Focusing on games new and old you might not know about, Have You Heard Of This? is set to help you discover games you may have missed.

It also includes a look at games that might not get a full review.

Terry O'Neill 10/06/2025 Terry O'Neill 10/06/2025

Look Outside

A survival horror taking place in a single apartment building, Look Outside tasks you with figuring out what happened to your neighbors while fighting to stay alive. And whatever you do… don't look outside.

We all love staying at home some days. Enjoying the comforts of a familiar location is a nice and relaxing experience, especially when the weather isn't good. But what would you do if you couldn't go outside? What if something happened that prevented you from leaving your apartment block or even from looking out the windows or doors? Well, that's the main premise of Look Outside, a survival horror game that takes place in a single apartment building while chaos descends outside. Like any good survival horror, players must explore and loot a limited amount of supplies to figure out what exactly has happened to cause everything to go sideways.

Taking on the role of Sam, players wake up one morning as an unknown event unfolds across the world. As Sam goes to open his curtains, he's warned against doing so. After a conversation with his neighbor, who explains what's going on elsewhere and advises that whatever is happening should subside in 15 days, we get to explore Sam’s apartment and the rest of the third floor where he resides. But not everyone in the apartment building is as fortunate as Sam, who was living as an unemployed recluse before the events began to unfold. Many of the building’s residents have fallen victim to the mysterious event going on outside, resulting in them mutating into all kinds of abominations and then getting trapped in their homes or various other rooms within the apartment block. As time goes on, the number of residents dwindles, leaving Sam as one of the few remaining survivors.

*You’ll need to go out and socialize if you’re ever going to figure out why you can’t look outside*

Time passes if you stay at home and take part in a number of different activities, such as cooking, showering, or playing video games. I have heard it’s possible to stay inside and play video games until things return to normal (how very meta), but I can’t imagine it being as fun as actually experiencing the game. However, the quickest way for time to pass is to explore new locations for the first time or participate in combat. Every trip outside the safety of Sam’s apartment feels like it could be the last one you make, but that is what makes the exploration so much fun. The bid to push yourself just a bit further in the hopes of finding enough healing supplies to get through the day or a new weapon to replace the one that just broke in your last combat encounter is something you'll be trying to convince yourself you need to do, and it's something you'll do often as you progress because the next room might have just what you're looking for or you might not make it out.

Look Outside features turn-based combat, which isn't overly common for the genre, but it really adds to the experience. As players progress through the game and the various rooms and apartments, they'll eventually come across a wide variety of NPCs that can be recruited to their party, each with their own levels, abilities, and gear. Some of these party members will turn up on your doorstep when you're at home between excursions, and if you're anything like me, you won't answer the door to the majority of folks. Though not everyone who turns up means to do you harm, as occasionally you'll have traders turn up. It's up to you to make a judgement call and engage with them, or pretend like no-one is at home until they go away. Like a true anti-social adult! It took me until I reached the ground floor from the third floor before I got my first companion, which was no easy feat.

*Fighting multiple enemies quickly takes its toll if you aren’t stocked up on supplies or have anyone else on your team*

While resources are scarce, there are a couple of vendors who choose to take advantage of the ongoing chaos to mark up the price on the goods they have, and it’s up to you to decide if you want to splash the extra cash while you have it or save it for when you might really need some supplies. Exploring a neighbouring apartment can net you a crafting kit to keep back at home and mix up some deadly cocktails or some juicy healing supplies. If you’re running low on health, return home and cook up a delicious meal with the food you take from your neighbour’s fridges. The longer you explore, the more time passes, and the more time passes, the more experience earned when returning to the apartment.

It’s an addictive gameplay loop that is difficult to break once it has got its hooks into you, but that’s yet again part of the charm. Every floor I progressed through, every room I looted, left me feeling like there was more content just waiting for me around the next corner. And when I assumed I cleared a floor or an objective, I found more reasons to go back and ensure I was as thorough as possible in my explorations.

