In the past, Simon has been elected our spokesperson for Gamescom; however, this year, I was let out of my digital cage and set free to roam the vast halls, get lost, and demo some incredible upcoming titles.
I was also fortunate enough to book out specific slots ahead of time, so each game I played was already one to catch my eye. That is to say, my Gamezebo at Gamescom 2026 feature will provide a quick glimpse into the fantastic samples and diverse indie projects I had the enriching opportunity to explore.
If you’ll give me a couple of minutes, I’d be honoured to highlight these projects and hopefully help them find more audience.
Gamezebo at Gamescom 2026
God Save Birmingham
Kicking off with God Save Birmingham, a title that immediately caught my attention because, well, I’ve been to Birmingham, and it’s somewhat of a PvP-enabled zone. I had no idea what to expect from GSB, but was so pleasantly surprised by how dreadful it is. (In a good way!)
The game takes place in medieval Birmingham, and imagines what would happen to a regular man of the time if he awoke to an entire town full of zombies. There are no special perks or power-ups, just you, your linen trousers, and whatever you find for survival.
I asked the DEV why Birmingham? To which he so kindly answered: Birmingham has a long and rich middle age history, with a lot of research attributed to the Birmingham Museum. It’s a recognisable place, yet quaint enough to scale into a game. The team wanted a small city as the focus, so as not to overwhelm world-builders during early development.
God Save Birmingham is the most evil cosy game. I remember leaving the small farmstead, turning a corner, and being met with the endless expanse of rolling hills, and the unnatural bobbing of zombies as they slumped around. Creepy!
It has an essence of primal realism, dappling in more stats than I would have considered. Hunger, thirst, dirtiness, drunkenness, warmth, etc. It quite literally is the most raw Project Zomboid-inspired experience I think I’ve ever played.
So, if you like physics-driven, resourceful and crafty sandbox games, I highly suggest giving this one a look.
Rain98
I am SO excited to talk about Rain98. I’ve been on a huge visual novel kick lately, and Rain98’s theming and aesthetic are oh so tasteful. To be honest, calling it a visual novel almost dilutes expectations, as I didn’t anticipate it to be so animated and atmospheric.
The story, even in its absurdity, feels so grounded; the day-to-day chores and choices breeding familiarity. Each scene is a miniature movie, something always moving or interactable. Not once did I find myself staring at a still illustration for long, gorgeous as they are.
Rain98 finds its normalcy in soft piano melodies, the gentle fog of Reina’s cigarette smoke dancing away into the air, or the pittering of rain that weeps showers outside the apartment. All of these placid and menial actions lull into false security, making that ever-present feeling that we shouldn’t be here, and something is deeply wrong, almost mute.
All this to say, Rain98 is incredible at mood. It’s unsettling, yet domestic. Absurd, and yet just realistic enough to compel. Even now I’m yearning for more and questioning who Reina and the MC are in this macabre, sombre, but otherwise normal world. Is Reina who she says she is? And how on earth did the MC travel back in time, just in time, to stop Reina from…?
Reina herself is an interesting lead. Her line delivery aches my heart. Her constant disinterest and sullen mood make her disturbing entrance feel so much more raw.
I only hope this segment reads as a love letter to Rain98 and the amazing team working on it. I was gutted when the demo concluded after a short 30 minutes. However, I have been informed that a longer demo (approx 1 hr+) will soon be available. Yay!
Reply All
Reply All is a roguelike deckbuilder, where all the combat takes place as snarky back-and-forth email chains against many punny-named colleagues.
The first thing I noticed about Reply All is the nod to the modern Corporate Memphis art style. Very clever. The exaggerated proportions, bold colours, and interesting shapes were such a genius stylistic choice for this game.
You play as Charisma, a recent recruit tasked with keeping the office in line during delivery pickup. No ticket, no parcel! I enjoyed the card combos and reading the catty email previews as I built my reply once strategic card at a time.
Towards the end of my demo, I had enough cards to combo-chain; stacking shields, or going all-in on aggressive replies to incoming inquiries. I only wish I had longer, as the replayability is definitely there.
Another fun feature I liked was desk upgrades, which are a more permanent solution before heading into an email chain. With limited space and diverse perks, it reminded me a lot of Balatro; plus, I just love a little cosmetic, even if it is a greasy pizza slice.
Delphinium
Cosy and harrowing, I only wish I could’ve explored Delphinium longer. After discovering this game has been lovingly handcrafted by a solo DEV, my mind was blown. Delphinium is absolutely gorgeous and so full of movement. Truly a visual delight.
