GMTK Digest (January 2025)

New year+

Hello! Happy new year!

Sorry, it's a bit late for that. But this is also the first GMTK Digest of 2025 and I'm excited to kick off the year's newsletters.

If you're new here, the GMTK Digest is designed to get you up to speed on what just happened in the world of games. I'll share my thoughts on the newest releases, tell you the biggest headlines, and pick out a handful of articles and videos that any GMTK fan should find interesting.

Also... in last month's newsletter I said that I endeavoured to actually play some dang games so I could give proper thoughts on the latest games. You'll be pleased to hear that I've done just that, so let's start things off with a bumper new releases section.

New releases

The Roottrees are Dead

As you might imagine, I am so here for the detective game renaissance. Developers are finding so many ways to let people feel like Sherlock (see: this month's Weekender video about an upcoming detective game inspired by Geoguessr).

In The Roottrees, we turn to genealogy. When a chocolate mogul dies, and there are questions over who gets to inherit the business, it's up to you to plot the entire family tree and figure out who the blood relatives are.

This is done with a 1998-era internet connection, a massive corkboard of photos and string, and some seriously fun sleuthing. You'll be making connections and going down rabbit holes, with a pad of paper by your side. Seriously recommended for those who loved Obra Dinn, Her Story, and the rest.