There are few events like Day of the Devs, especially in its stomping grounds of San Francisco. From the location to the general attitude of the show, everything feels somehow underground. That’s despite the fact that this year may have been the most packed event I’ve experienced. The free admission price certainly entices the crowds, which is great for the smaller devs looking to grow their game’s audience. Several of these caught my imagination after I got a chance to play them. So, in no particular order, these are the Day of the Devs 2025 SF’s brightest titles.
Recur
I know I just finished saying this list falls in no particular order but Recur earned the top spot of the show for me. Its announcement trailer promised supernatural puzzle-solving in a uniquely animated world. So, I’m happy to report the demo delivered that and more. I begin in the middle of things, with a child I assume is related to me based on the resemblance. We are urgently trying to catch a train. The hitch is I hold within my person all of Time. Moving from left to right on the screen moves the entirety of the world’s time forward, retracing my steps rewinds it, and if I stand still, so too does everything and everyone around me.
This presents an intriguing opportunity for puzzles and the developers take full advantage. My first hurdle, getting on a train that can’t move unless I do, is solved by manipulating the departure schedule, a battery, and heavy traffic. It’s an excellent intro to both the world’s rules and the puzzles’ logic.
Then the world ends. The destruction began as a small ball of fire in the distance. I sped up and rewound events several times to be sure I wasn’t just seeing things. Letting time run freely leads to an explosion and devastating blast wave that tears the train apart and rips bodies from their previously safe seating. I can rewind this for a while. However, I suspect it won’t be an easy task to make sure it doesn’t come to pass.
Truckful
Do you think this looks like a comfy driving experience? Get ready for a gut punch. Most of my time with this physics-based challenge swung between strained caution and maniacal recklessness. And y’all, if I’ve never hated sheep more.
The first few minutes sink me into a false sense of security. Getting the hang of stopping and accelerating as the road before me grows more tangled and precarious. Still, I didn’t have the sense to worry until, drifting through a dense forest lane, I noticed the mangled wreckage of trucks that came before me. It was a graveyard.
In the midst of this, I’m hailed by a package-laden driver. She happily convinces me to take on her deliveries, like it would be simple. The first hurdle is figuring out how to pack everything in the back of my truck so it’s not leaning toward one side or the other. Then, I realized, I had to pack everything in so they didn’t fall off my truckbed during bumps — of which there were many. I haven’t been happier to drive past progress-saving checkpoints in recent memory.
Henry Halfhead
My long-awaited reunion with Henry Halfhead came with much more fanfare than my first encounter. The pastel puzzler took up a central spot in its room, which invited onlookers. Onlookers like other indie-loving media friends who took up the task of enthusiastically rooting for my every move.
This is funny for a number of reasons, but mostly because Henry Halfhead is neither a competitive game nor a deeply challenging one. It asks the player, controlling the titular character, to complete a series of silly objectives by possessing the things around him. To make joyous music with my xylophone, I can simply hop into the sticks and jump up and down. To build towering block structures, I can hop into the toys themselves and perch atop my last placed piece.
In this demo, I embodied a baby form of Henry, which leads me to think the entire game will go through the entirety of the protagonist’s life — from the crib to retirement. Though, I’ll have to wait and see if that prediction comes true.
Outbound
Survival games are becoming popular in the indie space. Outbound seems to be working towards connecting the experience with an element I haven’t seen united with the genre yet: an easygoing vibe.
First and foremost, I took the time to ensure a comfy atmosphere poured from my custom van. I wrapped it up in The Indie Informer colors and made the license plate read INDIE. It was perfect. From there, I rolled down a scenic route — a far cry from the stress of Truckful — until I was instructed to make camp.
Jumping in and out of the van was a simple matter, and setting up camp took a push of a button. However, upgrades would need a little work. I scouted around the nearby grassy fields and shady woods to find typical survival resources. Wood, stones, fiber, etc. were abundantly available for me to take back to my trunk/workspace where I made objects to place around my lodging on wheels. I’m interested to see where things go from here.
Dreams Of Another
You have to love a good bizarre game at Day of the Devs. Trying to explain the gameplay to someone later, I rambled that I’d murdered both a mole and manhole before the preview was over. Though one of my favorite aspects of this game is the gun I carry is more often than not used to create rather than destroy.
I started in a swirling abyss. Plainly dressed in striped pajamas and packing serious heat, my world only became tangible as I shot out into it. From the fog and hail of bullets, doors manifested and people emerged. My path only unfolded as these destruction-created landmarks pointed the way.
I’m not sure where the narrative could possibly go from here, but I’m willing to follow Dreams of Another’s lead.
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