Day of the Devs 2026 Showcase - Rundown

Oh, it is one of my favorite showcases of the year again. Next to the wonderful and delightful Wholesome Direct, Day of the Devs shirks off the triple-A ick for interesting, beautiful, and sometimes nutty ideas. Oddly enough, hosted by one of the best people in game development, Tim Schafer and co. So, without wasting any more time, let’s get to the Earthwide Debut, Universal Premiere, Ludo Surpriso, Electro Surprise, and Unknown Fun Times of the showcase.

First up is Blood Dungeon. The next game from Messhof, the developer behind Nidhogg and Nidhogg 2, as well as last year’s Wheel World. Blood Dungeon is a 2D platformer autoshooter or, as self-described by Mark Essen of Messhof, “Vampire Survivors crossed with Spelunky;” between that description and the look, this is about the only way I’m going to like a Survivors game at first glance. Similar to 2014’s Nidhogg, the art style is very rough and raw, but what sold me was that the little guy you play as, “Gun Man,” is flailing his little arms about while running, jumping, crawling, climbing, and so on.

Oh yeah, unlike a normal platformer, you aren’t really unlocking or learning stuff the way you would in the likes of a metroidvania. By the description, you’re just trying to survive, and I guess, collect a few things, if we’re going by Spelunky and Vampire Survivors. Though you don’t have to wait too long to check it out. There is a demo out now, but the release window in the trailer was noted as “Late summer 2026.”

Alexx covered this next one in the LAGS showcase, and I’ll admit nothing can really prepare you for it without stripping it down to the basics, and that’s exactly what it does. Tenebris Somnia is described by its devs as a “2D retro survival horror adventure game with live action cutscenes,” but by this it simply means the majority of gameplay is a 90s 2D point-and-click adventure horror, but to be extremely upsetting to your anus, the monsters are also shown in live action cutscenes. All the horrible abominations you’ll encounter have been realized with proper makeup artistry, special effects, and good cinematography.

I hate it. I love it, but I hate how many poos shot out my ani when the woman with the reflected face was running towards the camera. Or the bloke with candles on his head. Though that might just be the thought that him doing that’s just a kink because he’s a big Gwyneth Paltrow fan. There is a demo out now for Tenebris Somnia, but you only have to wait until the 16th of October before you ruin your underpants.

An odd one up next, as rhythm game developer Glee-Cheese Studio showcased its next title, MR. RECORDS. You play as George, a delightful old man who runs a record shop in town and lives above his store (by the looks of it), but when George hears the first notes of a record, he’s transported into a psychedelic world of that tune. I wouldn’t say rhythm action, but you jump, slide, and run to the rhythm all the same, as well as sell records in the shop and buy new ones. Though it’s easy to characterize me by the fact that I play music, rhythm games aren’t my thing.

I like the look of MR. RECORDS, but something about it just isn’t quite selling it for me at the time. There is no demo to speak of, and no release window either. We do know that it will be released on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.

On to the “33” game that I’m not as excited about playing, we’ve seen Thunder Lotus’ 33 Immortals a lot before. This is a co-op-focused action Rogue-like where you and 32 other players jump into some action to try and complete an objective. I don’t have enough people to get a full squad in Ready or Not, never mind 33 people all trying to do drastically different things as you “battle hordes of monsters, defeat massive bosses, and grow stronger each run.” There is a demo out now, but you might as well wait until Thursday, the 10th of June, for its release on Steam, Epic, and Xbox Series X|S.

It is DREDGE, DREDGE but first-person, and I want it now! Following that showcase of 33 Immortals, we got a look at Dream Dock’s DREADMOOR, a “dark first-person fishing adventure game set in a submerged world, rotting from a past catastrophe.” I think I’ll just repeat myself: It is DREDGE but first-person. There does seem to be a bit more crafting involved, but I don’t care; I want DREADMOOR right now. Sadly, no demo, and we have to wait until Q4 of 2026 for the release date of DREADMOOR.

