First and foremost, I must apologise to Kinetic Publishing: it gave me advanced access to all of its announcements earlier in the week, but life has been so hectic lately I wasn’t able to put together a story in time for its showcase.

Some of you may have already seen the news, then: the new UK-based indie publisher – spun out of the team behind Phasmophobia – has signed five titles, and it’s bringing them all to the PS5.

While there’s nothing on the immediate horizon – the titles are due out in 2027 and 2028 – I do think it’s picked up an interesting mix.

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The highlight is unquestionably Precognition, which is the new title from Sam Barlow of Immortality fame. Unfortunately, the presentation I watched didn’t feature any gameplay footage from the project.

Anyway, I’m going to break down the games in rapid fire bullet point form, because I think that’s probably the best approach for this:

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  • Contact Protocol (Spring 2027): Pitched as Papers, Please in space, you’ll be responsible for the fate of various incoming ships as you check their documents and decide whether they’re eligible to dock on Jupiter’s biggest moon.
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  • Crescent County (Summer 2027): A storybook illustration brought to life, inspired – incredibly – by the Isle of Wight. (Google it if you’re from the US.) This colourful cosy racing game blends the best of both Kiki’s Delivery Service and Akira, two animes on opposite ends of the spectrum.
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  • Shellbound (Summer 2028): Credit to Kinetic Publishing for putting this game out there, but I’ll level with you – this Metroidvania’s almost impossible to write about. The dev says it’s completely changing the art style so it won’t look quite so much like Hollow Knight when it launches.
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  • Aether Wizard Life (Autumn 2028): Made in Thailand, this magical affair mixes cosy game elements with action RPG trappings. With a calendar system, you’ll need to determine how best to spend your time, whether it’s growing crops or tending to mythological creatures.
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  • Precognition (Spring 2028): The next game from Sam Barlow, of Her Story and Immortality fame, as mentioned previously. There are effectively no details on this sci-fi horror yet, but Barlow did mention during the presentation he wants to give players more agency and control over the outcome of the story.

I do think it’s an interesting and eclectic mix, but I’d also observe that it’s harder than ever to stand out in this current climate.

Still, there’s no better steward than Kinetic Publishing, who’s sold 27 million copies of Phasmophobia to date. If anyone knows how to make it in this cut throat era of indie games, it’s the team that’s already found success in the space.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on all five titles.

[source youtube.com]