A full 32-map DOOM-compatible campaign is running inside Reddit

PlayDOOM started with one map. Now MAP01 through MAP32 from Freedoom Phase 2 can be played directly through a Reddit Custom Post.

Getting DOOM-compatible engines to run in strange places has become a tradition of its own, but a complete campaign inside a Reddit post is still a good one.

PlayDOOM uses a DOOM-compatible WebAssembly engine inside a Reddit Custom Post. What began as a MAP01 experiment has expanded into all 32 maps from Freedoom Phase 2.

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We ran PlayDOOM ourselves

This is not simply a Reddit post linking players to a game somewhere else. PlayDOOM runs through the Reddit post itself.

PlayDOOM gameplay captured by Fix Gaming Channel while testing the Freedoom campaign.

The screenshot above is our own capture from testing PlayDOOM. The presentation is immediately familiar, but the project is not distributing the commercial game data from DOOM or DOOM II.

It uses Freedoom, not DOOM.WAD

PlayDOOM uses Freedoom Phase 2 v0.13.0, free and open game data designed to work with DOOM-compatible engines.

The project’s Reddit developer page states that it does not distribute the proprietary DOOM.WAD or DOOM2.WAD files.

So the old “can it run DOOM?” joke still fits the experiment, but this is more accurately a DOOM-compatible Freedoom campaign running inside Reddit.

All 32 maps are playable

The original version focused on MAP01 and a leaderboard. The creator later expanded PlayDOOM into a full 32-map campaign, making MAP01 through MAP32 available.

Players can continue from their first unfinished map or select any of the 32 maps directly. There are no unlock requirements, so maps can be played in order, skipped around or replayed.

The project also adds competition around the campaign. Each map has its own speed leaderboard, while campaign scoring tracks completion and enemy kills. Weekly rankings give players another reason to return after finishing maps.

There is more going on behind the Reddit post

Behind PlayDOOM is a combination of Reddit Devvit Web, WebAssembly, TypeScript and Redis.

The roughly 28 MB Freedoom Phase 2 IWAD is split into smaller pieces, loaded through the browser and reconstructed in memory before being mounted into the Emscripten virtual filesystem.

Campaign progress and leaderboard data can persist between sessions. Desktop keyboard controls, mobile touch controls and physical controllers are supported, although mouse turning depends on whether the host environment allows Pointer Lock.

From one map to a complete campaign

PlayDOOM could have remained a small technical experiment. Instead, one Reddit challenge became an entire 32-map campaign with persistent progression and competition built around it.

DOOM-compatible engines have appeared on calculators, cameras, terminals and all kinds of unlikely hardware over the years.

Now you can add a Reddit post to the list.

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Can playing video games make you go blind? Here’s what really happens to your eyes

Long gaming sessions can leave your eyes dry, tired or blurry, but that is very different from going blind.

If you have ever finished a long gaming session with blurry vision, dry eyes or a headache, you are far from alone. Staring at a monitor, TV or handheld for hours can cause digital eye strain.

The important part is this: normal use of digital screens is not known to make you blind. Prevent Blindness says digital-screen users commonly report eye fatigue and discomfort, but screen radiation is below levels known to cause eye damage.

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What Gaming Can Do to Your Eyes

Long periods in front of a screen can cause digital eye strain, sometimes called computer vision syndrome. Common symptoms include dry or irritated eyes, headaches, temporary blurred vision and difficulty focusing. The American Optometric Association says discomfort tends to increase with extended digital-screen use.

One reason is that we tend to blink less while concentrating on a screen, which can contribute to dry eyes. Glare, poor lighting and long sessions without a break can make the discomfort worse.

What About Nearsightedness?

There is a longer-term question around screen time and myopia, or nearsightedness. A 2025 systematic review published in JAMA Network Open examined 45 studies involving 335,524 people and found that more daily digital-screen time was associated with higher odds of myopia.

That does not prove that gaming causes myopia. The researchers rated the overall certainty of the evidence as low, and the average participant age across the studies was 9.3 years. Genetics, near work, time spent outdoors and other factors can also play a role.

Played So Much You Still See the Game When You Close Your Eyes?

Ever stopped playing and still seen blocks, cards, maps or other parts of the game when you close your eyes? Researchers have a name for experiences like this: Game Transfer Phenomena, or GTP.

Research published in Frontiers in Psychology describes gamers seeing game images when blinking or closing their eyes, hearing game sounds, or having game-related thoughts continue after playing. These experiences are often short-lived, sometimes lasting seconds or minutes.

A Few Simple Tips for Gamers

• Use the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something around 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
• Remember to blink. Concentrating on a game can reduce how often you blink.
• Take proper breaks during longer gaming sessions instead of immediately switching to another screen.
• Reduce glare and use comfortable room lighting.
• Keep text and UI easy to read rather than leaning closer to the screen.

So, Can Gaming Make You Blind?

No. Playing video games is not known to cause blindness. What a long, uninterrupted gaming session can give you is tired, dry or temporarily blurry eyes.

Take breaks, blink once in a while, and give your eyes something farther away than a crosshair to focus on.

Sudden vision loss is different from normal eye strain. If you suddenly see many new floaters, flashes of light, or a dark curtain or shadow across your vision, the National Eye Institute recommends getting medical help right away.

The post Can Playing Video Games Make You Go Blind? appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

Play Little Devil for free, give feedback, and help shape the game before release

The Little Devil Steam Playtest is open for more access requests, giving players the chance to play for free, report problems, and help a solo developer improve the game before release.

If you enjoy roguelikes, dark humour and chaotic pixel-art action, you can request access to the Little Devil Playtest on Steam.

Playtest access is free. Requesting access does not necessarily mean immediate entry, but Steam will notify you when access becomes available.

I’ve spent many hours playing both earlier and current builds of Little Devil, and it has changed considerably. Updates continue to roll into the Playtest, so joining gives you a chance to see the game develop while helping find bugs, balance issues and things that could work better.

Little Devil Trailer

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How to join the Little Devil Steam Playtest

Go to the Little Devil Steam page and look for Join the Little Devil Playtest.

Select Request Access. If you are invited into the current test, Steam will notify you and the Playtest can be installed through your library.

The Playtest itself is free, while the full game is currently planned for Q4 2026.

What has changed in the Playtest?

Little Devil has grown significantly since the earlier build I played. Updates have added the Vestibule starting area, more weapons and Soul Abilities, changes to the Gluttony boss fight, expanded status effects, enemy variants, Penny’s shop and improvements to controller support.

