New Games on Itch: April-May 2025

I. Dear Reader

Another edition of my regular round-up of new games on itch. If this is the first time you’re seeing one of these: many of these games came through this form but others I just stumbled across. I haven’t played or read them but each of them has something that made me sit up and pay attention.

1. Take the Universe: A military space opera game based on Good Society. It swaps the regency for a society on the edge of war. Heard this talked about on a podcast and it sounds cool. (ZeroPotential, Free)
2. Hellpiercers: The tactical fantasy RPG where hell is a prison and you have to break its bars. The vibes are impeccable! But it’s not fully done, like the character sheet is still on its way. (Sandy Pug Games)
3. Kala Mandala Playbook: This is a Southeast Asian fantasy game based on Into the Odd and Cairn that builds out the world of Kala Mandala. Full of art and jokes. (Centaur Games, Free)
4. Owe My Soul To the Company Store: A social sandbox for Mothership about working for, you guessed it, the worst company in the universe. It’s a theme that never gets old. (Archons Court Games)
5. The Island of Dr Moreau: A pulp-y game inspired by forum roleplay about a mad scientist (played by the GM) and his unlucky guests. Claims to be a long term, no-prep, capsule game like Yazebas. (Ulysses Duckler & Friends)
6. Rust Never Sleeps: A grungy solo game about doomed mech pilots in a post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest. Uses a deck of cards as the mech’s battery pack which is obviously exactly my thing. (Backwards Tabletop)
7. Beachville Detective Agency: A cozy, paranormal detective procedural that isn’t about following clues as much as nosing around till you get a big break. An alternative to the Brindlewood Bay style. (Porcupine Publishing)
8. Fathomless Gears: From the Lancer community, a big cronchy eldritch fishing game where you fight monsters in mechs underwater. (Interpoint Station)

A bonus that is not on Itch: Tim Denee (Deathmatch Island) released Rebel Twilight, a free reskin of Twilight 2000 to do grounded Star Wars.

Still here,

Thomas

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II. Media of the Week

• Over on Yes Indie’d, I speak to Jess Levine about Going Rogue 2e. If you’ve ever debated the value of games about politics or rebellion, this is a great episode. We talk about that, plus the merits and demerits of the Belonging outside Belonging framework, and a lot more.

• DiceExploder has an interesting conversation about — one might even say defence of — Changeling the Lost and its use of mechanics as metaphors for serious subject matter.

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• You too can support the newsletter on patreon!
• If you’ve released a new game on itch.io this month, let me know through this form so I can potentially include it in the end of the month round-up.

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III. Links of the Week

Articles, Reviews

• The Dice Pool blog has a nice review of the Alien RPG scenario Hope’s Last Day.
• I liked this post on the Rise Up Comus blog about how building megadungeons is all about copy-pasting different dungeons together.
• There’s a TTRPG For That has a list of underwater games that aren’t horror. Every time these lists get more specific, I enjoy them more.
• On Old Men Running The World, there’s a nice interview with Graham Walmsley about Cosmic Dark (which I am contributing to).
• Geoff Engelstein does a nice write report on the achievements of the first year of the Tabletop Game Designers Association.
• Aaron Marks takes a look at the new version of QuestWorlds from Chaosium with a solid exploration of the value of being generic: “What you really need for a generic game to be your best choice is something you want to write.”
• With Daggerheart’s release, there’s a bunch of reviews around. Polygon and Enworld are positively comparing it to D&D 5e but so far, most are stopping there and there’s no real sense about the game on its own.

News, Misc

• White Wolf are back. Paradox, who control all the World of Darkness IP, at the moment have revived the brand once again. It’s… interesting because the last time they tried to do this, it was a bit of an international incident.
• The American Library Association organizes an event called International Games Month where they help libraries expand their collections of games. They’re looking for game publishers to donate their games and with budgets for these libraries being slashed, it’s probably their only way for them to get new RPGs.

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IV. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

• StoryGuider is a choose-your-adventure coloring book TTRPG for kids ages 2-7! No prep and works great for both home or school – sign up for pre-launch today!

This newsletter is sponsored by the the wonderful Bundle of Holding. Check out the latest bundles below:

• There’s Enworld’s action comedy game, Awfully Cheerful Engine
• Also, two big bundles of Old School Essentials — there’s the Advanced Fantasy core bundle as well as a collection of cool adventures

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Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you’d like to say something to me, you can reply to this email or click below!