Weekly Notes (May 26 – Jun 01): Elden Ring Nightreign Turbulence, Kabuto Park Buzz & May’s Top Releases

Niklas Borglund

Author

2025-06-02

Hello everyone! This week was a wild one.

From a blockbuster launch with region-specific backlash to a wholesome bug-collecting game scoring near-perfect reviews, there’s a lot to break down. I’ll also spotlight a roguelike deckbuilder close to home, highlight Early Access graduates, and share the latest leaderboard for the entire month of May.

Let’s get into it!

ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN by FromSoftware, Inc.

Largest audiences: ~58% English Speakers, ~14% Chinese (Simplified), ~4% Russian

The biggest release this week is without a doubt the new installment of the Elden Ring franchise. It's a standalone game that seems to have a greater focus on playing with friends. You can play up to three players in co-op.

I've never played any of the games myself, only briefly dabbled into Bloodborne a few years ago and realized it was not really my type of game. But everyone I've talked to who pushes through that initial insane difficulty becomes their biggest fan - so maybe I just haven't played long enough.

Anyway, I digress! Nightreign has gotten a mixed reception overall - currently on a 69% positive. Players critique performance issues, game balance (especially when playing solo), and lack of multiplayer options. The one that stands out most is the lack of being able play 2 player co-op. You can only play 3 player co-op or yourself. The reason? Developers told Polygon the odd 3-player limit was a balance decision.

However, when playing with your friends as intended - the players love the addictive gameplay and how fun it is to play.

Massive Audience Anomaly

Looking into the audience breakdown of this game - you'll see a brutal regional split.

If ONLY Simplified Chinese players would have given nightreign its score - it would only get a staggeringly low 27% positive.

I looked into why. And these reviews isolated had the very same complaints as everyone else - poor optimizations, difficulty curve issues, and lack of multiplayer features.

I keep seeing the same pattern: Same complaints across regions, but vastly different review scores. One group goes "thumbs up" the other hits "thumbs down". I find this incredibly interesting, and it goes to show that releasing in another market isn't just translating the game.

Kabuto Park by Doot & Zakku.

Largest audiences: ~82% English Speakers, ~8% French

Any game that almost gets a perfect score deserves its own section. With only TWO negative reviews from a perfect score, this bug collecting game stole the hearts of players.

They love the charming art style, fun gameplay and its wholesome vibe. The little critique it gets is mainly that the game is short and they want more content.

My running theory about these seemingly perfect games is that they all are VERY good at setting the expectations of the potential players. You'll pretty much know beforehand if you are going to like it or not, and as a game developer - I think having slightly fewer reviews but ultra positive will only help in the long run.

These are the literal opening lines of their store description - and they set the tone perfectly:

Kabuto Park is a cute and short bug collection game. Spend a month as Hana, a little girl on summer vacation. Catch the best bugs and level them up, choose your team carefully and fight other kids to become the Summer Beetle Battles champion. Expect 2 to 4 hours of serene bug catching, exciting little battles and summer vibes.

F1® 25 by Codemasters

Largest audiences: ~51% English Speakers, ~11% German, ~6% French

The next installment in the F1 series by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts, succeeding its predecessor F1® 24. Racing simulation based on Formula One. Players love the improved handling mechanics & better AI. Fans of this genre seems to generally like it more than F1® 24 right now. However, it got some critique for performance issues and that the graphics didn't get as much of an upgrade as expected.

Sol Cesto by Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini & Chariospirale

Largest audiences: ~55% French, ~27% English, ~9% Chinese (Simplified)

A randomly generated dungeon crawler where players search for the long-lost sun. Largest audience is french speakers, which is unusal - but I guess it has mainly to do with the french developers of the game.

Players praise the addictive and unique gameplay. Criticism is that players doesn't feel the content has enough depth and variety as well as complaints about bugs.

As We Descend by Box Dragon

Largest audiences: ~55% English, ~25% Chinese (Simplified), ~5% Russian

Box Dragon just released their roguelike deckbuilder in Early Access after 5 years of development! You could almost say they are the "sister studio" of Lavapotion, where I work on Songs of Conquest. We share the same publisher - Coffee Stain Publishing.

Players love the unique deckbuilding mechanics, beautiful arty style, and gameplay loop. Some frustrations among the reviews are about difficulty spikes and the desire for more content.

PaperKlay by WhyKev

Largest audiences: ~91% English speakers

Swedish indie developer Kevin Andersson developed this charming 3D platformer by himself. Documenting the journey online, he gained a sizeable following. Players love its charming aesthetic, gameplay that draws feeling of nostalgia and great voice acting. It got some criticism for technical issues, soundtrack and limited exploration.

It also has an impressive 16% of players playing it primarily on Steam Deck!

⚔️ Early Access Graduates

• Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure - Blend of automation and real-time strategy set in a strange fantasy world. Players love the fun gameplay and charming graphics - dislikes grindiness, political themes & tedious resource gathering.
• Trash Goblin - Shopkeeping simulation game where players clean and upcycle trinkets. Players love the cozy and charming gameplay - dislikes repetitiveness, lack of depth and frustrating market system.
• Project Warlock II - First-person shooter that combines retro aesthetics with modern gameplay mechanics. Players love the engaging gunplay and fluid movement - dislikes bugs and performance issues and difficulty spikes.

Notable Mentions

Here are a few other games that didn’t get its own section, but is still in the top!

• Nice Day for Fishing
• Car Dealer Simulator
• Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo - (100% positive, perfect score!)
• Wrap House Simulator
• Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3
• Small Spaces

📊 Full List: Top Releases for May 26–June 01 (2025)

🔥 BONUS: Top Releases for all of May

We just passed into June - so here's also the full list of top releases in May 2025

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it with someone who you think it'd bring value to - or support me on Patreon to help make this site sustainable and unlock exclusive features!