The core remains a top-down horror-comedy roguelike built around procedurally generated runs. Different rooms, enemies, traps and build choices mean players can encounter combinations and problems the developer may never find alone.

Play it, break it, and give honest feedback

That is the real reason to join. Play normally, experiment with different weapons and builds, and say when something feels confusing, unbalanced or broken. Positive feedback helps too, especially when a mechanic or change is working well.

You do not need to be a professional game tester. Explain what happened, what you enjoyed, what frustrated you and anything that did not behave as expected.

As updates roll out, you can test the changes again. You are not just getting an early look at an upcoming indie game — you can be part of shaping it while helping a solo developer at the same time.

If that sounds like your kind of Hell, request access to the Little Devil Steam Playtest.

Play it. Break it. Give honest feedback.

Little Devil

Release: Q4 2026

Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, Roguelike

Developer / Publisher: MI Pixel Ltd

Platform: PC — Steam

Related Reading

Little Devil Is Great Fun Already and Feels Like a Hidden Gem in the Making | GOTW #48

Little Devil, Big Lessons: Michael Armstrong-Ingram on Indie Development and Not Giving Up

Disclosure: MI Pixel has used Fix Access, a developer-support service operated separately from Fix Gaming Channel editorial coverage. Fix Access work does not buy, guarantee or influence editorial coverage, reviews, interviews or opinions.

The post Little Devil Steam Playtest: Play Free and Help Shape the Game appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

Four major releases land between September 15 and 24

September 2026 is entering a busy stretch, with Marvel’s Wolverine, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, CONTROL Resonant, and SILENT HILL: Townfall all arriving within nine days.

PlayStation 5 players get Logan’s new adventure on September 15, while RuneScape: Dragonwilds leaves Early Access the same day. Then September 24 brings two very different supernatural releases from Remedy Entertainment and Screen Burn Interactive.

Anyone hoping the second half of September would be easier on the wallet may want to reconsider.

RuneScape fans can also read our earlier RS25 coverage and Jagex’s 2026 plans.

Marvel’s Wolverine Game Features Trailer

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September 2026 Release Highlights

Marvel’s Wolverine — September 15

Insomniac Games brings Logan to PlayStation 5 on September 15 with a single-player action-adventure built around fast, aggressive combat.

The game takes Wolverine across locations including Canada, Japan, and Madripoor. Insomniac Games has also confirmed more than 100 accessibility features. New Game Plus, Mission Replay, and Nightmare Challenges are available at launch, while Photo Mode is included through a day-one update.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds 1.0 — September 15

RuneScape: Dragonwilds leaves Early Access on September 15 and expands from PC to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Jagex has confirmed crossplay between PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Version 1.0 includes the Scorned Wilderness update alongside content introduced throughout Early Access, including Umbral Sands.

The survival crafting game had already passed one million sales during its Early Access period.

CONTROL Resonant — September 24

CONTROL Resonant shifts the spotlight to Dylan Faden as a supernatural crisis transforms Manhattan and Jesse Faden goes missing.

Remedy Entertainment describes the sequel as an action-adventure RPG and its most expansive game so far. The digital version launches September 24 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Physical console editions follow on October 15, while the Mac version is planned for later in 2026.

SILENT HILL: Townfall — September 24

SILENT HILL: Townfall arrives the same day, taking Konami’s horror series to the isolated Scottish island of St. Amelia.

Developed by Screen Burn Interactive, the game is experienced entirely in first person and combines exploration, combat, evasion, and narrative-driven puzzles.

If you are following the series, our earlier Silent Hill f sales coverage looks at the strong performance of Konami’s previous release.

September 24 Is the Toughest Choice

For digital players, CONTROL Resonant and SILENT HILL: Townfall launching on the same day creates an unusual choice for anyone who enjoys supernatural stories.

One leans into action, powers, and a warped Manhattan. The other focuses on first-person psychological horror in a remote Scottish setting.

September may offer more than enough to play, but unfortunately it still comes with the usual number of hours in a day.

Related Reading

RS25: RuneScape Celebrates 25 Years With Jagex’s 2026 Plans

Silent Hill f Passes 1 Million in Its First Days

The post September 2026 Game Releases: Wolverine, Dragonwilds, CONTROL Resonant & Silent Hill appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

For this Fix Stories feature, Ricardo Tavares Santos of Aevryn Studios shares how one promise shaped the pacing, difficulty, scope, and identity of mobile match-3 game Aevryn Candy.

What changes when removing ads becomes a game design rule?

Aevryn Candy is built around a straightforward promise: “No Ads. Ever.” For Ricardo, that started as a monetization decision, but development gradually showed him how removing advertising could influence the design of the game itself.

You can read more first-person development stories in Fix Stories.

Aevryn Candy Trailer

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When I started building Aevryn Candy, I wasn’t trying to reinvent the match-3 genre. I like the simplicity of these games: you understand the basic idea almost immediately, you can play for a few minutes, and a good level can be satisfying without demanding a huge time commitment.

What I did want to change was something around the experience.

Mobile games are often designed around interruptions. Finish a level, see an ad. Lose, watch a video for another chance. Want a reward, watch another video. These systems have become so normal that it is easy to treat them as part of the genre itself.

I decided early that Aevryn Candy would have one very simple rule: No Ads. Ever.

At first, I thought of that mainly as a monetization decision. The game could have optional in-app purchases, but advertising wouldn’t be part of the deal. During development, though, I realized that removing ads changes much more than the business model. It changes how you think about the game.

Without an advertisement creating a pause between levels, the game itself has to create its rhythm. A player should be able to open Aevryn Candy, play a few levels, enjoy the puzzle and leave when they want to — not when an interruption tells them to stop.

That idea started influencing other decisions too.

One of the biggest lessons came from difficulty. The obvious way to design progression is to keep making levels harder. But I found that an endless upward curve didn’t really fit the relaxing game I wanted to make. Challenge is important, but constant frustration isn’t the same thing as challenge.

So from around level 100, I began experimenting with a different rhythm. In selected groups of levels, I reduce the number of candy colors available. That sounds like a tiny adjustment, but it changes the probability of useful matches, cascades and available moves quite noticeably. Those easier stretches can then sit between tougher levels.

Instead of thinking only:

hard → harder → harder → harder

I started thinking:

challenge → breathing room → challenge → breathing room

That small experiment taught me something that has stayed with me throughout development: sometimes changing one parameter is more valuable than adding another feature.

As developers, it’s tempting to solve every problem by adding something — another booster, another mechanic, another screen, another system. But every addition has a cost. It needs UI, balancing, testing and maintenance, and it has to keep working with everything you add later.

