Tag Archives: indie games

Shift at Midnight: Gas Station Co-Op Horror Is Out Now on Steam and Game Pass

Working the night shift at a lonely gas station already sounds like a rough deal. But in Shift at Midnight, some of those customers aren’t quite human — and figuring out which ones before they figure out you is what makes this co-op horror game worth picking up today.

Shift at Midnight — blood-soaked convenience store interior after a creature breaks loose
Image courtesy of Kwalee

What Is Shift at Midnight?

Developed by solo developer Bun Muen and published by Kwalee, Shift at Midnight is an online co-op detective-horror game for up to three players. The premise: manage a rundown gas station convenience store during the dead of night, 1993. Stock the shelves, hit your revenue quota, and identify which customers are doppelgangers wearing a human face.

There’s no combat button. The whole experience runs on observation and communication. Talk to customers, inspect their head, clothes, limbs, and movements, then cross-reference everything against the in-game database with your teammates. Get it right and you log the sale. Get it wrong, and the doppelganger drops the act. Now you’re barricading doors, setting traps, and praying you survive until sunrise.

Each of the 13 Story Mode shifts is randomly generated, so no two nights play out the same. An Endless Mode — unlocked after finishing the story — is also available from launch, delivering endless chaos for squads who want more.

Watch the Launch Trailer

Shift at Midnight – Game Pass Trailer — via Kwalee Gaming on YouTube

Built for the Co-Op Horror Squad

Shift at Midnight sits somewhere between Lethal Company and Papers, Please — tense, deliberately lo-fi, and genuinely funny when your crewmate confidently accuses a perfectly innocent nurse of being a monster while the actual creature walks out unchallenged. The proximity voice chat means all that paranoia happens out loud, which makes both the tension and the chaos land harder.

Shift at Midnight — player verifying a customer's body parts in the detection menu
Image courtesy of Kwalee

The game’s free Steam demo drew over 4,500 user reviews at 99% positive before today’s full launch — a striking number for a debut release from an independent developer. That kind of word-of-mouth pull is hard to manufacture, and suggests the core loop delivers even in the limited demo build.

The 1993 Database You’ll Live In

Shift at Midnight — NET Database screen showing a customer profile set in 1993
Image courtesy of Kwalee

A good chunk of each shift is spent in the NET Database — a clunky, deliberately retro in-game computer that lets you look up a customer’s name, occupation, and physical description against what you actually observe in the store. The whole aesthetic leans into the 1993 setting: chunky pixel fonts, faded UI elements, the vibe of a dial-up-era system running something it probably shouldn’t. It keeps the atmosphere unsettling without needing a AAA budget to pull it off.

How Singapore Players Can Jump In Today

Shift at Midnight — two players confronting a glowing doppelganger outside the store at night
Image courtesy of Kwalee

Shift at Midnight is out now, 22 July 2026, across three platforms Singapore players can access:

  • Steam — USD$9.99, available on Singapore accounts right now
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — included at no extra cost from day one
  • Xbox Series X|S — available via the Xbox digital store

One thing worth noting: crossplay at launch connects PC Game Pass and Steam users but does not yet extend to Xbox console players — full crossplay is still in development. Check for updates on the official Steam store page.

If your gaming crew hasn’t found its next co-op horror obsession, Shift at Midnight is worth a trial shift. Catch up on more game launch news for everything else arriving in your backlog this week.

Ao Oni 2 Hits Switch and Steam on 6 August — Cult Horror RPG Returns with New Seaside School Scenario

The Blue Demon is back on modern platforms. Ao Oni 2 launches on Nintendo Switch and Steam on 6 August 2026, bundled with a brand-new companion scenario in a two-in-one package priced at ¥1,200 (approximately S$13–14). Developer Game Studio Inc. and publisher LiTMUS Co., Ltd. confirmed the August date earlier today — and for anyone who grew up watching Let’s Play videos of the original cult horror RPG, this is a genuine nostalgia moment.

Two Complete Horror Scenarios in One Package

Ao Oni 2 gameplay screenshot — exploring the school interior
Image courtesy of LiTMUS Co., Ltd. / Game Studio Inc.

