Our Favourite Video Games - August 2025 Edition
At Neon Noroshi, we play a lot of games. Whether for work or pleasure, our team members are constantly checking out the latest titles on Steam - indie, AAA and from all over the world. Here are this month’s game recommendations from us!
Talented by TurtleFox Games
“Talented is so much fun. It's a Vampire Survivors-like but with a massive randomly generated skill tree (which is where you get your upgrades). It is very satisfying and makes you feel like a veteran Path of Exile player to an extent,”
Set within “The Demonic Conveyor Belt”, Talented tasks players with surviving 20 nights against waves of demons, using skills that are randomly generated via a skill tree. There are over 500 talents you can learn, plus more than 100 abilities available in the game. Each run is different, allowing you to explore new talent trees and push your unique builds to the limit.
Visage by SadSquare Studio
“The best psychological horror game I've ever played! Honestly, I don’t have the guts to finish it—I didn’t even play Visage for that long—but I’d still recommend it to anyone who thinks jump scares are no big deal. It’s a shame Hideo Kojima never got to release the full version of Silent Hills PT, but Visage pretty much carries on PT’s terrifying spirit and delivers it as a complete game,”
In Visage, players explore an ever-changing house situation in a slow-paced and atmospheric world. Terrible things have happened in this house. Families were murdered, people went insane and some have even committed suicide. Each room has a story and you as the player must relive it all. Why are you here, why do they haunt you, what have you done? These are questions you’ll find answers to while playing this extremely creepy game.
Öoo by NamaTakahashi
“Öoo, released on August 8th, is a puzzle action game with perfect level design. The player has only one ability: to create blocks and blow them up, but players discover they can use this ability in dozens of different ways. Usually, these types of puzzle games are too difficult for me. However, the level design inspired me, so I never got stuck and completed it. It has 500 Steam reviews with 100% positive ratings,”
We’re rather proud of this one as it’s a recent hit within the Japanese independent scene. Öoo is a mysterious puzzle platformer that encourages the player to discover creative ways to use bombs! The game is a short but tight 2-3 hour experience set in an adorably cute world with an even cuter caterpillar as the main character. The game is also textless allowing for a seamless and language barrier-free experience.
Tiny Bookshop by neoludic games
“Tiny Bookshop is turning out to be a real treat for me at the end of the day when I want to unwind, and it's just come out. The touch that's really sold me on it is that every so often you're asked for help finding a specific kind of book, and while there are some made-up books specifically made for the game in there, almost all of them are real, and knowing the stories can actually help with making recommendations easier.”
Cosy games continue to dominate the indie space, but Tiny Bookshop seems to have carved out its own special nook in its players’ hearts. This is a comfy management game about selling books, decorating your bookshop and advancing small storylines with a cast of characters along the way. You can really sink into the addictive repetition of the management aspect but also break away into the narrative bits where you can understand the town of Bookstonbury-by-the-Sea, meet new characters and uncover the secrets of the space.
Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy by Too-kyo Games
“This is a must-play for fans of Kodaka’s previous work such as the Danganronpa series, I don’t think I need to sell this to you. But for the uninitiated, give this (minimum) hundred hour game a chance. The story can feel like a slow-burn with some really bizarre plot devices. Just keep going and allow your brain to marinate in his secret sauce, you’ll start to find yourself enamoured with the characters and incredibly intrigued by the mystery. It’s also an SRPG, which I’m not usually a fan of but I found the combat to be surprisingly dynamic!”
It’s hard to distill down Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy into just a few sentences but we’ll try our best. The game revolves around 15 students who have been tasked to defend their school from hordes of monsters for 100 days. Who are they, why are they humanity’s last hope and what exactly are these monsters? You’ll find all of this out and more! The game blends rich visual novel storytelling with friendship simulation, exciting SRPG combat and dynamic cutscenes that will have you feeling like an anime protagonist. While it is quite a time heavy investment (the average playtime on Steam seems to be around 150 hours right now), the pay-off is amazing.
