Regulators

I have a soft spot for the kind of game that does something conceptually weird and then just... pulls it off. Regulators is that kind of game. Pascal Bestebroer, the one-person studio behind OrangePixel, has been quietly crafting arcade-inflected indie games since 2004, and this is probably his most ambitious structural bet yet: a real-time squad shooter designed to feel like a co-op session even when you are playing completely alone. The core loop centres on you directing a small group of NPC mercenaries through a city overrun by mutation. Your recruits are not decoration. They level up over the course of a run, learning to plant C4, collect intelligence data, defuse mines, and handle the kinds of secondary objectives that would otherwise pin you down. The game spans over 15 missions spread across apartments, hospitals, banks, airfields, and scrapyards, each built on pre-designed interior maps that get shuffled with procedural randomisation on every run. It is a sensible middle ground between the replayability of a roguelite and the deliberate spatial design of a handcrafted level, and it works better than you might expect. Objectives range from data collection and hostage rescue to building demolition and targeted assassinations, which keeps the pacing varied without feeling padded. There are five playable characters in total, two available from the start and three unlockable. Each one carries a distinct super power and a different dodge move, which is where the alien-substance backstory earns its keep: the same ooze mutating your enemies has apparently gifted your crew with abilities that meaningfully change how you approach a room. The weapon and gadget selection, including flash grenades and machine guns through to baseball bats, lets you lean tactically or go loud, and the adjustable difficulty means the game can accommodate both careful methodical players and those who just want controlled chaos. If you have a friend nearby, two-player split-screen co-op and Remote Play Together are both supported, which shifts the dynamic pleasantly without the game ever feeling hollow without them. The pixel artistry carries that particular OrangePixel warmth: dense, readable, built with the confidence of someone who has been doing this for two decades. The Steam Workshop integration and included level editor are quiet signals that Bestebroer expects people to stick around, and given the community reception at launch, that faith seems warranted. The review count is still small, but the near-universal positivity from those who did play it suggests word-of-mouth momentum rather than a hype spike. Where Regulators pulls back slightly is in its scope. This is not a long game, and the NPC AI, while functional and occasionally charming, can feel a little mechanical in the more chaotic encounters. If you come in expecting the tactical depth of a full squad-tactics title, you will find something lighter but more immediate. What it actually is, once you settle into its rhythm, is something closer to arcade refinement: a game that knows its own size and fills that space with genuine craft.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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