Engadget roundup highlights new indie games including Consume Me on iOS and Swan Song

Engadget has published a roundup of new and upcoming indie games, highlighting titles such as Consume Me and Swan Song, alongside various demos ahead of Steam Next Fest. The article also reviewed demos for titles such as Outblast, Pixel Washer, Moonbrella, Ballgame, Invokyr, Defrag Incremental, Offbeat, Ultrapool, Where Dolls Hang, and Stars Reach, noting their release windows and platforms ahead of Steam Next Fest.

Consume Me, a coming-of-age life sim based on developer Jenny Jiao Hsia’s teenage experiences, has launched on iOS for $10, following its previous release on Steam. Swan Song, a story-driven puzzle game by Business Goose Studios, is available on Steam for $8. The article also reviewed demos for several other titles ahead of Steam Next Fest, including Outblast, Pixel Washer, and Stars Reach, noting their respective platforms and release windows.

Consume Me, which debuted on Steam last year, is a coming-of-age life sim that's based on a spell in developer Jenny Jiao Hsia's teenage life. You'll try to juggle all of the responsibilities of a student in her last year of high school. Along with dealing with her studies, Jenny has to manage chores, dates with her boyfriend and an eating disorder. Time management is a key factor here. You'll try to keep everything in balance by playing minigames, which is perhaps one reason why Consume Me could be a good fit for the pick-up-and-put-down nature of mobile gaming. It landed on iOS this week and Hsia suggested it might be coming to Android at some point. Consume Me just won an Apple Design award in the Social Impact category and it received the prestigious Seamus McNally Grand Prize at last year's Independent Games Festival.

Swan Song is a story-driven puzzle game that takes place inside a music box. You'll compose melodies by placing notes on a chart in order to create paths for figurines to move toward a goal. The story is based on something one of the developers went through. "While deeply personal, the narrative has been carefully crafted to resonate with everyone who has gone through similar experiences," a press release noted. Jamal Green (Toem) composed the soundtrack. Of note, Swan Song isn't the only music composition-related game I have for you this week... day 249 – CONSUME ME is now available on the app store! i say that this game is about me having a Bad Time in high school but i PROMISE that you will have a Good Time playing.. On the iPad or iPhone..The way God intended. enjoy!!! 😘 — jenny (@qdork.bsky.social) 2026-06-02T03:46:17.173Z Developers: Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder Publisher: Hexecutable Platforms: iOS (previously out on Steam for PC and Mac) Price: $10

Outblast, developed by Rhino Rock Studios, is available on Steam and Meta Quest for $6.74, with a 25% discount until June 11. If you've been into Saros lately and now want to dive into something more along the lines of Housemarque's earlier arcade shooters, Outblast might be the game for you. There's the option to play this one in virtual reality, if you prefer. The story, such as it is, positions you at the helm of a ship with the aim of stopping a "rogue viral intelligence known as Typhon," which has "consumed the system." You can expect some environmental storytelling here too. Still, Outblast seems to be mostly about shooting things and blowing stuff up while dodging enemies and projectiles. You can upgrade your ship by collecting data fragments to unlock more powerful weapons, boosts, shields and extra lives. Those should help you battle through the five districts and bosses. You can compare your skills against other players on live online leaderboards too. It sounds like just the kind of turn-your-brain off game I might need after Summer Game Fest and WWDC.

Several demos are available ahead of Steam Next Fest, including Pixel Washer (Valadria), a 16-bit aesthetic power-washing game; Moonbrella (Jett Williams), a platformer without a jump button, using an umbrella for movement; Ballgame (Human Computer), a puzzle platformer based on golf rules, with a full game slated for 2026; Invokyr (Ludogram), a co-op horror adventure inspired by Jumanji; Defrag Incremental (Pollo Arcade), an incremental roguelite with an MS-DOS style interface; Offbeat (Whetstone Games), a music production tool that allows exporting WAV files; Ultrapool (Icedrop Games), a billiards-based roguelite with beta playtests on iOS and Android; Where Dolls Hang (Steelkrill Studio), a psychological horror game inspired by the Isla de las Muñecas; and Stars Reach (Playable Worlds), an MMORPG led by Raph Koster, entering early access this summer. Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?! (Strange Scaffold) is scheduled for release on July 29, 2026, on Steam and Xbox.