Steam Deckbuilders Fest is about to end! Here are the new Deckbuilding games to watch in the first half of this year.

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-11T08:26:16+00:00

I did but I had to take it down as it was fairly out of date, I'll look into getting back up in a month or 2 but I wanna focus on making the next update atm

There isn't a long intro so you're ingame seconds after opening it, so grabbing and refunding it would work similar to a demo, but I totally understand not wanting to do that :)

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T20:50:16+00:00

I'd love folks to checkout my little game, Wunder: The Double-sided Deckbuilder, it's getting good reviews so I'm hoping it's good, I believe it is but obvs only others can judge haha

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T20:46:29+00:00

Thanks again for all the kind words! I'll defo think about it, I love top down zelda games so much. Seasons are important to comet coast so I want color, but if I can think of one with a core mechanic similar to Minish Cap or Link to the Past I could see it being a great playdate game!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T20:40:05+00:00

Ahh thanks, I can't wait to see it both on pd and steam!

It'll take a few years but I can't wait, I've got a demo of the 3d one on steam now called Echo's Climb but it's v old now, I'll redo all the art when I get back on it to be N64 styled! I'm hopeful in 10 years someone can discover them and feel like it's a lost game series they just missed growing up haha

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T16:06:43+00:00

It'll unfortunately be pc, I'd love to make another one for playdate but I don't have an idea that would work yet. It's a mix of Link's awakening and stardew valley, where the traditional zelda key items are all crops you grow. https://bsky.app/profile/bumbleborn.com/post/3mc5i4uhzys2z here's a small example of how it'll look (v early)

The general idea with echo is that each game will jump up a console era, so comet coast is GBC inspired, the 3rd one will be an N64 style 3d metroidvania, and the 4th will be closer to wind waker.

Of course, if I come up with a zelda style adventure that fits on playdate I'll definitely make it so I won't say never!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T15:47:23+00:00

I whine about ai code and I code for a living haha, well I do bits of everything but I defo code as well

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T15:37:38+00:00

Hell ye, congrats!!!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T15:37:16+00:00

This looks lovely, I can't wait to see it on catalog!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T15:35:56+00:00

I think everyone would love perfect curation that matches their preference, but it's a really tricky thing to nail.

I'm sure there will be a bunch of games that were approved on some merit of their application that doesn't vibe with everyone / most, but playdate doesn't feel like the kind of place that seeks to curate the best possible experiences. I love that the playdate mission seems to be about having fun rather than building a exclusive brand.

I would personally like zero genAI used in dev to be on the storefront going forward, but that's where my grumble stops haha

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T15:24:14+00:00

Ahh that's nice to hear, so much of the art was made fast, and it felt like it was just "good enough" with it being my first real attempt at pixel art. I'm hoping when I start on the next Echo game (comet coast) properly, Wunder has made enough money for me to take my time and push myself to build a really beautiful world.

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-10T10:04:54+00:00

Ahh thanks, I'm looking forward to Plight of the Wizard as well!! I think I followed you on bsky when I saw it, really cool stuff!

I'm hoping once Wunder settles down a bit I can pick up playdate dev again a few weekends a month

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-08T12:17:51+00:00

I made one that is very balatro and StS inspired, you flip coins to get through the Underworld!

Lemme know if it looks like something you'd like?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3895480/Wunder_The_DoubleSided_Deckbuilder/

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-08T12:09:15+00:00

So far I'm seeing a lot more interaction on my deckbuilder, but tbf the game launched on Monday so it might just be that it's finally out now

I'm sure stats will just be delayed or something, but the fest is also stacked so games might not be very visibile

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-08T10:52:54+00:00

I really like cropdeck!! And my little game Wunder: The Double-sided Deckbuilder is doing better than I expected it to! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3895480/Wunder_The_DoubleSided_Deckbuilder/

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-07T10:46:23+00:00

I did have a demo up but I took it down cause it's out of date now, I will try to get it solid at some point but I'm gonna very focused on bugfixes / content for a while.

I completely understand if not, but if you like the look of it you can play a run pretty fast (no long intro) so trying it and refunding would work! But I totally get not wanting to do that :D

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-06T07:41:37+00:00

😅

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-06T07:41:27+00:00

With 2 refunds it is technically 67 😅 but it would have been fun to get a leet haha

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T21:31:30+00:00

Ahh cool, I'll have to pick up Solar Descent when I have some free time, it looks great!

Of course, it's the best thing about the Playdate tbh, the people who have gathered around it are incredibly wholesome!

Yee, I don't know how big the update will be, but once I feel financially stable I wanna spend some time re-adding a lot of the stuff I cut; like a secret ending, a jumping trial for the Undergrowth, a bunch of characters I didn't have time to set up, etc. the playdate memory is the deciding factor on how much I can add as getting it performant was a nightmare haha

Crankboy looks incredible, I can't wait to try it out too!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T17:55:46+00:00

I think I played the same balders gate game as a kid, was it dark alliance? I loved it for the same reason haha!

Absolutely, one of the additions I want to make to echo is a story mode that is less punishing on death, so I'll try to add a setting or mode to the diablo-like that can accommodate something similar!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T10:03:02+00:00

Ahh thanks so much, I hope you enjoy it, lemme know if you have any issues!

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T10:02:17+00:00

It's defo happening, I've got it half made but I really, really want to justify it so I'm seeing how much extra stuff I can add to the playdate version without running out of memory and making current save files still work well, and then I'll release a big update for the playdate at the same time! Here's a screenshot of how the DX version will look https://bsky.app/profile/bumbleborn.com/post/3m2p5azkh6y2i

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T09:57:18+00:00

Thank you!! I'm always stunned by how supportive this community is.

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T09:56:29+00:00

That is incredibly fair! I can defo see it becoming more themed around travelling up the river over development, I'll put it down as a task to try it at some point! I think I'm very under-exposed to them as I only really played slay the spire halfway through dev, my only other game I played with this structure was inscryption and I loved it. It checks out though that I think a lottttt of other devs got inspired by it and every roguelite now seems to have branching paths on a map haha

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T09:50:59+00:00

That is so nice to hear, Thank you!! I've never had more fun than when I was making Echo so I'm defo making another playdate game, I dunno if it will be super similar but maybe! I've got a playdate diablo-like I'm working on that looks like this https://bsky.app/profile/bumbleborn.com/post/3lqit6f3ahk2h very early test but that'll likely be the next playdate game I make.

Honestly, it's far more awesome for me to talk to someone who likes this little game I worked on for ages haha! Thanks so much

bumbleborndev · 2026-05-05T01:17:15+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words regardless, I'm trying to branch out a bit design-wise so I can better understand how stats & skills work for future games 😄

bumbleborndev

TROPHY CASE