The ¥1,200 bundle includes two fully separate scenarios:

Ao Oni 2 is the direct sequel to the original, picking up the same premise: protagonist Hiroshi and his friends are trapped in an abandoned building, puzzles must be solved, and the Blue Demon must be evaded. The sequel expands the room count, deepens the puzzle design, and adds new monster variants — all with higher production values than the original freeware release.

Ao Oni: Seaside School is the new addition. Hiroshi’s group takes a summer coastal school trip and wakes up imprisoned in the cells of an abandoned seaside building. Players must uncover the dark truth behind an incident that once shook the school while finding their separated friends and evading mutated Ao Oni species, some of which now take the form of twisted sea creatures. The scenario introduces a first-for-the-series stage-selection system — four stages playable in any order, with difficulty that scales based on which you tackle first, creating multiple distinct strategy routes per playthrough.

Both scenarios include a 17x speed mode, the fastest the series has shipped, up from 15x in the previous game.

Watch the Official Trailer

Ao Oni 2 Official PV — via ゲームスタジオ (Game Studio Inc.) on YouTube

Why Ao Oni Has a Cult Following in Singapore

Ao Oni 2 screenshot — tense encounter in a darkened corridor
Image courtesy of LiTMUS Co., Ltd. / Game Studio Inc.

If you’ve never met the Blue Demon: Ao Oni is a freeware horror puzzle game created by Japanese indie developer noprops in 2008, built in RPG Maker XP. The recipe is deceptively simple — a group of students, a haunted building, one monster, and a set of puzzles standing between you and escape. Its minimalist pixel-art presentation and deeply unsettling ambient score turned it into a viral sensation on Niconico Douga and early YouTube, logging over 50 million views by 2013. Global YouTubers — including PewDiePie and Markiplier — and a wave of Southeast Asian content creators brought it to audiences across the region. The franchise grew into anime, manga, light novels, three live-action films, and multiple game releases, with the series totalling 34 million downloads across platforms.

For Singapore players who caught the Let’s Play wave in the early 2010s, Ao Oni 2’s arrival on Switch and Steam is the series finally moving off free browser releases and onto mainstream storefronts. The accessible price point keeps it welcoming for newcomers too.

Physical Edition Lands in October

Ao Oni 2 promotional visual — Ao Oni: Seaside School new scenario
Image courtesy of LiTMUS Co., Ltd. / Game Studio Inc.

Beyond the August 6 digital launch, a physical Nintendo Switch edition releases 8 October 2026 with an early-purchase bonus: the Ao Oni Horror Pencil Set (青鬼ホラーえんぴつセット). Physical copies will be available first at Japanese retailers; regional import availability will depend on the usual import channels.

Ao Oni 2 launches digitally on Nintendo Switch and Steam on 6 August 2026. Check the Steam page to wishlist it now. More game news at GameTrader.SG →

The Mermaid Mask Out Now on PS5 and Switch 2

The locked-room murder is one of gaming’s most satisfying puzzles, and today SFB Games delivers its most polished version yet. The Mermaid Mask — the fourth entry in the beloved Detective Grimoire series — is out now on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

From Tangle Tower to the Mortuga Submarine

The Mermaid Mask case file notebook showing Captain Seafoam's letter and polaroid clues
Image courtesy of SFB Games

If you played Tangle Tower (2019), you already know SFB Games’ signature blend of hand-animated characters, sharp writing, and satisfying deductive puzzles. The Mermaid Mask transplants that formula to a new stage: the Mortuga Submarine, a hulking diesel vessel anchored off the abandoned fishing town of Silkwirm-on-Sea. The ship’s former captain, Magnus Mortuga, has been found dead inside a locked bulkhead room with no weapon present — an impossible crime that only Detective Grimoire can unravel.

SFB Games is also the studio behind Crow Country (2024), the acclaimed PSX-horror adventure, making them one of indie gaming’s most versatile outfits. Fans of either game should feel right at home here.

Watch the Official Trailer

The Mermaid Mask | Release Date Trailer — via SFB Games on YouTube

Eight Suspects, One Dead Captain, and a Logic Board That Does the Heavy Lifting

The Mermaid Mask deduction board showing suspects and clues around the question what happened to Magnus Mortuga
Image courtesy of SFB Games

Gameplay follows the Detective Grimoire rhythm: explore the submarine’s rooms, pick up fully 3D physical clues you can rotate to expose hidden details, and question eight fully voiced suspects — a mystic, a writer, an actor, an illusionist, and more — about their motives and alibis. Everything gets logged into a built-in notebook, which feeds into the game’s accusation board where you build the chain of events: who did it, how, and why.

