Staff Article Lists

It seems like just yesterday (or February, if you want to be technical) that we had a Steam Next Fest. Well, we here at GF are back with the June 2025 edition list! Every game that we could find that featured an anthropomorphic character, or featured animals primarily, is on this list. Yes, we went through all 2500+ games to get to this list of 260+ games. 

We have an actively updated Furry & Animal Games List over at @GamingFurever that you can follow and get constant updates for lots of indie titles with TONS of lovely furry characters! If you're a developer of any of these games, feel free to hit us up on email over on our Contact Us page! We'd love to talk to you about your development!

Here's your June 2025 Steam Next Fest list (in alphabetical order):

It’s that time again folks! On June 7th, the annual Wholesome Direct went live! A showcase of adorable and chill games all about promoting wholesome vibes and bringing communities together. There’s something in this Direct for everyone, whether you’re looking for platformers, relaxing experiences or just something cute. Even better, it’s Wholesome Directs 5th anniversary so this year in particular is a special one. Let’s look at some lovely highlights. You might find a new furry favorite!

Take on the role of a little mouse tasked with helping save and assist their good witch mentor, as you trek and solve puzzles across the stunning Scandanavian-inspired wilderness in Hela, the debut title from Windup Games, published by Knights Peak.

Check out the newest trailer for Hela below, and some of its expected features right after!

 Hela tells the enchanting story of a witch and her familiars—a gang of brave little mice. For ages, the kind witch has used her magic to aid the local folk, but now she has fallen ill and needs help herself. It’s up to the mice to find a cure and keep the “witch business” running in the meantime! 

List of key features:

• Heartwarming open world adventure, played in 3D, in third person.
• Be a witch’s familiar - a brave and agile mouse with some magical perks.
• The gameplay mixes exploration, traversal, foraging, puzzles, action, and brewing!
• Play solo or together with friends - split-screen, online, or a mix of both.
• It’s a pleasant, healing experience, set in beautiful northern Scandinavian nature.

Hela Website | Wishlist on Steam | Knights Peak | Windup Games

There will never be enough cooperative story games in this world. I can’t get enough of them. But, I still want them to be well-designed, fun to play, and easily accessible to play with whomever I want. Revenge of the Savage Planet is a sequel that checks every single box and does it with tongue in cheek and cheeks on face. I played through the game from start to finish with my wife and we both thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent figuring out every puzzle, exploring every cave and mountaintop, and scanning each and every living thing around us, all the while being ferried along by a wealth of humor and personality mixed into a tasty slurry.

Becoming one with nature. Enjoying moments of zen in beautiful surroundings. Running through vast environments, enjoying the thrill of exploration and discovery. Developer Infuse Studio has refined these experiences in the sequel to the acclaimed Spirit of the North. The sheer scale and opportunity of the new land you find yourself as a fox in is lovingly crafted at every peak, step, and turn. If you’re able to flow with the up and down nature of the relaxed vibe of the exploration parts of the game, and then the much more challenging “boss” sections at the end of each area, Spirit of the North 2 will be a special game that is buoyed by its beauty, and raised by its unique charm.

So, confession: I never played Shovel Knight before. I knew of it and I was always curious about it, but I never really got around to actually playing it. Now, thanks to Shovel Knight Dig, the latest game in the series, I finally was able to play this series and, yeah, it is fun! Though it’s not without flaws. The basic gist of the game is that your loot has been stolen by the evil Drill Knight and you must break a rule you learned in Minecraft and dig straight down into his lair and recover what is rightfully yours once again. A very simple premise yet it’s this simple premise that kept me hooked for hours on end, trying to get that perfect run without having to restart at the very top. But it’s not without flaws and there are two very big flaws that hold it back from being something truly amazing.

There’s something about sitting in the middle of a beautiful landscape, playing Preserve, that makes it even more wondrous. I had the opportunity to write this review while sailing up the Fjords and surrounding Alaska wilderness and I don’t know if there could have been a better setting. I could see an eagle flying around outside the window of my cabin as I made a habitat to place down for its in-game counterpart.  The music playing while we cruised the water matched perfectly, and many times I found myself pausing the game to watch the wildlife around me as I continued to listen to the game's music. 

Firstly, let me just say that Frog Legs is silly, short, and fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously, is meant to be completed in one play session, and is less than $3. As such, this review won’t be too long-winded and instead will focus on my overall experience with the little serving of goodness that is Frog Legs. Frog Legs focuses on a set of frogs that start off inside of the classic “Frogger” game, trying to convince a cautious fellow frog that making it across the busy street ain’t so scary. Unfortunately, that peer pressure leads to an event and adventure that will change them all…in more than a few ways. Featuring gameplay that hops from arcade to horror to boomer shooter, Frog Legs will be sure to surprise and elicit some laughs for its 30-40 minute runtime.

Indie games are often the sources of some of the most innovative ideas out there. A lot of these games also wear their inspiration on their sleeves. It’s impressive when a game can both bring its own unique ideas to the table while also paying homage to the titles that inspired it. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is one such game. A lovingly crafted and self-proclaimed “Yoyovania” that pays homage to titles like The Legend of Zelda and Castlevania while still maintaining its own unique identity. No small feat, but Pipistrello accomplishes it.