Highlights: The MIX Next Showcase 2023

The MIX always features great games!

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9 mins read
A graphic for The MIX, featuring a logo and people with consoles for heads.

The second of third showcases today is The MIX Next Showcase 2023, hosted by Justin Woodward and Candace Mckenney. This showcase features loads of upcoming indie titles, and gives them a time to shine. I’ve given as much information as possible, but sometimes the trailers aren’t terribly specific (like not listing any platforms). As always, I’ve converted Northern Hemisphere seasons into quarter (so Winter 2024 is Q1 2024, Spring 2024 is Q2 2024, and so on).

Game highlights

Wildmender

Wildmender is a desert gardening survival game. You start with a tiny spring and cultivate a blooming garden. There is a vast world out amongst the sand, though, and its worth exploring to uncover its mysteries. You’ll have to defends against the relentless forces of nature and mysterious wraith corruption to bring life to a dying world. Collect plants and bring them back to your garden to thrive, craft new tools, befriend animals and spirits, seek out the help of the gods, and more. Wildmender will be released for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series on September 28.

A screenshot from Wildmender (PC).

Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland

How could I just skip over anything Rugrats?! Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a fresh take on retro-inspired gameplay featuring a unique cooperative design where kids and parents have to stick together to win. When Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil see a commercial for a new Reptar video game, they begin to pretend they too are in video game form, transforming Tommy’s house into a world full of action, excitement, and adventure. The game is a puzzle platformer, with multiple levels each with unique themes, secrets, and familiar boss encounters. Players can toggle between 8-bit and high-definition modes. Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland will be released for for PC and consoles in 2024.

Limerick: Cadence Mansion

In Limerick: Cadence Mansion, players explore an abandoned mansion inhabited by monsters (both beast and man) and discover its secrets while attempting to escape. Solve puzzles to progress through the increasingly haunting environments, scavenge for resources to fend off evil creatures (or just his in the closet), and tear through the fabric of reality in cinematic boss fights. Limerick: Cadence Mansion will be released for PC in 2023.

This Bed We Made

It is February 17, 1958. Sophie is working a shift at the Clarington Hotel. it started out like any other… until she opens the door to room 505 and a crimson light comes out. This Bed We Made is a third-person narrative mystery game about snooping into the lives of others. It features a dark, intriguing story where players nose into other people’s belongings while also forming intimate bonds with others. Every action taken, and every door opened, may impact how the story unfolds. This Bed We Made will be released for PC on October 4.

A screenshot from This Bed We Made. We see the back of a hotel maid standing in a hotel room. The bed is made, the television is on, but there is nobody else there. A suitcase lies on a bench and something book-like appears to be on the floor in front of the 1950's television set.

Bahnsen Knights

The third in the first volume of the Pixel Pulp series, Bahnsen Knights follows Mothmen 1966 and Varney Lake. Play as an undercover agent named Boulder in a world of religious fanaticism, F5 tornadoes, and Ford Sierras. You must infiltrate the Bahnsen Knights, a deadly and supercharged cult with one heck of a leader. Keep your wits about you – not to mention stay alive – to unravel the mystery behind an old friend’s disappearance. The Pixel Pulp series games are basically visual novels with some puzzle elements thrown in, with branching narratives and some really impressive pixel artwork. Bahnsen Knights will be released for for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on October 26.

Planetiles

Planetiles is described as a serene city-builder about crafting natural habitats on remote planets. Players will craft habitats on varying planets using strategic tile placement that earns bonuses and unlockables, like tile skins and customization options. For example, shaping a forest of a specified number of fields or constructing an oasis will give you different benefits depending on quests and game progression. The biomes cultivate as they grow, increasing your resources. The landscape also reacts to your choices. Planetiles will be released for PC.

Cuisineer

Cuisineer is a food-focused action roguelike. Pom returns to her hometown to see her parents, only to find their restaurant closed and deep in debt. She must re-open the restaurant and make it thrive, collecting ingredients, wielding her cooking utensils, and sipping boba tea along the way. Turn the derelict eatery into a sensational restaurant that will make Pom’s parents proud. Cuisineer will be released for PC on November 29.

Full list of featured games

  • Tera: The Sundered Tribes (launching for PC in 2024)
  • Wildmender (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series on September 28)
  • The Devil Within: Satgat (launching for PC)
  • Pinball M
  • Slime 3K (launching for PC)
  • Bish Bash Bots (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox Series on October 19)
  • Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland (launching for PC and consoles in 2024)
  • Unawake (launching for PC)
  • Limerick: Cadence Mansion (launching for PC in 2023)
  • Beneath (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series)
  • Memory Lost (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One in 2023)
  • Undefeated: Genesis (launching for PC)
  • Gangs of Sherwood (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series)
  • Reality Break (launching for PC in Q1 2024)
  • Slave Zero X (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One)
  • The Gap (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on October 19)
  • This Bed We Made (launching on October 4)
  • Spiral (launching for PC in September 2024)
  • American Arcadia (launching for PC)
  • Universe for Sale (launching for PC in 2023)
  • Bahnsen Knights (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on October 26)
  • Die in the Dungeon (launching for PC)
  • Wantless (launching in early access for PC in November 2023)
  • Cross Blitz (launching for PC in 2023)
  • Mad King (launching for PC)
  • CDII: Trap Master
  • Vivaland (launching for PC in early access in 2024)
  • Quadroids (launching for PC)
  • The Tribe Must Survive (launching for PC in Q2 2024)
  • Desynced (available now in early access for PC)
  • Planetiles (launching for PC)
  • How to Die: A Hope Beneath (launching for PC)
  • Ebenezer and the Invisible World (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on November 3)
  • Venture to the Vile (launching for PC)
  • G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra (launching for PC and consoles in 2024)
  • Tevi (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One in 2023)
  • An Amazing Wizard Story (launching for PC, Kickstarter launching “soon”)
  • Helltrench
  • Geo Mythica (launching in 2024)
  • Captain Wayne: Vacation Desperation
  • Kindfolx (launching for PC in Q3 2024)
  • Treachery in Beatdown City: Ultra Remix (launching for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series and Xbox One on September 13)
  • Just Crow Things (launching “soon” for PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox)
  • Button City Soccer Days (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series)
  • Cuisineer (launching on November 29 for PC via Steam)
  • Micro Machines: Mini Challenge Mayhem (launching “soon” for Meta Quest)
  • Crash Course Builder (launching for PC in 2024)
  • Paleo Pines (launching for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on September 26)
  • Moonstone Island (launching for PC on September 20, later for Nintendo Switch)

Watch the showcase


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Lindsay picked up an NES controller for the first time at the age of 6 and instantly fell in love. She began reviewing GBA games 20 years ago and quickly branched out from her Nintendo comfort zone. She has has developed a great love of life sims and FMV titles. For her, accessibility is one of the most important parts of any game (but she also really appreciates good UI).

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