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This Week (June 14 - June 20) |
The second week of June brings fresh indie releases to the forefront as the Summer Game Fest hype cools down. Steam delivers over 4,000 playable demos with Next Fest June, while Nintendo prepares to accommodate the excitement from June 9th’s packed Direct with a well-received redesign of the eShop. Multiplayer fans and otome lovers have much to celebrate too, with MECCHA CHAMELEON’s viral success, Dead by Daylight and Street Fighter 6’s new characters, Date MATH’s fresh take on the visual novel genre, and Love and Deepspace’s new event.
This week, we reviewed much-awaited releases and surprise hits. NBA The Run, Light and Night’s English localization, and STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expedition’s Early Access fell short of expectations. Little Nightmares 3’s DLC, Wuthering Waves’ Segue story, and Echoes of Aincrad’s Beta Test did what they needed to do. The highlights, however, were the incredibly fun demo for Bombanana and the shocking guest appearance from the Dave the Diver in the Jungle DLC.
Here’s a quick look at some of the week’s biggest gaming headlines.
Gaming News At A Glance
Steam Next Fest Lead by Action RPGs
Nintendo eShop Fixed and Redesigned
Street Fighter 6 Reveals Gameplay for Newcomer Yasmine
Dead by Daylight Brings Art the Clown Into the Fog
MECCHA CHAMELEON Tops Steam Sales Chart
Other News and Developments This Week
Review Roundup: June 14 - June 20
Surprise Hits and Near Misses
⚫︎ MECCHA CHAMELEON
⚫︎ Dave the Diver in the Junglet
⚫︎ NBA The Run
Other Reviews This Week
EAREVIEWSUMMARYHEADER
⚫︎ Bombanana
⚫︎ Echoes of Aincrad
⚫︎ STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions
Other Early Access/Previews This Week
Gaming News At A Glance: Steam Next Fest, New eShop, and First Filipina Streetfighter
Steam Next Fest Lead by Action RPGs
Steam Next Fest June started on the 15th and will continue until the 22nd, featuring over 4,000 playable demos for AAA titles and indie gems. High-octane RPGs lead the charts, with Mistfall Hunter, EMPULSE, Echoes of Aincrad, Echoes of the Uncrowned, and IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator becoming the top five most downloaded demos out of the gate.
The fest had something for everyone. Cozy indie titles shared the spotlight, including over the hill, Slayblade, and Hawthorn, among others. Steam Next Fest October will follow, hosted by Valve from October 19 to 26.
Nintendo eShop Fixed and Redesigned
Nintendo gave the eShop a long-awaited redesign, finally fixing its infamously slow loading times and hard-to-navigate library. The Nintendo eShop now matches the Switch 2 eShop and supports dark mode. Security features and video playback were also improved. The Switch 2 eShop received a smaller update, featuring expanded accessibility support and general stability improvements.
Street Fighter 6 Reveals Gameplay for Newcomer Yasmine
Street Fighter 6 released the official gameplay trailer for its newest fighter, Yasmine. Her complete move list and second school uniform-themed outfit were detailed in an accompanying Steam post, confirming her as a rushdown fighter.
Yasmine joins the roster on August 3 as the first of four Year 4 DLC characters and the franchise’s first Filipina and Pacific Islander fighter. Arjun arrives in August 2026, to be followed by the long-awaited Tifa Lockhart early in 2027, then Bosch in Spring 2027.
Dead by Daylight Brings Art the Clown Into the Fog
Dead by Daylight announced a collaboration with the Terrifier movie series during their 10th anniversary livestream. Cult classic horror icon Art the Clown was confirmed to join the game’s roster of playable Killers later this year.
Behaviour Interactive revealed a full slate of tenth anniversary collaborations, including several cosmetic collections featuring Diablo, Scooby-Doo, The Walking Dead, and Iron Maiden, as well as an unspecified joint project with heavy metal band, Ice Nine Kills. The developers also shared a roadmap showing long-awaited visual and gameplay overhauls, and confirmed that filming for the live action adaptation is expected to begin in 2027.
MECCHA CHAMELEON Tops Steam Sales Chart
MECCHA CHAMELEON was Steam’s most downloaded and rapidly wishlisted game this week, with almost 210,000 active daily players just six days after its June 10 launch. Developer lemorion_1224 thanked fans for getting the game to three million copies sold with a new map.
The viral hide-and-seek painting game has managed to standout in an oversaturated market of indie "friendslop"co-op games by capitalizing on Call of Duty’s Prop Hunt mode and allowing players greater creative freedom in hiding.