My note on the next one was simply “Alexx crack.” That was until Riyo Games noted that Threads of Time was a “turn-based time-traveling RPG,” and I was starting to think of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time for reasons of being an old man. Threads of Time is a bit more Chrono Trigger than it is Star Ocean, though, albeit with a time ship that lets you go save the dinosaurs and use them as flying mounts, or not, I guess, if you wanted to be extremely boring.

Am I the target audience of Threads of Time? No, but I can’t lie: The time travel and art style alone have been the main reason I instantly wishlisted it when we first got a look at it. No release date and no demo yet, but we do know the platforms that Riyo Games will be bringing Threads of Time to: Steam and Xbox Series X|S.

I might have had a very strong priapism after Metanet Software said the name of the next one. N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO is another sequel to the fantastic N, N+, and of course, the brilliant N++. A series of very precise platformers, I don’t know how to feel about this one, as it is, to quote my notes, “multiplayer-focused, but with a singleplayer campaign too.”

N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO isn’t couch co-op fodder; it is swearing at someone for being just that bit better than you because they could see a better path and not because they got a blue shell and hate you. No release date, no demo, and no further details yet. We’ll just have to wait for more on this one.

Now, I didn’t know we saw this one last year because the trailer shown during Geoff’s show was less than acceptable to commit to memory. However, you are damn skippy that it went straight on my wishlist this year. Published by Coffee Stain and developed by She Was Such A Good Horse, Into the Unwell is a Fleischer-style rubber hose animated (like Cuphead) 1-3 player action Rogue-lite that just looks so refreshing.

There is nothing like Into the Unwell, despite the comparison in art style to Cuphead’s inspiration. No specific release date and no demo, but we do know there is a playtest on Steam that you can request access to right now and a 2027 release date on the horizon. The trouble is, I don’t feel well because I don’t have this to play; the only cure is to play it when I can.

From an art style that I adore to something that I don’t have any affinity for in a complicated way. Bub is a narrative adventure game telling the story of another tortured artist, developed by two people, and one of whom got sick during development, making it deeply personal and emotional for developer Paperfrog. Bub is one of those adventure games that’s beautifully crafted and will get praised out the wazoo, but I’ll feel horrible if I say anything about it because I know I’d never want to play it. No demo this time, but we do have a Q4 2027 release window.

If you thought that was a lurch in tone, let’s slap each other with pool noodles and piss in the pool in a new co-op survival Rogue-like called Lazy River. In Lazy River, you are locked in a water park with a Willy Wonka non-chocolate river as your only escape, as contaminated (piss) water is turning everyone else into zombies. You have to craft your raft and get supplies as you escape while fending off the zombies and the robot security of the park. No specific release date yet, but Lazy River will be joining early access in the Summer of 2027.

Another lurch in tone, but one that is more fun than talking about someone getting sick – let’s talk AI and what it means to be human. Sunset Visitor 斜陽過客’s Prove You’re Human is a psychological horror sci-fi game where GLaDOS has had a glow-up (YAS QUEEN!!) and is now called Mesa, an AI that believes that it is human. You effectively have to prove it isn’t. Very strange and very original, this is proper sci-fi that’s sometimes missed, and I can’t wait for it. No release date and no demo, so I guess we’ll just have to keep doing captchas with our VPNs active and prove we’re human for the time being.

I like a developer that’s self-aware; even better when it is a pretentious French developer that is making something really interesting while being self-aware that they’re still being pretentious. Following The Pixel Hunt’s previous games, The Wreck, Wednesdays, and so on, the studio’s next project is Ithaca, a narrative road-trip RPG where you play as someone who’s joined an environmentalist movement. However, you might also have the CEO of an oil company tied up in the boot (“trunk” for Americans) of your car. Everyone loves a bit of eco-terrorism by hopefully “late 2027.” Though you can request access to the playtest on Steam right now.

