[INDIE PICK 3] Vol. 2 by Daichi Saito
2025.04.12
With INDIE Live Expo 2025.4.13 just around the corner, we’re counting down the final days until the big event!
As always, the show will feature over 100 carefully curated indie games from around the world.
To help you enjoy the show on a deeper level, we’re bringing you a special segment called INDIE PICK 3, where people involved with the program introduce some of the indie games that have caught their attention.
In our first installment, we featured Shuhei Yoshida. For round two, we’re turning the spotlight on Daichi Saito, CEO of WSS playground and Editor-in-Chief of INDIE Live Expo, who also served as host for the previous INDIE Live Expo!
CEO of WSS playground.He joined DWANGO Co., Ltd. in 2011, working on projects like Niconico Chokaigi and various indie game initiatives. After producing the indie hit Angels of Death and serving as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Denfaminicogamer, he went on to found Why so serious, Inc. (WSS playground) in 2019. He has since produced titles such as NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD. Alongside being one of the original organizers of INDIE Live Expo, he also hosted the INDIE Live Expo 2024.12.7 broadcast.(You can find him on X here → https://x.com/daichittax)
Now then, let’s check out Daichi Saito’s current indie game picks!
Daichi Saito’s Top 3 Indie Picks
A game where you continuously draw four types of cards and are forced into increasingly absurd situations.
The Lust card leads to romantic affairs.
The Greed card drags you into reckless spending.
The Conquest card throws you into dangerous adventures.
The Slaughter card demands a life be taken.
And from those wild prompts, an unpredictable drama unfolds…
I was completely drawn in by how perfectly the title, artwork, and experience aligned. I’ve already spent over 30 hours in the demo, and another 30 in the full version.
This is exactly the kind of indie game you need to be playing right now.
It’s set in a fantasy world, but there are no demon lords or empires. Instead, you find yourself consumed by the messy web of human relationships within the castle walls.
You can numerically define how much your protagonist likes or dislikes others. You can even make someone you loved into someone you hate. By the end, you can even choose your own gender.
As a game centered on interpersonal relationships, it’s one of the boldest and most ambitious titles I’ve ever seen—and a masterpiece that deserves to be recorded in bold letters in the history of Japanese indie games.
A Unity remake project is in the works, and I’m incredibly excited. Naturally, I backed the crowdfunding campaign too.
A large-scale game that still embodies the spirit and potential of true independence—an absolute masterpiece. No dragons, no magic—just a grounded, realistic RPG set in medieval Bohemia. And yet, it’s one of the most compelling RPGs I’ve ever played. It truly let me role-play.
The main character and his companions are deeply compelling, and their lives feel intertwined with history itself. Just by playing, you begin to understand their world—and it sparked a genuine interest in Czech and Central European history for me.
Everything in this game is superb, but its characters and story in particular stand as a gold standard—one that should be studied and celebrated.
And that wraps up our second installment of INDIE PICK 3, featuring Daichi Saito, Editor-in-Chief of INDIE Live Expo. From freeware to sprawling epics, his picks showcase the sheer diversity of what indie games can be!
There’s one more round of PICK 3 coming ahead of the INDIE Live Expo 2025.4.13 broadcast, so stay tuned—you might just discover your next favorite indie game!
【Check out other people’s PICK3!】