*Just who exactly are the astronomers, and what are they up to?*

There is a lot of content in this stunning little indie title, and the more time I put into it, the longer I want to play and explore more. The story is intriguing and leaves me desperate to figure out what is going on and why. Like traditional survival horror games, it doesn’t hold your hand with story beats, encouraging you to try and figure things out on your own, with only cryptic hints from other NPCs to decipher. And while there’s the option to let 15 days pass, I don’t want that to be my experience. The game has multiple different endings, so players will be able to play through again and again if they want to see how each unfold. I have already put in about 8 hours and I and eager to dive in for more every chance I get.

I’ve played playthrough through Steam Deck on my breaks, on public transport, or even a few minutes before sleep every night. Throughout my game time on Steam Deck, I haven’t encountered a single issue with the game or the device itself. It’s still early in the year, but I have a feeling I already have a strong contender for my personal Game of the Year, and I just know I’ll be planning a full review at some point. But until then, Have You Heard Of This?

I created this website as I feel the state of the games industry and games reporting as a whole has gotten overly negative and full of clickbait. While I understand both of these are a great way to generate engagement, it’s a detriment to those gamers (like myself) that are just trying to enjoy games and not have to worry about the negativity of the current state of the gaming industry. I want a space where gamers can come for unbiased news that doesn’t rely on clickbait or rumours with a dash of humour and have the opportunity to share their passion for games.

Terry O'Neill 28/05/2025 Terry O'Neill 28/05/2025

Tokyo Xtreme Racer

Taking inspiration from PS2-era racers, Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a fast-paced, high-octane arcade racer taking players to the highways of Tokyo.

*Gear up for an arcade racer where you take on other drivers to become the number #1 street racer in Tokyo. Image copyright,* © Genki

If you miss the simpler times of arcade racers from the PlayStation 2 era, then you’ll be pleased to know that particular style of games is making a comeback. Lately, there hasn’t really been to many mainstream racing titles that focus on pure, simplistic fun. While the Gran Turismo series has kept things relatively grounded, and the Forza Horizon series has been blending the realism of the Motorsport series with arcade-style racing, there hasn’t been much focus on good, solid arcade racing. This is where Tokyo Xtreme Racer comes in. It feels like EA has long since given up on making a new entry into the Burnout franchise and Rockstar’s Midnight Club has been forgone in favour of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, so it’s small wonder why it feels like the arcade-racing genre is on life support.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer aims to revitalize things, and so far, fans of the genre have been pretty receptive to the game Genki Co., Ltd. are building. And I’m happy to say that I’m one of them. I dabbled in all manner of games on my PS2 when I was younger, including some racing games like Need For Speed: Underground 2. While I didn’t really appreciate racing games when I was a teen because I hated losing, I did love Underground 2. And that’s the kind of experience I felt after booting up Tokyo Xtreme Racer for the first time.

*After selecting your first car from the three options presented, it’s time to dive in. Image copyright,* © Genki

Tokyo Xtreme Racer is an arcade racing game set in many racing fans’ dream of a near future Tokyo. Drawing inspiration from the street racing set on the Shuto Expressway in Japan’s Greater Tokyo Area, players compete against powerful AI drivers to try and become the best racer on the Shuto. No one wants to be the worst racer in a racing game, that’s no fun, but how the player goes about this is what makes the game so addictive. Giving players access to dozens of real cars to choose from and customize to their own liking, and take to the carefully crafted race courses, Tokyo Xtreme Racer keeps the idea of fast-paced, frenetic fun in mind throughout.

Not knowing a whole lot about cars, I went with the above car that caught my eye from the available choices, a Mazda Roadster RS ‘15. I like the design compared to the others, and when I made my choice, I was shown through some text-based tutorials and tips, and finally set loose onto the Shuto Expressway as a novice racer. Now, what I said earlier still applies. I don’t like to lose. But overall, even when I lost a race in Tokyo Xtreme Racer, it never felt unfair. The few times I did lose races were more of an inherent power gap between vehicles, more than a lack of skill. And while there were times when simple luck or bad timing caused a very quick loss, I was eager to challenge the racer again to correct my mistake.

