│the-itch-digest

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The first edition of our ITCH DIGEST is fresh off the presses! <@&1166335689688879125> <@&1166335610789830656>

Ah, itch.io. The place where dreams come to incarnate. The place to get the freshest glimpses into the up and coming developers’ minds. The place where some of your favorite indie games probably had a prototype version years ago. Often there’s a GameJam with a specific theme going on, with teams of developers presenting their contributions from a myriad of angles.
This mini-digest was created to shine a light on some of those games. Sure, they might be small (Even tiny!), but each prototype is a vision. Vision of games waiting to be experienced. Games that, despite their small scale, each had something that caught our eye.

"Red Finger" by kenforest

A rusty bucket dangling over industrial darkness, a lightswitch, a rubber goose (not duck) and a big button. All that is needed to create a tense atmosphere and a finger-straining gameplay loop.
Interacting with old, callous machinery has an almost ritualistic appeal to modern gamemakers. From Iron Lung to White Knuckle (Which is directly quoted as an inspiration by the developer), there’s no end of ways to touch the rust and smell the concrete. But it does take vision and effort to make an experience like that properly atmospheric and tense.

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"Ichorous" by MattStov, Goblin, TheSnowly

A demanding deity bids you to spill blood in their name… quite generously.
Pixelated bite-sized single-screen boss rush with just the right amount of trickiness to it. A red little morsel for those who enjoys the boss battle aspect of Hollow Knight-esque 2D games. The encounters are carefully crafted and the perks are rewarded based on your blood-spilling performance, so there’s variety even on a small scale.
The visuals are crunchy and goopy, a perfect fit for the theme. We certainly left craving to see more blood-filled freaks.

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"Cheese is the Reason" by Studio Laaya, Jeemeli, Axel Kulomaa, mumu

What is it about rats that’s so compelling? Must be their tiny hands and their relatable facial expressions.
Tiny and grimy point-and-click adventure about a down-on-his-luck rat detective. Concrete and rust as far as the eye can see and plenty of rodent fellows to talk to.
Overall tone is reminiscent of Cat Detective Albert Wilde, although nowhere near as unhinged. The perfect opportunity to put on a tiny fedora.

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"Creature packets" by kenforest

The mystery of the process. Living critters that come in bags - and it’s happening not in a cutting-edge facility but in a dark room with a crusty old microwave. Some of the best games out there make you ask the question “Alright, what is actually happening here?”, and Creature Packets does it as well.
Also, it makes one want to buy a ‘just-add-water’ packet of Frog.

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"Ocean of eyes" by [e-mail]

Do you enjoy the dark, oppressive depths of the ocean? Where something stares at you whenever you turn your back, perhaps? This little walk across the ocean floor will help you decide.
Any good horror aficionado knows just how fruitful the ocean is when it comes to stirring up the sense of dread, even when nothing is explicitly gnawing on your extremities. You can stare down your fears, but do you dare open it when it arrives…?

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The second issue of our ITCH DIGEST has arrived. <@&1166335689688879125>
The pace of life is different there, you see - you come back a month later, and a whole bunch of fresh games are ready to be enjoyed. For free, just open your mind and let them in! Some are made by the artform’s weathered veterans, some by budding future smash hit creators. For fresh perspectives and catchy visuals, we present the following curiosities, in no particular order.

Special Mentions
Developers that work on Critical Reflex’ games also like to participate in gamejams and run fresh eyecatching ideas by the discerning public, so here we’ll present recent entries from familiar faces.

Squire’s Journey by Winteractive
An appealing puzzle game all about positioning your forces around a circular battlefield.

Tinker Toy Theatre by Zizou
A truly hectic Theatre-em-up where you hastily set up your clockwork warriors and watch them fight!

Connect Me by Robin
Sunset-flavored adventure about the hypnotic nature of existing as a soul in an office.

