{"id":2516802,"date":"2026-07-25T11:06:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2516802"},"modified":"2026-07-25T11:06:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:06:33","slug":"dinos-with-swords-making-music-with-gnomes-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/dinos-with-swords-making-music-with-gnomes-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Dinos With Swords, Making Music With Gnomes And Other New Indie Games Worth Checking Out"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dinoblade Available Now!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3U5VIAu5vIo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Dinoblade<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer: Team Spino<br \/>Publishers: Team Spino, Boltray Games<br \/>Platform: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3440070\/Dinoblade\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows; playable on Steam Deck)<br \/>Price: Usually $20, with a 10 percent discount until July 30<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">A pair of comments on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/TwoBestFriendsPlay\/comments\/1v4mxlk\/dinoblade_official_launch_trailer\/\" target=\"_blank\">a Reddit thread<\/a> for this trailer sums up just why video games are the best. &#8220;This looks stupid as all f***,&#8221; one user said. In a reply, another wrote &#8220;Dude I know right, it&#8217;s awesome.&#8221; Love that.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Dinoblade<\/em> began life as a meme. It <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rockpapershotgun.com\/dinoblade-out-now-is-equal-parts-janky-genuinely-sick-and-silly-as-hell\" target=\"_blank\">has its roots<\/a> in a short animation that Jean Nguyen, a senior animator for Sucker Punch, created of a Spinosaurus delivering a devastating combo with a sword that&#8217;s not unlike the one Cloud uses in <em>Final Fantasy VII<\/em>. Nguyen <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JeanAnimate\/status\/1557601032376500224\" target=\"_blank\">shared the clip on Twitter\/X<\/a> in 2022. It blew up, and Nguyen decided to make a full game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\" align=\"center\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spinosaurus full combo attack animation <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/i1KmyAmtIZ\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/i1KmyAmtIZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jean Nguyen (@JeanAnimate) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JeanAnimate\/status\/1557601032376500224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">August 11, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Dinoblade<\/em> is an action RPG that casts you in the role of said Spinosaurus with a sword in its gob. It sets out to prevent the extinction of its species (I wonder how that&#8217;ll ultimately pan out?). Enemy dinosaurs wield weapons, and you can summon the souls of vanquished bosses to help you out in combat.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The general consensus seems to be that <em>Dinoblade<\/em> is both janky and fun, and that it has slick combat. At a time when the market is flooded with Soulslikes, it&#8217;s refreshing to see one with such a bizarre concept, especially given that it seems to sort of work. My only complaint, without actually having played the game yet, is that I cannot really fathom why it isn&#8217;t called <em>Dinosword<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"OFFBEAT | Early Access Launch Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iNYzVbOhUHU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Offbeat (early access)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer: Whetstone Games<br \/>Publisher: Pantaloon<br \/>Platform: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4468030\/OFFBEAT\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows)<br \/>Price: Usually $12, with a 10 percent discount until August 1<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While playing <em>Offbeat<\/em>, I quickly realized I&#8217;d forgotten how to actually make music outside of fiddling around with a guitar. I took keyboard lessons as a kid but didn&#8217;t stick with it. I don&#8217;t remember scales or anything like that. Fortunately, you don&#8217;t have to be a technically great composer to enjoy this music creation game, as long as you meet your clients&#8217; briefs. (That said, one of the goals the game sets you is to &#8220;get good at writing music.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">After you receive a four-track sequencer from your uncle, you start making music using a toy keyboard that can make cat sounds. As you make jingles and songs for clients, you&#8217;ll receive cash that you can use to buy more funky instruments, such as a singing gnome, and upgrade them.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I feel like I&#8217;m learning a little about music production and programming while playing <em>Offbeat<\/em>, even if the most accomplished thing I&#8217;ve done so far is peck out a version of the intro to &#8220;Welcome to the Black Parade.&#8221; My favorite aspect of <em>Offbeat<\/em> is that you&#8217;re making actual music. Your creations are saved as WAV files and you can do whatever you like with them (as long as they&#8217;re original tunes, I wager).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Offbeat<\/em> is expected to be in early access for between six and eight months. The current version has two chapters and seven items with which you can make music. The three-person team at Whetstone Games plans to add more tasks, instruments and other features each month during the early access period.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fading Echo | PC Launch Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-phjCWFR4H8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Fading Echo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer: Emeteria<br \/>Publisher: New Tales<br \/>Platforms: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2467880\/Fading_Echo\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows), <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.epicgames.com\/p\/fading-echo-029d57\" target=\"_blank\">Epic Games Store<\/a>. Coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X\/S later this year<br \/>Price: Usually $20, with a 10 percent discount until August 2<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">At first glance, <em>Fading Echo<\/em> reminds me a bit of last year&#8217;s <em>Eternal Strands,<\/em> since both lean heavily on elemental abilities. You play as a young hero named One, who is on a mission to stop something called the Paradox corruption from destroying a desert planet.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">One can manipulate water and transition between liquid, gas and solid states. She can use this power to navigate environments and set off chain reactions that can involve lava, toxic waste and the corruption itself.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I&#8217;m into the art style of <em>Fading Echo<\/em>. The game is fully voiced in English and there&#8217;s support for subtitles in nine languages. The cast is pretty strong here. Samantha B\u00e9art (who played Karlach in <em>Baldur&#8217;s Gate 3<\/em>) voices One. Well-known performers such as Laura Bailey and Matt Mercer have roles too.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Scarlet Deer Inn - Launch Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0AlNT7rtnMY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Scarlet Deer Inn<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer: Attu Games<br \/>Publishers: Attu Games, Aurakenn Games<br \/>Platform: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1553260\/Scarlet_Deer_Inn\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows). Coming to consoles &#8220;as soon as possible.