The indie and AA market is killing it right now, huh? They have been raising the bar over the past several years, but it feels like most of my favorite games in 2025 fit the bracket. My end of year list is going to be extra challenging to work out, but that is my favorite type of problem!
I have two games I’m reviewing today. One is an airship flying game, while the second is a dating sim whose ambition is frankly mind boggling.
Void Sails
First off, this will be more rambly than my usual impressions reviews, which is saying a lot!
Airships are fantastic inventions, and I wish we had more opportunities to utilize them in video games. The Airborne Kingdom and its successor Airborne Empire are good examples, as well as the wondrous Airships: Conquer the Skies.
Void Sails immediately piqued my interest with its visually stunning design and a one-of-a-kind fusion of puzzle and combat mechanics. While it did encounter some launch issues, I found it to be an engaging experience. I hesitate to be too critical, as I genuinely enjoyed Void Sails, but I can see why it has a Mixed rating.
The most significant issue at launch was the price-to-performance ratio, a concern the developers acknowledged. Shortly after the launch, Void Sail’s base price was reduced to $10. The game is currently available at a significant discount during the Steam Summer Sale, priced at around $3. It’s a steal at this price, and I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest. I can’t help but feel for the team, as their game has been heavily discounted since launch. Hopefully, the sale will attract more players to this gem.
Void Sails is a heartfelt indie experiment that is artful, atmospheric, and emotionally evocative. It shines in its storytelling, visuals, and intriguing blend of gameplay systems. However, it’s held back by a short runtime and somewhat repetitive combat, although I did not find these dealbreakers.
Void Sails boasts a visually striking style, brimming with intriguing concepts. The thrill of navigating the map from a bird’s-eye view adds a unique dimension to the game. The mechanic of traversing through space node by node, managing supplies, adds a layer of strategy to the gameplay. The writing and voice acting are also commendable, although the game’s brevity left me yearning for more.
The ship’s momentum requires players to master piloting, while the boost feature enhances both speed and maneuverability, adding further depth to the moment-to-moment gameplay. It did get frustrating trying to get the airship through some of the tighter corridors, and I wish the game had some more open spaces to make the most of the piloting.
As a small team, they have created something engaging and enjoyable, but there’s definitely room for improvement. More open, less linear spaces to explore, additional side missions to develop the world’s lore, and tighter combat. I’m hoping they have learned a lot!
Date Everything!
I don’t usually gravitate towards dating sims or visual novels, but recent masterpieces like Slay the Princess have converted me. When I read about Date Everything and how much it offered, it boggles the mind.
The amount of ambition in here sets a high bar for the genre. There are over 100 fully voiced characters to befriend and romance, each with multiple endings and branching stories. The whole concept behind the game is also bonkers and hilarious in equal measure. You start the game off with a creative’s worst nightmare: getting sacked from your new job because an AI took over your position. Things quickly improve however when a strange delivery brings you a pair of magical sunglasses called ‘Dateviators’ and reveals that a whole universe of hot characters exists in your very home. And so the game begins in earnest in a massive narrative sandbox.
Date Everything is exactly what it sounds like: you date everything in your household. Everything from your bed to a sex toy, from the toilet to the fridge can be romanced. They all have personalities and lives, and the amount of lore in the game is staggering. As an avid worldbuilder and writer, I am blown away by the level of creativity on hand here.
You won’t be able to manage everything over one playthrough, but the game doesn’t rush you at any point. There are no deadlines or time constraints apart from a couple of character questlines, but the game warns you in advance about those. You can save and reload at any time which is always helpful. I have a big pet peeve for any game that does not let the player have control over their save files!
Honestly, this is a challenging game to review outright, because there is so much in here that a full review will take me a while. However, the creativity Date Everything shows off is impressive in every measure, and I am having a blast. The world of the Dateviators feels like someone crammed an entire universe into a single house with all the trimmings, and the characters have a wide range of personalities with their own lives and ambitions. They all interact with each other and have their unique ambitions. One has a struggling bar she is trying to develop (with patrons from our fellow city of Dateviators), another is hoping to create his first novel with your help, and a detective is on the case with strange mysteries around the house. This is just scratching the surface.
Performance wise I have few complaints from my 20 hours with the game so far. It runs well on modest PC hardware and handhelds like the Steam Deck, although I noticed you cannot change any graphical options as opposed to being on PC. Hopefully that gets resolved but that’s my only nitpick really. Date Everything is a lot of fun and even if you don’t like dating sims, I recommend giving it a shot.