The step up from Tangle Tower is in tactility — clues are three-dimensional objects you can manipulate, not just static images to click on, and the full orchestral score (performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra) gives interrogation scenes a cinematic tension that the earlier games lacked.

A Fully Voiced Cast Brings Every Suspect to Life

The Mermaid Mask suspect Wirman dialogue scene on the murder submarine
Image courtesy of SFB Games

Edwyn Tiong (Malaysian-born, based in Australia) reprises Detective Grimoire, his signature role since the original 2014 game, alongside Amber Lee Connors as the ever-sceptical Sally. The supporting cast includes Tara Langella, Steven Kearney, Justine Leah Hince, Anairis Quinones, Eric Morgan Stuart, Jacqui Bardelang, and Alex Bankier — each character expressively hand-animated and voiced to match SFB Games’ theatrical, darkly comedic tone.

Critical Reception: 9/10 at Launch

Shacknews awarded The Mermaid Mask a 9 out of 10 in their launch review, calling it a “smart, silly, and charming adventure that will lock mystery lovers into its intriguing tale” and noting it is “a captivating mystery that rewards whether you’re new to the series or have been along for the ride.”

Where to Get The Mermaid Mask in Singapore

The Mermaid Mask is available today on the PlayStation Store (PS5), the Nintendo eShop (Switch 2 and Switch), and Steam (PC). SFB Games also has a free demo on Steam if you want to sample the mystery before committing — it covers the opening chapter and gives a solid feel for the pacing. Check your regional storefront for local SGD pricing.

If you’re hunting for more puzzle and story-driven games to sink into, head to our Game News section for the latest releases landing in Singapore this month.

Hell Maiden Hits Steam Early Access Tomorrow — Dante’s Inferno Gets an Anime Makeover

What happens when you take Dante’s Divine Comedy, rebuild it as a 1990s anime series, and then turn that series into a Vampire Survivors-style horde survival deck-builder? You get Hell Maiden, and it drops on Steam Early Access tomorrow — 16 July 2026 — from Portuguese indie studio AstralShift.

A Second Trip Through the Nine Circles

Hell Maiden gameplay — Dante fights armoured skeleton hordes in a glowing circular arena
Image courtesy of AstralShift

The setup flips the classic poem’s premise: Dante has already reached Paradise once, but returns to Hell with no memory of how she got there or why she is back. Her only option is to fight through all nine circles again and claw her way back to the surface. It is a premise that sounds like an excuse to loop through the same content twice — except that Hell Maiden’s structure keeps each run feeling different through its card-based build system.

The core loop sits somewhere between Vampire Survivors and a roguelike deck-builder. Dante auto-attacks as waves of demons pile in, and every upgrade selection is handled through Spirit Cards — split into Weapon Cards (active attacks) and Mod Cards (passive augments). With 40-plus abilities at launch and companions from Classical literature who each unlock five new cards when rescued, there is a lot of build variety even in Early Access.

Hell Maiden | Gameplay Trailer — via AstralShift on YouTube

The Card System and Early Access Content

Hell Maiden card selection screen showing ornate Weapon Cards — Spellbound Conflagration, Will-o-the-Wisp and Defiance of Astrape
Image courtesy of AstralShift

At launch, the Early Access build covers the first two circles of Hell — Limbo and Lust — with their own enemy rosters, environmental hazards, quests and boss encounters. Four Poets of Limbo can be rescued across runs, and each one permanently unlocks a set of five new cards that expands your build options for future attempts. Additional abilities drop after each defeated boss, so the power curve within a single run feels genuinely different depending on which circles you push through.

AstralShift plans to add the remaining seven circles over the Early Access period, which is expected to run for at least a year before the full 1.0 release.

