Game Devs of Color Expo 2022 wrap-up: the best games from the show

a giant golden woman's head wearing a flower mask and a normal sized woman below with an axe
(Image credit: Freedom Games)

Game Devs of Color Expo 2022 featured an absolute truckload of creative, innovative, and most importantly fun titles during its weekend-long run. It’s incredible seeing the kind of fine titles that can be crafted by people from different cultures and races, and how those diverse backgrounds intertwine with both the storytelling and gameplay.

And while every single featured game deserves an accolades as a contender for a spot on our best PC games list, there are only so many that I can reasonably recommend without reaching the point of overwhelming. That said, the games listed below are the ones that particularly stood out to me the most due to a mix of dynamic visuals, interesting and unique gameplay, beautiful soundtracks, and that certain ‘wow’ factor that caught my attention.

Make sure to support these games and their developers by subscribing to their social media and YouTube accounts, and wishlisting or buying them on Steam and any other available platforms.

Night Reverie 

A puzzle/adventure game in which a child must solve the mystery behind the distortion of his house. It features gorgeous pixel art visuals and mixes a calming yet haunting atmosphere.

Check out Night Reverie on Steam

Dark Fracture 

A first-person psychological horror game in which you explore a body farm and travel to an alien-like universe. Its atmosphere and visuals pull from surrealist Zdzisław Beksiński and the horror artist H.R. Giger.

Check out Dark Fracture on Steam

Spellbook Demonslayers 

A roguelite horde survival game that plays like a bullet-hell title, the ease and fun of spell casting combines well with the challenge of surviving against wave after wave of enemies.

Check out Spellbook Demonslayers on Steam

Do Not Buy This Game 

In the vein of the Stanley Parable, you play as someone who is trying to play a game while the narrator both builds it as you play and attempts to sabotage your main goal of pushing a red button.

Check out Do Not Buy This Game on Steam

ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area 

An LGBTQ+ romantic visual novel about 13 adults in Jercy City trying to find love and navigate relationships. The art is gorgeous and character designs varied, with some snappy writing to boot.

Check out ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area on Steam and Itch.io

Lost Twins 2 

A puzzle adventure game that finds twins journeying through an unknown world as they solve creative and well-designed cooperative puzzles to create paths between rooms and reunite.

Check out Lost Twins 2 on Steam

Whispers in the West 

A Wild West multiplayer murder mystery with each story being a unique case for a group of friends to solve.

Check out Whispers in the West on Steam

Lonesome Village 

In this adorable puzzle and social sim game in the vein of Story of Seasons and Animal Crossing, you help rebuild a village after a calamity wipes out their homes.

Check out Lonesome Village on Steam

KindFolx 

This colorful and humorous deckbuilding RPG has you play as Reinus and the Adventurer Guild as they fight Darlocke and save your city.

Check out KindFolx on Steam

Soulbaby: Remastered 

A bullet hell RPG featuring one of the funkiest and most creative soundtrack you’ll hear, you need to survive endless waves of enemies to discover the mystery of a fading cosmo.

Check out Soulbaby: Remastered on Steam

 Biwar Legend Of Dragon Slayer 

This action-adventure puzzle game follows a teenager uncovering the reason behind his parents’ deaths as he explores Indonesia. Its 3D models and combat are already impressive in its beta version.

Check out Biwar Legend Of Dragon Slayer on Steam

Ritual Night 

A roguelite social deduction party game in which you need to either uncover deception or deceive your opposition, each day becomes more chaotic and ridiculous thanks to new daily powerups.

Check out Ritual Night on Steam

Project Anomaly: Urban Supernatural Investigator 

Reminiscent of stylized photo-taking sims like Umurangi Generation, this game has you play as an investigator who uncovers and takes pictures of anomalies while solving supernatural cases.

Check out Project Anomaly: Urban Supernatural Investigator on Steam

9 Years of Shadows 

Play as Europa, who explores a gorgeous pixel world as she fights to bring color back to it. It features an awesome magical girl-like transformation and a decadent moody atmosphere, with smooth and impactful combat.

Check out 9 Years of Shadows on Steam

YOLKED

If you enjoy silly titles like I Am Toast, this game embraces the full ridiculousness of that concept as you play an egg with human arms traversing a house and escaping the killer intent of a man hellbent on stopping you.

Check out YOLKED on Steam

A Taste of the Past 

Cooking game meets narrative sidescroller in this title about a young girl coping with the loss of her mother by navigating a train in the afterlife while reconnecting with her Chinese heritage through recreating her mother’s recipes.

Check out A Taste of the Past on Steam

Grid Force - Mask Of The Goddess 

A grid bullet hell RPG that has you create four-person teams from a diverse group of heroes with diverse abilities, in order to defeat goddesses and save the future.

Check out Grid Force - Mask Of The Goddess on Steam

Sokobond Express 

An interesting and challenging path-building puzzle game with adorable visuals in which you build an atom’s path on its way to the exit. You form a molecule by bonding with other atoms in increasingly complex ways.

Check out Sokobond Express on Steam

El Paso, Elsewhere 

Play in this third-person shooter as a supernatural investigator who has to explore a reality-shifting motel in your hometown and kill hordes of demons to reach your ex, the ruler of vampires, before she ends the world.

Check out El Paso, Elsewhere on Steam

Kabaret 

Play as Jebat, a cursed boy forced to navigate and survive a world filled with monsters from Southeast Asian myths and folklore. The art direction and music are stunning and immersive, drenched in the culture of that region.

Check out Kabaret on Steam

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Allisa James
Computing Staff Writer

Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.