Riffs on GoldenEye 007, Star Fox and Kingdom Hearts, and other new indie games worth checking out
Engadget · C · trust 53/100
Plus, a dog game, a cat game, a sheep game and a Marathon-esque cyberpunk mystery.
Chuhai Labs/Balor Games Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As ever, we've got some new games for you to check out this weekend, as well as a peek at some upcoming titles.
There's been so much doom and gloom in the video game industry over the last few years (and with good reason, given the many layoffs and studio closures ). So, I thought we could get things started on a positive note for a change by celebrating a few success stories.
Nothing's beating Grand Theft Auto VI , but I would not be shocked at all if Meccha Chameleon ended up as the second best-selling game of 2026. It's the biggest indie success story this year so far, having sold more than 20 million copies in just two months. If it keeps up this momentum, it could crack the list of the 50 top-selling video games in history .
Meccha Chameleon is essentially a hide-and-seek party game. Hiding players have a blank canvas of a white humanoid figure to work with. They can paint their character to blend in with their surroundings and try to troll the seekers. That's a great recipe for having fun with friends.
A different kind of party game is doing well too. Machine Party (from Buckshot Roulette creator Mike Klubnika and co-developer GDeavid) is a more violent take on the genre, in which losing a mini-game against your friends can spell a gory demise. It has sold over a million copies since its debut at the end of July, and the developers have just added a couch co-op mode .
Two of the games I covered in last week's roundup are off to a flying start as well. Big Walk reached the 1 million sales mark in six days, while the delightful ReStory saw more than 300,000 sales in its first week.
Developer/publisher: Replicant D6 Platform: Steam (Windows) Price: $21.64, with an 11 percent discount until August 25
Oddly, a bunch of new games that are heavily inspired by '90s/2000s classics arrived all at once. Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a game that very clearly takes its cue from GoldenEye 007 . The blocky visuals look pretty similar to those from the Nintendo 64 game. Even the way the weapons sway looks familiar. I love that you can take down an enemy with a karate chop as well. There's split-screen multiplayer and an online option, so you can jump in with friends and switch on settings such as slow bullets and a Big Head mode. Fun!
Solo developer Replicant D6 has been working on Agent 64: Spies Never Die for over five years. It looks like a proper tribute to Rare's all-timer, as well as the likes of Perfect Dark and other first-person shooters from that era.
Developer: Chuhai Labs Publisher: Balor Games Platforms: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified; demo available), PS5 , Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC . Coming to Switch this fall. Price: $15
Here's another sort-of blast from the past in the form of Wild Blue Skies , an on-rails shooter that looks pretty similar to a certain series Nintendo revived recently . This ode to Star Fox has a rad anime-style look and virtual teammates for you to work with, protect and perhaps be entertained by thanks to some banter. I can't imagine any could possibly be as sarcastic as Falco, though.
There are branching paths that should make each playthrough different along with secrets to discover. If you want a modern-day taste of Star Fox and don't have a Switch 2, Wild Blue Skies might fill that gap for you. And yes, it does look like you can do a barrel roll.
Developer: Weird Beluga Publisher: Fireshine Games Platforms: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified), PS5 , Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC , Nintendo Switch 2 Price: $30. The Steam version has a 20 percent discount until August 27
I haven't had much time to play anything this week, at least outside of a few rounds with the rad new Overwatch character . Duskfade is next on my to-play list, though. This is another retro-inspired game that hearkens back to the 3D platformers of the late '90s and early 2000s.
As Zirian, you'll set out on a quest to save your trapped sister and fix time after an eternal night takes hold of the land. You'll battle enemies using a transforming clockwork sword that I'm sure is in no way inspired by Sora's Keyblade.
I dig the look of the colorful, clockpunk world Weird Beluga has built here. The studio wears its influences on its sleeve as well. It's evident from the trailer that the developers are drawing from the likes of Kingdom Hearts, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. Seeing the mechanical cuckoo companion for the first time made me smile too. This seems like very much my kind of jam. I can't wait until I have time (ironically enough) to play it.
Developer/publisher: Refugium Games Platform: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck). Coming to consoles later Price: Usually $30, with a 10 percent discount until August 19
Here's one last game that has its roots in a much-loved game from a couple of decades ago. I'd been looking forward to Agefield High: Rock the School , a spiritual successor to Bully . It's about a young fella who tries to make the most of his last days of high school after moving to a new town. It's set in the early 2000s, with a pop-punk soundtrack and era-appropriate references. For better or worse, it seemed like catnip to me.
But an IGN preview that dropped last month soured me on the idea of playing this game, as it was described as "unpolished, uninspired and flat." Reviews on Steam and elsewhere this week have been pretty dire as well. That's a bummer. I can't fairly judge Agefield High without playing it myself, but time is short and the games are plentiful, so the negative sentiment around this one makes it easy to skip.
Developer: Lidlocks Publisher: Parco Games Platform: Steam (Windows) Price: Usually $10, with a 20 percent discount until August 25
Finding Polka looks so gosh darn cute. It's a hidden object game in which you search for a pup, who reminds…
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