Aevryn Candy has made me ask a different question more often: can the mechanics that already exist solve this problem?

That question matters even more when you’re building as an indie developer. Aevryn Studios is a small project, and Aevryn Candy has been something I’ve built alongside the rest of my life. There is always another idea that could be added. The difficult part isn’t coming up with features; it’s deciding which ones actually deserve to exist.

That has probably been the biggest personal lesson from the project: scope is part of design.

I now try to ask whether a new idea genuinely improves the puzzle experience or whether I’m adding it simply because I can. Saying no to a feature can be just as important as implementing one well.

In a way, that brings me back to the decision that started everything.

“No Ads. Ever.” is defined by something the game doesn’t have, but that absence has become part of its identity. It gives me a simple rule for future decisions: if something damages the relaxed, interruption-free experience I’m trying to create, it probably doesn’t belong in Aevryn Candy — even if it is common practice elsewhere in mobile gaming.

Releasing the game hasn’t ended that process. In some ways, it has made it more interesting. Before release, you’re working with assumptions. After release, those assumptions begin meeting real players, and you start learning which decisions worked, which need adjustment and which ideas sounded better on paper than they feel in the game.

I’m still learning from that.

My goal with Aevryn Studios is not to pretend that a small indie game can outspend or outscale the biggest names in mobile gaming. It’s to keep improving something I enjoy building and, hopefully, find players who appreciate the same things I do: colorful puzzles, short sessions, a bit of challenge, and the ability to simply play without an advertisement getting in the way.

Aevryn Candy is available on Android through Google Play.

Aevryn Candy

Release: Available now

Genre: Match-3, Puzzle

Developer / Publisher: Aevryn Studios / Aevryn Studios

Platforms: Android via Google Play

Fix Gaming Channel: Fix Stories gives developers and creators room to tell the stories behind their work directly in their own words. Ricardo Tavares Santos’ submitted story above has been preserved in his voice and formatted for publication by Fix Gaming Channel.

Related Reading

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More Fix Stories From Developers and Creators

The post Fix Stories: Building a Match-3 Game Around One Promise: “No Ads. Ever.” appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

Xbox Cloud Gaming Gets Monthly Limits in November

Microsoft will introduce monthly cloud gaming limits for Xbox Game Pass subscribers beginning in November 2026.

Game Pass Ultimate will include 15 hours of cloud gaming per month, Premium will include 10 hours, and Essential will include five hours.

Five hours across a 30-day month works out to an average of around 10 minutes per day for Essential members, although there is no daily restriction.

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More Cloud Time Will Cost Extra

Xbox says players who reach their monthly limit will be able to purchase additional cloud playtime through the Xbox Store. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Microsoft says around 4% of Game Pass subscribers are expected to be affected by the limits.

Also beginning in November, players without Game Pass will be able to purchase cloud playtime to stream eligible games they already own.

For frequent cloud users, even Game Pass Ultimate will now include a maximum of 15 hours per month before additional time must be purchased.

The post Xbox Game Pass Will Cap Cloud Gaming at 15 Hours a Month appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

Xbox will publish PHYSINT, the action-espionage game from Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions, after PlayStation Studios ended its collaboration on the project.

Development of PHYSINT is continuing, with Kojima Productions now expanding its existing relationship with Xbox beyond the upcoming horror game OD.

PHYSINT Original Announcement | PlayStation

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PlayStation Steps Away From PHYSINT

PlayStation Studios announced that it had made the difficult decision to step away from its collaboration with Kojima Productions on PHYSINT.

PlayStation said it continues to admire Kojima’s vision for the project and described its wider relationship with the developer as strong, adding that it expects to continue working with Kojima Productions in the future.

Kojima later provided more detail about the change. He said Kojima Productions unexpectedly received notice in mid-June that PlayStation Studios would cancel the PHYSINT project under their partnership.

Kojima Productions did not abandon the game. According to Kojima, the studio spent the following three months searching for a new partner so development could continue.

Xbox Will Publish PHYSINT

That new partner is Xbox.

Xbox confirmed on September 9 that it will work with Kojima Productions to publish PHYSINT, expanding the companies’ existing partnership.

Kojima said the agreement takes the relationship with Xbox beyond OD and confirmed that development of PHYSINT is continuing.

Xbox becoming the publisher does not currently confirm the game’s final platform lineup. Neither Xbox nor Kojima Productions announced launch platforms as part of the new publishing agreement.

Xbox and Kojima Productions Expand Their Partnership

The agreement also extends beyond the two games.

Xbox says it plans to collaborate with Kojima Productions across film and television, although no specific film or television projects were announced.

PHYSINT was originally announced in January 2024 through PlayStation as a new action-espionage project from Kojima Productions. At the time, PlayStation described it as a new project coming to PlayStation.

The publishing situation has now changed significantly, but Kojima’s latest statement makes one point clear: PHYSINT remains in development.

PHYSINT

Release: TBA

Genre: Action-Espionage

Developer / Publisher: Kojima Productions / Xbox

Platforms: Not announced

Sources

Xbox Wire: Xbox and Kojima Productions Expand Partnership to Publish PHYSINT

Statements from the official PlayStation and Hideo Kojima accounts were also used for this report.

Related Reading

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Death Stranding Reaches 20 Million Porters Worldwide

The post PlayStation Ends PHYSINT Partnership as Xbox Steps In to Publish Kojima’s Game appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

The final day of PAX West 2026

It’s the finale you’ve all been waiting for, but instead of a bang, PAX ends with a long, relieved sigh.

I’ll be honest, PAX West 2026 was awesome, but so many of the developers and publishers I spoke with were glad that PAX was coming to a close.

This wasn’t because PAX was bad for them. Quite the opposite. They saw increased wishlists, better traffic on their websites, and posts on social media explode from their time interacting with attendees at PAX. But PAX is also tiring.

Four days of running around the convention center, socializing with amazing and nice people, and just generally being in an incredibly warm building left everyone who had been at PAX for the full duration tired.

I felt this walking in on Monday. I had plans to again hurriedly run between the Arch building and Summit, but instead, I took my time today to try out more demos, and this time, I spent some more time talking to the devs who made them.

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More booths around Arch, and the people I talked to

My first stop caught my eye a lot. Next to one of those rideable lawn mowers was another entry in the chore/job simulation genre. Skyhook’s sequel to their popular game Lawn Mowing Simulator is coming out September 23, taking the franchise to America and expanding the simulator aspect to include better grass simulation so you can properly get better lawn stripes, maintenance for your lawn mower so you have to watch out for dull blades leaving patchy grass, and having to clear debris from the grass so you don’t hit any rocks or trash.

