And while wanting to open up a creative contest to more people is an admirable pursuit, there's not much creativity involved in prompting. One fan suggested the company could make a few assets publicly available if accessibility were the dev's main concern, which I thought was a nice idea.

Former Assassin's Creed Hexe lead says no one at Ubisoft lost their job to AI while he was there: "That's just factually untrue."

Things went wrong for me in Kill Team: Terror on Devlan as soon as boots hit the dirt. Our crack Kill Team of Spectre Squad operatives fanned out across the Imperial ruins, ready to seal tunnels that xenos scum kept scuttling out of. Yes, the fabled 'Red Terror' – a monster famed for eviscerating platoons with ease – was still out there. But we had time before it arrived. The key was speed and focus. Right? Wrong. This wasn't our ambush; it was theirs.

Lesser Tyranid bioforms darted in and out of cover to pin us down, firing from all sides. Others hurtled forward in a swarm, ripping into my sniper as if he were a sack of jello. Flanking maneuvers made us pay for every inch gained, and while we killed plenty of them in return, they kept coming. Then the Red Terror (the undisputed star of Kill Team: Terror on Devlan) showed up. And yep, shit really hit the fan.

All this is to say that Kill Team: Terror on Devlan is hard. Bloody hard, in every sense of the word. As the first box set to focus exclusively on co-op and single-player gameplay, it's also an anomaly. Whether that's a good or bad thing will depend on what you want from Kill Team, but I came away impressed.

Kill Team: Terror on Devlan features & design

• Features solo/co-op missions
• Astra Militarum commandos vs. Tyranids
• The iconic Red Terror returns with an all-new model

Unlike most large box sets for Kill Team (Warhammer 40K's smaller, faster sibling), Terror on Devlan doesn't kick off a new competitive season with fresh terrain. It doesn't pit two new squads against each other like usual, either. Rather, it's all about you (and maybe a friend) taking down alien hordes. These can be controlled by another person, but they don't have to be; deigned 'non-player operatives,' their behaviours are dictated by a clever mix of if/when scenarios.

No matter who does what, it's all based on an old piece of 40K lore from previous editions: the loss of the planet Devlan to a hideous Tyranid offshoot, nicknamed 'the Red Terror.' However, this set expands and enriches that idea with horrifying context. Half the rulebook is dedicated to backstory, and it's a chilling read. The mounting tension is palpable as reports trickle in of unexplained murders and missing bodies, making Tyranids feel like inscrutable monsters that can't be defeated – only outrun.

Then you get to take it on yourself in a series of missions that can be run as one-offs or as part of a larger campaign. If you string everything together, your wins or losses dictate which scenario gets played next.

Of course, you'll have to build everything first… and despite the impressive Red Terror scything through scenery in a gravity-defying pose, it's a pleasantly straightforward process. I didn't struggle with the Red Terror, its push-fit Tyranid underlings (making a reappearance from the Warhammer 40K starter sets) or the Astra Militarum Spectre Squad. The only thing I'd say to do is paint your Red Terror before attaching it to the base. It'll be so much easier.

Speaking of easier, one quick thing to note: Terror on Devlan is designed to work with the Volkus Kill Zone terrain pack, sold separately. You can adjust things to make other scenery work, of course, but scenery is needed even so. You don't get any in the box, so bear that in mind before charging in.

Here's what comes in the pack:

• Dossier: This is the box set's rulebook, combining lore and backstory with mechanics and missions for all the models contained within.
• Data, ploy, and equipment cards: You'll need these to run both Spectre Squad and the Tyranids.
• Tokens: You get tokens for Spectre Squad and the Tyranid Red Terror, allowing you to keep track of their special abilities in play.

Gameplay

• Missions are a real challenge
• Spectre Squad are finicky, but hugely effective
• Will likely be too tricky and complex for beginners

Terror on Devlan has a very different feel compared to previous Kill Team sets; while the likes of Kill Team: Tomb World were tense, tactical head-to-heads, this has more in common with the best board games. Even if you're going into battle with a friend at your side, your goal is to overcome an automated foe powered by cards and an easy-to-follow set of behaviours.

Don't think it'll be straightforward if no-one's on the other side of the table, though. It's an exercise of cat and mouse, but I'm not sure we're the cat. Enemy behaviours are meticulously detailed, and there's an emphasis on them doing whatever will make your life harder each turn. No, really, that's what it says in the rulebook – it urges you to take whatever action will benefit the Tyranids and jeopardize your mission most. In addition, they… well, they just keep coming. Trying to wipe them all out is an exercise in futility as a result. More can, and probably will, emerge in their next activation. As such, getting around them to your real objective is challenging enough… and that's before the Red Terror gets involved.

