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- One month, 9 new games!
It’s been 10 months since I’ve been playing and reviewing games with my team. And May 2025 has to be the best month of them all!
Why? As the title hinted, we got to play brand-new games from the campaigns! 9 to be exact. All of them (barring one) were from the Micro May Campaign on Kickstarter.
All 9 games had something unique to offer and I loved that. Be it game mechanics, narrative, story or concept. Kudos to all these talented game designers for crafting such unique experiences for us
I’m dedicating this week’s newsletter to giving you a walkthrough of the games we experienced in May.
Sequel to MonToons: Clash of the Coral Isles that pulls you into an expanding universe. Loved the game for its depth and all the mini-games it has. It is a 2 to 4 player game, highly recommended for those who’d like to take their time and have an epic clash with friends over a game night! Status: Fully funded, 600%+
First time I played a game that fused reading and playing together. It has a nicely illustrated novella with it, along with a few mini-games. Perfect for slow, quiet evenings.
The mini-games on each levels were well balanced by the narration of the novella. The artwork of the novella is breath taking! Status: Fully funded, 1152%
Cat Spotting
3. Cat Spotting
Inspired by 'Where's Waldo?', it's a fun party game with 100+ illustrated cats that you need to spot from crowd cards. Silly, easy to learn, and entertaining. The campaign is still LIVE, so make sure to back the game if you’re interested! Status: Fully funded, 1120%.
The campaign is at its half-way stage, so make sure to back the game if it’s your type.
A game that wow-ed me with its story and game mechanics. How?
For a start, it’s a memory-and-write game, the likes of which I’ve never encountered in my PNP journey to date. As if that doesn’t make the game unique enough, you also take on the unusual role of a crime scene cleaner! With each level of the game testing your memory, and persistence of not getting caught, I thoroughly enjoyed the game.
Status: Fully funded, 543%. Less than 12 days are left in its campaign on Gamefound.
Frankly, it’s an underrated game that I feel is not talked about enough. It brings something fresh to the table, so I’d highly urge everyone to check the game out!
Cleaning Service
Based on the fairy tale, it's a race against time to get Cinderella to the palace and then help her escape in time. Really liked how the game tracks time without a timer, and how each card adds to a branching maze that opens up multiple paths to navigate through. The 18-card game's 36 sides have been utilized really well. Status: Fully funded, 2180%.
The campaign ended, but you can still pledge. The campaign blazed all guns, it’s the highest-funded game among all that I played in May.
My first-ever 3D PNP that fits in the palm of your hands. It was the story that caught my attention first, more than the game itself. A strong contender for game nights! Status: Fully funded, by 548 backers.
Another classic from Denis Kurdiukov, about a post-apocalyptic unpaid internship! It's a game where you try to balance multiple ends to survive, attack zombies, scout locations, and rebel against the greedy raiders. Status: Fully funded, 188%. The campaign is at its half-way stage.
This is the second game I played that Denis has created, and really enjoyed it. For me, games are all about bringing unique experiences to my life, and Feral State: Revolt has certainly done it. Check it out of you’re up for a post-apocalyptic game that gives epic Mad Max vibes!
Feral State: Revolt
A solo card game where you're an archeologist stuck in a collapsing tomb. Use the parchments to decipher the hieroglyphs before the tomb becomes your own. It's an enticing game of creating words and strategically balance collecting parchments and deciphering hieroglyphs to maximize your score. Status: Fully funded, 982%.
It’s still available for late pledges, so grab it while you can. It’s already earned a spot in my personal Ancient Egypt Hall of Fame!
Hyperdrive Odyssey is a solo game fusing strategy and narration that puts you in command of a trading vessel navigating the perilous edges of space, with the entire experience divided into missions.
In other words, space exploration meets engine building, resource management, and taking many tough calls! It does a great job of fusing series of mini-games with cohesive, branching narratives. Status: Fully funded, 514%.
Hyperdrive Odyssey’s campaign started in late May, and it had quite a fiery start. There are still 14 days left in the campaign, so back the game if it’s your type.
Hyperdrive Odyssey
And that’s it!
If you’re curious about these games, click the title to read the review article, or click the status to visit the game’s campaign page.
That’s all for today!
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