Other News and Developments This Week
⚫︎ Varsapura, HoYoverse's Next Open-World Action RPG, Receives Copyright Approval in China
⚫︎ Pokémon Teases Mega Rayquaza TCG Packs With Five Other Reveals “Coming Soon"
⚫︎ Persona 4 Revival Broadcast | Everything Announced
⚫︎ Granblue Fantasy: Relink Endless Ragnarok Demo Launches With Playable Seofon
⚫︎ Date MATH Is a Free Dating Sim Where You Can Fall in Love With Math or Kill It
⚫︎ Silver Palace Heads to Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles This July
⚫︎ Street Fighter 6's First Filipina Fighter Yasmine Official Gameplay Trailer Premieres June 17
⚫︎ Love and Deepspace Once Upon a Frame Event Sparks Fan Frenzy Over Movie and Story-Inspired Memories
Review Roundup: June 14th to June 20th
Surprise Hits and Near Misses
This week, we looked at new entries and updates to existing titles and a few newcomers. NBA The Run delivered a serviceable street basketball experience but ultimately missed the mark. Chinese mobile otome sensation Light and Night released its much-awaited, but unfortunately clunky, English localization. However, Little Nightmares 3’s The Backstage DLC did not disappoint, and MECCHA CHAMELEON lived up to the hype. Best of all, Dave the Diver: In the Jungle delivered the most unexpected surprise guests.
MECCHA CHAMELEON
MECCHA CHAMELEON was Steam’s top-selling game this week, and for good reason. This co-op paint-and-blend indie game manages to stand out in an overcrowded "friendslop" genre with its inventive hide-and-seek mechanics, low price tag, and unlimited mod support.
This is easily one of the funniest and most replayable games on Steam to date, with player-made maps and a strong, creative fan community dedicated to crafting increasingly enjoyable experiences. Although playing as a Seeker can get frustrating and it's not as fun without friends, MECCHA CHAMELEON is a party game even non-gamers can enjoy.
Dave the Diver: In the Jungle
Dave the Diver: In the Jungle is the next DLC from 2023’s fishing-restaurant management title of the same name. Bringing the crew out of the Blue Hole and into the depths of the jungle, Dave and his ragtag team of allies try to uncover the secrets of the village of Utara and its mysterious phenomenon.
It’s a must-have DLC for fans and non-fans, bringing in 10 to 15 hours of new content to play through. New gameplay mechanics to explore, a new location, an RPG-like flair, and new characters to meet—some of them more otherworldly than others (why hello there, Rover). All of that for the low price of $10, making it worth every single penny.
NBA The Run
NBA The Run took a shot at recreating the classic NBA Street experience and succeeded to some extent. However, it lacked one too many things—offline mode, a hip-hop soundtrack, and legendary players—to become a true series classic.
The gameplay and worldbuilding are commendable, but NBA The Run banks too much on nostalgia and its tournament mechanics leave much to be desired. Although it’s a fun game, all things considered, the $29.99 price tag feels a bit hefty.
Other Reviews This Week
⚫︎ Witch's Apocalyptic Journey Review | A Rough But Worthwhile Journey
⚫︎ Light and Night Review [First Impressions] | A Feast for the Eyes and the Heart
⚫︎ Little Nightmares 3 - The Backstage Review | Better Nightmare Than The Base Game
⚫︎ Kernelbay Review | Solid Vibes
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Over at the Early Access releases and demos, we were able to try out Bombanana, a hilarious three-player co-op game that tests your friendship and teamwork skills; Echoes of Aincrad, an anticipated video game spin-off from the well-known Sword Art Online series; and STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, a co-op timed extraction title from the makers of Astroneer.
Bombanana
Bombanana is a chaotic bomb-defusing co-op game where each player controls a blind, deaf, and mute monkey. Communication is almost impossible, and that’s just half the fun. The 2 to 3 hour demo was relatively easy and still missing quite a few details, but it’s already apparent that this has the potential to become a party game mainstay for small groups of friends looking for quick bursts of fun.
Echoes of Aincrad
Echoes of Aincrad is an action RPG based in the same universe as the famed IP Sword Art Online where players step into a giant floating castle in the sky, fighting for survival in a dangerous digital world. The demo was released in light of the game’s upcoming launch on July 10, 2026.
It’s not eye-catchingly gorgeous, nor is it the most mechanically challenging action RPG as of late, even feeling like an MMO from the early 2000s, but it’s decent for what it's worth. Echoes of Aincrad is charming in a way that managed to adapt to its source material, which is surely something that hardcore fans and even casual fans would very much appreciate.
STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions
STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions is the next spinoff title from the developers of the esteemed survival game ASTRONEER, where you play as a crew member of the ESS STARSEEKER, tasked with gathering resources across a multitude of planets ala timed extraction shooter.
It’s not Astroneer 2, and is lackluster compared to the original game, essentially being a mini-Astroneer title where you play in rounds of 30 minutes each, rinse and repeat. While it is an Early Access game, it fails to stand out and frankly lacks a purpose. Right now at its current state, perhaps just get Astroneer instead to save yourself the trouble.
Other Early Access/Previews This Week
⚫︎ Wuthering Waves Story Review [3.4 Lucilla Segue] | Glory to the Faceless Many
⚫︎ Limit Zero Breakers Review