Lawn Mowing Simulator 2 is a very relaxing game, kind of like PowerWash Simulator. And it’s not just about cutting grass; you’re also taking care of the whole lot. It’s very satisfying when you’re raking and blowing leaves into a big pile before using your weed whacker to remove the weeds growing up from the cracks in the asphalt or spaces between concrete slabs.

When I talked with the Skyhook team, they told me that despite being a UK team, when they released the first Lawn Mowing Simulator, 90% of the audience was in America. So when they began production on the sequel, they and the publisher decided to place the game in America, set around the Northeast, with their inspiration being around Pennsylvania.

It was a weirdly enlightening conversation about how the recognizability of in-game locations can be used to appeal to larger audiences. Of course, the main focus of the sequel is more on the enhanced simulation of being a lawn caretaker. The demo I played, which you can play on Steam, was more linear, but the full game promises to be more open-ended.

Then, during the free time I had, I checked out a game I’ve had wishlisted for a while but never got around to. That game is Desktop Explorer, and I got to speak with Rodolfo Hernandez, the co-studio head and developer of the game.

Desktop Explorer is a really impressive simulation of an OS based on Windows 98, and the gameplay uses that system to its fullest. With the many puzzles in Desktop Explorer, you have to check source code to find hidden messages, rename files, resize text boxes to reveal images, and more, using general computer knowledge to reveal the mystery on this computer given to you by your grandfather.

Fan art surrounds the Desktop Explorer setup at PAX West 2026. Photo: Fix Gaming Channel.

The demo was a great slice of the game, and sold me on it. In a very cool move, the Desktop Explorer booth was also selling physical cards with a code for the game on them. It was a great chance to buy the game and directly support the developers who made such a wonderfully detailed experience.

When speaking more with Rodolfo, he told me about his respect for and frustration with gaming publications. He said it’s great that there are publications that focus on covering indie games and not just the biggest releases.

However, he’s been snubbed in the past, especially by one larger publication that his team gave a Steam key and assets for an article. He told me they didn’t even play the game before reviewing it.

It was a point of frustration for him and the team, and speaks to a bigger issue with large publications, but that’s outside the scope of the article. Hopefully this section of our coverage does justice to Desktop Explorer.

I then went to the DreadXP booth, who’ve published some of my favorite games like PIGFACE, Dread Delusion, White Knuckle, and VILE: Exhumed. I had already played most of their games, and they are all great.

The only game I did play was PIGFACE because they had mice that were in the shape of a gun and simulated recoil when you pulled the trigger. It was a fun gimmick for the booth, but I wouldn’t recommend it for daily use.

Similar to Desktop Explorer, the developer of VILE: Exhumed, Cara Cadaver, was selling physical discs of the game. During that time, we also spoke about the developers who work with DreadXP, and she was happy to work with such creative people who make such great games.

She said it was a good motivator for her, and she’s glad to be where she is. It was a pleasant conversation about the people who inspire her.

I did want to highlight these conversations the most from my time at PAX, mainly because what’s lost in coverage like this, with all these different games, is the people behind these games.

These small conversations provided me with a little insight every time into what goes into video games and being an indie developer. That focus on the people making games is also why we spend so much time on our developer interviews.

Back to Indie Games from Poland

Then I stopped by the Indie Games from Poland booth once again. There were so many games at the booth that I had returned multiple times for my own enjoyment.

I jumped on Truckful first, which was described to me as Dredge in a truck, and yeah, it lives up to its name.

This game is charming, with that sort of toon art style that’s a delight to look at, and it has a great mechanic where you stack your deliveries in the back of your truck in a 3D grid, with one of your first deliveries being another delivery driver whose van broke down.

She gets sat in the back of the truck like the rest of the mail, and rolls around with it. I had to be careful with how fast I was going because, if I wasn’t, I’d knock the packages and the woman I picked up out of the back of the truck.

The game takes place in a town past some woods where, no matter what car goes in, it breaks down, except yours. Now you act as the only delivery person, taking mail to the delightful townspeople scattered across town.

Of course, this wouldn’t be Dredge in a truck if there wasn’t some kind of monster to look out for, and that monster is a monster truck that attacks you in the dark.

Despite its cheery appearance, the game is surrounded by woods that can be eerie when driving silently across long, shaded stretches deeper in the woods.

The demo was pretty short, but it was just enough for me to get the gist of the game. It’s not exactly my kind of game, but Dredge wasn’t my kind of game either. If you loved Dredge and you like this kind of delivery game, then keep an eye out for Truckful.

Next I played Unbroken: The Awakening, and at the insistence of the developer, I should tell you that, despite its looks, it isn’t a boomer shooter. It’s something more akin to Hotline Miami but in first person.

Your character and the enemies are glass cannons that can dish out a lot of damage but are easily dispatched. Luckily for you, you have resin, a smokable power-up that slows down time and super-powers your kick, sending enemies and items flying.

The fights are fast, but your movement is slow, offering a strange but satisfying level of combat that makes you think about where to move and what to prioritize, especially when certain structures are breakable. This makes your kick even more valuable, letting you break a couple of beams to knock down an enemy with the high ground.

Though I only got to play the demo for 30 minutes, I was told that the overall story has about nine endings, all based on how you play the game and who you interact with.

It’s like a lite-RPG, which reminded me a bit of one of the first first-person shooter/RPG hybrids, Strife, which the developer confirmed to me was a big inspiration.

Unbroken: The Awakening is kinda awesome, with a really cool grimdark Victorian setting. It’s out now in Early Access, and while I don’t think I could recommend it to most people, if you like strange and exploratory games with lots of action, then this game could resonate with you.

Critical Reflex Booth

On my last day, I finally got to go to the Critical Reflex booth. However, I had already been there a few times, as they are the publishers for Buckshot Roulette and No, I’m Not a Human, and are responsible for the physical arcade I played days prior.

Critical Reflex has a ton of games coming out soon, but the two I played today were Pipes.exe and Tanuki: Pon’s Summer.

First, Tanuki: Pon’s Summer was a surprise because I had scheduled to play Inkblood, but that wasn’t at PAX, or at least wasn’t there on the last day of PAX.

So when I sat down to play the demo, I had no information on the game and no expectations. What I got was a delightful mix of a delivery game and a BMX game.

You play as Pon, a tanuki, a Japanese raccoon dog, who gets a job at a post office to make money and repair a shrine for the coming tanuki festival.

