Welcome to Faremont National Park!

New Trailer Features more details on Faremont National Park breathtaking wildlife and visuals

Duesseldorf/Germany, November 11, 2025 – Since the first announcement of Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator in August 2025 many things have already been said about the daily work life of a US ranger. But what would a ranger be without the nature he or she protects? This is why Publisher astragon Entertainment and developer To-Go Games – part of GRIP Studios put their focus today on the secret protagonist of their new simulation game: Faremont National Park itself!

Today’s Park Impressions Trailer takes outdoor enthusiasts on an impressive tour of the unique flora and fauna as well as natural monuments that await them during their visit to Faremont National Park:

Diverse trails, beautiful valley views, spectacular giant sequoias, and rugged mountains rising from the dense forests will delight any nature fan – be it visitor or employee. There is something to discover around every bend, from natural rock formations and steep waterfalls to abandoned buildings from long gone eras.


Rare animals and plants contribute to the park’s unique charm: playful raccoons, majestic eagles, and even predators like bears and wolves make every visit special and exciting. And when a deer grazes peacefully on the riverbank in the stillness of dawn … Faremont National Park truly becomes the most beautiful (work)place in the world.
 
Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator will launch in Early Access via Steam and the Epic Games Store with an already broad set of features, offering hours of engaging gameplay from day one. Throughout the Early Access phase, players can look forward to regular free content updates, with new tools, activities, and wildlife enhancements planned. The player community will play a crucial role in shaping the game’s further development through feedback and ideas.

Key Features:

  • Step into the wild: Begin your ranger career in the stunning Faremont National Park
  • Explore diverse biomes: Forests, meadows, and riversides await your protection
  • Support and protect: Maintain trails, assist visitors, and respond to wildlife callouts
  • Document wildlife: Discover over ten animal species with multiple subspecies
  • Fill your lexicon: Document animals and plants with your ranger camera
  • Drive with purpose: Use your ranger pickup to travel the park’s scenic roads
  • Engage with visitors: Help hikers, check permits, and guide visitors to key locations
  • Experience dynamic days: Day-dawn cycles, changing weather, and shifting tasks
  • Choose your path: Select between Simulation and Casual settings to customize your playstyle

More information about Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator at:  

Website 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Threads 

TikTok 

X (formerly Twitter)

Discord 

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Narrative Adventure Game Hymer 2000 to Launch on November 13 Across Multiple Platforms

Developed by doBell and published by indienova, the narrative adventure game Hymer 2000 is set to officially launch on November 13 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4/5. The game is priced at $4.99 USD, with a 10% launch discount on Steam.

Steam page:https://store.steampowered.com/app/3255860/

Release trailer:https://youtu.be/3afBUGi9aa8

Hymer 2000 is a text-based adventure game that blends narrative storytelling with interactive gameplay. Players take on the role of Frank, a recycling specialist sent to Hope Residence to recycle AI Hymer’s personality module. What begins as a simple task soon unfolds into a journey to uncover long-buried truths.

The game features a unique narrative system where players search, collect, and piece together fragmented memories to reveal the full story. Players can collect 80 Pareidolia image, each capturing a story that happened before in Hope Residence. In addition, 80 hidden dialogues allow players to freely enter keywords to unlock. As exploration deepens, these fragments gradually connect to reveal the truth behind the story.

As a key character in the story, Hymer supports free-form text interaction. From simple commands like “open the door” to more complex questions, players can talk freely with Hymer, whose responses make it feel more alive than a typical NPC.

Beyond the main story, algorithm-driven mini-programs like Canvas, Notes, and Particles offer creative, interesting interactions that enrich the overall experience.

Following its well-received demo on Steam and itch.io in September, the full version of Hymer 2000 is coming soon. Join us to uncover the secrets of Hope Residence.

Game Features

  • An open-ended conversational system free from predefined text options.
  • Enter any keyword to search for conversational logs between Hymer and others.
  • A well-rounded story connected by 80 illustrations of pareidolic “faces.”
  • Interactive mini-games based on algorithms, including “Particle” and “Note.”
  • An interface that simulates an operating system.
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The Potatoe Kept getting away (SOPA review)

My chosen type of game are point and click and action/adventure third person. SOPA borrows from both to also be its own thing. A living 3D animated cartoon come to life as well as a surrealistic painted dream the vibes and feels are truly charming.

