What We’re Playing & Looking Forward To in 2025

Jason Green
Feb 6
4 min read

Hello everyone,

While development on Project Nocturnal continues behind the scenes, we wanted to take a moment to talk about something a little different this week—what we’ve been playing and what we’re looking forward to in the gaming world. As game developers, we love diving into other games, not just for fun, but also for inspiration. Whether it’s a well-crafted RPG, a tightly designed multiplayer experience, or an engaging narrative-driven game, there’s always something to take away.

What We’re Playing Right Now

Enshrouded – A Survival RPG That Hits the Right Balance

Enshrouded has been a pleasant surprise. It blends survival mechanics with RPG elements in a way that just works. The open-ended class system allows for flexibility—switching between playstyles without being locked into one forever, which is a refreshing take on RPG progression. The NPC and base-building system is another standout feature, much like Terraria—you find characters in the world, bring them to your settlement, and they provide quests, workstations, and rewards.

The game also delivers a great sense of adventure. What initially seems like a quick dungeon crawl can turn into an intense 30-minute expedition, facing off against high-level enemies and exploring vast underground ruins. The art style reminds us of Breath of the Wild, and its mix of Diablo and Path of Exile mechanics makes for a satisfying blend of action and strategy. The only downside? A few settings make death a more convenient way to return to base than actually escaping—but hey, it’s all part of the fun!

The Walking Dead – First Time Experiencing the Classic

This is our first time playing The Walking Dead, and as a studio that’s passionate about narrative-driven games, it’s been an exciting experience. Interactive stories like this—and games like Detroit: Become Human—are a big inspiration for us. They highlight the power of choice-driven storytelling, where every decision shapes the journey.

As a studio, we believe in using games as a way to explore real-world themes and speculative design. Games like The Walking Dead excel at this, presenting players with difficult moral decisions that make them reflect on their own values. It’s the kind of storytelling we’d love to incorporate into our future projects.

Dead by Daylight – The Late-Night Go-To

Dead by Daylight remains a great game to hop into when we want something quick and engaging. It’s one of those rare multiplayer games where a single match can be intense, strategic, and fun, all within a short play session. While the balance isn’t always perfect (hello, frustrating tunneling!), the thrill of outsmarting a killer or pulling off a last-minute escape never gets old.

Lately, the new 2v8 mode has made the game even more enjoyable. Playing as a killer is fun, but coordinating with another killer in a chaotic match brings a new level of strategy that’s refreshing compared to the standard modes.

What We’re Excited About

Split Fiction – The Next Great Co-op Experience?

Made by the same team behind It Takes Two, Split Fiction is shaping up to be a game we’re really excited for. The team at Hazelight has perfected the art of co-op gameplay, and their “Friend Pass” system is an incredible way to make multiplayer games more accessible.

As a studio, we’ve always been interested in creating cooperative experiences, and games like this show how engaging two-player storytelling can be. The mix of fantasy and sci-fi is intriguing, and from what we’ve heard, it’s going to be even bigger than It Takes Two. Could it be another Game of the Year winner? We wouldn’t be surprised!

Space Engineers 2 – A Sci-Fi Sandbox Done Right

We’ve put a lot of hours into Space Engineers, enjoying both the survival and creative aspects. While the first game was great, it had its rough edges, and Space Engineers 2 seems to be addressing many of those issues. Better building mechanics, improved survival systems, and a planned story mode all point to a more refined experience.

The idea of building bases and ships in space while managing resources and survival mechanics has always been a fascinating concept. If they pull off everything they’ve promised, this could be a huge leap forward for the series.

How These Games Inspire Us

Playing other games always sparks ideas for our own projects. While Project Nocturnal has its own unique vision, the RPG mechanics in Enshrouded, the narrative depth of The Walking Dead, and the cooperative storytelling of Split Fiction all remind us of elements we love and want to explore more in the future.

One of our biggest goals is to create meaningful experiences through speculative design—games that make players think and reflect on real-world issues through engaging mechanics and storytelling. Games like Detroit: Become Human have been a huge inspiration for us in this area, and we’d love to experiment more with that in future projects.