You ride around on a BMX bike delivering packages while hitting tricks around the city. And the biking is very similar to the Skate series, where you earn points for chaining tricks and even get off your bike to walk around the town.

Walking around the town, you meet with the residents who need your help for a variety of minigames to make a little extra cash on the side.

While I don’t exactly care for delivery games all that much, the biking was awesome. Grinding along rails, jumping off and doing tricks off a half-pipe to get to your destination is awesome, and I really got sucked in trying to maximize my points before actually delivering my packages.

That might have been to my detriment, though, since I didn’t get that far in my demo.

I did spend some time watching others and talking with the booth attendants to learn more, specifically about the day system that progresses with the story, and how the Tetris-like packaging system would be expanded in the future, adding a small puzzle element to delivering packages.

I will be honest, Tanuki: Pon’s Summer didn’t grip me as much as other Critical Reflex titles.

It’s a fun and very chill game, one that a lot of people loved at PAX, since there were lines to play it every day I was there. I would prefer more BMX riding, but that’s not what this game is about, and I bet for people who like delivery games, this game would resonate with them.

Now, Pipes.exe is a different story. I was immediately enamored with the old CGI-style graphics for the game and the immediate switch to something more gamey when you open the game.

It has an evocative undertone that made it feel like it was presenting some techno-dystopian world stuck in the early 2000s.

Attendees play Pipes.exe at the Critical Reflex booth during PAX West 2026. Photo: Fix Gaming Channel.

The gameplay is also really cool, being an online co-op 3D platformer, semi-adjacent to friendslop, but the game is more about the strange world of Pipes.exe.

You load into matches on your company PC that transports you into the digital world, where the main mechanic is that you can climb anything, including other players.

You have to hang from pipes that are procedurally generated to collect items to recycle, getting you points and employee benefits to buy upgrades and items.

My favorite was the paper plane you could hang on to get to places far away. However, you have to watch out for your stamina bar so you don’t fall into the void down below.

Pipes.exe also surprised me when it went from the jungle gym of pipes to swing from to a genuinely creepy confined maze in a different level. Then, when I finished that level and went to the next, the recycling bin came to life and floated away.

It was all very silly, and balanced the ridiculous nature of the game with its creepy horror elements.

My only regret with Pipes.exe is that I didn’t get to play with anyone else; I had to climb solo. Seeing others play, it looks a lot more fun with friends.

I’m excited about Pipes.exe because I bet in the full release it will be a delight to play and discover what more the game has to offer.

Another Pint

I will start this off by saying that I’m already in love with Another Pint; I fell in love when I was invited to their booth and wishlisted the game on Steam.

This game looks so cool, and I’m not just talking about the graphics. I’m talking about the idea of a tavern simulator mixed with an RPG. It sounds like a match made in heaven.

Players try Another Pint at its PAX West 2026 booth. Photo: Fix Gaming Channel.

To start with the graphics, which I want to highlight first, it perfectly matches the vibe of a 2000s RPG, old MMOs, and Pillars of Eternity, which the lead artist told me were the main inspirations.

This game’s vibe is great. The light, especially late at night in the tavern, sets the scene perfectly and makes everything feel a little more fantastical.

The game promises a system-driven management game where building up your tavern and creating your own drinks are paramount to your success.

In the demo I played, I didn’t get far enough to create my own drinks, but I did get to experience the tavern-building mechanics.

If you’re familiar with The Sims, it’s exactly like that, with a variety of furniture to turn the shack you’re given into something people will actually want to drink in.

It’s a really extensive decoration system. I wish I had the chance to play just the build mode because you could make a really lovely tavern, and I’m so excited about what you’d be able to do in the full release.

On the RPG side, it looks like it’s a really cool system. Each NPC seemed persistent in the world, with their own preference for drinks and relationships with the player.

For the more important NPCs like the builder, herbalist, and tailor, it looks like it will leverage its RPG elements to use quests to unlock new items for your tavern and new ways to make drinks.

Again, I wish I could’ve seen more. I was able to help Hardin, one of the first NPCs you meet, by finding his diary for him, which got me some reputation from him and some silver.

It’s such a cool combination of genres that it intrigues me a lot, and I was told by the developers that it would become a much more important system as the game goes on.

Finally, actually running your tavern is a treat. Customers order drinks, you pour them in a quick minigame, and place them on a tray.

Whenever you have multiple customers, it gets a little chaotic, as it feels like tavern-goers are a little impatient and will leave if you don’t serve them fast enough.

Besides that, the game continues to charm me. With multiple sizes and drinks, it becomes a fun little side game to perfect your pours and serve fast enough to get more customers through the door.

And the detail that customers pay by leaving gold on the table was just another small piece of the game that I liked. It all adds to the atmosphere the game does so well.

Overall, I am excited about Another Pint. If you like management games and you love customization, this game is shaping up to be something amazing.

Take the Main Stage

Finally, the last game I saw at PAX was all the way back at the Indie Incubator row, where I met with the team behind Take the Main Stage, a unique life sim where you are a struggling musician trying to make it big in Seattle during the alternative music boom in the 1990s.

Take the Main Stage on display during the final day of PAX West 2026. Photo: Fix Gaming Channel.

What’s unique about this game is that it’s also a strategy game, a rhythm game, and a management game.

When you write music, you first have to talk to other people. You play a strategy game asking questions and getting answers, building your relationship and the conversation meter; the better the conversation, the better the inspiration.

Then you build your music sheet with different notes you add to create a pattern to play. When you play your music, you enter a rhythm game section, playing the notes as you built them.

And you manage yourself, training to play the guitar, and in between battles against other bands, you do short minigames to tune your instruments and mingle with the crowd.

There’s so much in the game, and crazily, it all works.

The demo was pretty linear in what you could do, only giving me the crumbs of what the game promises, and it promises a procedurally generated world with randomly generated people, so every new character would be in a completely different world to strategize in.

It also has multiple genres of music you can choose, a ton of new notes to unlock, and a full game world to travel around and build relationships in.

Even one of my only complaints, that I think the rhythm game section should be more challenging, was addressed by the devs when they said the full release would have ways to make the songs harder and more rewarding.

Overall, this was a great game to find because it’s so unique, it’s trying so much, and so far it’s succeeding.

It’s a game of potential, and I hope it reaches that potential because I would love to see what madness the final product will be.

Conclusion

If you care at all, I never got my No, I’m Not a Human pin; I was too busy playing demos, and by the time I went back to the physical arcade, it was closed.

However, PAX was great. I met great people, and I played great games. I watched as the community of gamers was able to do the same.