While its a short game, it has some awesome characters, art design and music. There’s no voice acting in the game, but the writing is lovely and everyone, even the most minor of characters seems fleshed out.

It has some of the issues of a point and click as well though. There is a lot fetch questing, a lot of back and forth, a lot of getting unsure of the next step and the solution just noticing a “pixel” or realizing the inventory puzzle. None of it ever bad enough to not want to continue through the charm though.

This review is short, but like I said, so is the game, but I hope like the game you found the words sweet as well.

SOPA – Tale of the Stolen Potato is available on Steam, PS5, XBox and I believe even Switch, although the main website only links to Steam. The price should be $19.99 USD everywhere.

(also I seem to have only 21 of 31 achievements despite beating the game, so there is much more than meets the eye. Meaning, explore, explore, explore.

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iam8bit Brings the Black Friday Heat with Hefty Discounts and Highly Requested Restocks on Vinyl, Games and More


Fans Can Secure Restocks and Save Big on Merch from Titles like Outer Wilds, Persona and More at 
iam8bit.com

LOS ANGELES – November 4, 2025 – iam8bit, a global leader in the entertainment merchandising industry, is offering huge savings on hot-ticket vinyl, games and more for Black Friday. With discounts up to 72 percent off and a showcase of highly anticipated restocks, fans can get their hands on collectibles for a wide range of popular franchises, such as PersonaLeague of Legends, Outer WildsSea of StarsBanjo-Kazooie and more. Select products will be on sale and reissues will be available to order at iam8bit.com beginning on Thursday, November 6 at 9:00 a.m. PT through the end of the year, as supplies last.

Included in iam8bit’s Black Friday products are a huge lineup of vinyl featuring standout soundtracks from the The Cuphead Show!Steven UniverseOxenfree II: Lost Signals and Persona. Notably, the Black Friday event  also includes reissues of three Rare Limited titles: Battletoads Vinyl Soundtrack, Banjo-Kazooie 2xLP Vinyl Soundtrack, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day 2xLP Vinyl Soundtrack. In addition, iam8bit has prepared a special new release for Rare’s Sea of Thieves, with a special 1xLP Shanties of the Sea of Thieves vinyl featuring 16 of the best in-game shanties. iam8bit is also releasing Lonely Magic, the second studio album from Rebecca Sugar, best known as the creator of the Steven Universe series.

iam8bit is also offering slashed prices on tons of physical games, including beloved hits like Bomb Rush CyberfunkNeon WhiteSea of Stars and heartwarming hits like Stray. The team will also be restocking a variety of physical  Outer Wilds products, including the iam8bit Collector’s Edition on PlayStation 5 and the Art of the Outer Wilds art book. Many of the games in the collection come packed with one-of-a-kind cover art, stickers, posters and more.

The Black Friday collection drops on the heels of iam8bit’s 20th anniversary. Marking the occasion, the company has put on epic celebrations all year long, with the next set to commemorate 20 years of games, art, music and culture by hosting an anniversary art show in Los Angeles from November 8 to November 9.

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Magical open-world misadventure Scrabdackle Act 1 releases on Steam December 2

Explore a scribbly world full of charming characters, hidden paths, and tough-but-fair bosses to best, all handcrafted by jakefriend

Today indie narrative label Fellow Traveller and developer jakefriend, AKA Jake, have announced that the wonderfully witty adventure game Scrabdackle Act 1 will launch onto Steam December 2.

Scrabdackle begins when the wizard academy is attacked, flinging a novice wizard through a window and out into a wide, hand-drawn world. Players will navigate the vast unfamiliar lands as they try to make their way home, encountering curious creatures, quarrelsome characters, and tough-but-fair bosses.