Mili Handles the Opening Theme

Hell Maiden story scene — Dante meets Homer in the Fields of Elysium
Image courtesy of AstralShift

The opening theme, “Not my Paradiso,” is by Mili — the Japanese-Canadian music collective behind tracks on the Honkai: Star Rail soundtrack and the Goblin Slayer OP. If those names ring a bell, you already have a sense of the tone: theatrical, melancholic, with gothic edges. The track premiered on YouTube today, the day before the game launches. For Singapore’s Honkai community in particular, Mili’s involvement is a genuine reason to pay attention to a game that might otherwise fly under the radar.

AstralShift’s previous games drew heavily from 1990s shoujo anime for their visual palette, and Hell Maiden extends that to a faster-paced action context — the result is something that looks closer to an animated feature than a typical horde survival game.

Where to Get It

Hell Maiden enters Steam Early Access on 16 July 2026 for Windows. SGD pricing is set by Steam’s regional pricing system — check the Steam store page directly for the Singapore price. Full controller support is included from day one. Fans of anime-style indie games and the Vampire Survivors genre would be doing themselves a disservice by sleeping on this one. Check out more game news on GameTrader for what else is launching this week.

Denshattack! Launches Tomorrow on Switch 2, PS5 and Steam

Tomorrow, Tuesday 15 July, is the day Denshattack! stops teasing and hits the tracks for real. Developed by Undercoders and published by Fireshine Games, it is the kind of game that resists a one-line pitch: imagine Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, except your board is an entire gravity-defying train and the backdrop is a neon Japanese dystopia built from the bones of the Dreamcast era.

Trick Your Train Through Dystopian Japan

Denshattack! puts you in the boots of Emi Araki, a 19-year-old ramen delivery driver who stumbles into the underground world of Denshattackers — rebels who pull skateboard-style stunts on trains to resist the Miraidō Corporation, a shadowy megacorp that has sealed the ultra-rich inside protective urban domes while the rest of Japan runs wild outside.

The gameplay is pure arcade satisfaction: ollie, kickflip, grind, and chain manuals across 60+ stages roaming through recognisable Japanese regions — Kyushu, Osaka, Tokyo, Hokkaido — before spilling into fantastical set pieces that defy geography entirely. Boss battles escalate from eccentric to completely unhinged, each drawing from regional gang culture to keep the surprises coming.

Denshattack! train riding a pink looping track through a surreal landscape
Image courtesy of Fireshine Games

Watch the Official Trailer

Denshattack! — Creator Reveal Trailer via Fireshine Games on YouTube

A Soundtrack Worth the Ticket Alone

The music is one of Denshattack!’s genuine standout credentials. Undercoders brought in Tee Lopes — the composer behind the Sonic Mania soundtrack and a go-to name for that electric Y2K arcade energy — alongside Richard Jacques and SEGA veteran vocalist Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. The full game ships with both English and Japanese voice acting, and the aesthetic sits squarely in Dreamcast territory: if Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi had a train-obsessed little sibling, Denshattack! would be it.

Denshattack! yellow train bursting through a manga-style speed lines effect
Image courtesy of Fireshine Games

Where to Play — and How to Get In Free First

Denshattack! launches tomorrow across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam. For Singapore Xbox subscribers it arrives as a Day One Xbox Game Pass addition (Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers), which is the easiest entry point if you are already on the service.

A free demo is live right now on Steam and on Switch 2 if you want to feel the trick system before committing. The demo has earned Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam — a rare signal for a pre-launch build. Check the Steam store page for SGD pricing.

Denshattack! customised yellow train racing along gold tracks with a giant boss looming
Image courtesy of Fireshine Games

For fans of the Japan-culture aesthetic, the Y2K arcade soundtrack, or just anyone who bounced off Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and wants the same energy at a faster pace — Denshattack! looks like a strong bet. Keep an eye on Game News for first impressions once the review embargo lifts at launch tomorrow.

Moonlight Peaks Is Out Now — Vampire Farming Hits Switch 2

If your gaming week already has you queuing up for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, here’s something to keep the evening cosy while you wait. Moonlight Peaks — a gothic cozy farming sim from Dutch indie studio Little Chicken and publisher XSEED Games — launched today, 7 July 2026, on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, macOS, and Android. Early reviews are glowing, with scores sitting between 7 and 9.5 out of 10 across multiple outlets.