What I heard from developers at the booths was that they had a great time as well; it’s just that after four days, we’re all ready to go home.

I hope to return to PAX next year. The games I got through were barely 40% of what was on offer, but I hope that from these articles, I can highlight the fact that indie gaming is in the best place it’s ever been right now, even if the industry as a whole is shaky.

The best thing we can do for the hobby we love is to support the people who make the games we love.

Whether that means playing their games, wishlisting them on Steam, or just being able to tell them in person that you love what they make, it’s a damn good way to show support.

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The post PAX West 2026 Final Day: PAX Ends With a Long, Relieved Sigh appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

Three free demos, cyberpunk firefights, and a quieter corner of indie gaming

A shooter that lets you catch enemy bullets. A card game that tests how well you know your partner. An apartment slowly disappearing under plants. This weekend’s indie picks take very different routes to getting your attention.

For September 12–13, we’ve picked five indie games and demos with a reason to look now, from this week’s launches to updated demos ahead of release. These are games to investigate, not scored reviews. Availability was checked on September 9, 2026.

1. Duo Quest makes knowing your partner part of the battle

Building a good deck is only half the job in Duo Quest. This two-player roguelite also asks you to match answers about each other to gain an advantage against monsters. It is a promising pick for anyone whose idea of co-op involves more conversation than covering a teammate’s back.

The free demo now has native online co-op following the developer’s September 1 update, although known networking and display bugs remain. With the full release planned for September 16, this weekend is a chance to try its unusual partnership test. For more shared-screen and online options, see our co-op games list.

Duo Quest

Status: Free public demo; full release planned September 16, 2026

Genre: Co-op roguelite deckbuilder

Developer / Publisher: 1+1 Studios / Rising Tide

Platform: Windows — Get the demo on Steam

Duo Quest Trailer

Watch the release-date trailer on YouTube

Want more indie games worth a closer look?

Get game features, reviews, interviews, and demo picks from Fix Gaming Channel.

2. SPRAWL zero sends enemy bullets back where they came from

SPRAWL zero launched on September 8, bringing a cyberpunk shooter inspired by early-2000s FPS games into this week’s lineup. Its Gravity Shield lets you catch and return enemy gunfire, while Bullet-Time and Gravity Gloves give you more ways to handle a firefight.

Developer MAETH points to F.E.A.R. and Halo as combat influences, with squads designed to flank and force you out of cover. That combination of enemy tactics and physics-based combat is the reason to try it. A free Steam demo remains available alongside the full release.

SPRAWL zero

Status: Full release, September 8, 2026; free public demo available on Steam

Genre: Cyberpunk first-person shooter

Developer / Publisher: MAETH / Kwalee

PC platform: Windows — View the game and demo on Steam

3. Alchemy Factory turns potion-making into a production problem

Alchemy Factory left Early Access on September 7 with its version 1.0 release. It combines medieval shopkeeping with conveyor belts, pipes, and magical machinery, letting you build automated production lines alone or with friends.

The full release brings wagon logistics, a rebuilt reputation system, and revamped shopkeeping. That combination is the draw: your factory feeds a business rather than simply producing larger numbers. If untangling bottlenecks sounds like a good weekend, there is now a full-release version to consider.

Alchemy Factory

Status: Version 1.0 released September 7, 2026

Genre: Automation, simulation, co-op

Developer / Publisher: D5 Copperhead / Gamirror Games

Platform: Windows — View on Steam

4. ROLLA lets you become the disaster

The monster is loose, the military is responding, and you are the rolling ball of alien flesh causing the problem. ROLLA mixes B-movie horror with arcade destruction, eating, growing, and score chasing.

Its August 24 announcement confirmed a September 30 release, with a free demo available in the meantime. The news-broadcast presentation gives this one a different flavor from a straightforward survival shooter. Try the demo if smashing through a city sounds more appealing than saving it.

ROLLA

Status: Free public demo; full release planned September 30, 2026

Genre: Horror-themed arcade destruction

Developer / Publisher: Tyrmä Games / Pantaloon

Platform: Windows — Get the demo on Steam

ROLLA Trailer

Watch the release-date trailer on YouTube

5. Tiny Eden brings the garden indoors

For something less destructive, Tiny Eden launched on September 7 with an apartment-gardening setup. Start with a few pots, grow food, cook meals, and reinvest your earnings as your garden spreads into new rooms and eventually a rooftop greenhouse.

The interesting detail is what those plants need: suitable soil mixtures, containers, light, and temperature. That gives the apartment more purpose than being a backdrop for decoration. This is the quieter pick for players who would rather spend Sunday arranging planters than dodging missiles.

Tiny Eden

Status: Full release, September 7, 2026

Genre: Indoor gardening simulation

Developer / Publisher: Bajka Games / Digital Vortex Entertainment

Platforms: Windows, SteamOS/Linux — View on Steam

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The post 5 Indie Games to Try This Weekend: Co-op Questions and Cyberpunk Chaos appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

From assisted pixel art to a 2009 puzzle game, this showcase struggles to define what an AI game is

The third-party AI Gaming Festival is live on Steam until September 28, bringing discounts, games, and development talks together under one label that quickly becomes difficult to explain.

The AI Gaming Festival has opened on Steam, running from September 7 to September 28, 2026. This is a third-party event presented through a Steam curator page, not one of Valve’s own themed festivals. Its stated goal is to educate players and developers about how AI is being used in game creation while showcasing projects built with the technology.

That is a reasonable subject for a festival. The problem is that the live page stretches the term “AI game” so far that its categories begin to lose meaning. We have argued before that useful AI disclosure should tell players what changed in the product, not turn every tool used during development into the same warning label. This event provides a clear example of why that distinction is important.

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A festival about more than AI artwork

The event sorts its lineup by how AI was reportedly used. Its 12 sections cover artwork, asset creation, programming, NPC actions, player-input interactions, story and lore, localization, voices, music, sound effects, testing and debugging, and marketing. SteamDB currently displays 100 products and warns that the results have been limited because the event contains too many products for one page.

Three very different entries in the lineup

Backpack Dungeon

Release: July 14, 2026 | Developer: 夜喵 | Publisher: Shuffle Play Games | Platforms: Windows, macOS

Backpack Dungeon is a pixel-art backpack-management roguelike in which item placement, adjacency, and trigger mechanics shape each run. Its Steam disclosure says AI assistance was used for some pixel-art item icons and monster sprites.

Esports Manager 2026

Release: July 6, 2026 | Developer: Neurona Games | Publisher: indie.io | Platform: Windows

Esports Manager 2026 is a strategy and management simulation about running a professional esports organization. The developer says AI was used to generate player faces and in-game logos. Fix Gaming Channel previously covered its July 6 Steam launch.