The trick is working out how to use those set (and therefore predictable) behaviours against the foe, luring them into traps or distracting them so you can sweep in and complete your mission. This is immensely satisfying when done right, and a worthy challenge for those already familiar with Kill Team.

It's even more gratifying if you can avoid being mauled by the Red Terror in the process. This monster lives up to its name – if you aren't afraid, you should be. The first time I faced it, it eviscerated one of my strongest fighters in a single attack. It then re-emerged a short while later and swallowed my heavy gunner whole, at which point it vanished back underground in the biggest "up yours" I could imagine. Just like that, my meticulously-laid plan was in tatters. When combined with the smaller Tyranids that are still likely to be sprinting around the battlefield, you'll really feel up against it. Difficult decisions will need to be made.

That's what Spectre Squads excel at, though. This Astra Militarum Kill Team thrives on finesse, clever planning, and a willingness to pivot. While few of the individual troops will stand out much, the group's special abilities help it punch far harder than you might expect. Its Elite Fieldcraft power lets you act before a foe uses an action, for instance, potentially giving you a (devastating) bonus shot or allowing you to regroup to a more advantageous position. It takes some getting used to, and there's a fair amount to juggle where ploys are concerned, but the team will sing in the right hands.

With that in mind though, the one thing I'll say is that this won't suit beginners – or at the very least, it'll be one hell of a trial by fire. For one thing, Spectre Squad is tricky to get the most out of. Secondly, the missions are difficult as is. Indeed, they'll strain even the most experienced commanders.

Should you buy Kill Team: Terror on Devlan?

Whether you buy Terror on Devlan depends on a couple of things. If you're an experienced player, you'll find so much to dig your teeth into. If you want a way to play Warhammer solo, it's also ideal. Oh, and if you already have Kill Zone: Volkus, were gonna buy that terrain, or are happy to DIY a solution using scenery you already have? Great.

If you're new to all this, though, I'd steer clear. There are better entry-points to the hobby, even playing solo (I'd recommend Hivestorm), and it's punishingly hard. You need an established setup with terrain as well, none of which is included in the box. Beginner can obviously have a blast here, but it's an uphill battle.

Hoping to test your mettle as a seasoned veteran, on the other hand? I'd definitely recommend trying this set. I've had a lot of fun so far, and am desperate to even the score with the Red Terror. I doubt it'll go well.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Kill Team: Terror on Devlan

This product sample was provided by Games Workshop.

After familiarizing myself with the rules, I went about assembling every model in the box and painting whatever I could over the course of a few weeks (that included multiple members of Spectre Squad, the Red Terror, and some lesser Tyranids). I then dove into test matches direct from the pack to see how they handled in practice.

For more on our process, see how we test board games or the GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

Looking for something else to play? Be sure not to miss the best tabletop RPGs or the best card games.

I'm now perhaps overly self-conscious about when I use a certain word starting with "f" and ending with "riendslop," but casual co-op, low-fi visuals, and proximity chat is clearly a winning formula. The latest hit in that space is Sledding Game, which reached 100,000 copies sold and overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews just days after launch, and nobody's more surprised than the mostly solo developer who brought it to life.

We'll put the usual caveats on "solo" here – you will see the credits for music and the logo on the Steam page – but the bulk of Sledding Game is the work of a single developer who identifies himself as "Max," and says this is his "first ever video game." The title is pretty self-explanatory, as the game has you hanging out on a mountain resort and sledding around, tossing snowballs, making snowmen, and other appropriately wintery activities.

Sledding Game launched on April 30, and by May 5 had already sold over 100,000 copies. "Thank you everyone for playing," Max said in a Steam post announcing the news. "It means the world to me that I have the support to continue making games full time off of my first game on Steam. It’s a dream to reach this large of a number, and you all made it happen in 5 days. Couldn’t be more grateful."

Judging by the user reviews, which currently sit at an "overwhelmingly positive" 97%, that success is well-earned, too. This one probably catches the vibe better than any other: "This adorable little game brings my boyfriend and I unbridled joy. We love it so much for how endearing and entertaining it is. I love getting to be a little frog who drinks hot cocoa and goes sledding."