Stardew Valley, But Make It Vampire

Top-down farming gameplay in Moonlight Peaks showing crops and a bat familiar at night
Image courtesy of Little Chicken / XSEED Games

The premise flips the genre’s golden formula on its head: you are Count Dracula’s child, tired of the family legacy, who packs a coffin and moves to the spooky mountain town of Moonlight Peaks to start a quieter life. Because your character is a vampire, every single farming chore, foraging trip, and social outing happens at night. There is no sunrise. The day-night cycle that usually structures a cozy farming game is replaced entirely by moonrise and moonset, which critics say keeps the atmosphere spooky without ever feeling claustrophobic.

The core loop will be familiar — grow mystical crops, keep supernatural animals, craft potions, earn gold — but the nocturnal twist reshapes how it plays. Your bat familiar helps automate watering; spell-casting replaces the standard tool upgrades; and the town’s calendar is filled with supernatural festivals instead of harvest fairs.

Moonlight Peaks – Release Date Trailer — via XSEEDgames on YouTube

A Town Full of Odd but Loveable Neighbours

Dialogue scene in Moonlight Peaks with Death character in a Hawaiian shirt at a café table
Image courtesy of Little Chicken / XSEED Games

Moonlight Peaks has 24 romance-able and befriendable townspeople — a line-up that includes werewolves, witches, mermaids, a pumpkin-headed village elder, and, yes, Death himself (who appears to enjoy hanging out in casual beachwear). Reviewers have singled out the writing as a highlight, noting that each character feels distinct and the dialogue lands its jokes without trying too hard.

The town also hosts seasonal festivals that pull everyone together and unlock story beats, which gives long-term players a reason to plan their in-game schedule around events rather than just farming efficiency.

Dungeons, Spells, and Things That Go Bump

Dungeon exploration in Moonlight Peaks — blue-lit underground chamber with a supernatural creature
Image courtesy of Little Chicken / XSEED Games

Alongside the farming and socialising, Moonlight Peaks includes dungeon areas that add a light action layer to the loop — think Stardew Valley’s mines, but with more gothic architecture and stranger monsters. Spells replace weapons, and your vampire abilities give combat a distinct feel from the usual genre fare. It’s not a deep action game, but it adds enough variety to keep the nights interesting between festival days.

Town Festivals and Spooky Seasonal Events

Seasonal festival in Moonlight Peaks with pumpkins and townspeople gathered around Pumpkin Head
Image courtesy of Little Chicken / XSEED Games

Seasonal festivals are where Moonlight Peaks earns some of its best moments. The town gathers, unique characters appear, and special seasonal crops unlock. Think of it as the game’s equivalent of Stardew’s Egg Festival or Winter Star — except the centrepiece is a pumpkin-headed emcee and the decorations are considerably more gothic.

Price and How to Play

The Switch 2 Edition is priced at US$39.99 (the standard Switch and PC version sits at US$34.99 on Steam, currently discounted 15% to US$29.74 during launch week). A digital deluxe edition is also available. No SGD eShop pricing has been confirmed at time of writing — check the Singapore Nintendo eShop and major game retailers for local pricing. Physical release in Japan with English language support has been confirmed with pre-orders already open, making it a solid import option for collectors.

XSEED Games is the label behind Story of Seasons and many beloved Marvelous titles, so if Moonlight Peaks catches on it will not be the last we hear of it. Worth a look on the Switch 2 launch lineup — it is available right now.

Hantu and Hunted: Singapore Studio Zeevium Games Drops Gameplay Reveal

A Singapore studio just put our own folklore on the map — and made it terrifying. Hantu and Hunted (stylised HaH!), an asymmetric horror prop-hunt game built around the legendary ghosts of Southeast Asia, has dropped its official gameplay reveal. Developer Zeevium Games is a local Singapore studio, and the game is now live on Steam for wishlisting ahead of an Early Access launch targeting Q4 2026.

Hantu and Hunted – Official Gameplay Reveal | Southeast Asian Horror Prop Hunt — via Zeevium Games on YouTube

What Is Hantu and Hunted?

At its core, HaH! is an asymmetric game of hide-and-seek — but instead of cowering in a corner, the humans can morph into props to avoid detection. Meanwhile, one or more players step into the role of a Hantu, a Southeast Asian ghost with the sole purpose of sniffing out the living.