Head-to-head races against other drivers are the key to Tokyo Xtreme Racer’s gameplay. I did not have this many credits in my playthrough, this screenshot is courtesy of the developers. Image copyright, © Genki

Loading into the Shuto Expressway course from any number of different starting points, the idea is to find racers to challenge, drive up behind them, and initiate an SP Battle race. Usually, this results in you being behind the other driver as the race starts, but that never lasts too long. The idea of the SP Battle (Spirit Point Battle) race is that both racers drive as fast as they can to deplete their opponent’s SP bar, which appears on the top of the screen, while taking care not to let their own SP bar hit zero. The idea is to get as far ahead of your opponent as possible as quickly as possible. While that’s the general idea of a race, the SP bar depletes in other ways if you’re not careful. Speed is obviously important, but crashing, grinding your car against walls and other cars, and even careless driving at top speeds can all lead to sapping your own SP bar first.

It’s fun to win a race with only a sliver of your bar remaining, but it’s also disheartening to come from behind in a race and take the lead from your opponent only to have victory snatched from you because you ended up drifting a little too hard and are now trading paint with the scenery and watch the last of your SP bar disappear. Lightning-quick reflexes and knowing when to make your move are just as important as speed, and that’s what makes Tokyo Xtreme Racer so much fun. An interesting aspect is that when you win around 5 races (maybe more, depending on your opponents), you’ll stumble across Team Leaders who will drive up behind you and challenge you to a race for beating their team members. This usually comes after you’ve finished a race, so be wary in letting your guard down if you’ve noticed a trend with the racers you’ve already beaten.

*Get too cocky and defeat too many racers in a team and the team leader will have something to say about it. Image copyright,* © Genki

There’s still a lot I want to cover for Tokyo Xtreme Racer, so I’ll be expanding upon my thoughts in a review for it at some point. I want to thank the team at Genki Co., Ltd. for providing me with some of their own images to pair with the screenshots I took from my own playthrough, and for making such a fun racer to begin with. I played just over 4 hours of Tokyo Xtreme Racer, mostly playing on my Steam Deck while on breaks at work. It performs extremely well, and if you want a game where you can easily drop in for a few minutes at a time, this might be worth considering.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer is currently available in Early Access on Steam, where it sits at a Very Positive rating with over 10,000 reviews. Genki has extended the Early Access period until the end of September of this year to further fine-tune the game based on player feedback, but for anyone looking for a fun arcade racer, I recommend taking the risk and picking it up now. I will be coming back to the game over time and will have my own review ready to coincide with the game’s full launch. But until then, Have You Heard Of This?

Terry O'Neill 12/05/2025 Terry O'Neill 12/05/2025

Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call

Plenty of bigger titles are heavily promoted at all kinds of showcases. However, plenty of lesser-known releases are often stumbled upon when you least expect it. Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call is one of those titles. So just what exactly is Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call? Read on below to find out.

Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call is a brand-new action-RPG from up-and-coming indie studio, Titan Roc. Based in the South-west of England, United Kingdom, the team over at Titan Roc is already hard at work on Vahrin’s Call, bringing their own passion for gaming to this original franchise. Though the team is small, numbering only in the single digits, this streamlined approach makes it easier to build a more cohesive experience for players.

Set within the high-fantasy world of Leyda, Vahrin’s Call sets players on a quest to reach Vahrin, a city ravaged by war. Stepping into the worn leather boots of a seemingly conventional mercenary, it’s not long before they’re thrust into an unfamiliar location and help those remaining to reclaim the city of Vahrin from a threat great enough to wipe it and every other human city from existence.

Citing inspiration from other RPG heavy-hitters such as the Fable and The Elder Scrolls franchises, Titan Roc is focusing on making a story-driven RPG with an overarching story that will span through subsequent games in the Forsaken Realms series, with narrative cohesion and choices that make you think, infused with just the right amount of humour from what I’ve seen so far.

Though the world is vibrant and full of mysterious oddities to marvel at, it’s not without its share of challenging enemies and head-scratching puzzles to keep players on their toes as they explore the handcrafted world within Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call on their quest to save it from certain destruction.

