Hey there :wave: So I know it's late again lol, we don't need to talk about it. We're back to another newsletter, this time recapping what happened in May! (Apologies for any typos, I'm still working on it! lol)
This Month’s Games
We've got a few games to highlight. June's list is gonna be pretty long, so enjoy the shorter newsletter this month :D
On Stream
There's No Dragons
Thank you to Error 300, Gamersky Games, and Keymailer for the key for There's No Dragons! I'm a big fan of hidden object games, they're a comfort genre for me. I was excited to check this game out because it's a great combo of two things I love, chill hidden object games and dragons. I had the chance to stream it (you can check the VOD here) and it was such a fun time! I was surprised to see that there's some variety in the levels as you play them. The dragons hide themselves in different places around the map when you reload a level!
I had a couple times in the game where I wasn't sure what was clickable in the level and what wasn't so that would be my only complaint about the game. There were a few moments where I felt like I really clicked everything on the map multiple times before giving in and using a hint and then being convinced that the game spawned in a cloud or something to hide the dragon after I clicked on the hint button lol.
You can find the game here, I'd highly recommend it as a way to spend a chill afternoon!
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3421340/Theres_No_Dragons/
Moonleap
This might be my favorite puzzle platformer of the year so far. I picked up Moonleap on a whim a couple of Steam sales ago and yall, it's so good? I love the colors and the soundtrack in the game, it feels so cozy? There's secrets to find and snails that might try to attack you, but it's such a great little game.
In Moonleap, you typically swap the colors of a level when you jump. That can mean that you introduce new hazards, cause animals to move or freeze, or, in a couple instances, cause the flora to hate you. It's so fun figuring out the sequence that I need to follow to successfully complete a level. Moonleap is just the right length with some optional secret levels for players who want some more challenge after the roll credits for the first time.
You can check out Moonleap here and you should, it's a great game:
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166050/Moonleap/
On My Own
Eternal Strands
I've been keeping an eye on Eternal Strands for a while. It's a single player Monster Hunter type game where you're tasked with fighting giant beasts like you see in Shadows of the Colossus to collect materials to help your crew survive. I haven't played any of the Monster Hunter titles, to be honest, I've stayed away from them a bit because I don't tend to love games where grinding for materials is the core gameplay loop. (Yes, I play a lot of Roguelites, but it feels different to my brain. I can't explain it <3 ). But I was intrigued by the story behind the gameplay loop and I love the look of the game. Also, the blacksmith is a Black woman with beautiful locs and she makes me happy.
The game is alright. It's one that I've given myself permission to play on story mode because the combat, at times, feels pretty clunky. I think it's a similar issue that I had with the Horizon games. It's great playing with a character who fights with a bow and arrow and when enemies default to sprinting at me head-on as soon as they see me, it makes it so hard to use ranged combat. The spells feel fun but are sometimes hard to swap to while you're in the middle of combat.
I'm interested to see where the story goes. And there's one character that I definitely want to fight, so I'm hoping that the people rise up against him by the end of the game lol.
Eternal Strands is out on most platforms, you can check out more information about it here: https://www.eternalstrandsgame.com/
Ship of Fools
As I've talked about, I'm always looking for games that I can play with my friends. I picked up Ship of Fools about a year ago and it sat in my backlog for a really long time. Fortunately, it has Steam Remote Play enabled, so I finally got to try it out with a good friend this month. The gameplay is like if you could actually fight back in Overcooked. You're tasked with sailing a ship through different levels, saving NPCs and sending them back to your home island, and fighting off enemies that are spawning from the corruption in the ocean.
While sailing, you arm your ship with cannons, ammo, and power-ups to defend yourself as you make your way through the waters. It quickly gets pretty hectic and requires a decent amount of communication between you and your partner because those enemies will do what they can to bust up your ship.
It's a two-player coop game (I'm hoping for a 4 player update someday, but I don't think that'll happen) and I'd recommend it if you're looking for something that feels like Overcooked without the stress of setting your own kitchen on fire.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286580/Ship_of_Fools/
Content Creators, Find What Works for You
So, I've been thinking about this section a lot as I was drafting this newsletter. 2025 has been a bad year, I gotta be honest. It feels frivolous to write little stories, talk about games, and make little games. I've written a lot this year about how important it is for folk to keep creating even when the world is burning around us, but I've had a really hard time applying those words to myself. Streams have been really infrequent. I haven't written anything for my website since like, February, and I haven't hit any of the goals that I wanted to for creating video content.
So, this month (June), I've been trying to think about the ways that I can push myself to do small things. Because fascists win when we lose hope that they'll lose. They win when I convince myself that what I do doesn't matter. They win when we stop imagining a better world. I don't want to be a part in creating a world where fascists can thrive. I'm wildly uninterested in that, in fact. Which means that I have to do the hard work with myself of trying to get to a place where I can do at least small things that showcase joy and the goodness of the world. It also means finding ways to engage in my community that show other folk that there are good people out here doing things that matter.
I'm still figuring out what that looks like for me. But in May I also made some zines that I'll be putting up on itchio one of these days that highlight indie games that have stood out to me. I've also translated the ttrpg that I wrote into a zine that's easier to take with you when you go out on walks. I'm trying to find the small things that bring me joy and remind folk that there's still joy and wonder to be found. I hope you'll join me in figuring out what that looks like for you too.
We have scary months ahead, but we can work together to get through it and improve the world around us. We just can't wait for other folk to do it for us. We gotta join in where we can. I look forward to seeing what you create <3
Ending
That's what May looked like for me. I'll see yall in a couple of weeks for our June recap (with some extra content updates, hopefully!)
See yall next month (or hopefully again at the end of June lol).
Keep telling stories. Keep creating. You are important for the world that we want to create. I look forward to continuing to build a better world and better stories for us all. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I’ll see y’all around the Internet.
Don't forget you can find my other writing at pizzayeti.com! I'd love to see you over there.
(Apologies for any typos, I'm still working on it! lol)