There are no guns, no upgrade trees, and no health bars to grind. Your survival depends entirely on how convincingly you can pretend to be a crate. Or a lamp. Or a durian. Yes, a durian.

Hantu and Hunted prop morph gameplay screenshot
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

A match plays out in three acts. First, The Awakening: players pick their roles — humans scramble for cover while the Hantus lurk in the shadows. Then comes the main phase, Hide or Hunt: humans must move through the map collecting Batuprana crystals and feeding them into Rupavarna Machines to power up their escape. Working together speeds things up, but any noise draws the Hantu’s attention. Finally, The Final Escape: once the machines are humming, portals open — and it becomes a mad dash for the exit before the Hantu reaches full power.

Meet the Hantus — Southeast Asian Folklore in the Spotlight

Hantu and Hunted playable ghost characters from SEA folklore
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

This is where HaH! stands apart from every Western prop-hunt game on the market. Instead of a generic masked killer or a jump-scare creature, the ghost roster is drawn directly from Southeast Asian mythology — the kind of folklore most Singapore kids grew up hearing about:

  • Pocong — the bound shroud ghost of Malay and Indonesian tradition
  • Kuntilanak — the malevolent female spirit that haunts tropical forests
  • Kuyang — the infamous flying-head entity from Borneo and Sabah lore
  • Hantu Raya — a powerful, commanding ghost rooted deep in Malay belief
  • Amalanhig — a zombie-like pursuer from Filipino mythology

Each ghost has a distinct toolkit designed to flush out hiding humans, so choosing which Hantu to play will shape your entire hunting strategy.

Your Best Weapon Is a Durian

Hantu and Hunted multiplayer prop-hunt action
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

For the human side, the morph mechanic is everything. Players can transform into hundreds of objects scattered across each map — chairs, crates, barrels, and yes, a durian. Maps include environments like an eerie village and a floating market, both thick with furniture and everyday objects to blend into. The catch: collecting Batuprana crystals requires movement, and movement makes noise.

Tension escalates as the match goes on. Both sides unlock power spikes as crystals are collected, pushing the final moments of each round into a high-intensity finale where the Hantu reaches its most terrifying form. It is designed to be the kind of game where one wrong step triggers a full-volume Discord meltdown.

Built by Singapore, Built for Southeast Asia

Hantu and Hunted eerie village map environment
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

Zeevium Games is a local Singapore studio, making HaH! a rare local indie production targeting the global PC market. The game launches with proximity voice chat built in — hear the Hantu breathing as it closes in on you — and it is designed explicitly for multiplayer chaos with friends.

Crucially for regional players, the game will support Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese at launch, alongside English and several European languages. That language list reads like the Steam storefront’s own Southeast Asian wishlist, and it signals that Zeevium is targeting the home audience deliberately.

The Early Access launch is slated for Q4 2026 on Windows PC via Steam. No SGD pricing has been announced yet. You can add it to your Steam wishlist now to be notified when it drops. For more local and regional game releases, check out our Singapore Gaming Scene coverage.

Deltarune Chapter 5 Drops Tonight — The Field of Pink and Gold Out at 11pm SGT

Toby Fox’s Deltarune Chapter 5: The Field of Pink and Gold is arriving tonight at 11pm SGT (11am EDT) — a free update for anyone who owns the existing Chapter 1–4 bundle. Singapore Switch 2 owners, clear some time this evening.

DELTARUNE – Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026 — via Nintendo of America on YouTube

Free for Owners Across Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and PC

Chapter 5 is a free update for players who have already purchased the Chapters 1–4 bundle, priced at USD$24.99 (check your regional storefront for local SGD pricing). The update rolls out automatically on:

  • Nintendo Switch & Nintendo Switch 2
  • PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5
  • PC (Windows) and Mac

It is worth noting that Deltarune Chapters 1 and 2 have always been free to download separately on PC and Mac — so if you’ve been putting off trying the game, tonight is a genuinely good entry point before Chapter 5 adds even more story to catch up on.

