Annapurna Interactive has a strong 2025 lineup, including Katamari Damacy creator’s new game

One of the most shocking gaming news stories of the year was the revelation that all of Annapurna Interactive’s staff had resigned amid complicated inner politics. After all, the boutique indie publisher is well-regarded for its consistently strong output that includes the likes of The Outer Wilds, Stray, What Remains of Edith Finch and Kentucky Route Zero. With IGN reporting that a “tiny leadership team” was left trying to support around 40 projects, the future of Annapurna’s gaming division has been left unclear.

Thankfully, my immediate fears about the company’s longevity were assuaged during a recent preview event in Los Angeles in which several of its games were featured with the help of Montreal-based indie support firm Popagenda. Given my packed Game Awards schedule, I was only able to go hands-on with four of the six featured titles, but I was undeniably impressed from what I saw from all of them, including in gameplay footage from the two others. While the larger health of Annapurna Interactive remains unclear, the promise of these titles is hopefully a sign of good things to come.

Here are my impressions of the four games:

Faraway

Developer: Steph Thirion
Platform: PC (Steam)
Release date: TBA 2025

I always admire games that are made by single developers and those that feature simple and intuitive control schemes, and Faraway ticks off both of those boxes. As a vanishing shooting star, you’re only means of survival is to harness energy by creating constellations. To do that, you have to slingshot your constantly moving mass between stars using an energy string, all through a single button. While mechanically simple, the depth comes from the intricate design of the stars themselves, which become increasingly more complicated as you’re challenged to connect each shape’s points with a single string — no overlapping allowed.

Admittedly, this took a bit of time to wrap my head around, but eventually, it felt more natural once I envisioned it sort of like Luke Skywalker looping the tow cable around the AT-AT’s legs in The Empire Strikes Back. In fact, there’s a level of precise timing that I wasn’t expecting, which gives it a sufficiently challenging puzzle-like element. The core gameplay loop features procedurally generated stars and is effectively a survival mode, allowing freedom in how you create your constellation loops, but as a nice touch, there are also 16 bespoke puzzle stages that are trickier but allow for infinite retries. Throw in a gorgeous minimalist audiovisual presentation and you get this neat little space-themed casual game.

Morsels

Developer: Furcula
Platform: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)
Release date: TBA 2025

I’m not generally a fan of roguelike games, but Morsels caught my eye because it hails from Toronto-based Furcula. It also has a really fun premise: you’re a hungry little mouse that must navigate a sprawling sewer system. This gives everything a bit more of a grounded and tactile feel, all rendered through a cozy, grainy retro-inspired art style. The developer also teased some Toronto inspirations in the environmental design — a nod to everyone’s favourite dead raccoon, perhaps?

But I was also pleasantly surprised by the mechanics of Morsels. Yes, there’s the usual kind of roguelike rotating power-ups you’ll find on each run, but Morsels also has a job system that lets you switch between one of several of the titular creature types. There’s quite a lot of versatility to each Morsel, like one that shoots multidirectional bubbles or another that turns into a little bee that can shoot stingers and hover over traps. You can have a few Morsels at a time, and each have their own health bar, so they also serve as a sort of lives system, adding even more strategy into the mix. On the whole, the ever-changing roster of Morsels looks to be a smart way to ensure that each run feels fresh.

To a T

Developer: Uvula LLC
Platform: Xbox Series X/S (plus Xbox Game Pass), PC (Steam)
Release date: TBA 2025

I went into this demo entirely dark beyond knowing that it was directed by Keita Takahashi, the man behind Katamari Damacy. For the unfamiliar, that’s a wonderfully bizarre game in which a tiny celestial prince must rebuild the galaxy by rolling together all kinds of objects and living creatures while eclectic Japanese pop music plays. I love it when things are so unabashedly silly, and that’s no less true for To a T.

Amusingly, the title’s meaning is quite literal: the protagonist, a teenager simply named “Teen,” must go through life with his arms forever extended in a T-pose. It’s a point that’s immediately hammered home through a hilarious anime-style opening in which the lad sings about the trials and tribulations of inexplicably going through life with this unusual posture. You’ll also quickly appreciate the day-to-day struggles of such a conundrum, with the game wringing much humour out of the boy attempting to do everything from putting on clothes and brushing his teeth to eating cereal and opening doors. To do that, you’ll engage in simple minigames that have you simultaneously controlling individual body parts like his head and arms, as well as commanding your dog to help out where needed.

All in all, it’s as lovably bizarre as you’d expect from the creator of Katamari Damacy, and I’m excited to see just how much weirder these sorts of slice-of-life activities get in the final game.

Wheel World

Developer: Messhof
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Steam)
Release date: Early 2025

As I get older and busier, I find myself seeking more relaxing games, especially those without any sort of combat, and Wheel World looks to fit the bill nicely. Developed by Nidhogg maker Messhof, Wheel World is a laidback game about exploring stunning, painterly vistas atop your bike. While there is a “save the world” story here that includes a surprisingly in-depth spirit-filled mythology, the focus is on the exploration. In the game’s expansive areas, you can come across various races, sidequests (including locating hidden objects and taking on impromptu races) and ‘Ubisoft Tower’ sort of structures to enhance your boost.

But above all else, I really just loved the vibe. Leisurely cycling along the winding roads towards a lighthouse, stumbling upon quirky people (including a spirit named ‘Ghoulia’ and a strange tribe with boxes on their heads) on the way, is quite soothing. It also helps that there’s a robust bike customization system featuring hundreds of different handlebars, wheels, saddles, frames and more. The gameplay loop of obtaining new parts from shops, races and the overworld and creating increasingly superior bikes is satisfying, especially for those that help you down off-road paths. I want to ride my bicycle, indeed.

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Altogether, I really dug my time with each game. While the respective roguelike and puzzle elements of Morsels and Faraway aren’t generally my jam, I can see myself enjoying the full experiences. Meanwhile, the glorious goofiness of To a T and relaxing cycling exploration of Wheel World are right up my alley and so far delivering everything I’d want from those experiences. If that weren’t enough, the other two Annapurna games on display, Matt Newell’s Lushfoil Photography Sim and Wanderstop (a teashop-focused narrative game from some of the creators of The Stanley Parable and Gone Home), look great in their own ways.

Clearly, there’s a lot of variety in just these six games, so hopefully, they — and all of Annapurna’s other gestating projects — continue to get the support they need to thrive. After getting to see more from them, they’re definitely all worth keeping on your radar, especially To a T. 

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Image credit: Annapurna Interactive