AI Pals Engine

Early Access: January 8, 2026 | Developer and publisher: Amped Horizon | Platform: Windows

AI Pals Engine is not a conventional game. It is Early Access desktop software built around locally run AI assistants, characters, text responses, and customizable widgets. Meanwhile, Ariokan is a competitive card game whose disclosure warns that some player-created artwork may be generated by AI. These are materially different uses, and separating them is more informative than treating them as one category.

Then Bad Rats appears everywhere

The festival’s attempt at precision breaks down when the entries are inspected. At the time of writing, the live event page places Bad Rats: the Rats’ Revenge in every one of its 12 AI-use sections, including programming, localization, voices, music, testing, and marketing.

Bad Rats was released on Steam on July 20, 2009. Its current store page contains no visible AI Generated Content Disclosure. Nothing on that public page explains why a 17-year-old physics puzzle game has been placed in every AI-use category.

It is not the only unclear example. Bangkok Story: A Stray Dog appears under programming, AI NPC actions, story and lore, and testing and debugging, yet its public Steam page also contains no visible AI disclosure. That does not prove the developers concealed anything. The festival may be relying on a separate submission form, its categories may include non-generative tools, or the page may contain configuration errors. From the storefront alone, readers cannot tell which explanation applies.

That uncertainty is important because the organizers say the festival is intended to educate. If a category tells players that AI contributed to a game’s programming or narrative, the page needs to explain what that means and where the information came from. Otherwise, the labels create suspicion without providing clarity.

Steam’s own disclosure policy is clearer

Valve’s official Steamworks content survey draws a useful line. It says routine efficiency gains from AI-powered development tools are not the focus of its generative-AI section. Valve instead asks about content created with AI that ships with the game and is consumed by players.

Steam then separates that content into two groups. Pre-generated content is made with AI during development and included in the shipped product. Live-generated content is created while the game is running, with developers required to describe safeguards against illegal output.

The festival goes much wider by adding programming, testing, debugging, and marketing as headline categories. A developer could use an AI coding assistant or testing tool without producing player-facing generated content, meaning there may be no public Steam disclosure to read. That likely explains part of the mismatch between the festival and individual store pages, but it also makes the festival responsible for supplying the missing context.

This is the same transparency gap raised by The Alters AI controversy: a disclosure system is useful only when players can understand what was generated, where it appears, and whether it affects the experience they are buying.

The conference may be more useful than the sale

The event extends beyond Steam. An online conference hosted through Glitch runs from September 10 to September 30. Its schedule lists 22 livestream sessions covering rapid prototyping, AI graphics, coding, testing, marketing, and the debate around AI terminology.

Those sessions could provide the context missing from the storefront. A workshop can show exactly how a tool was used, what a developer retained control over, and what limitations came with it. That is more valuable than dropping games into broad lists and asking players to infer the rest.

The organizer’s prize page also advertises $20,000 in “OpenAI Codex 5.6 Credits”, divided among five games with the highest total playtime. That is the organizer’s published claim. The page does not establish an independent sponsorship announcement from OpenAI.

Why the AI Gaming Festival lineup raises questions

The AI Gaming Festival contains a valid idea. AI-assisted development is broad enough that players benefit from seeing the difference between generated artwork, localization support, live NPC dialogue, and background tools. Games with narrow, specific disclosures should not automatically be treated the same as products built around undisclosed or uncontrolled generation.

Developers also remain responsible for the final result. In our Hoop Dynasty Fix Story, creator Aric Morrow described using AI to assist UX iteration, selected visuals, and quality assurance while retaining authorship and responsibility for the game. That kind of detail allows readers to judge the work instead of reacting to a vague label.

The Steam festival does not consistently offer that detail. Its best entries show why specific disclosure can help. Its unexplained placements show how quickly the message collapses when categories are not verified or defined in public.

Players do not need a festival to tell them that every use of AI is identical. They need accurate labels, direct explanations, and enough information to judge each game on its own work. Until the AI Gaming Festival provides that consistency, its sprawling lineup says more about the confusion surrounding AI games than the games themselves.

AI Gaming Festival

Steam event: September 7 to September 28, 2026

Online conference: September 10 to September 30, 2026

Format: Third-party sale page and online livestream sessions

Platforms: Steam and Glitch

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The post Steam’s AI Gaming Festival Is Live, and Its Lineup Is All Over the Place appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

The website comes first. The channels support it.

Fix Gaming Channel is an independent gaming website and media outlet. We publish news, reviews, written interviews, features, guides, and indie game coverage. YouTube, Rumble, TikTok, and our other social accounts are connected parts of that work, with the website at the center.

The word “Channel” can give a different impression, especially when a video or short clip is the first thing you see. But the website is not an extra page attached to a YouTube account. It is where our publication lives.

Get to know the games and people we cover

Get game features, reviews, interviews, indie coverage, and demo spotlights from Fix Gaming Channel.

Who is behind Fix Gaming Channel?

Founded in 2023 by Ronny Fiksdahl, Fix Gaming Channel brings together editorial, publishing, video, and industry experience. Ronny leads editorial as Founder & Editor-in-Chief. Robelle Veligaño is the owner and SEO and Social Media Lead, while Jake Boyette and Aidan Minter contribute reviews, features, and wider games coverage. You can meet the team on our About Us page.

What you will find on the website

Our coverage includes game announcements and updates, hands-on reviews, first impressions, interviews, gaming lists, guides, and industry stories. Indie games are a major focus, but they are not the limit of what we cover. PC, console, and mobile games all have a place here.

The formats serve different purposes. News explains what has happened. Reviews share opinions based on playing the game. First impressions make clear when we are discussing a demo or an early build rather than a finished release. Guides help readers find games, understand a feature, or make a decision.

Our editorial standards include checking key information, correcting errors, disclosing relevant relationships, and keeping reviews independent. Written interview answers retain the guest’s own voice.

The people behind the games are part of the story

Our written interviews cover developers, artists, writers, studio founders, and people working across the industry. The archive includes conversations with Richard Dansky, David Priestman, and Karl “Rockfist” Rosqvist, alongside solo developers and smaller teams. We want to hear about the decisions, experiences, and creative work behind a game, not just its release date.

Fix Stories makes room for personal stories from developers, players, creators, modders, and gaming communities. Our Game of the Week features give individual games a closer look. These are reasons to visit the website in their own right.