&#8221;<br \/>Price: Usually $20, with a 10 percent discount until July 28<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Speaking of games with pretty art, <em>Scarlet Deer Inn<\/em> absolutely fits into that category. Attu Games (a husband-and-wife team) used physical embroidery and hand-painted backgrounds to create the visuals of this adventure platformer. It describes the game as a &#8220;dark medieval folk tale&#8221; set in a village with hidden secrets. As with many great stories, <em>Scarlet Deer Inn<\/em> sends a normal person on an extraordinary adventure.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It seems to be a fairly short game, which I always appreciate. While looking for a trailer, I saw playthrough videos pop up with runtimes of between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. Also, Attu says that while Valve has not yet officially verified <em>Scarlet Deer Inn<\/em> for its handheld system, the game &#8220;works great on Steam Deck.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"LIFTED | Release Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k1FoAuP_TqY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Lifted<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer\/publisher: Adventure Works<br \/>Platform: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2184020\/LIFTED\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows, Mac, SteamOS\/Linux). Coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 later<br \/>Price: Usually $20, with a 10 percent discount until July 29<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I&#8217;m a sucker for a sprawling adventure, and what could possibly be a grander adventure than one that takes you through time and space. Those are, like, all of the dimensions!<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It&#8217;s not exactly hard to imagine what might have inspired <em>Lifted<\/em>, in which you play as a reluctant adventurer whose companion is an older man with white hair and a time machine. Said professor is on a mission to woo a history teacher, and he recruits the younger Ari to do much of the running, platforming and puzzle solving.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Again, <em>Lifted<\/em> seems to be a fairly short game. It clocks in at three hours or so, according to reviewers. I&#8217;m not complaining about that. This might be as close as we get to another <em>Back to the Future<\/em> project anytime soon and I look forward to playing it.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tears of Metal - Early Access Launch Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/knxVrf9jsuk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Tears of Metal (early access)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer\/publisher: Paper Cult<br \/>Platforms: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1913120\/Tears_of_Metal\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows; playable on Steam Deck), <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.microsoft.com\/detail\/9PN8M16GG8M4\" target=\"_blank\">Xbox on PC<\/a>. Coming to Xbox Series X\/S later this year<br \/>Price: Usually $25, with a 10 percent discount on Steam until August 5. Also on PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Tears of Metal<\/em> looks like a delicious soup of chaos. This is a hack-and-slash roguelite from the team behind the enjoyable <em>Bloodroots<\/em>. Even better, it&#8217;s set in a medieval version of my homeland, Scotland.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You can choose to take on hordes of enemies yourself or team up with friends for online co-op carnage. Between runs, you can buy permanent upgrades. These can help with tougher challenges, and conquering those will unlock more heroes, combos and powers.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Tears of Metal<\/em> is slated to be in early access for up to a year. More heroes and upgrades are in the pipeline along with support for additional languages, extra voice acting and quality-of-life tweaks. As long as I can slice through countless baddies, though, I&#8217;m happy.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Life&amp;apos;s Too Short Launch Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HguLPce-JP4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Life&#8217;s Too Short<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer\/publisher: Pixel Ghost<br \/>Platform: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4209750\/Lifes_Too_Short\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a> (Windows, Mac, SteamOS\/Linux), <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pixel-ghost.itch.io\/lifes-too-short-pc\" target=\"_blank\">Itch<\/a>. Already available for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pixel-ghost.itch.io\/lifestooshort\" target=\"_blank\">Playdate<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pixel-ghost.itch.io\/lifes-too-short-gb\" target=\"_blank\">Game Boy<br \/><\/a>Price: Usually $6, with a 10 percent discount until July 29<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/2217879\/ai-run-utopias-moss-in-2d-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out\/\" target=\"_blank\">previous edition of this roundup<\/a>, I included a game that started as a Game Boy title before landing on PC. <em>Life&#8217;s Too Short<\/em> took an even more interesting path to get to that point. It was first a Playdate game before making its way to Nintendo&#8217;s classic handheld and now Steam and Itch. As such, Pixel Ghost has <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/news\/app\/4209750\/view\/529866442678473202?l=english\" target=\"_blank\">remade the game twice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;<em>Life&#8217;s Too Short<\/em> was my first ever game launch and has since become a great template for learning and exploring new platforms,&#8221; Ollie Coe, director at Pixel Ghost, said in a statement.&#8221;We&#8217;re all super excited to launch the first Pixel Ghost game on Steam and have already started work to bring the 3 sequels to the platform in full colour.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Oh, and about the game: This is a short adventure title in which you play as a ghost that attempts to settle a feud between two vampires. Cute!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.engadget.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dinoblade Developer: Team SpinoPublishers: Team Spino, Boltray GamesPlatform: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck)Price: Usually $20, with a 10 percent discount until July 30 A pair of comments on a Reddit thread for this trailer sums up just why video games are the best. &#8220;This looks stupid as all f***,&#8221; one user said. In a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2516803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2516802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Dinos-With-Swords-Making-Music-With-Gnomes-And-Other-New.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2516802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2516804,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516802\/revisions\/2516804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2516803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2516802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2516802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2516802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}