Dozens (upon dozens (upon dozens)) of games launch on Steam every day. Many of those are genuine labors of love that have something to offer an appropriate audience, but only a fraction of those manage to find the success they deserve. Seeing news about indie success stories like this always feels nice, but those stories stand out precisely because they're so uncommon.

Sledding Game is currently in early access on both Steam and Xbox – including Game Pass – and expected to remain there for up to a year, as Max continues to add "more cosmetics, more minigames, and more ways to hang out." Here's hoping the good times continue to roll.

Here are the upcoming indie games you need to know about.

Nick Kaman of Peak co-developer Aggro Crab predicted the friendslop "fad" will surely fade, just as previous genre booms have petered out over time. But for now, friendslop is still going strong, and co-op gambling game Gamble With Your Friends is the latest short-and-sloppy game to hit it big on Steam.

Gamble With Your Friends, you may have deduced, is about gambling with your friends. Up to six people "share one bank account and one massive debt," and head to the one place where all debts are consistently resolved: the casino.

"Gamble, buy sketchy items, make terrible decisions, and climb an ominous casino tower to hit your loan shark’s daily quota in 5 minutes - or face the consequences," the game's four developers (SkyBrave, blazitt, Gevizz, and Kiwick) challenge players.

In case there's any confusion, the devs previously said: "Our game is NOT A VIRTUAL CASINO. YOU WILL NOT SPEND ACTUAL MONEY TO WIN/LOSE MONEY FROM IT. You will only pay once and that's when you buy the game. There will be no in-game transactions that will require real money."

For $8 – which, as we all know, is basically $5, and it's literally $5 on sale – and "around 2 - 3 hours of playtime with 3 endings," Gamble With Your Friends had all the makings of the next friendslop success story.

It launched on May 1, and on May 4, the devs announced it had sold over 500,000 copies.

"We're soooo happy and speechless by the positive reception our game has gotten so far, and we would like to celebrate the fact that 500k+ gamblers have entered Jeff Booth's Paradise since last Friday with you all!!!" a Steam news post reads. "We're also aware of the bugs you've been reporting, and the team is hard at work addressing them as soon as possible."

Published by Tenstack, whose second top-selling Steam release is Pullback Racers with 34 user reviews, Gamble With Your Friends has blown all expectations away. It's brought in millions in revenue, and is holding at 89% "Very Positive" after 2,247 user reviews. SteamDB shows its all-time Steam player peak was just under 37,000, putting it in the upper echelons – albeit not the stratosphere – of the friendslop wave.

Peak co-dev says games like its iconic friendslop hit "wouldn't exist" if the studio tried to turn everything it makes "into the next Fortnite" with endless content updates.

Guerrilla Games has confirmed another playtest for its Monster Hunter-like co-op Horizon game Hunters Gathering, but the developer warns you probably won't be making it into this playtest, either.

The second batch of Horizon Hunters Gathering playtests are set to take place between May 22 and May 25 on PS5 and PC. Over on the PlayStation Blog, Guerilla detailed what to expect, promising "implemented player feedback" set to be revealed at a later date. There's also more to play with this time.

There will be two new Hunter characters: Ensa – "a charismatic Oseram smuggler with a mercenary past" and Shadow – sadly not the hedgehog, but "a Carja covert operative who commands a fearsome Stalker machine." Plus, another Monster Hunter staple (well, in Sunbreak and Wilds, anyway) is joining the game in the form of Hunter NPCs during Episodes or Machine Incursion modes – the latter of which sounds like a take on Rise's Rampage missions.

Aside from all of that, there's going to be a new Episode added to the game's narrative campaign, as well as new difficulty modes for the Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent missions found in the previous playtest, and a training mode to help you tackle them. Finally, there's a new area called Breakers' Bounty, which features "dense jungles and ravaged ruins bordering a scorching desert home to dangerous machines."

However, Guerrilla doesn't seem to be adding a significant amount of players this time around, saying, "We want to emphasize again: Horizon Hunters Gathering is a game in development; we choose to playtest early and with small numbers to focus on the core experience and implement player feedback before opening to bigger groups of players. We learn a lot from each playtest and this second one is no different; we appreciate each of you who take the time to leave us your honest thoughts."

When Hunters Gathering was announced a Horizon lead said "we absolutely love making single-player games, and we're going to keep making them," although reports soon surfaced that Horizon 3 is probably not coming for a long time, as "most of the studio" is reportedly working on Hunters Gathering. I'm as skeptical about Sony's live-service ambitions as any, but the Monster Hunter-like genre is woefully underutilized, and if it can result in a Horizon game that I actually like, I may be down.