I treasured the larger pixelated character models, their movement and details extra captivating; I found the art style really helped my immersion. I love a good classic cosy farming game with villager interactions, but I usually struggle to feel invested in the NPCs and their story. However, Delphinium has such stunning character designs, dialogue, and scenery that I left longing for more.
Plus, the game explores queerness through intentional means, which will always warm my heart as someone who is very much queer and proudly nestled into the community.
Unfortunately, I only got a drip-feed of the overarching story, but I just know it’s going to be brutal and beautiful. I hope returning to her roots in the mountain town helps Haiyan process her grief and realise who she is and her place in this war-torn world.
Fractured Blooms
A psychological-horror, time-twisting narrative game. The game masks itself as a cosy life-sim, where you play as Angie, a lonely girl who lives in her worn-down childhood home. Each day, she tends to the garden, cooks a meal, and rushes to complete chores before bedtime.
And each new day, she resets and repeats this time loop, watching as the home she grew up in warps into something unrecognisable and unfamiliar, dressed in brilliant red blooms and tendril-like roots.
As a choice-matters game, Fractured Blooms leaves the fate of Angie and the home in your hands, which is horrifying, frankly. I found the demo to be so uncomfortable, the music eerie, and the visuals almost dream-like, as though Angie is constantly reliving grief and dissociating.
I was immediately hooked on the plot, and never once found the new day cycles repetitive, despite the domestic tasks and gameplay simplicity. Fractured Blooms lets the story breathe, and the air here is thick and choking. You cannot avoid it.
I have so much faith in this game, especially since it’s published by Serenity Forge, who was also the publisher behind Doki Doki Literature Club, another fantastic psychological horror I’ve loved for almost a decade now.
Byterockers
Not a game name, but a whole company! Byterockers were so kind to host me whilst I played three of their upcoming games, spanning a multitude of genres and styles.
Deesicks
First, Deesicks, an insect bullet-hell. Usually, I’m not the market for bullet-hells, as I absolutely suck at them, but Deesicks had such a charm to it that I had to give it a go, and to my surprise, I found it easy to pick up and play, and I didn’t suck!
Each battle takes place in a circle, so I was able to move left to right, up and down, without worrying about forwards and backwards. At the end of each battle, I’d contribute new cards to my deck, and roll dice to maximise the potential of my stacks.
In particular, I loved the pixelated visuals and incredible sound design. The music was great company whilst I whipped around the playing field. I definitely sensed some Ultrakill meets Hollow Knight in there, intentional or not. (Which is a great thing!)
The Regreening
I always love a cosy farming simulator, and The Regreening is no exception. The Regreening somewhat took me back to the old days of Facebook games, when I’d clock in to play Farmville for hours. Granted, thats a poor comparison, which I only draw because of the habitat restoration.
The game takes place in a somewhat post-apocalyptic Earth. The land is barren and dry, animals struggle to acclimatise, and humans are far and far between. You take the role of a granddaughter, with the special touch and capacity to rebuild habitats and ecosystems to regreen the population and planet.
I found the demo super rewarding and relaxing. Watching so much life breathe back into the plots I’d tended had an essence of poetry to it. We can be the difference we want to see, both in-game and out.
The art style has an almost painted look to it too, which I don’t see often in modern farming simulators, after the Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley pixelated boom. Waiter, waiter, more paintery soilpunk fairytale simulators, please!
Oku
Finally, from Byterockers, I tried Oku, a traditional Japanese-inspired hand-drawn poetry experience. I knew I wanted to give this game a go because I love creating art, and the message of the world fading without art really struck a chord within me, especially with the current surplus of invasive AI tactics and generative theft.
Oku was incredibly relaxing. You move slowly, study the land, and form poems about your adventures, immortalising that moment whilst embracing the change of tomorrow.
Following the legacy of your tutor, you complete miniature puzzles and graceful tasks to unlock new areas and reimagine the world around you through wordplay. It’s a very no-stakes, no-stress experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Author Commentary
Wow. Firstly, if you’re reading this, thank you! This was my first time attending Gamescom, and I certainly hope it isn’t the last. I had such a fantastic time playing all these games (and more), and I hope my admiration for each project shines through in their dedicated headings.
Obviously, this feature has bias. But some games moved me more than others, and I’d like to give extra special credit and love to Rain98 and Delphinium. Between these two, I was so enriched and left wanting more, and I’ll definitely be following closely for demos and game release announcements so I can finally enjoy them in full.
I hope that, in reading this, you found something to look forward to, be it a genre you already love, or one you’re willing to try out. And, if you’d like to know what else I got up to at Gamescom, check out my feature covering what HoYoverse revealed at Gamescom 2026!
To those who hosted me during the event, thank you <3.
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