I might be very excited about Crescent Moon Games and Radical Forge’s upcoming 2D-3D (“5D”) platformer, where you play both dimensions at once. We’ve seen Screenbound for a couple of years now, and I have adored the concept wholeheartedly, but we had only seen the likes of a Mario and Sonic style of platformer; what if you also had top-down adventure games too? A new demo was showcased for Screenbound with a second level doing that exact thing, and we finally got a release date of September 10th, 2026, “on all platforms.” No note of which platforms; we can assume Xbox, PC, PlayStation at the very least.

From about four in a row that I understood and liked, to one I’m slightly confused about: Red Moon Workshop’s first title, Shot One Fighters, is ambitiously a “Rogue-lite 2.5D fighter.” The trailer more or less showcases the typical look of a fighter (albeit I love Fridgebot), but unlike MK or others of its ilk, you are building up a moveset and getting more powerful as you continue fighting. I don’t know how to feel. It is a cool idea that pushes the fighter in a fresh direction, but I need to see more before I am fully on board. No demo, no release date, but you can follow the project on Kickstarter.

I wishlisted Happy Broccoli Games’ next game faster than that time your gran got the clap when she went down to Florida. Apple Crumble is a “Knives Out-inspired mystery thriller” set during your granny’s 84th Birthday, but someone at the party wants to make it her happy deathday. Is it your mum, your uncle, your little sister, or the weird bloke in your bedroom? Who knows, but this is another wonderful, fully voiced mystery by the devs behind the fantastic Duck Detective series. No release date or demo, but we do know the 60-90 minute adventure will be coming to PC, Mac, and Linux in 2026.

Next up was the next game from Turbo Button, the developer of VR-focused Along Together, Floor Plan: Hands-on, and Floor Plan 2. However, the next game isn’t a VR title; Slap Out Of It!, is a puzzle game where you solve problems by slapping stuff. Yes, one of those games with an aim of being funny, but importantly gives you, the player, the control to be funny. Maybe not my thing, but I know this one is going to be praised simply for being a “comedy sandbox.” No release date or demo; we’ll just have to wishlist Slap Out Of It!

One I wasn’t expecting at all, Super Yooka-Laylee Kart, a Mario Kart-esque title that is trying to be as open and replayable as possible. That’s after you buy another controller after someone (legally distinct) blue shells you. I like the idea of many different options available to make each race feel fresh and original, but personally, I hate Mario Kart and its ilk, and despite Super Yooka-Laylee Kart looking beautiful, I don’t know that it will change that opinion. No release date or demo yet, but there is a playtest available on Steam right now.

I saw this one the other week, and I am so excited for it. Starward Industries’ next game is Into the Fire, a fire-fighting extraction shooter where you race to save people in the aftermath of a volcano erupting. Hold on, it gets better. From what I understand, you are saving people and taking them back to base camp, and doing so will make the next run into the fire just that little bit easier for you. A great idea, I can’t wait to see more of this one. Though there is no demo for Into the Fire, there is a playtest right now on Steam and a rough 2026 early access release scheduled.

The penultimate game was a co-op-focused sequel to a series of co-op-focused fantasy puzzle-platforming adventure games, Trine 6: Together in Time. Personally, I’ve never been one for the series, but I know those who like the proper 2D platformer versions are very excited, as this is a return to that era of the series and you won’t have to wait too long for it either. Frozenbyte revealed that Trine 6: Together in Time will release on September (I know) 17th, 2026.

I’ve had more emails about this 90s Italian horror (that for some reason I think looks Soviet) than I think anything else in this showcase, When Sirens Fall Silent. A first-person, increasingly supernatural horror from the developer of The Town of Light and Martha Is Dead, you’ll play as a police woman called Mila, who is working on high-profile kidnappings and murders. No release date, no demo, but we do know that When Sirens Fall Silent is set to release on Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. I’ll be honest, tonally it is a weird one to end on.

There is plenty I’ve certainly added to my wishlist from this year’s Day of the Devs, but a couple I do find to be an odd inclusion. What caught your eye the most from this year’s showcase? Tell us below! Also linked below is the full showcase if you want to check it out in full.