Gameplay-wise, Vahrin’s Call features the kind of gameplay mechanics you’ve come to expect from a fantasy RPG, letting players choose their own combat styles in which to take on the wide variety of enemies throughout the game. Magic, melee, and ranged combat are all present, but Titan Roc are giving players freedom with how they wield their chosen method of killing, letting players mix and match weapons, clothing, spells, skills, and more to suit their own personal preferences.

Players can plunder treasures lost to time to further bolster their own gear or currency reserves and uncover forgotten secrets that will help bring the world and the story of Vahrin’s Call into sharper focus. Puzzles will be uncovered through exploration, which players will need to solve to progress in the game or hopefully find a shiny new weapon to play around with.

I stumbled across this game while browsing social media, and it piqued my interest. Looking into the game some more, it definitely seems like my kind of game to sink some time into when it launches. I reached out to the development team to ask if I could feature Vahrin’s Call here and they were only too happy to oblige. I’ll be picking up a copy when it launches and, time permitting, planning a review once I get through a good chunk of the story.

Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call is set for a 2025 release, but no specific date is set in stone just yet. It will be arriving on PC when it launches, though no word yet if it’ll come to other platforms. Until then, Have You Heard Of This?

Terry O'Neill 24/04/2025 Terry O'Neill 24/04/2025

Pixel P.I.

If you’ve ever felt like you’d be a good detective, testing your skills in Pixel P.I. is a great place to start. Can you get to the bottom of a number of cold cases, or will the crimes remain unsolved?

The next indie title I’m recommending is one I’m personally very excited about. After years of watching crime shows and reading mystery novels, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Pixel P.I., a game that has piqued my interest and given me a chance to see if I can solve a number of cases as the titular character, Pixel, a hacker detective.

Diving into a futuristic world of crime, I got a brief intro to Pixel and her mysterious past. Like any good mystery novel, part of the core gameplay will be to take on six of Pixel’s old cases and unravel each mystery in turn in the hopes of learning what happened to Pixel.

Each individual answer was deciphered as my interviews progressed, granting me with case specific clues and more generalized clues. To ensure I wasn’t hitting a dead end, I was able to consult with Ethan at any time, who would prompt me to take a different approach or advise what I should ask next.

If I uncovered certain information that was different from what I was originally told, I could use the new clue to catch the suspect in a lie. Doing so reminded me of how often I would see a detective in a TV show do the same thing, and it felt satisfying to catch someone out and force them to change their angles or reveal a little more information I could use.

Certain clues would also lead to more interviews in the case. I didn’t need to unlock every answer in one interview to move onto the next, so I started to bounce between interviews, testing each suspect and seeing what clues I could come up with. That level of freedom helped keep my mind fresh so I wouldn’t hit a mental block. When I had exhausted all the obvious questions to ask, I had to really rack my brains and wonder if I simply needed to rephrase them or if I should go through my accumulated clues to see if I missed something.

*Asking the right questions is a challenging, but rewarding experience*

The game opens with a mysterious figure warning Pixel not to pursue a redacted case or individual, as chasing up on this could result in getting herself killed. One morning, Pixel wakes up to find she’s missing the last two years worth of memories. Here, we’re introduced to Ethan, a robot companion who will help Pixel with her cases. Playing against her distrust of robot’s, Pixel nonetheless teams up with Ethan to try and restore her lost memories using a physical notebook she has found with old cases.

It’s here where I got to sample the cases first-hand, starting with an interview with the first suspect, Alex. And this is where my favourite feature of Pixel P.I. is introduced. You see, unlike every other mystery thriller game I’ve ever played, I got to ask the actual questions. And I mean that quite literally.

In order to gather clues and progress through the cases, players need to type in the questions they want to ask to get the answers they seek. Now, you don’t need to be incredibly specific with your questioning to get answers. As long as you’re in the rough ballpark with your questions, you’ll trigger the response from your advesary. If your question didn’t meet the requirements, you get prompted to try again.

Finding Pixel P.I. was an interesting feat for me. Unlike other games I’ve found through word of mouth or searching the Steam store, I actually stumbled across Pixel P.I. on a subreddit for writing. A notification popped up on my phone, I checked it out, and I found an indie developer who was looking for advice on their work, part of which was the aforementioned Pixel P.I. they were building. I reached out to the developer, Crischu, and we got to discussing the game.