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RITUAL by Dead Rock Games

Cosmic dread need not be grimy and gross, we are made to realize all too rarely. No matter how solemnly beautiful Ritual’s art is, the audio helps you immerse in a sensation of a stellar threat. Comforts of the night sky are questioned, and the individual’s place in the cosmos is scrutinized.

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Bend-jo by Squishy Turtle Games

You might say “I’ve been playing puzzle games for decades, every possible way to befuddle a player has already been invented!” but time after time developers find satisfyingly simple ways to twist your brain in a new direction. In Bend-jo, you pluck the strings of your banjo, and the world folds around you like cardboard. Flash-game-retro in spirit, and with surprisingly meditative earthy tunes of a banjo in the void.

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Encore Encore! by plasol

There are reasons to mistrust the lights and smiles of a ringmaster’s posse. Something morbid is attracted to the circus more often than not - and in Encore Encore! a heinous murder of the great magician has been committed. The art direction is stellar, the gameplay is deceptively simple, emulating a nail-biting suspect chase with only a circle of coins. And what is a good murder mystery without a grisly twist…

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The Tail of King Boris of Oris by Brevillo

Do you enjoy old dark fairytales? The ones that manage to make a moral like “Telling lies is bad” ruthlessly traumatizing? The Tail of King Boris of Oris is just for you, then. The candlelit storybook aesthetic is a treat, and the fun gameplay loop is accompanied by a harrowing story of one king’s truly ruinous greed.

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Retro Glitch by Yorsh

If you’ve never owned a retro handheld console, this charming game aims to replicate the experience with great effort. A pixelated adventure on the screen within the screen. It would be fantastic, if not for the fact that someone sold you a busted game cartridge. The game can barely work for a minute straight after every reset, and that’s where the gameplay’s gimmick kicks in. It also doesn’t hold your hand and can be tough to figure out, fitting even more in the retro vibe. At least the level codes are mercifully short here!

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The third issue of our ITCH DIGEST is here.
Why is the site called Itch, you may ask? While we don’t know for sure, a good theory is that it represents the itch to be creative, to put concepts and ideas out there for people to enjoy.

While you’re here, make a mental note of the upcoming fourth edition. It will come out ripened with spooks, you won’t want to miss that.

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Slugoborus by Yogurt The Horse

Don’t let the slow pace of this long green slug fool you – the little single-screen game gets out of control really fast. Start simple, learn to bob and weave like a boxer if you want a spot in the leaderboards.
Presentation is great too. Colors, animations and a true sewer-core soundtrack.

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One Hit Kill by Adam Vian SFB Games

You only have one hit, and you better make it a death blow. Enjoyable loop of quick thinking, somewhat reminiscent of rhythm games. In fact, we can clearly envision a game like this as a rhythm-based challenge!
And if you think it looks too simple, try and get a high score.

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Cult of PiN by KennyMakesGames

Truly, we live in a renaissance of classic arcade-and-board games. Mazes and playing cards and slots, reimagined in just about any way possible. Take a look at Cult of PiN, an eldritch-themed pinball machine! Strong theme and wicked gameplay – just like a good pinball cabinet should have.

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Mr. Magpie's Harmless Card Game by Giant Light Studios

I know what you’re thinking – how can anyone trust someone that looks like a Muppet in 2025?! Entire generations will be traumatized by mascot horror, yet Mr. Magpie is a bit more reserved than the usual foray into screen-shaking jumpscares or crude humor. The game’s vibe feels somber, corporate – your bug-eyed adversary barely says a word, and the pressure to get the exit capital is mounting.

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SCARLET SHIFT by sirmilkman

This edition ended up having an arcade-y vibe, with SCARLET SHIFT closing it off. Tricky movement, precise shooting, bite-sized gameplay loop. The fact that you’re collecting blood for fuel is a little nod to the dashing-shooting-adrenaline pumping ULTRAKILL, we’d bet!
Sharp moves and quick thinking is growing to be its own language in gaming world.