The Last of Us Online was "the best multiplayer game" many Naughty Dog devs had "ever played," ex game director says.

One indie developer is celebrating the fact that his new co-op adventure, Together: Moon Escape, has far and away surpassed the six other games he's released on Steam over the last 15 years.

Carlos Coronado today took to social media to rejoice. "You just broke my Wishlist chart," he tweets alongside a screenshot of Steam's developer backend that shows the Daily Wishlist graph shoot sharply up.

"Just to put things into perspective: none of my previous six games in 15 years reached more than 5,000 wishlists at launch," Coronado, who also goes by CarlosGameDev, writes. "And yesterday alone, Together: Moon Escape was wishlisted by 10,500 players!!!!!!!! IN A SINGLE DAY!!!!!!!!!!! Thank thanks thank thanks thanks to everyone."

Together: Moon Escape is a first-person, two-player puzzler set on an abandoned moon station that the game's Steam description calls an "extremely profitable slime empire," playable in both split-screen local co-op or online multiplayer.

Think It Takes Two, only without the expressive platforming and colorful levels. Essentially, puzzles are designed so you absolutely need to rely on your co-op buddy - you'll both have different tools required for the other person's progress and there's also a sprinkling of nonsensical fun throughout, like the poop geyser shown off in the trailer above.

"You are Moonfishers, specialized astronauts sent to the Moon," the game's Steam page explains. "Your employer? Moontella. A trillionare corporation extracting rare (and questionably carcinogenic) lunar slimes to supply high-end restaurants back on Earth. The job was simple. Until something went wrong. This is not your average serious space game. Expect absurd tools, ridiculous logic, and nonstop cooperation. Whether you're arguing over a puzzle or laughing at your partner falling into a crater (again), you’ll need each other to get home."

Together: Moon Escape is out now on PC, and already has some pretty strong user reviews. "If you like games like We Were Here, Portal or other work-together co-op games like It Takes Two, you’ll love this game," one such player writes. A free demo is also available if you'd like to give it a whirl before committing fully.

For now, check out the best co-op games to play with a friend in 2026.

Generating one billion of anything is an impressive feat. Whether it's song or TV show streams, or copies of something sold, that's around one eighth of the world's population accounted for; just mind-boggling. Among Us, the perennial space-based, party game, has managed to garner that amount of downloads just from one store, and Innersloth isn't sure how to react.

The studio posts about the achievement on Twitter. "Yooooooooooooooo we recently hit 1 BILLION downloads on the Google Play store," the post exclaims. "That's so many crewmates... thank you for playing…"

The poster says they're going to "barf in a vent," because "that is so cool." I don't blame them one bit, that's a lot of players – unfathomable, really, and to imagine them all interacting with and playing a project you've worked on must summon some amount of anxiety.

Innersloth jokes in the replies about the scale of its audience. "1/8 of the world are Crewmates... or Impostors... hard to say...," it says, when the true answer is we've all been both.

This comes with the caveat that it's individual downloads, presumably including people who've deleted it and reinstalled however many times, or folks with the game installed on multiple devices. I don't play on mobile, but I've done it on Steam numerous times, because I only play occasionally with friends, and I'd imagine many others are the same.

Even still, one billion – 1,000,000,000 – is an astronomic achievement, and this is just one particular storefront. Among Us is available on numerous platforms, putting the overall number much higher again, though it seems unlikely any are very close to the Google Play store since everyone and their technophobic gran has a touch screen phone these days.

Quite an achievement in just under eight years. I wonder where it'll be when the game turns ten. Whatever the number is, I hope it's still the same slightly janky experience, because if it's not broken, do not fix it.

Check out our list of new games for 2026 and beyond to keep up with all the upcoming releases on the horizon.

Mike Klubnika, creator of the 2023 multiplayer mega-hit Buckshot Roulette, is establishing himself as a (mostly) solo developer with a very specific niche focus: party games with lethally high stakes. His next game is called Machine Party, and the premise in the simplest terms is horror Mario Party.

Per the official Steam description: "Machine Party is a collection of violent party games where failure is lethal. Gather your friends and endure high stakes situations to prove your life is worth more than theirs. Survival is unlikely."

