Fieldcraft Scout logo

Fieldcraft Scout

Archives
Log in
Subscribe
August 25, 2026

Alchi - a deckbuilder where you mutate the cards themselves

Fieldcraft Scout

Forwarded this? Get the next one.


Just dropped

Seventy-two demos dropped yesterday, nearly all self-published, with simulation and strategy tags leading the pack, though only six had already picked up player reviews by the time we looked. The picks below stood out on craft and distinctiveness among the new arrivals, or for the early review signal they are already drawing.

The big arrival

Not a find: this one landed with an audience already waiting.

Among Shadows

Among Shadows

by TMXN Games   Self-published

Party Game · Action · Strategy · RPG · Multiplayer · Online Co-Op

A fast-paced combat game with a deduction layer bolted on: your own squad may be hiding infiltrators, and the Blood Moon does not wait for you to figure out who.

323 people already playing its demo on day one

Play the demo ›

Today's pick

Alchi

Alchi

by HOMEK   Self-published

Roguelike Deckbuilder · Deckbuilding · Card Game · Card Battler · Roguelike · Roguelite

Why it leads: our strongest combined read on craft plus distinctiveness, out of the 72 demos that dropped yesterday.

A roguelike deckbuilder that lets you physically mutate and mix cards together rather than just stacking effects, which changes how combos actually get built.

Play the demo ›

Also worth a look

Castle Away

Castle Away

by René Slump   Published by Renegade Games

Roguelite · Auto Battler · Base Building · Strategy · Deckbuilding · Medieval

A hand-drawn fortress-builder where the castle itself flies into battle against an Archdemon, blending base construction with combat encounters.

Play the demo ›

Incremental Heaven

Incremental Heaven

by Pick Your Universe   Self-published

Action · 2D · Atmospheric · Singleplayer · Arcade · Bullet Heaven

An incremental game that runs from tiny mech to cosmic parasite to reality-warping cursor, stacking hundreds of upgrades along the way.

Play the demo ›

4:AM

4:AM

by Dark Zone Studios   Self-published

Adventure · Dark · Stealth · Puzzle · Indie · 3D

A stealth adventure built around a lethal-light dystopia, where the core trick is copying objects from the environment to improvise your escape.

1 early demo review(s)

Play the demo ›

Black Lotus

Black Lotus

by VNhub   Self-published

Adventure · Visual Novel · Otome · Romance · Female Protagonist · Dark Fantasy

A choice-driven visual novel dropping its protagonist into a dark fantasy novel, with relationship and trust mechanics steering toward different endings.

Play the demo ›

Catching on

Demos that launched in the last few days and are already getting noticed. From the moment a demo goes live we watch two things - the reviews players leave on the demo itself, and how many people are playing it right now. These are the ones where early players clearly like what they tried.

Lurking

Lurking

by Ctrl Freak   Self-published

Gore · Horror · Indie · Adventure · First-Person · Survival Horror

First-person survival horror in a building overrun by giant spiders, with scavenging for tools standing between you and getting out alive.

11 demo reviews so far, rated Positive; and climbing · 633 community-hub followers

Play the demo ›

The Unworthy

The Unworthy

by Meetkow   Self-published

Horror · Psychological Horror · Exploration · Adventure · Cinematic · Dark

A cinematic psychological horror framed as a survivor's testimony from clinical death, pitting you against something in the dark trying to keep you there.

12 demo reviews so far, rated Positive · 50 community-hub followers

Play the demo ›


Fieldcraft Scout reads every demo that drops on Steam and flags the few worth opening. Picks are notable / distinctive, not a quality verdict - the reviews decide that.

Built on public Steam store and community data. Not affiliated with Valve or Steam.

Spotted something we missed? Just reply - we read everything.

Made with love in Amsterdam 🇳🇱

Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Fieldcraft Scout:
← Newer Media Circus - run a tabloid empire staffed by cartoon animals Older → A Quiet Place Between Us - our top pick from yesterday's 21
Powered by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.