My October log

October was an unusual month for me when it comes to gaming. There was a lot going on in my personal life (good things!) and I had little time or mind space for gaming. Also, because of Steam Next Fest, I tried out more than 20 demos!

Once again, I want to thank you for the support I got from the community this month. The reception to some of the posts was really surprising and wholesome. I appreciate it so so much.

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🧠 The Game That Stuck With Me in October was…

Each month, I pick a game that I can’t get out of my head for a while after finishing it.

For October, I am featuring Time Flies, a… fly simulator? Or a puzzle-adventure game?

You are a fly with a bucket list. Depending on where you live, the game sets a different life expectancy based on real data (for my country it was 81 seconds). You cause a little mayhem while making the best of your limited time on Earth. Through different “runs” you try to complete the items in your bucket list until your inevitable end comes.

Time Flies is available for PC and MacOS.

My October gaming log

I won’t be mentioning games that I carried out from September.

This month, I struggled to find something that would match my mood, caught between wanting a game to help me wind down from the busyness and also desiring mental stimulation. I ended up jumping around between games a lot, as you will notice.

Suika Game+, playing casually. I got a free month of Apple Arcade and the first thing I did was start up Suika Game+. If you don’t know what this one is: it’s a merge game where you need to combine two of the same type of fruit to make bigger fruit – until you run out of space. Not going to lie, this might have been the game I played the most this month.

Bugaboo Pocket, on hold. I got this one in the last Steam sale and played it right away. You are a research scientist living in a cabin and caring for bugs. By raising and releasing them, you’re helping a forest recover after a devastating fire. The pixel art in this game is just amazing and I liked the tamagotchi-like gameplay. After playing it for almost 5 hours, I put it on hold as I wanted something less idle.

Echoes of the Plum Grove, dropped (for now). This was the Cozy Gaming Club‘s game of the month and unfortunately it didn’t click for me. This is a pretty original take on a farming sim as it is set in the 1700s and you have the added factor of epidemics happening in your town.

Kitchen Sync: Aloha!, currently playing. I have been enjoying this underrated RPG cooking game that was released back in April. You just moved back to the Hawaiian island of Maikai with your sibling to take over your late aunt’s restaurant. Manage your kitchen, build relationships with a team of chefs and master delicious Hawaiian dishes. I feel that Kitchen Sync: Aloha! managed to find the perfect balance between management gameplay and story development through its visual novel-style cutscenes and I can’t wait to see more of the story unfold.

Spooky Express, casually playing. In this puzzle game, you lay train tracks to meet the demands of your creepy passengers in Trainsylvania. It’s the type of game that (personally) is mostly enjoyed in short bursts, so I’ll slowly chip away at it.

Go-Go Town!, currently playing. I’m notorious for never wanting to play Early Access games, but I made an exception for Go-Go Town as it seems that 1.0 is in sight. You’re the mayor of a town that you have to build from the ground up. A mix of city builder and management game, Go-Go Town has that kind of quirky humour that makes me fall in love with a game instantly.

A Short Hike, completed. I played A Short Hike for the second time for Good Game Lobby‘s monthly gaming club. Playing as a bird called Claire, you go on a hike to the top of the mountain during your vacation to take an important phone call. A short and sweet indie gem that I always recommend for new and experienced players alike.

Slay the Princess, currently playing. I picked this one up because I wanted to try out a horror game before Halloween but I ended up just having one play session – I kept seeing myself attempting to pick it up at night which was not the way to go about it… I already know I want to complete this psychological horror visual novel, but it needs to be during the day.

Demos I played and recommend

I wrote a separate post to talk about 8 demos I enjoyed playing this month, check it out here!

Wishlists

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. If I ever decide to play an FPS game, it will be this one. A short documentary about its development was presented during the ID@XBOX Fall showcase and it got me really interested in the game.

Release date: 19 Mar, 2026.

Egging On. Face the challenge of being a real, fragile egg. Escape the hen-house and jump, roll and climb your way through a farm shop, factory and other perilous environments.

Release date: 6 Nov, 2025.

Sledding Game. A multiplayer snowsports hangout game with proximity chat. Go sledding, relax and see what else there is to do.

Release date: To be announced.

Planet of Lana II. After saving their planet from an invading Robot army, Lana and Mui continue to uncover its mysterious past. Pass through icy mountains, deep oceans and forgotten ruins in this cinematic puzzle adventure.

Release date: 2026.

Apomo District. Explore a world that changes everyday where you’ll hunt weird monsters called ‘Apomo.’ Catch and cook fish to get buffs, collect bugs to cast spells, and find gear to fit your play style.

Release date: To be announced.

Norigin. Explore mystical realms, fight epic bosses & investigate fragmented memories as you unveil the truth behind your estranged father.

Release date: To be announced.

Shroom and Gloom. Gather and grow cards in Shroom & Gloom, a moody first-person, roguelike double-deckbuilder bursting with fungal foes and mountains of mega-combos!

Release date: To be announced. ✅ Demo available

Walkies. Happy-go-lucky dog helps save a local animal sanctuary, with help from furry (and not so furry) friends! Wag those tails and bound and bounce your way through this cozy adventure!

Release date: To be announced.

Showcases

Galaxies Autumn Showcase, October 23.

Shout out to Good Game Lobby for streaming this one! This showcase featured more than 50 games and it was honestly a little overwhelming. It was their second stream (the first one happened in Spring) and it was packed with great titles for all tastes.

ID@XBOX Fall 2025, October 28.

Showcases were definitely not slowing down this month, and this was another one that made me wishlist a few good games.

Gaming news

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a Switch 2 edition (along with a paid Switch 2 upgrade pack) and a free 3.0 content update, coming in January 2026.

Around 3.000 games participated in October’s edition of Steam Next Fest. Check out what were the top 50 most played demos here.

Steam released a Personal Calendar with the intention of helping users find their next favorite game. The page shows personalized recommendations of recently released and upcoming games. Check out their launch announcement to learn more about how it generates its recommendations.

The ROG Xbox Ally came out on the 16th of October. It has two different models: the ROG Xbox Ally (€599) and the ROG Xbox Ally X (€899). Here’s a review by The Guardian.

Game publisher KRAFTON released a statement about transitioning to being an AI-first company. Krafton is the publisher of games such as Dinkum, Subnautica, inZOI and others.

EA’s generative AI tooling seems to be prone to hallucinations and generation of flawed code, making employees have to spend more time to fix its mistakes as reported by Business Insider and other news outlets.

Looking forward to in November

November is packed with new releases, but I’m also looking forward to wrapping up some of my current playthroughs. I have so many games ongoing and that’s very unusual for me.

Let me know what you’re looking forward to playing this month, or what your gaming highlights from October were!

Thank you for reading,

-Luna