This year’s Indie Lantern Showcase ran a tight 45 minutes and wasted very little of it. Two games in particular made the strongest case for themselves, and several others brought welcome updates.
The Long Winter Road closed the show with a four-minute scene set in a roadside motel, where siblings Nell and Arlo argue over who gets the bed nearest the heater and end up talking about their father instead. The dialogue system tracks what each character avoids saying as well as what they say, and the trailer showed the conversation choices narrowing as Arlo grew more defensive. Small Hours confirmed a first-quarter 2027 release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Atlas of Small Things got its first extended gameplay segment, set inside a grandfather clock. The tiny cartographer crossed a pendulum’s arc at the right moment, used a loose gear tooth as a ramp, and inked each discovery into the atlas that serves as both map and hint system. Little Paper Kite still has no release window, but the footage looked further along than many expected.
- Low Orbit Courier reaffirmed its November 5 date and showed its photo mode, which lets you pose your courier mid-tumble.
- Sunken Crown revealed the Bellfounders’ Quarter, a district where lowering the water reveals a functioning bell tower you can ring to stun enemies.
- Kitebound teased a free coastal expansion with a single image of a dark lighthouse. Details are promised “soon.”
Every game tonight is made by fewer than twenty people. We say that every year, and every year it still surprises people.
Wren Adebayo, Indie Lantern Showcase host and organizer, during the broadcast
Comments
No comments yet. Start the discussion.