Weekly Notes (May 5–11): Indie Wins, Franchise Fails, and a Claymation Surprise

Niklas Borglund

Author

2025-05-12

Happy Monday! Time for another round of Weekly Notes - a breakdown of the most interesting releases on Steam from last week, and what players actually thought about them.

🧙‍♂️ Ithya: Magic Studies by BlueTurtle

Largest audiences: ~74% English Speakers, ~7.5% Chinese (Simplified)

Topping the list this week is an ultra-niche app/game built to enhance your focus. You turn it on in the background, put your headphones on - and just get stuff done.

These kinds of projects - clear in scope, niche in audience, and transparent about what they are - often perform well. This one’s no exception: ~330 reviews and a 98% positive rating.

💸 Cash Cleaner Simulator by Mind Control Games

Largest audiences: ~57% English Speakers, ~11% Chinese (Simplified), ~9% German

A simulator game where you play as a low-level criminal where you need to clean dirty money, literally using washing machines. Players like the addictive gameplay, but they want an automation feature to remove some of the repetitive grinding.

♟️ Drop Duchy by Sleepy Mill Studio

Largest audiences: ~52% English Speakers, ~9% Chinese (Simplified), ~8% Russian

A puzzle-strategy game with a board game feel. Sitting at 90% positive, with praise for its mechanics — but some frustration with RNG affecting match outcomes.

🧱 The Midnight Walk by MoonHood

Largest audiences: ~65% English Speakers, ~6% Russian, ~6% French

Glad to see a game made here in Gothenburg - where I'm based!

The Midnight Walk is a claymation adventure developed by MoonHood, a team with roots at Thunderful and Zoink.

It's an adventure game made with real clay and using stop motion. It gives off a similar vibe as previous games they've worked on such as Stick it to The Man! and Lost in Random.

Players love the art style and story, but several think the 39,99€ price is steep for the playtime. The game also supports VR, and several players are experiencing problems with the performance when playing like that.

📉 Franchise Stumbles Roundup

Rocky launches from big franchises + notable DLCs

Stellaris: BioGenesis by Paradox Development Studio

Largest audiences: ~62% English Speakers, ~12% Chinese (Simplified), ~12% Russian

A new DLC to the wildly popular game Stellaris, a Sci-fi 4X game. BioGenesis adds genetic customization, living ships, and new story paths to the base game. But with just 40% positive reviews, player sentiment is rough - most complaints revolve around bugs, crashes, and performance.

Age of Empires II: DE - The Three Kingdoms by World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch

Largest audiences: ~39% English Speakers, ~33% Chinese (Simplified), ~8% Chinese (Traditional)

The Three Kingdoms expansion adds five East Asian civilizations and three epic campaigns inspired by ancient China’s legendary warlords.

Reception is split. Some love the variety, others feel it breaks the game’s historical and mechanical tone. A huge chunk of the audience is Chinese - so the stakes are high.

Among Us 3D by Innersloth LLC, Schell Games

Largest audiences: ~49% English Speakers, ~16% Russian, ~6% Spanish

A 3D remake of the viral hit, with VR support.

Players are frustrated by voice chat monitoring — several report being banned in private lobbies. Some complaints are also about the lack of localization in certain languages. My guess is that people are disappointed that languages supported in the original Among Us, is not necessarily supported here (like portuguese).

Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall by Brave At Night

Largest audiences: ~42% English Speakers, ~19% Russian, ~17% Chinese (Simplified)

Expands the emotional kingdom-management formula from the first game. Gorgeous pixel art and deeper decisions, but bugs and performance issues are dragging reviews down at launch.

Full List: Top Releases for May 5–11 (2025)

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