With challenges like competitive pea-eating and speed cigarette smoking, in which losing seems to almost always result in a revolver blast to the face – not to mention the distinct low-poly, grungecore aesthetic – Machine Party is to Mario Party what Twisted Metal is to Mario Kart.

It's unclear if there's a Mario Party-style game board, or if Machine Party really is just "a collection of uniquely violent party games," but the game supports 2-4 players and gives you "multiple devious ways of screwing your friends over."

The distinction here is that, unlike in Mario Party, screwing your friends over means the violent deaths of said friends. I don't know if there are Thwomp-like things in Machine Party, but if there are and you suffer the misfortune of being under one when it falls, you wouldn't bounce back like a gelatinous blob. Bones would crunch. Blood would flow. Bits of flesh would stick to the Thwomp's jagged edges. You get the idea.

In the words of the developer, there will be "frequent gory outcomes from losing mini games."

Machine Party is due out Q3 2026.

In the meantime, here are the best party games to get down with right now.

After a post from the developers went viral, the co-developer of Peak, Landfall Games, says it doesn't think players are ungrateful for wanting more updates, but that just isn't how the studio works.

One of the surprise hits of 2025 was Peak, the viral co-op indie climbing game from Aggro Crab and Landfall that was made to be a fun little game jam project, and swiftly became the biggest game either developer had made. But despite the surprise, the developers adapted and have been updating the game over the last year or so, with the final biome set to arrive in 2026. Last week, in response to a user calling it a "lazy dev cycle," Landfall reminded people that "neither us or Aggro Crab are live service studios," adding that "any update is a bonus not a right."

After the comment went viral, Landfall has released a video elaborating it a bit further. "No, we do not think that people playing our games are 'ungrateful' or 'entitled,'" they say, adding: "We actually think it's really cool that people like our games enough to want more updates – which is why TABS [Totally Accurate Battle Simulator] and Peak got so many of them."

The video continues, "However, there seems to be a disconnect between what we communicate we're going to do, and what people expect us to do." It's reiterated that neither Landfall or Aggro Crab make "so-called live service games," explaining, "we make limited experiences that we update for a while and then we move on to different projects."

It's pointed out that this stance is something the studio has been clear on for many years, but "despite this, every new game we make people assume we're gonna turn it into the next Fortnite – but that's just not how we wanna work." They note that, if this was the approach the studio took, games like Peak, Content Warning, and Stick Fight "wouldn't exist." So, no, "we will never be updating the same game forever."

I think it's probably down to just how long games take to make nowadays mixed with the rise of forever games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox, but there is a rise in people expecting developers to keep at games perpetually. Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fuelled was a comprehensive remake of the PS1 game, added all of the tracks from the PS2 game, and was updated for about half a year with new characters and tracks before the devs called it a day, but fans call it 'abandoned' rather than being satisfied with the idea that the developers were simply done.

Obviously, some devs do take this approach – CD Projekt Red just released a PS5 Pro patch for Cyberpunk 2077, and is even rumored to be releasing a new DLC expansion for The Witcher 3 later this year (11 years after launch). But that is the exception, not the rule. As much as I'd love to see more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Kirby Air Riders updates, sometimes developers are just done with games.

Peak's lead wants to keep its game "jam-like spirit" for future updates.

Whether or not you consider "friendslop" a dirty word, there's no doubt that the makeshift genre is making its mark on the industry. Games with simple hooks and short development cycles have been dominating the indie scene, and one developer – Peak co-dev Landfall – is aiming to pay its success forward by funding and advising studios making similar games. While those aims might sound altruistic, the name of the company's publishing arm is named with a sinister spin: Evil Landfall.

"We have so many people pitch us games that are like, 'This is like Peak, please fund it,'" Evil Landfall CEO Kirsten-Lee Naidoo tells GamesIndustry.biz. "And I think that it's good, because I think that we really believe in making games this way. We believe that you shouldn't spend multiple years on a project, because we've noticed that we often get caught up in the spiral. Our developers have been like, 'We work on a project for years, and we keep going deeper, and it doesn't really go anywhere.' That's not a good feeling."

Evil Landfall has existed, albeit without its silly name and public branding, for several years as regular Landfall's business arm, handling duties like marketing, community management, and the like. It's not spinning off into a full publisher, like those founded off the respective successes of Among Us developer Innersloth or Palworld studio Pocketpair. Instead, Evil Landfall is offering money and advice.