Built by (essentially) one developer, Scrabdackle features between 12-15 hours of gameplay in Act 1 – with two more acts to follow. The base game price will increase with each new act, but players who pick up the game on December 2 will get the remaining acts as free updates.

In this scribbly open-world adventure, gameplay is distinctly non-linear, allowing players to uncover most regions, spells, and bosses in any order they choose. Exploration of Scrabdackle’s nooks and crannies will lead to hidden secrets, more spells to learn, new areas to find, and whimsical townsfolk with their own narrative threads to tug on.

Scrabdackle Act 1 has nine larger-than-life foes who won’t go down easy. Each boss is a rewarding encounter designed to test a player’s timing and persistence. Every fight is a unique challenge with its own patterns, personality, and surprises. Difficulty is adjustable in the challenge settings for players who prefer to focus on exploration and puzzles.

Players will keep track of their journey in an in-game notebook, where every curious creature, charming character, and strange new place they study is logged. Pages will fill with discoveries, lore, and sketches as they explore, and the book’s cover can even be personalised with 40 collectible stickers hidden throughout the world.

For more updates on the magical (mis)adventures of Scrabdackle, join the Scrabdackle Discord or follow Jake on Bluesky.

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Life Update (Pop-Culture delay)

My mother had a stroke recently and my focus has been on her and just trying to take care of myself so I can be strong for her.

There are many various reviews I have written in some way to be fully edited and post, press releases and large nerd notes have taken a back seat. I will attempt to try and find mentality and strength to post during this time but am finding it difficult. Please excuse the silence.

Thank you.

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Daughter of Voodoo Teaser PR


https://store.steampowered.com/app/4076530/Daughter_of_Voodoo/

Direction description from the games developer:

About the Game
I made this single-player ghost investigation sim rooted in Voodoo. Step into the role of a clairvoyant priestess and perform sacred rituals, use vintage paranormal tools, and bridge the worlds of the living and the dead to uncover the haunting truths that echo beyond the grave.

Description
Daughter of Voodoo is a first-person, single-player ghost investigation game where ancestral Voodoo rituals collide with the unseen world of the dead. As Marie Laurette, a clairvoyant priestess, you walk a fine line between the living and the dead. Use authentic Voodoo practices to commune with spirits, guide them toward the afterlife, and uncover the truth behind their restless presence. Craft Voodoo ritual objects like mojo bags, perform ceremonies, and strengthen your connection to the realm of the dead as you unravel each supernatural mystery.
Your clairvoyant sight lets you pierce the veil and glimpse into the realm of the dead where you see spirits as they were in their final, fleeting moments. Within this realm lies vital clues no ordinary investigator could ever reach… but not every spirit welcomes your presence.
Supplement investigations with vintage paranormal investigation tools like tape recorders, microphones, and cameras. Each case draws you deeper into tense, unpredictable encounters, where every sound and shadow could be the clue you’ve been searching for… or the warning you were meant to fear. Every haunting is a story; every spirit hides a secret craving to be told.
Reveal their histories, face what binds them to this world and decide what must be done to set them free.

About the Developer
I’m a solo developer with a long-standing interest in real-world paranormal investigations. That passion led me to create my first two games, Conrad Stevenson’s Paranormal P.I. and Among the Whispers – Provocation. Both are grounded ghost hunting simulators focused on realism and investigative work. The games were well received and built up a loyal player base who appreciated its slower, more authentic approach to the paranormal.

Socials

Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYYxSMMKP
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kipthedev.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conradstevensonsparanormalpi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DAStudiosLLC1

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SteamNext Fest Autumn 2025 (Unfiltered Thoughts)

The latest SteamNext Fest winds down today October 20th. I did not play all the demos I planned as life got in the way (death, mainteance, other general life stuff), but after every demo I dropped unfiltered thoughts into a Notepad and now I share them with you.

Cult of Blood: Cut scenes with no moving mouths, bad voice acting and then… TANK controls. Probably great for someone, not me.

Midnight Saturn: A really good teaser for the pixel science fiction mystery point and click.

Devil Jam: Amazing art, but I had zero clue what I was doing and I tried twice.

