In December 2025, I announced that I would be streaming as an official creator for the Southeast Asian Games Onward Festival—organised by SEAGamethetic featuring games from my region of the world! We dedicated 4 hours to spotlight as many games that reached out as we could. There were so many amazing games to choose from that it was difficult to shortlist!
We managed to feature 14 games during this stream, with the 15th (Threads of You: Beyond the Bay) being streamed on a separate daydue to it being a visual novel and having a longer demo.
Please read on to see which 14 games we shortlisted to play!
Note: a copy of each game was either provided for free or the demo was available for free to use for this festival by the publishers.
VOD Part 1, 5-7pm:
VOD Part 2, 8-10pm:
Game list:
- Montabi by MankiboGames
- Once Upon a Kingdom by CliffbiteGame
- Neko Michi by eternaldream1st
- Mirth Melody by claygamestudio
- Ministry of Stoic by r4kujinWasTaken
- Sous Raccoon by Sous_Raccoon
- Detective Hindsight by bbunnystudio
- Taste of the Sea by paper_memo
- Lac Viet Journey by _Trunks_st
- Froggy Brews by KomodoRange
- Roguematch: The Extraplanar Invasion by Starstruckgame1
- Pictective by noobzilla_team
- Memento Dawn by depagames
- 1998: A Toll Keeper’s Story by gchangerstudio
1. Montabi by MankiboGames
Creature collectors who like a little strategic grid battling will love Montabi! It was fun to experiment with different ways to position the Montabi on the 3×3 grid in order to land attacks. In this game, the trainer also plays a role in helping their mons succeed! After each battle, collect artifacts and cards to power up your team. Montabi has great replay potential, combining roguelike and creature collection in a fun way.
2. Once Upon a Kingdom by CliffbiteGame
I’ll have to admit, Once Upon A Kingdom was hard to grasp. Certain requirements are not easily stated, so I floundered for most of the demo trying to figure out how to get stuff built and moved. The controls and technicalities aren’t intuitive, but it may also be my inexperience in playing this genre that fed to my struggles. If I had spent more time figuring things out, I may have gotten it. But I stayed lost until the end x-x
3. Neko Michi by eternaldream1st
Neko Michi is BEYOND CUTE! In this game, you run a festival street and dictate what the stores sell. The goal is to find the ideal combination of wares and prices for the population. What I wish I knew earlier was that those requirements would be consistent over the days, and once you meet it, you clear the game! It’s relatively easy, with the visitors to each stall giving clear hints on what they would like changed. If I didn’t confuse myself, I think we would have been even quicker. A straightforward cozy experience.
4. Mirth Melody by claygamestudio
Mirth Melody is completely free to play and is a short rhythm minigame to chill and enjoy some tunes. In it, you play as Dodo the Duck, protagonist of Mirth Island (Release date: To be announced). It is a super short game which you can pick up and put down anytime. I find the isometric style of the game to be very charming and cute~ Perfect for a comfy day.
5. Ministry of Stoic by r4kujinWasTaken
Ministry of Stoic stirs the rebel in you to take action against an anti-aesthetic government through the power of cute trinkets! The plot of the game sparks an (unintentionally?) meta narrative on going against hustle culture and taking time and resources to acquire things you like which may have no overt purpose except to bring you joy. By running illegal gacha machines and selling the cute-wares at a ramen stall, you spread the power of cuteness to the masses.
I also love backpack management, so having the store run through that system made me happy and kept me playing! Some of the visitors may also have a specialised look to them… (The developers included some cameos of Vtubers in this game, adorable!)
6. Sous Raccoon by Sous_Raccoon
Heck, where do I begin? The Sous Raccoon demo had me running around managing cooking prep, customer happiness, pest control, and customers dying on our watch all at the same time! It is delightfully chaotic, though it takes time to find your footing. I especially like the action that allows us to increase our customer’s happiness, because Lord knows we need it. Try it for yourself to see if the pace is for you! I thought it was hilarious fun!
(You can view the shorts to see what I mean)
7. Detective Hindsight by bbunnystudio
The first time I saw Detective Hindsight was at the SCAPE RE:PLAY Festival in person awhile back. I had so much fun with the demo then that I decided to play it again on stream for SEAGO! Detective Hindsight operates like a logic puzzle sewn and presented in interactive picturebook form. There are elements of point-and-click adventure where you have to interact with the “crime scene” by clicking around and finding out more.
The memo pad feature is especially helpful to take note of keywords and clues. I can’t wait to see where this cast of colourful characters end up!