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Can you hear that? The wind in the treetops whispers about the Fourth Halloween edition of the ITCH DIGEST!
Fall season on Itch.io is always a great occasion. The time of year when creators can unfold their bat wings and spread ectoplasm all over. Snappy, moody horror ideas – they can feel like campfire stories, brief but memorable. To not freak you out too much, this edition, as usual, has a variety of flavors, some more chilling that others.

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Metal Undergrowth by kenforest

Another little gem from a prolific Itch creator. This time, you’ll delve into the pits of industrial hellscape to discover… an unusual oasis of grimy metal whimsy. Metal bugs roam around the rust-colored landscape and mind their own business, and you feel like you stumbled upon a secret ecosystem. A rediscovery of industrial aesthetic.

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Edenwound by NoEye-Soft

Stylish and brutal turn-based RPG, where exploring the world and knowing your strengths can be essential. The monochrome visuals are a strong choice too, games like these always make me feel that I’m touching a retro classic from another dimension.

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Sportaldislexicartaphobia by Juicy Beast

Alright, you’ve had your whimsical moody fun, time for the SCARES. An entity caught you in a small painting gallery, and you must pay attention and find the hidden details on each painting. Sounds simple, but your battery is running out, and the jumpscares are that much freakier when you look juuuuuuust close enough to make out the details in a corner...

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Red Booth by NiDe

Locked in a phone booth during harsh rains, and on the other end of the line is an entity that likes to play games. Nasty, hair-raising experience – in a good way! If you get frustrated playing Wordle though this little number-guessing game might not be for you, especially considering how many devious modifiers there are to make your life worse, and the monster is getting closer with every second…

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Hare by Tagger

The premise of this one is tense and freaky. Giant bear trap dug into your leg, escaping will take time and concentration, while you sit out there in the open as the beasts circle in on you – and most dangerously, the Hare itself. The art of making the player feel vulnerable is alive and well in horror games, I’m glad to say!

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The Itch Digest 5
We’re in winter months now. Wholesome Christmas-themed games must be stuffed into this edition of the Itch Digest…
WRONG. Halloween energizes the sickeningly creative minds of the Itch devs enough that there’s just too many weird little games to cover in just one months, so consider this a continuation of the Halloween edition. Eerie, strange, ghoulish – and all of them made with passion.

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Dédale by Nogam

A robust one to start. There’s so much to hate about cave exploration. Nauseating claustrophobia, unseen bugs, flood alerts, flesh-starved ghouls… And that’s only if all goes well. Dédale packs it all in a bundle in a pretty lengthy (itch-wise) cave adventure. Movement mechanic is a bit grueling, but I choose to believe it’s done on purpose for the authenticity. If you’re morbidly curious about caves, this crawler is for you.

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Lemon Salad Soup by Denny'sGuy

Gangly, strange demons inhabit a garish nightmarescape, and you only have a gun to shoot them in the head?! Hell, why not. Satisfying gameplay and temptation to chain headshots with style makes one remember old Flash game days. Rack up some score, enjoy the great sound design, and try not to think too deeply about what’s happening.

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Kitchened by koro.games

Like the Saw movies on a budget, you’re locked in your kitchen, and everything’s boobytrapped or, worse, locked with a puzzle! Despite the purposeful mundanity of the setting, there is much love for the escape rooms here. You’ll learn to appreciate just how compelling a single room can become when you put enough explosives in it.

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Counting Sheep by DastardlyFool

You look out the window and click your counter. Yet, something’s terribly wrong. Surreal horror is always a treat for those who want to torment themselves in a creative way. Inexplainable fears and sorrows, mixed together in different proportions… Counting Sheep is a good example of this. The aftertaste is strange, but we can be sure that it’s going to be a different kind of strange for everyone.

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Cradle of Evil by Obvious_San

You ever think how terrifying those clicky-clacky tabletop physics toys are? No…? Neither do we. That’s why Cradle of Evil is so fun – it explores an unexpected prop in a new light. Fast gameplay loop with rogueish elements, the atmosphere is like being in a sick music video. Put hordes to rest with magic shots while the balls above slowly swing back and forth, counting some dreadful cycle.