Amid all the news, trailers, and previews coming out of Summer Game Fest, New York\u2019s annual Tribeca Festival was in full swing last week. This year\u2019s event featured 12 independent games as official selections, chosen for their phenomenal storytelling and innovation in interactive experiences. In recent years, the event has become a launchpad for games that went on to enjoy mainstream critical acclaim, including Blue Prince<\/em>, <\/em>Dispatch<\/em>, <\/em>Despelote<\/em>, and Norco<\/em>. We had a chance to take this year\u2019s honorees for a spin, and here are three of our favorites.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this low-poly anxiety dream from Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbor, you play as Pratelle, a fearsome woman in red overalls wielding \u201c20 pounds of physical media.\u201d The gameplay is simple: You explore and smash your way through a crumbling rural village, now inhabited by the digitized versions of your former friends and neighbors. Trouble is, not all of them are happy to see you. Some will flee on sight, while others will attempt to subdue you by force. Smash certain objects \u2014 or androids \u2014 in your path, and you might be greeted with a revealing memory that hints at what happened to this place.<\/p>\n With its striking visuals and eerie soundscape, Virtue and a Sledgehammer<\/em> oozes foreboding atmosphere. Even the barest glimpses of Pratelle\u2019s former life with her mother and sister left me itching to see more. I sighed in frustration when the demo credits rolled. Then I played it all the way through a second time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It took me a few minutes to figure out what the heck was going on in Truck-kun<\/em>, the anime-inspired vehicular manslaughter romp from Strange Scaffold. But once I did, I was all in. This run-based driving game sees you working across two worlds at once. As Truck-kun, you\u2019re tasked with making deliveries, plowing into objects, sideswiping cars, and even running over innocent pedestrians. Each pedestrian you hit turns into an enemy that Clarissa, your anime warrior companion shown at the bottom of the screen, can defeat to gain power and experience to complete her quest. Yes, it\u2019s weird. It\u2019s also a whole lotta fun.<\/p>\n Each run only lasts about a minute, though you can extend your time with power-ups scattered throughout the level. During a run, you\u2019ll see a randomized set of objectives in the top-right corner: stuff like \u201chit 5 parked cars\u201d or \u201cdrive through a billboard\u201d or \u201cdrive backwards for 10 seconds.\u201d As you complete one, another takes its place. The more of these mini objectives you complete, the more Truck-kun is able to help Clarissa. It\u2019s always a thrill to drive with reckless abandon in a video game, and it\u2019s even more pleasant when there\u2019s a bunch of cute environmental and character designs to enjoy while you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m a sucker for a good management sim, but they tend not to be the most aesthetically pleasing games. Rockbeasts<\/em>, developed by indie studio Lichthund and published by Team 17, is shaking up that convention. In it, you manage a midwestern \u201890s garage band in pursuit of fame and\/or artistic glory. And, oh yeah, every character in the game is some kind of humanoid animal. Your band consists of four members \u2014 the jaded guitarist Paz, the introverted drummer Keith, mouthy vocalist Vern, and awkward bass player Carlton.<\/p>\n Even in its opening moments, Rockbeasts <\/em>does an admirable job of making these characters feel like someone you know and a group that has history with each other. As the manager, one of your first tasks is to name the band. (The dialogue assumes you picked something foul-mouthed, but I actually named my crew \u201cThe Sassypants Bunch.\u201d) From then on, you\u2019ll need to decide how the band spends each day, whether it\u2019s practicing, promoting shows, or eating at the diner to relax and recharge. Over time, your choices will determine whether the band becomes true grunge rock icons or mainstream sellouts.<\/p>\n The game isn\u2019t all business. When a show rolls around, you\u2019ll choose a song from your catalog and then take part in a rhythm-based minigame during your performance. Make it more complicated, and you\u2019ll earn more experience points. Best of all? The music legitimately slaps. I barely scratched the surface in my Tribeca demo, but I\u2019m excited to spend more time with this one, especially considering the writer previously worked on The Witcher 3 <\/em>and Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n Virtue and a Sledgehammer
\n <\/h2>\n\n Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?!
\n <\/h2>\n\n Rockbeasts
\n <\/h2>\n![\"FFVII_Revelation_Key_Art_Horizontal\"](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ffvii_revelation_key_art_horizontal.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=220&h=124&dpr=2\"\/)
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