Where YouTube, Rumble, TikTok, and social media fit

Our gameplay and video coverage includes indie games, demos, first looks, selected trailers, and 32:9 super-ultrawide PC gameplay. Footage shows how a game moves, sounds, and plays in a way that written coverage alone cannot.

YouTube and Rumble are places to watch our videos. TikTok and our other social accounts let us share clips, highlight articles, talk with our audience, and introduce the publication to people who have not visited the website yet.

A single game might lead to a written feature, recorded gameplay, and a short social post. The article supplies detail and context. The footage shows the game in action. The social post helps someone find the coverage. Not every story needs every format, but each format has a purpose.

Watching our videos is part of following Fix Gaming Channel. It is simply one part of the publication, rather than the whole of it.

Working with Fix Gaming Channel

We hear from solo developers, studios, publishers, PR teams, writers, contributors, interns, and creative professionals. Our Work With Us page explains the different ways to get involved, from editorial pitches and interview opportunities to contributing articles.

For developers and PR teams, that means you are approaching a publication, not automatically requesting a YouTube upload. For writers and emerging contributors, it means there is room to pitch reporting, reviews, interviews, and feature ideas. Not every proposal will be the right fit, and sending a pitch does not guarantee publication.

Fix Access is separate from editorial coverage

Fix Access is our paid developer-services arm. Its work can include private mock reviews, playtesting feedback, Steam page audits, press-kit feedback, trailer and messaging reviews, PR guidance, and outreach support.

Paying for Fix Access does not buy an article, a review, a favorable score, or guaranteed coverage. Editorial decisions remain independent. A private mock review is feedback for the developer, not a purchased public review.

Different channels, one home

You might find us through a search result, a shared interview, a gameplay video, or a TikTok clip. However you arrive, the website is where you can read across our coverage and get a fuller picture of the games and people we feature.

Fix Gaming Channel is a gaming publication with video and social channels, not a video channel with a website.

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The post What Is Fix Gaming Channel? A Website or a YouTube Channel? appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.

For this Fix Stories feature, solo developer Colin Teberg shares why he started building Iron Dice, a medieval grand strategy game designed around readable systems, meaningful decisions, and campaigns players can realistically finish.

Six years of solo development built around one simple problem: finishing the campaign

Colin has been working on Iron Dice since August 2020. With the game heading toward its November 2026 release and a public demo already available, this is his story in his own words.

Read more first-person developer and creator stories in Fix Stories.

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I love grand strategy games, but I almost never finish a campaign. I like choosing a country, looking at the neighbors, and deciding which piece of the map I want first. I like building an economy that can support a war, and finding out that the war I thought would be easy was a terrible idea. Somewhere along the way, though, I usually stop playing. I wanted to make a game that kept those decisions and got me through a whole campaign.

That’s where Iron Dice came from. I’ve been working on it solo since August 2020. Six years is a long time to spend making a game about finishing things, but here we are. It’s a medieval grand strategy game that runs in real time with pause, set in the kingdoms left behind after an empire falls apart. You build, trade, research, negotiate, and fight. The campaign covers 100 years, with a playing time designed to be around two to five hours. I still want room for a bad war, a recovery, and another attempt.

The length is only part of it. I also want to understand what I’m doing. If I spend money improving a province, I want to know what I bought. If my income drops, I want to be able to find out why. If I lose a battle, I want enough information to make a better decision next time. There is plenty of room for difficulty in that. Knowing how something works doesn’t mean you’ve figured out how to win.

A province is a good example. Taking it changes the border, which is satisfying on its own. But it also changes what your kingdom produces and earns. It may extend a trade chain. It gives you new neighbors and more ground to defend. I want the player to look at that province and have a reason to take it beyond wanting a bigger name on the map. Although wanting a bigger name on the map is a perfectly reasonable motivation too.

Trade connections across the map. A province can matter for its place in a trade chain.

That means spending time on fairly small things. An income number needs a breakdown. A building needs to tell you about its upkeep before you commit to it. A button you can’t use needs to explain what you’re missing. Those details don’t make much of a screenshot by themselves, but they matter when you’re trying to decide whether you can afford another army. The calculation can be complicated. Getting an answer to that question shouldn’t be.

The province economy view, with production, improvements, and a breakdown of income.

War has the same problem. Before moving an army, you can inspect its destination, arrival time, enemy strength, and estimated outcome. An estimate gives you something to base a decision on. You still have to decide whether the fight is worth taking, whether you can replace the losses, and what happens elsewhere while your army is busy. I like those questions. They’re the reason to have an economy and diplomacy in the same game as the fighting.

Working alone puts all of this back on me. I write the rules, then I have to explain them in the interface and teach them in the tutorial. In the tutorial, even building walls means covering their cost, upkeep, construction time, and what they do when an enemy arrives. It’s easy to treat that as one obvious action when you already know the game. For someone opening it for the first time, there’s a lot in that one click.

The public demo has been useful in making that distinction less theoretical. Some early players said the game was too hard and the world lacked flavor. That’s a fairly direct response to a game I’m trying to make approachable. It also gives me two different problems to work on. Players need to understand the decisions, but they also need reasons to care about the kingdom they’re making them for. Having the systems in place doesn’t settle either question.

One concrete change was the scope of the demo. It had a ten-year limit. I changed it to include the full 100-year campaign on Anvil, alongside the tutorial. Anvil has 19 playable kingdoms and 201 provinces. The full game has more maps, but the demo lets you finish the campaign you started. For a game built around wanting to finish a campaign, cutting the demo off early was a strange way to introduce it.

I’m now preparing for October Steam Next Fest. The demo is already public, so there’s a playable game for people to judge while I keep working on it. The questions I care about are fairly practical: where did you get stuck, what was confusing, was the difficulty interesting, and did you want to keep going? A working feature isn’t much use if nobody can make sense of it, and a clear interface isn’t enough if the decisions underneath it are dull.

I don’t expect Iron Dice to replace the enormous strategy games I enjoy. I wanted another option: pick a kingdom, make some plans, get a few of them wrong, and reach the end. That’s the game I’m trying to finish making.

Iron Dice

Release: November 2026

Genre: Grand Strategy, Strategy

Developer / Publisher: Steady State Scientific Computing / Steady State Scientific Computing

Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux via Steam

Fix Gaming Channel: Fix Stories gives developers and creators room to tell the stories behind their work directly in their own words. Colin Teberg’s submitted story above has been preserved in his voice and formatted for publication by Fix Gaming Channel.

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The post Fix Stories: Why I Built a Grand Strategy Game I Could Actually Finish appeared first on Fix Gaming Channel.