The company had been "quietly" doing this in the past, like when it invested in a game called Voidigo from developer semiwork – a studio that would help to pioneer the friendslop spirit with co-op horror hit REPO. Now Evil Landfall plans to invest in "a few games a year," with funding levels going up to around $1 million, or even beyond, if the right project comes along. The first publicly disclosed game to get Evil Landfall support is a goofy fishing game with guns and gore called How to Fish, due out later this year.

Landfall's development philosophy, Naidoo says, has been, "'We want to find the core of the game really quickly and have a shorter development cycle, because that's really fresh and that's really interesting.' And we all think that that model is better, because it just eliminates so much risk. If you work on a project for six months and it doesn't end up being anything, you can move on. It's not a huge time and money thing."

That's why Evil Landfall is looking to work with developers making similar sorts of games: small in scope, and clear in the type of fun they're going to provide. "If you're not finding the core of the game in a few months, don't sink five, six years into this," Naidoo says. "Don't put your life savings into it. Rather, put it out there, let people play it, if it doesn't stick, move on."

She adds, "I think that too many developers develop their game secretly for several years and just go with it, without showing it to anyone, and that doesn't always go very well. But if you get your game in front of people, they'll probably give you feedback that will steer you in the right direction early on."

This hasn't just been an indie problem, as ballooning dev cycles have arguably been an even bigger problem in the AAA space. Square Enix's Naoki Yoshida has been on record lamenting how difficult it is for Final Fantasy to collect new fans as "the release intervals for new titles have gotten longer." By the time The Elder Scrolls 6 finally launches, Skyrim's likely going to be old enough to buy cigarettes.

It feels like there's an increasing pressure for games to be all things to all people, and in some cases that can work. Certainly, Crimson Desert has found its audience. But those are massive gambles funded by massive publishers. For a small studio, it might make a lot more sense to place a safer bet on something that speaks to the desires of a very specific type of player. In nothing else, Peak has proven the niche audience might be bigger than you think.

Here are the upcoming indie games you need to know about.

Peak might have suddenly become one of the biggest games on Steam last year, but co-developers Aggro Crab and Landfall are still small, indie studios that can't crank out infinite updates at the pace of a live-service studio. The friendslop favorite is getting its final biome in 2026, even as some fans continue to demand more – and Landfall is keen to remind them that the studio has no moral obligation to keep updating the game.

In a Twitter response to one player lamenting what they call a "lazy dev cycle" for Peak, Landfall says that the game has "had sooo many updates tho!" And, it should be noted, those are free updates for an $8 game. "Neither us or Aggro Crab are live service studios," Landfall says, adding that "any update is a bonus not a right."

Perhaps the long-term support for games like Terraria and No Man's Sky, which have continued to get massive, free updates for years and years after launch, have skewed people's expectations a bit. Those games are very much exceptions, not rules, and you probably shouldn't expect most studios to approach those ridiculous standards.

This controversy, such as it is, comes in part because Landfall built a precedent of releasing new games on April Fools' Day. 2026 marks the first time the studio skipped a new April 1 release in five years, though it did release ports of both Content Warning and Haste today, on top of the recent Peak update.

"Last year was our busiest ever, with the PEAK release, Haste, TABS: Pocket Edition, and ROUNDS ports," Landfall says in another tweet. "We worked on something new for this year, but in the end, it didn't work out. We've stretched ourselves too thin, and the pressure to deliver a new game every year can be a lot on such a small team."

Landfall concludes by assuring fans that more is on the way: "Don't worry, we'll still be working on new projects, just maybe at a more reasonable pace." I think the devs have probably earned a humane working schedule, after all.

Peak is "not going to be a forever game," but the viral co-op climbing game's devs don't want to "leave anything on the table" either.

Peak co-developers Aggro Crab and Landfall have suddenly released the Play It Your Way update, and with it comes the literally game-changing autosave feature.

"Oh now this is peak," as one fan of the climbing sim summarizes on Reddit. Players have been yearning for autosave – it theoretically makes your boneless climb up a hairy mountainside less horrifying. In their Steam patch notes, Peak devs explain they're now making good on all those "long-requested quality of life features...but we snuck in some weirder stuff, too."

As far as bowing toward existing demands goes, in addition to those campfire autosaves that'll last "until you win, lose, or start a new expedition," devs have introduced custom runs with granular modification options and abridged mini runs. Campfires have also officially become "chill," as the developers say, "You can now hang out as long as you like by a campfire without gaining hunger or the fog progressing. It will not extinguish until any scout leaves."

