It’s raining Katanauts and Dog Witches: 13 Awesome Trailers from the MIX Fall Game Showcase 2025
Rhythm Animal Cafe by XD and Salt Game Studio
We need to come together and nominate someone as the all-knowing keeper of video game events to prevent these indie presentations from falling through the cracks.
A savant of streams. A sage of showcases.
I’d volunteer myself, but I almost missed this edition of the MIX. Even more egregious, I’m reporting on it almost a week later (this week has been dedicated to family time–I’m usually on top of it, but regrettably, I’m still painfully mortal).
As always, here are my brief impressions from some of the best trailers at the MIX Fall Game Showcase 2025. There are a few repeat projects from past articles, but if there’s one thing I excel at, it’s shouting about my interests, sometimes aggressively–sometimes annoyingly, until they find their audience.
Silly Polly Beast
Oh, hello again Top Hat Studios.
In May I said I would talk about Silly Polly Beast every chance I got and I’m going to keep that streak going here. It’s still on track to be released this fall and there’s a demo you can check out now (though be warned, it’s kinda tough).
Cosmic Race: Galactic Showdown
I wasn’t sure what to make of this at first, but as I digested the footage, I came to realize it’s a spiritual successor to Split/Second (yet another fun IP that’s currently rotting in the Disney Vault).
If Psypher Interactive can stay the course, I might force my oldest sister to take vacation days so we can check this out together.
Rhythm Animal Cafe
Speaking of almost dormant IPs…
I’m being genuine when I say I love that we’re living in an era where indies can step in to resurrect series that are being neglected by their owners. Rhythm Animal Cafe looks like it will fit perfectly in the Rhythm Heaven shaped hole in our hearts.
Maybe more importantly, it looks freaking adorable.
And yes, I know Rhythm Heaven Groove is out next year, but we deserve more of these.
Rebounder
Rebounder exists on the opposite end of the spectrum from Rhythm Animal Cafe (listening to the music in these two trailers back-to-back might give you whiplash).
You play as a little spaceman who must rely on violent ricochets to navigate a caustic world. The style and movement here look incredible.
Cosmic Holidays
I’m hit-and-miss on puzzle platformers these days, but Cosmic Holidays appears to have art that rivals the best picture books and a strong dose of unpredictability. Never knowing what is waiting for me just beyond the next gap, the next cave, is a surefire way to hold my attention.
Midnight Horde
Going off this trailer, I feel like Midnight Horde will live or die (or rise from the grave) based on its movement. Sliding down gothic architecture looks like a blast, but what about the slower moments spent hanging from its gargoyles and climbing decaying stone edifices? Are there slow moments?
It has a demo available now.
Basalt: The Cursed Vein
Another one of my favorites from this showcase.
I know this is a lofty statement, but I’m going to say it anyway. Based on this trailer alone, I think Basalt has the potential to do for the match-3 puzzle genre what Inscryption did for deckbuilding card games. The tone feels similar, at least. I’m also a big fan of studios injecting new ideas into time-tested gameplay styles (think Puzzle Quest or Murder by Numbers).
Except for Henry Hatsworth–we don’t need another one of those.
Dreadout 3
I’m almost a complete stranger to the Dreadout franchise (in a moment of foolishness, I didn’t even recognize this was the third game in the series–I thought the red E in the title was an aesthetic choice). This entry is pulling inspiration from Fatal Frame (something that isn’t as common as you would expect). I am very intrigued at the possibility of performing exorcisms with a smart phone.
Kernel Hearts
My level of interest in Kernel Hearts is directly tied to how far they lean into the Roguelike elements (while not an immediate dealbreaker for me, they’re not my favorite thing). However, this trailer shows off an awesome world, character designs, and art direction. So even if it ultimately doesn’t grab me, Ephemera and Whitethorn are doing enough to make it at least worth a try.
Ascent: Rivals
This is probably a hot take at this point, but I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of the battle royale genre (I could see Ascent having some of that spectacularly addictive F-Zero 99 DNA).
I feel like I can grasp how satisfying it is to pull the trigger and turn my opponents into scrap just from watching this footage.
Below the Crown
Below the Crown blends dungeon crawling with chess, and while that’s about as niche as you can get (and original), I still wanted to give it a shout-out because of the cool retro graphics the devs chose to go with.
Release it for the Vectrex.
Wolfhound
I’m willing to bet the pitch for Wolfhound was old school Castlevania with guns. It is very Castlevania–but that appears to be a VERY good thing, so far.
Bloodthief
Oh, hello Blargis.
Like Silly Polly Beast, I’ll keep propping up Bloodthief until it launches. It’s a simple, but savage, speedrunning game built in Godot. We’ll be able to slash, slide, and dash through this sanguine experience on September 22nd.
Thanks for reading!
I should have a Wheel World review up this coming week and I’ve been working towards securing some new interviews for the site. At this point, I’m undecided if I’m going to review Hollow Knight: Silksong. It’s a very big deal (both for me and the industry–it’s being called the most anticipated indie release of all time) but I think I want my first stroll through the kingdom of Pharloom to be leisurely. We only get one Hollow Knight every eight years, after all. However, there is the strong possibility that it sucks me in and I finish in a few days.
As always, I guess we’ll see.
There’s also a popular rumor going around that we’re going to get a full Nintendo Direct in the next two weeks. We haven’t had one since the Switch 2 deep dive on April 2nd so it feels like we’re due.
Go watch some trailers, play some games, and I’ll see you soon.