On Thursday, Thinky Games held its second-annual Thinky Direct broadcast, showcasing exciting new puzzle games from independent creatives around the globe. The puzzle game-focused showcase also marks the start of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase Steam event with partner and independent puzzle game studio, Draknek & Friends.
“There are such incredible things happening in the world of thinky games – truly some of the best games ever created, made with such a deep love for puzzles and problem solving,” Thinky Games manager Joseph Mansfield said in a news release. “These games deserve so much more attention, so it’s an absolute privilege to play our part in sharing them with you all. Seriously, they’re so freakin good!”
Because many of us are beholden to traditional 9-to-5 work schedules, it can be challenging to find time to tune in to weekday broadcasts between work tasks. Need a quick rundown of all things thinky? We’ve organized a digestible list of every indie puzzle game featured during Thinky Direct 2026. From brand-new trailers to downloadable free demos, here’s everything you missed from Thinky Games’ Thinky Direct 2026 event:
Exclusive new trailers from Thinky Games’ Thinky Direct 2026
- Colorbound (Panpipe Studio; Whitethorn Games)
- UvsU: You vs You (dietzribi)
- Stretchmancer (Triangle Wave; offbrand games)
- Servant of the Lake (Rusty Lake)
- From Ruins (DigiTales Interactive)
- MONOMOON (Gentle Giant)
- Red Frame (Basenji)
- Prophet Margin (Stellar Cartography Interactive UG)
- DEG (Doseo)
- Looking For Fael (Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire, ARTE France)
- Deductopia (Nightwell Games)
- Pikku Adventure (Pikku Studios)
- Funeral for the Sun (Nicolás Cid Delgado)
Brand-new demos from Thinky Games’ Thinky Direct 2026
- The Granny Detective Society (Team Empreintes)
- Memory’s Reach (100 Stones Interactive)
- Outpour (Andrew Leal)
- Timebound (Michal Kluz; Patrycja Sagan; Fabien Calabria)
- Trifoil (Andrew Jones)
- Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School (Coin Crew Games; iam8bit Presents)
- Compress(Space) (B-Deshi Interactive)
- Burn With Me (Nozomu Games)
- Echo Weaver (Akupara Games; Moonlight Kids)
- Hello Again (Soup Island; Tiny Dragon)
Thinky Direct 2026: All release date announcements
Check out seven anticipated indie puzzle games that (finally) received release dates today:
- Cat Squeeze (Cattery Studio, Pone Games) → Launching JULY 1, 2026
- Backpack Boy (Chuck, Niles Games) → Launching AUG. 10, 2026
- Trifolium: The Adventures of Gary Pretzelneck (EmptyMatter) → Launching NOVEMBER 2026
- Bulbo’s Belief System (Abstract Digital) → Launching NOVEMBER 2026
- Clover’s Quadrants (Two-Headed Deer) → Launching JUNE 26, 2026
- Light of Atlantis (Duck ‘n’ Run Games) → Launching NOVEMBER 2026
- RITA (SporkTank) → Launching JULY 30, 2026
Never-before-seen exclusives from Thinky Games’ Thinky Direct 2026
This super-special block of today’s Thinky Direct comprises brand-new indie puzzle games, including two from today’s event partner, Draknek & Friends:
- Lock In (FLEB)
- TROOOPS! (Le Slo; taletronic)
- Gentoo Rescue (Jagriff)
- Mimic Meadows (sourencho)
- The Land Forgotten (Daria)
- Some Puzzles (FLEB)
- Dittori (Blookerstein; Draknek & Friends)
- He Who Watches (Danga Games; Draknek & Friends)
Thinky Direct 2026: Indie games available now!
- Map Map – A Game About Maps (Pipapo Games, Rekoup)
- EMUUROM (borbware; Coyote Time Publishing)
Partner Spotlight at Thinky Direct 2026: Draknek & Friends
Thinky Games shares the spotlight this year with indie puzzle game studio, Draknek & Friends, to showcase even more thikers for players to discover. These releases are straight from the creatives at Draknek & Friends — some of which we’re big fans of ourselves — so check ’em out:
- A Monster’s Expedition
- An Electrifying Incident
- Spooky Express
- Cosmic Express
- A Good Snowman is Hard to Build
- Sokobond Express
- Sokobond
- LOK DIGITAL
- Bonfire Peaks
Find fresh indies in this year’s Cerebral Puzzle Showcase
Thinky Direct 2026 ushered in this year’s Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, a Draknek & Friends-presented Steam event highlighting new and upcoming head-scratching indie games from developers and publishers worldwide. The Steam event is up and running, and puzzle players can pick up previously undiscovered games at lower prices, download free demos, tune into livestreams, and more.
The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase has been around since 2022, so if you’re curious (figuratively!), travel back in time and enjoy puzzle games’ past. For more satisfying puzzle game recommendations and to-the-minute coverage of the niche, follow the Cerebral Games Showcase on Bluesky and Mastodon.
