Favorite Games of PLAY.nyc 2025

PLAY.nyc is one of my favorite events of the year. Celebrating its tenth year, PLAY.nyc is a New York-focused gaming event where indies are given an incredible opportunity to showcase their work to the public. Last year, the event teamed up with Anime NYC for the first time and expanded the already successful experience to more people than ever before. During my time at the event, I was able to speak to fantastic developers and creators, as well as try out a bunch of fantastic games. Check out my 8 favorites of the weekend!

Pocket_Pet.exe (Spring Breeze Studio)

Originally created during Turbo Bootcamp 2025, Pocket_Pet.exe is a virtual pet simulator that pays homage to the original Tamagotchi creatures. However, this time around, you have to take care of Pipi, otherwise this cute creature will steal all your data. In order to avoid this, you have to care for Pipi over 14 in-game days to max out his joy. The game also has a fun social media posting aspect where Pipi will post when he is having *feelings*. The game, since it draws information from the cloud, is able to show anonymous comments on these posts, and they are actual comments of real-life players of the game. Pocket_Pet.exe is currently free on itchi.io and worth checking out!

Colossi (Catacombian)

Colossi is a tactical card game that challenges players to use their 24-card decks to prepare scrimmages in various environments. Each card has their own typing as well as abilities and the environments have several conditions that can affect the players and the cards they may choose. Immediately, I was struck by the art style of the landscape -  a really captivating style that was sleek and captivating. Once John, the creator of Colossi, explained the rules, I was excited to give it a go. The ability to chain various powers and abilities is always something I enjoy about tactics games, so it was especially satisfying to quickly pick up the rules and begin to find particular strategies. Since there are nearly 20 environments and 24 cards per player, each game is unique and offers a lot of adjustments for the players on the fly. Plus since the game last about 15-20 minutes, it can easily be played several times with friends without feeling repetitive. Colossi is currently available for purchase here.

Heredity (CosmiCat)

In Heredity, I was thrown into a world full of strange beasts, goopy blob monsters, and a satisfying boss battle. The game is a twin-stick shooter where your character can adjust their arms to be projectiles for long-distance or claws for close-combat. It was exciting to play a game like this since it was one of a kind on the show floor, and I was especially impressed when the developer mentioned he created this demo in just five weeks. Though there was some dialogue and story within this demo, what really hooked me was the combat scenarios. Drawing inspiration from Cult of the Lamb, I was immediately dodging, attacking, and maneuvering, to take out all the creatures to get to the boss. Movement was satisfying and seeing the two different attack methods for the demo made me curious on how these could be expanded in the full game. After a successful boss fight, I was left wanting to play more - a clear indicator of a great demo. If you’re interested in finding out more about Heredity, be sure to follow the links here.

Cat Secretary (Good Story Guild)

I first saw Cat Secretary at PAX East 2025 and was immediately drawn in by the cute cat with a tie. In this game, you play as a former homeless cat who joins the ranks of a large corporation to help it grow in profit and size. During the day, Cat Secretary is a breezy life-sim as a cat who needs to complete menial office tasks like organizing files and making coffee. However, at night, you’re tasked to figure out exactly what this dark corporation is up to. Though the demo is largely the same as PAX East, the refinement is noticeable. Also, the demo pushes the player a bit further than the other demo, allowing for more gameplay to be showcased - essentially more sleuthing at night and a puzzle that definitely requires some detective work. Though there is no release date yet, you can Wishlist Cat Secretary on Steam here.

Gem Blenders (Gem Blenders TCG)

Gem Blenders is an intriguing trading card game that gave vibes of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon, and Pokémon all smashed together, but with a dash of Steven Universe. With this card game, you’re challenged to build up your characters and have them blend (essentially transform) into new creatures based on the gems that you attached to them. The demo was a paired down version of the full game, but in this 10-minute demo, the goal was to bring your opponents points down to zero. Though I was playing with the creator of Gem Blenders, I was able to very slowly build my understanding of the cards and powers, as well as identify ways to maximize my turns and chain several cards. Also, I really was impressed by the unique art style of the cards - distinct from any other card game, but all similar to each other as quickly identifiable. What impressed me even more was that Gem Blenders has several organized play events for anyone to go and join, primarily within New York City. If Gem Blenders is a game that sounds right up your alley, be sure to check out their website here.

Frogmageddon (Frog Mage Udon, Sunset Dreamland)

In Frogmageddon, you must accumulate a hoard of frogs to fight for you in an interesting mix of Pikmin and Vampire Survivors. As I was gradually accumulating these frogs throughout the demo, I noticed that there were also several types of frogs in my amphibian army. Some had arrow projectiles, others initiated laser beams, and one even had a giant hand give a thumbs up (which was incredible to see). These variety of attacks were great and informed me on how I wanted to maneuver around the level, collecting frogs and destroying enemies. Once I had 100 frogs in my army, a giant snake appeared on screen. Similar to Pikmin bosses, this giant snake has the ability to completely wipe out the majority of my frogs - in which it absolutely did. At that moment, I was down to 15 frogs and had to carefully regroup. Eventually, I was victorious, but I still wanted to play more. Sadly, the demo ended, but you can play the demo yourself after you Wishlist Frogmagedon on Steam here.

Unidentified Feline Obliterator (Shattered Journal Games)

In Unidentified Feline Obliterator, you play as a pixelated cat in a tiny spaceship to defeat various space enemies. This multiplayer space shooter can host up to four players as they maneuver around the static screen. Interestingly enough, movement and your shooting is controlled by the same button - where one direction is where the shooting happens, thus propelling you into the opposite direction. At first, this mechanic was a bit too much for my brain at the moment, however, once it finally clicked, the fun-factor skyrocketed. This was especially fun when there were four players all playing at the same time - allowing even more chaos and shenanigans to occur. If this sounds like a chaotically fun time, be sure to Wishlist Unidentified Feline Obliterator on Steam for their September 17th release date.

Birdteeth (Mystriodis, L3ad Planet)

In Birdeeth, you play in this other-worldy environment where you pick seeds and feed birds. The aim of the game is to provide a cozy experience, while also allowing players to explore the environment. In this small proof of concept, there were three birds to see and feed. Though this is in its very early stages, I was happy to have such a meditative and low-stakes game in the shuffle of a big event like PLAY.nyc. Though the final game is a long way out, be sure to follow the creators here and here.