8. Taste of the Sea by paper_memo
If you’ve tried silly romance visual novels such as Colonel Sanders: I Love You, or Hatoful Boyfriend, the tone (or taste?) of Taste of the Sea might be no stranger to you. The diverging paths start early on when you’re in the market choosing your fresh catch and fateful dinner, which is great for players looking to jump right in to the story without worrying whether or not you fall on the right route. Choose from 2 cute crustaceans or 1 handsome invertebrate (only available after the first 2) and embark on a journey to get them to love you! The art, writing and music work well together to present an enjoyable experience, even though there isn’t voice acting.
I hadn’t played through the game enough to determine if this is one of those heart/gut-wrenching games disguised as lighthearted, but if you’re keen to find out on your own, the full game is available to try now! Be warned though, Dark Humor and Psychological Horror are part of the tags. And there are mentions of jumpscares in the reviews, so if you don’t mind a little scare, this could be for you.
9. Lac Viet Journey by _Trunks_st
When I played Lac Viet Journey, I had just come back from Ho Chi Minh, so it was nice to relive some of the places we visited and practice typing out the food names. The typing is a good level of challenging and gives players some autonomy to choose their difficulty as they guide the phoenix to the words they want to attempt. I found the game beautifully made. Each level cleared also provides powerups and adjustments to adjust the gameplay to your liking.
Plenty of skill-based achievements to attempt with this one! I spent a little bit of time typing away off-stream to get them!
10. Froggy Brews by KomodoRange
The Froggy Brews demo is accessible here and free to try! Super cute graphics and music which drew me in immediately. As a fan of Rogue Duck Interactive (Creator of Vending Machine Co., Cats & Cups and more) games, the shop management and tea making segments were really appealing to me! The tea-making also has a unique minigame which requires players to fit the ingredients on a board, so my backpack-organisation-loving self was delighted whenever we got to make tea!
We got to meet a number of villagers while foraging materials around town, and it made me wonder who else we might meet along the way. On the itch.io page, the screenshots feature a number of mini-games that you can seemingly encounter, I am excited for the full game to try them all!
11. Roguematch: The Extraplanar Invasion by Starstruckgame1
I think Roguematch deserves it’s own blog post to be honest! This adorable Singapore-developed game has me in a CHOKEHOLD. There *might* be a Candy Crush auntie hidden away in Hime after all…
Each run is procedurally generated and unique, leaving most of your chance for success to skill but a little bit of it to chance. Don’t be fooled by the initial 15-minute feature, because this game has some serious depth. Post-stream, I’ve clocked a total of 348.8 hours on the game, though it might also have counted the time it was running on my console while I was asleep (oops). Still, a significant number of hours was put into it and I’m 75% the way to unlocking all 50 achievements! It’s my go-to game when I commute to work! (Totally not addicted)
It takes a while to get familiar with all the elements, mobs, mechanics, items, and skills. Even now I’m still on the way to unlocking the last 2 characters. That said, I’m in no rush to do so because as it is, the game is a delightful challenge each time. The game’s in-built codex is extremely helpful, and there are many ways to approach each run. I hope you will all give Roguematch a chance and enjoy the game to the fullest!
We streamed it easily for 2 hours on a separate day a few months later, when we unlocked characters 3 and 4.
12. Pictective by noobzilla_team
If you think you’ve got sharp eyes, you have to try Pictective! It’s a simple and cozy game where you look for parts of a picture. While playing on stream, my chatters helped me out. It was fun to try spotting each location then scurry to find the bandit. Big thanks to UB and Estu for the key! As of 10th April 2026, Pictective 2 is also out.
Previously, I interviewed UB and Estu about their Cats Around Us Games! Please check out the interview here.
13. Memento Dawn by depagames
If you’ve been playing games since the early 2010s, you may recall an isometric indie game called Monument Valley (2014). Memento Dawn is slightly reminiscent of that form of puzzle solving, where manipulation of the map through the direction of light can help bridge spaces and open up possible routes.
Whatever you do, the protagonist has to stay in the light! As you clear levels, you also unlock memories belonging to her. It is a cute game which motivates me to see her through her growing years.
14. 1998: A Toll Keeper’s Story by gchangerstudio
We ended off SEAGO with the impactful narrative simulation game, 1998: A Toll Keeper’s Story. In it, you play Dewi, a heavily pregnant mother-to-be working as a toll keeper. The game becomes progressively more challenging facing increasing moral dilemma, financial strain and uncivil unrest. We’ve yet to play through any endings yet, but there are multiple that are impacted by your choices during the game. It is emotionally heavy, so player’s discretion is advised.
Big thank you again to SEAGamethetic and team for having me as a creator for the Southeast Asia Games Onward Festival! It was a great pleasure trying all these amazing games ^_^