Roguelike
Usually means permadeath and procedural structure, run by run, with the reset forming the design. The tension is the point.
Project shelf
4 genre tracks open
PC game projects, from prototype to release
Bench to page, page to chapter, one seam. Below is the studio's project list — the genre, the play, and the stage each one is actually at.
Reading the list
How to read the project list
Every project on this page carries the same basic information: genre, core loop, current stage, and platform target. If a project is a playable internal build, we say internal. If it's further along, we say so and describe what that version actually contains.
This matters because "in development" can mean almost anything. A prototype is a test of whether a mechanic is fun. Active development means the concept has survived that test and we're building it out. We update states as they change rather than leaving stale entries sitting here.
The stages, in plain speech
- Prototype
- A rough playable test of a single mechanic. It exists to answer whether the loop holds up, not to look finished.
- Active development
- The concept survived its test and the systems are being built out. Still internal, but the shape is settled.
- Early access
- Playable and purchasable while still incomplete. The listing states exactly what is in the build and what is planned.
- Fully released
- Content-complete and supported. Patches from here are fixes and balance, not missing pieces.
Genre focus
Distinction one
Distinction two
Short runs and build decisions: the roguelike and roguelite track
The roguelike and roguelite space is one we keep returning to, because it rewards compact teams with strong design instincts. Short runs, meaningful build decisions, and high replay value are all achievable without a huge production budget.
Roguelite
Keeps aspects of permadeath but lets progress carry between runs. The loop still punishes, but the account grows.
We care about which one a project actually is, and we'll name it rather than blur the term for marketing. Expect our build-decision systems to lean on this genre's strengths.
Genre focus
Deduction and puzzle design
Deduction games reward observation and planning over reflexes, and that fits PC play well. The benchmarks for this space set a high bar, with forensic reasoning and identity puzzles that respect the player's attention.
We're interested in what makes a pure deduction game work: a closed set of facts, a system that lets you check your reasoning, and a moment where the pieces click. It's a slow design to build, because hammering out a fair puzzle is harder than it looks. Projects in this space stay on our list only while the puzzle logic actually holds up.
Closed set
A fixed number of facts, stated plainly, so the reasoning has somewhere to land. Fairness beats scope every time.
Genre focus
Exploration and platform action
Metroidvania exploration remains one of the strongest indie formats on PC, and for good reasons. Handcrafted worlds, tight platforming, and boss fights that test understanding rather than luck. It's a genre where a small team can compete if the level design is precise.
We study the long-running benchmarks here because they set expectations players carry into every new release. Any project of ours in this space has to earn a comparison rather than avoid one. We'd rather know now than find out at launch.
What the standard demands
- Handcrafted level structure, room by room, with no filler connective tissue.
- Movement that feels precise before upgrades complicate it.
- Boss encounters that test understanding rather than reaction speed.
Genre focus
Cosy and character-led play
The appetite for low-pressure, character-led games keeps growing, and cosy life sims are the visible edge of that wave. Working in this genre means resisting the temptation to copy whichever hit is currently dominant.
The healthier approach is to design around a mechanic: what a player actually does minute to minute, whether that's tending, crafting, or simply existing in a space. Witchy cosy fantasy is a useful reference point for tone, not a template. Our projects in this space start from the loop, then find the mood.
Loop first
Decide the minute-to-minute action before a single mood board gets opened.
Mood second
Tone, palette and characters get designed around what the player is doing, not instead of it.
Reference, not copy
The genre's current hit is a benchmark for quality, not a plan to reproduce.
Genre focus
Hybrid and management-adventure mixes
Some of the most interesting PC indies blend two loops that don't obviously belong together: a management sim plus exploration, a relaxing activity undercut by tension. Genre mash-ups broaden the audience because players arrive for one loop and stay for the other.
They're also harder to balance, since each loop has to be fun on its own before the combination works. We treat hybrids as a design challenge first. Any mixed-genre project of ours gets prototyped from both directions separately, then joined.
Step one
Prototype the management loop alone and decide whether it holds without the adventure element attached.
Step two
Prototype the adventure loop alone to the same bar. A hybrid only works if each half could stand up as its own game.
Step three
Join the two and rebalance from scratch. The combined loop is a new design, not two designs passing each other.
Genre focus
Narrative and writing-first projects
Writing-heavy games compete differently. Dialogue and roleplay carry the weight, and the systems exist to serve the script rather than the reverse. This is a demanding space because it lives or dies on prose quality, and no amount of polish rescues a flat script.
Narrative experiments do well with audiences who want something other than combat, and PC is the natural home for that audience. Any writing-first project of ours is listed with an honest note about script scope. We won't claim a scale the project can't support.
What a writing-first listing carries
- An honest note on script scope and word length.
- Which systems serve the dialogue, and which are deliberately thin.
- What kind of player the prose is written for.
Stages, described plainly
Early access and release stages, described plainly
Early access is a real stage in a game's life, and it's better handled honestly than avoided. If a project enters early access, players are buying into something incomplete by definition, and the listing will say exactly what's included and what's planned.
Our releases fall into the same clear categories: prototype, active development, early access, and fully released. Every entry gets one label, and it only changes when the state genuinely does. That keeps the page useful to someone deciding whether to follow or skip a project.
| Stage | What you get | What it doesn't mean |
|---|---|---|
| Prototype | A playable test of one mechanic, shared internally to decide whether to keep going. | Not a promise of a finished game, and not a public build. |
| Active development | The core systems are being built out past the prototype, still internally. | Not a release date, and not a finished content set. |
| Early access | A purchasable build with stated contents and a stated plan for what comes next. | Not finished, and the plan can change as the build teaches us things. |
| Fully released | Content-complete, supported with fixes and balance updates. | Not a live-service game, and not the end of patching. |
Before a listing goes up
What we look at before adding a project here
A project reaches this page once it has a working prototype, even if that prototype is rough. Nothing gets listed on the strength of an idea alone, no matter how good the idea is.
We also avoid listing work that might not survive its own test, because a project list full of abandoned entries isn't useful to anyone. So the number of entries here will always be small. That's intentional, and it means each listing on this page represents something we're actually building.
Listed when
There is a working prototype on the bench.
Not listed when
The idea exists only in notes, or the test hasn't been run yet.
Next steps
Where to go from the project list
The list is short on purpose. If you'd rather see how a build gets there, or what else the studio runs alongside it, these are the doors.
Study the process
How a prototype gets past its own test, in four stages, from first paper sketch to build.
Read the full build processBeyond games
The desktop tools we run alongside the games, and why they exist in the same studio.
See the studio's desktop toolsFollow along
Short notes on what changed this week and what we learned doing it, written as we go.
Follow along in Studio NotesTalk to us
Questions about a specific project, a genre we work in, or collaborating on one.
Contact the studio about a projectNorthwood Retail is a UK-based studio in Earley, Reading, shipping PC-first games and small desktop applications from the same bench. If you're deciding whether to follow a project or skip it, the stage label on its entry is the honest answer.
Northwood Retail
3 Victoria Place, Earley, Reading, England
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Contact the studio about a project