What We Know About Chapter 5

Toby Fox has kept the specifics close to his chest. The Nintendo Direct reveal on 9 June gave us a glimpse of Kris, Susie, and Ralsei back in action — tackling new battles and exploring what looks like a temple setting. The new trailer showed an emotional moment where Ralsei enthusiastically declares his feelings for Susie in his characteristically endearing style, alongside a handful of new adversaries and returning faces. Nothing about the chapter title, “The Field of Pink and Gold,” has been explained — which is exactly how Toby Fox likes it.

Deltarune Chapter 5 key art thumbnail
Image courtesy of Toby Fox / tobyfox

Deltarune follows Kris in a parallel world called the Dark World, where they team up with classmate Susie and a mysterious being named Ralsei. Chapters 1 and 2 were released back in 2021, with Chapters 3 and 4 arriving together in 2024. The game is a spiritual successor to Undertale and shares its signature blend of RPG combat and emotionally charged storytelling.

Chapter 6 Is Already Ahead of Schedule

Toby Fox has confirmed that development on Chapter 6 is well ahead of where Chapter 5 was at the same stage. Work on Chapter 7 is reportedly set to begin before the end of 2026. That kind of momentum is a significant signal that the series is accelerating towards its conclusion — a pleasant contrast to the multi-year gaps between earlier chapters.

Last Words

For Singapore gamers, Chapter 5 hits tonight at 11pm SGT. If you’re on Nintendo Switch 2, it’s already in your library — just check the eShop for the update. If you’re on Steam or PSN Asia, expect it to appear right around midnight. Deltarune has been one of the most carefully crafted indie RPGs of the past decade, and “The Field of Pink and Gold” finally gets to tell us what happens next. Don’t stay up too late. Or do. Check out more game news on GameTrader for everything else landing this week.

Until Then: Afterimages DLC Is Out Now

The Until Then: Afterimages DLC is out today on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC — adding two brand-new story chapters to the Overwhelmingly Positive-rated Philippine-made narrative adventure set in the streets of Metro Manila.

Until Then: Afterimages – Release Date Trailer — via Maximum Entertainment on YouTube

What’s in the Afterimages DLC?

Afterimages introduces two new standalone chapters that follow supporting characters from the base game as they reckon with grief, growth, and the passage of time.

Chapter 1: Homecoming (Sofia)

Sofia returns to her hometown during a lockdown — familiar places have changed, people have moved on. The chapter explores what it means to revisit a life you once left behind.

Chapter 2: Sparks (Mark)

Mark is now the head of a college organisation where he finds an unexpected romance and reconnects with an old friend. It is quieter than the main game’s drama, but no less affecting.

Until Then: Afterimages DLC gameplay screenshot
Image courtesy of Maximum Entertainment

New Gameplay and Features in the DLC

Alongside the two new narrative chapters, Afterimages adds a handful of fresh mini-games — tarot card reading and baking feature prominently — plus expanded in-game smartphone content including dating app conversations and video-sharing platforms. Fans who loved the base game’s chatty phone UI will feel right at home.

Until Then: Afterimages promotional artwork
Image courtesy of Maximum Entertainment

Now on Xbox — and a Physical Edition This September

Until Then is also now available on Xbox Series X|S for the first time, bringing Polychroma’s acclaimed game to Microsoft console players. If you prefer a disc on the shelf, a physical edition bundling both the base game and the Afterimages DLC arrives on September 3, 2026.

The DLC is priced at US$4.99 on Steam (base game required). Check your regional Steam store for local pricing.

Why Singapore Gamers Should Play It

Developer Polychroma Games is based in the Philippines, and Until Then is one of the most culturally grounded games to emerge from Southeast Asia — rendered in a stunning 2.5D pixel-art style and set in a fictional version of Metro Manila that players across the region have found unexpectedly resonant. The base game holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam with over 13,000 reviews, has swept multiple local Game of the Year awards, and was featured prominently at the Southeast Asian Games Showcase 2026.

If you have not played the base game yet, the physical edition in September is the perfect entry point. For those who have already lived through Mark’s story once — Afterimages is ready for you today.

Last words

Southeast Asia has no shortage of creative talent, and Until Then remains one of the strongest arguments for paying attention to what our neighbours are making. The Afterimages DLC is a small but heartfelt addition to one of the region’s best-loved games — out today across all major platforms. Catch more of the latest game news on GameTrader.SG for everything landing this month.