I watched the preview trailer for Pixel P.I. on Steam and then booted up the available demo, immediately losing track of time trying to crack my first case. I was able to provide feedback on my experience so far with the game which Crischu was only too happy to receive. I enjoyed my time with Pixel P.I. so much, and I requested to feature it here on my website, hoping to draw as many more eyes onto it as possibile. Crischu was only too happy to oblige.

Being able to reach out to an indie developer and be able to feature their work on my website is a huge honour for me, and I am grateful for Crischu to give me this opportunity and to be the first indie developer I feature directly here.

There’s no definitive date for Pixel P.I. just yet, but I have already added it to my Steam wishlist. Once I get an update, I will be happy to share it here. Until then, Have You Heard Of This?

Terry O'Neill 17/04/2025 Terry O'Neill 17/04/2025

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel

There are a ton of indie titles popping up on every platform in 2025. Is Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel worth keeping an eye on?

*Fighting your way through the Nine Realms is quite the challenge, but never did it seem so easy*

Ever since I started reviewing video games, I’ve been looking to expand my horizons for what games I can play. I was never really interested in indie titles, but after taking a step back and browsing through Steam, I’m happy to say that changing my opinion on how I perceive indie games is one of the best things I’ve done so far this year.

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is a roguelike horde-survivor game in the same vein as Vampire Survivors. While that game was a critical and commercial darling, it never really appealed to me. But after taking a chance on Jotunnslayer and seeing the appeal of the genre, it’s safe to say I would probably enjoy Vampire Survivors too. While vampire games are undoubtedly cool, the concept of fighting my way through the multiple different realms of Norse Mythology has a much greater draw for me. And at only €10, I figured the risk wouldn’t be too great. And that risk has paid dividends.

Now, as much as I am enjoying Jotunnslayer, I do have to point out that it’s an early access title. But what you’re getting for that low entry fee is worth it. And even as I was working on this mini recommendation, the developers over at Games Farm have pushed out another update, bringing with it a new God, new weapons, and a host of other improvements. I’ve put around 8 hours of gameplay into the game so far, grinding out gold coins to improve my character’s abilities in addition to powering up the bonuses the Norse Gods grant per level. Each run can range from around 12 minutes and up, counting the timer and additional tasks, and the final Jotunn fights at the end, which has been perfect for me, squeezing in some game play while travelling or taking breaks.

*Summoning the Gods of Asgard, both Old and New grants many a boon*

As a game in early access, Jotunnslayer features only 3 of 5 realms at the moment, though those 3 realms differ greatly, featuring gameplay elements and enemies exclusive to each map. Players have the option of 4 different classes to take into the land of Jotunns, and like the realms, they offer unique playstyles. The Berserker melee class is the default option, but it won’t be long before all four classes currently available will be unlocked. To add new levels of replayability to Jotunnslayer, each class has access to multiple variations of their main weapons which are unlocked with Soul Stones for beating Jotunn or occasionally found in chests and come with their own boosts.

There’s a Skill Shop for players to increase the benefits of each class and the Gods whom will be lending you their strength on each session. Gold is earned at various points, and players will be using that Gold to unlock more skills and boost their powers. Each realm will come with its own set of challenges to beat to unlock modifiers. These modifiers often increase the difficulty in some ways, with the trade-off being an increase in resources earned. Having multiple modifiers active is a great way to farm Gold and Soul Stones to make subsequent runs easier. Only the first available realm, Niflheim, has the Easy Difficulty, but the two other realms available go as high as Insane Difficulty. After hours of grinding, it’s safe to say… I’m not there yet.

*There’s a lot going on at any one time, and as the time ticks down, things only get more hectic. And that’s fun*

While not everyone will agree, there’s a lot on offer in Jotunnslayer for such a low entry price. The developers are actively working away to provide additional content and from my experience, it enhances the gameplay and fun factor. I started off with the intention of just bringing more attention to this game, but I will be writing up a full review once the game is a bit further along and I’ve put in even more time. Until then, Have You Heard Of This?