Exploring Indie Games at Play.NYC at Anime NYC 2026
Another year, another Anime NYC con under the belt. We love Anime NYC each year, but we always make time to check out the Play.NYC gaming area. The focus remains on game developers there. This is valuable for gamers. It brings back memories of the early PLAY.nyc standalone events before they started merging with Anime NYC. The events still focus on Game Developers and what they can offer us as gamers. I always enjoyed going from booth to booth and meeting so many new personalities, especially throughout the day, as they recite the same spiel to everyone who comes up. This year, we were given the opportunity to go as Press again on behalf of our blog, play a few games, see a few familiar games from last year’s event, and try some new games set to come out soon.
I enjoyed meeting all the developers at their tables and getting to know some of these indie games. I played a few of the less crowded games and showed interest in them. There are some really cool games in the works to come out later this year and next year, with new ideas and some rehashing of concepts we’ve all played before. I’ll list some I’m excited to play when the full game releases. I’ll list the games I thought about in the demos and encourage you to add them to your Steam wishlist and take some time to play the demos. This year they added vendors that sell merch alongside the developers, and it was a great experience to also shop and game.
SpellBinder and Inklands
This is a brief description in their own words: SpellBinder is a mobile game of magical word transformations, where you cast spells to transform objects and enemies. Inklands is a fantasy story-writing game, where you journey through distant lands of imagination and test your writing skills in competition with other players.
I only played SpellBinder at this table, and I love a good word puzzle game; if you do, I think you’ll enjoy it. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t have a demo yet to play outside the con, and they are still working on bringing it to more platforms. I think this game would definitely benefit younger kids from elementary to high school as a brain teaser, while also building simple wordplay and helping them complete spells with the correct word in the challenge. The setup is in an old castle, and you’re a spell binder who learns new spells to defeat the obstacle in front of you.
The level I tested was Mammals, and I had to either subtract or add a letter to make words associated with the level to defeat the enemy and progress. I thought it was fun, and hopefully when the game is released, it will add a bit of challenge by adding timers and alerts to create more difficulty or a difficulty option.
I enjoyed the game because the first few rooms I played with the artist of the game helped me figure out how to cast spells since there wasn’t a tutorial. Once I figured out the game play, I was speeding through the next few rooms to complete the level. It’s going to start as a mobile game, and I think that’s perfect for playing on the go.
Support SpellBinders and Inklands
Website | Instagram | Anime NYC Page | Artist Instagram
Frog In The Pocket
If you’re a fan of rhythm games like I am, you would enjoy Frog In The Pocket. It’s a cute rhythm game where you play as a frog catching the notes perfectly, like any rhythm game, BUT! You’re a frog in a pocket, and the music is original music created by the developers. I think the best part about the game is the love for music that goes into it. The music has a jazz-fusion vibe, so it’s really relaxing and chill as you play on your keyboard. They are working on making the mic pick up percussion instruments so that you can play in real time, which is cool. If they decide to sell instruments in a shop or recommend some, I’d definitely purchase them for the experience.
I liked the game and how relaxing it is; you should wishlist it on Steam so you get notified when it releases. It doesn’t have a release date yet, but hopefully it’s soon. A few rhythm games are set to release when it drops. Let’s support the original music and the developers who made you fall in love with rhythm games. You can also sign up for beta testing on the game’s website.
Website | Developer Website | Anime NYC Page | Instagram | Steam Page
Maiden and the Machine
This isn’t a game, but a vendor in the PLAY.nyc area. As I said before, they mixed vendors with the game developers, I’m assuming, because they had extra space, or because these vendors make sense next to the gaming area based on what they sell. Maiden and the Machine sells Rhythm Game Merch, which makes it perfect that she was in this location. I wanted to shout out this shop because it had so many cute and fun items, and as a rhythm game lover, I loved it. If you also enjoy rhythm game merch, be sure to check out the site and support a small business.
Website | Instagram | Anime NYC Page
Support Indie Game Developers and their creations.