In an effort to broaden Peak's accessibility, Play It Your Way also includes a zombie phobia mode that creates "an alternative aesthetic for the mushroom enemies in the Roots that hopefully squicks you out less," Peak devs say, or you can simply annihilate all zombies by excluding them from a custom run.

And finally, for the weird, Play It Your Way offers a grapple mode that devs emphasize is "stupid." That's probably true. But it's also Peak.

"Make friendslop games before the fad dies": Peak co-creator encourages indie games to free themselves from traditional dev practices.

The co-creator of Peak made an impassioned plea for indie devs to eschew traditional development systems that don't work for them - and to chase the friendslop "fad" before it's too late.

In a presentation at GDC last week, Nick Kaman, studio head at Peak co-dev Aggro Crab, said that the friendslop phenomenon, which was made in a matter of months and outperformed its joint devs' wildest expectations, was "the most fun I've ever had making games." In fact, Kaman said that the enjoyment he found in the development process - the subversive style of which was the main subject of his hour-long talk - "did more for me than the success of the game."

The financial and mental payoff that resulted in, he said, brought him "to this realization - 'why aren't we making more games like this?'" Perhaps not everything is going to sell quite as well as Peak, but Kaman argued that "freedom of development feels so good, and gets such good results. So if you're indie, don't let what people say is the way to make games tell you how to make games."

Finding new ways to work might have been the core part of Kaman's message, but he also called on devs to "please, make friendslop games - before the fad dies!" As a developer whose work helped cement the idea of friendslop in the public consciousness, it's no surprise that Kaman is one of the concept's biggest cheerleaders.

Elsewhere in the panel, he asks "why are we hating on friendslop? [...] what's so bad about hanging out with your friends?" Whether he truly believes it's a fad in danger of dying out isn't clear - the mass popularity of these types of games dates back at least as far as Among Us - but the uptick in silly, multiplayer-focused games like Peak, RV Where Yet?, Content Warning and more over the past few years has been notable. Perhaps the trick to cutting through in an increasingly crowded genre is to simply price your game at exactly eight bucks.

Peak devs originally borrowed from Zelda Breath of the Wild's climbing, but "everything changed" 1 week into development: "At this point, the game kind of made itself"

The term friendslop has proven divisive, particularly among people who make friendslop games, but the developer who's arguably wearing the genre crown has no issue at all referring to his work that way.

"Consider friendslop. Let's defend - why are we hating on friendslop? Why is it slop? I love this term, I say it all the time," Peak co-creator Nick Kaman says during a GDC panel attended by GamesRadar+. "But what's so bad about hanging out with your friends and playing games like this?"

I definitely think there's a minimizing quality to the term friendslop that isn't always justified, especially when it refers to genuinely inventive games like Peak, Content Warning, or Lethal Company. The developers behind Big Walk, the new Peak-like indie game from Untitled Goose Game studio House House, have said they have "complicated feelings" about the term, which makes sense, and to be fair, even Kaman seems to disagree with the "slop" part.

"I think there's a lot of beauty in them, and they have a lot of core game design in them. They're not slop, they're not poorly made," he says, jokingly advising other devs, to "make your game eight bucks."

Peak is the result of a collaboration between Another Crab's Treasure studio Aggro Crab and Content Warning publisher Landfall, the conceit of which came about following a bet between co-lead developers Kaman and Wilhelm Nylund to see whose game would sell more. (Content Warning won.) Ironically, friendslop or not, the game ended up selling more than both Another Crab's Treasure and Content Warning combined, becoming the hottest co-op indie game of 2025 and enduring into 2026 with strong player numbers.

Peak devs originally borrowed from Zelda Breath of the Wild's climbing, but "everything changed" 1 week into development: "At this point, the game kind of made itself"

Think what you like about 'friendslop' games like Peak and RV There Yet?, but these things are fun. They're gloriously silly, inviting groups to revel in their absurdity while attempting to work toward a shared goal. Peak's success has impressed many, including higher-ups at Xbox, who celebrate such comedy.

"The biggest trend that I see and I love in games right now, I'm going to call a return to fun," Chris Charla, general manager of portfolio and programs at Xbox, told GamesRadar+ at GDC 2026. "This is different for every player. We all have different things that motivate us to play games."