Light Odyssey: Promising but the demo throws you into boss battle with a very short tutorial. It’s a minimalistic Shadow of the Colossus which can be fun, but you also must have patience and really good hand/eye coordination for.

The Dark Rites of Arkham: Pixel art alternate history supernatural point and click. the short puzzles, writing and premise presented in the demo have me curious, but the demo is also very short and ends basically before you get to do much.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion: We only get Arcade mode, but we do get two boss fights and learn how multiple characters play and they’re all different enough to make this old school brawler also feel new school.

Big Hops: Adorable art but horrible platform design, very easy to get lost. I somehow brought myself back to the start of a section instead of moving forward. The demo broke twice. I want to love this and can’t.

Kambulin: Great pixel art, but in 2025 I have no patience for a NEW game that can only work with keyboard and has you read long text

The Last Case of John Morley: A very strong demo that gives you the graphics, gameplay, story, music, sound and voice acting which are all wonderful to what seems mostly an interactive first person mystery Victorian story with puzzles based on observation and thought (although one could strongarm the one in the demo, solving it by actually reading the clues was very satisfying).

Baptise: Great graphics, excellent jump scare but way too short to compel me. Also having to go back to the Main Menu and sit through credits again just to close out? Intrigued, but not sold.

Super Chillers-The Chat Room: Excellent pixel art and good voice acting. The puzzles while easy to solve feel weird as there is no internal story logic to why you would some of the stuff. There’s nothing telling you to check a certain area story wise giving it this random feel. The ending also was so abrupt it’s impossible to know where the game is going, which I guess is okay but again lack of internal logic to why you would do b to solve a without c hinting that is the path other than the only options available feels like this needs polish before being released. Interested though.

My Little Puppy: An extremely long and satisfying demo. This upcoming puzzle platformer has charming art, plenty of dogs, and a feel of simple yet also complicated, zen but with a bit of difficulty. Definitely one I want to keep playing. (Be aware that the developers did not get a certain process signed/paid the extra $$$ for actual access to so Microsoft may block the exe at first)

Marcella Moon-The Phantom of Harvest Grove: I turned this off right away. Between the dialog of someone falling off a horse and breaking their leg and the response being “anyone hurt?”, followed by the worst walk cycle I’ve seen in forever and the absolutely “that is not a real person, even if they were a cartoon” of Elliot, I was like, “nope”. Your Mileage May Vary, give it a go, see if you stick around to find out if the game gets better.

Scholar Adventure-Mystery of Silence: Traditional low res pixel horror mystery. Well written, good puzzles, actually logical and linear, a great tease to the full game when available.

A.I.L.A: I’ve been intrigued by this since first hearing about it. Now with the demo behind this tense, confusing, puzzle filled horror? game I’m even more so. I need to know where this is going.

Powerwash Simulator 2: More of the same with more stuff that isn’t the same. Still zen, still good.

A Better World: The concept and gameplay is great, but it also relies heavy on accepting the writing and the choices the writer and/or writers decided your decisions cause. I wasn’t feeling it myself, but you might.

Call of the Golden Valley: Not a fan of the controls or the walk speed, and the demo was really too short to get a full feel, but the voice acting was good and it could be a cool mystery.

MEAL: What? I… what do I do? How? Loading? Loading again? What? Huh?

The Tragedy of Deer Creek: Black and white pixel art, well thought through story telling, game play and puzzles, a real mystery. I did not want to stop playing.

EARTH MUST DIE: Fully animated, infectiously funny, amazing voice cast, from the studio that brought us one of my favorite games Lair of the Clockwork God. This demo was the perfect tease, I want this now. I want a Collector’s Edition.

FAIL.safe: The controls are meh (having controller but it doesn’t work well so you must keyboard/mouse), there’s no skipping dialogue, the graphics aren’t bad, just nothing special, but there’s definitely something here. The control scheme especially for the mechanic and gameplay is actually really not enjoyable but there’s still something here and I hope the final version is much better.

SpongeBob SquarePants – Titans of Ride: The action-platform SpongeBob games have all been that rare really well made game even though it’s for a franchise. Especially in the action platform genre. This new one is just as good if not better from the demo.