He notes he enjoys exploration and story games, but finds friendslop incredibly endearing. " I love seeing the success of games like Peak," he explains, "where it's just like, 'this game is just about having fun' and like, 'we're just gonna give you permission to have fun from the second you push the start button and laugh and just goof around.'"

Aggro Crab and Landfall's cartoony climbing sim is truly made for goofing around. Yes, you can take the whole endeavor seriously, and there are moments where it inspires that kind of attention, but you can also screw over your friends and take wild risks and then roll into hysterics afterward.

He compares the general vibe to that of skateboarding, and flip-flopping between nonchalant skating and trying to shred a line. "Skateboarding has had moments where the skate videos are very serious and everyone's very intense," he says. "Skate videos also have joy where, like, skate videos are super goofy, and everybody just has fun and that's great. That is diversity. It's awesome."

He finishes by adding this whole movement makes him "hopeful." While I agree, I'm also now more hopeful for skateboarding DLC in Peak. Skateslop - make it happen.

Peak devs originally borrowed from Zelda Breath of the Wild's climbing, but "everything changed" 1 week into development: "At this point, the game kind of made itself"

It's no secret that Peak, the chaotic multiplayer climbing game, was made quickly during a game jam, with the full release coming just five months after ideation. Towards the start of that process, The Legend of Zelda was a big influence, before the central mechanics actually came into view for the team at Aggro Crab and Landfall.

"Day two, [there are] ones working on this climbing mechanic from like, Breath of the Wild, so we can climb anything, and that's looking really exciting, right?" Nick Kaman, Aggro Crab co-founder, recalls during a GDC 2026 talk attended by GamesRadar+. "Meanwhile, our team is kind of finalizing the scout design."

The idea, it seems, was to make a whole game based on the climbing in Breath of the Wild. Not a bad notion. But on the third day, "everything changed," says Kaman.

"This is our best idea ever," he explains. "Basically, you get afflictions like hunger, injuries. Items carry weight, and they all take up spots on the same bar that lowers the amount of stamina you have for that entire amount; this solves every design problem you could ever think of."

They keep pushing on this central concept, creating a proper prototype by day seven. This includes multiplayer, the physics, and several other facets that'd remain in the finished game. "At this point, the game kind of made itself," Kaman adds. "The whole game is just the client, the wall, and the stamina bar preventing you from getting onto the wall. So we all really clearly understood what this game was about."

As long as they centered on the wall or the stamina bar, ideas were free-flowing, leading to a massive creative buzz as the devs excitedly put together what we'd come to know as Peak. "It was a beautiful time," he states. Honestly, I can think of nothing more peak than that.

"Whoever sells more copies pays for the other's therapy": Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads, and ironically the friendslop collab that followed sold more than both games combined

When Another Crab's Treasure director and Aggro Crab founder Nick Kaman found himself in therapy following a lost bet with Content Warning lead developer Wilhelm Nylund, he probably wasn't expecting to release a game co-developed by Nylund's studio Landfall Games that ended up outselling Another Crab's Treasure and Content Warning combined — but that's exactly what happened.

Telling "the story of Peak" at a GDC 2026 panel attended by GamesRadar+, Kaman says he had a "raging jealousy" for Nylund when he saw that Landfall was able to make Content Warning in just six weeks while Another Crab's Treasure, which was a month away from releasing, took about three years to make. "I was so mad. How dare you come up with something this good in so little time when I've been over here busting my ass," Kaman says.

So, Kaman went to therapy to dig out the deeper meaning behind his envy, right? No, the therapy came later. Kaman's response was to make a bet with Nylund that Another Crab's Treasure would outsell Content Warning, and well, one quick look at the Steam charts for both games tells you how that went down.

"Whoever sells more copies pays for the other's therapy" was the bet, and after reading that last paragraph, you can probably guess which developer wound up lying face-up on a couch talking about their childhood.

"I had three sessions. Content Warning blew us out of the water," Kaman says, adding, "those sessions were very illuminating," and, "I recommend therapy."

I also recommend therapy based not only on my own experience, but the ensuing collaboration between Kaman and Nylund that has become a massive viral sensation and has outsold Another Crab's Treasure and Content Warning combined. After their bet, Kaman and Nylund teamed up and quickly co-developed co-op climbing game Peak, launching the following year and selling more than 10 million copies as of August 2025. I'd call that a happy ending.

"Complicated feelings on our end": Indie devs behind new Peak-like co-op understand you think it's friendslop, but "it's a slight bummer that the other half of the term is the 'slop'"