This Is Fine! Maximum Cope: I love that KC Green helped on this, but I am just not good at actually hard 2D platformer with combat. I enjoy them but also don’t enjoy how mean they can be.

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A Truly Large Nerd Notes 10/19/2025

Life as a whole has gotten away from us here. Three weeks since the last Nerd Notes, lots of movie screenings, lots of video game playing, lots of actual just life stuff. Anyways, here’s 9/28/2025 to today of Youtube posts that caught my eye enough and are still prevalent to share.

MOVIES AND TV

Truly need to find time to binge this final season. I must see what happens with THE WALL.
I saw Pillion early in this month. I loved every moment of it. I look forward to an opportunity to watch it again at home in privacy to truly enjoy.
Quite the cast, but it also looks fascinating.
This documentary comes October 21, will definitely need to make time for this true tale.
Found time to watch this. Truly an unsuing hero being sung about.
This looks like a killer adaptation and an amazing role for Smith,
Guys… GUYS! DUDE! LOOK! LOOOK!
I like Rachel.
Super clever teaser. Especially when really a teaser since season 4 is months away.
Yes.
Oooh
This actually doesn’t look good, but I want to think the trailer is all a trick and there’s more than meets the eye.
This looks like it legit sticks directly to the Bachman novel which is the lottery concept has been used with other films and I think what they did plot wise with the 80s film is better. It is Edgar though, so I’m interested.
This might get uncomfortable.
This is gonna go deep. Like really deep.
Original toons on YT!
I wish I had a way to see this, a VPN doesn’t work with Crave even, so I hope they can sell it to somewhere like Prime.
These all look great!
I saw Deliver Me From Nowhere with a panel with the cast and director after. I really enjoyed it, you should see it.
I hope this marketing helps the naysayers as well as the idiots who see the film and go “blah blah”. Shut up, you’re wrong, completely wrong. It won’t though, there was someone I heard talking after the film thinking he was a bigger Springsteen expert than Bruce himself saying “this wasn’t accurate”.
The dedication. I really hope this dude makes a feature one day.
Old school girl revenge in 2025? Yes please, also with THIS girl?

MUSIC (everything here is fantastic, just listen and in some cases really watch, some great MVs as well)

Okay this is also a game trailer.
This too.

OTHER STUFF

Seriously this update ruled and made me proud to be an owner.
I had the pleasure of Maysoon wonderfulness one night at a Scholastic event. I knew of her prior but after I’ve loved all her work and this especially is amazing.
Meowwolf and me are friends.
I love everything Meowwolf.
The entire new Vertigo line looks incredible, but this especially looks great. https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-10-09/dc-unveils-ten-bold-new-comic-book-series-in-its-dc-vertigo-imprint-for-2026
This is great!
Watch the Lost in McDonaldland shorts. Just do it.

DOUBLE FINE: 3 things. Watch em. I have “been” with this company since “day one” and am proud to stil support them. 25 Years. Always wished I had the right skill set to work for them, but all I have is marketing, acting and production but not when it comes to assets, pipeline or publishing a videogame. I just can play those, know what I like and have design ideas that probably can’t be realized.

and ending on one more MUSIC, but first watch the video about the song before the song itself. Peaches is the best.

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HOWL TBD Solicit and info

This comic is eroti and salacious in the best way, funny, clever and excellent satire/pastiche and tribute with quality research and references. Alisa Kwitney and Mauricet made something very cool here.

HOWL TPB

(W) Alisa Kwitney

(A) Mauricet

Cover: Mauricet 

Marry a science fiction writer, become science fiction! That’s the law of Greenwich Village in the late 1950s, home of poets, artists, musicians, writers, their put-upon partners—and the extraterrestrial spores that are secretly taking them over! Novelist/comics writer Alisa Kwitney (The Sandman Presents) mixes science fiction with period drama and family memoir, featuring stunning art by Mauricet (Star Wars Adventures).

October 15, 2025

Diamond/Lunar FOC: June 23, 2025

$17.99 / $24.99 CAN

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