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The 2026 Game Developers Conference took a different turn this year, branding itself as the GDC: Festival of Gaming. With E3 being permanently canceled, this new focus may lead to more game showcases in the GDC Festival Hall down the line. Over recent years, there’s been an increase in playable demos and pre-release builds made available, but the event continues to prioritize connecting developers with talent and publishers. I’m optimistic that next year’s GDC will attract more first-party and AAA publishers.
Despite that, the number of indie studio games showcased was impressive. PlayStation even set up a small booth dedicated to their indie titles. Several countries were well represented, including Italy, Sweden, France, and Brazil, each displaying a variety of playable titles from their regions. I spent some time at the Brazil booth, where several promising projects were in development. One of them was Paradoxical by Venn Studios. I had the chance to try the game hands-on and chat with the designer, Gustavo Braga.
### Paradoxical – Puzzle Portal with a Learning Curve
Paradoxical is a first-person puzzle game that introduces innovative portal mechanics, allowing players to manipulate space freely. The game challenges you with puzzles that require thinking with portals and explores surreal environments of impossible architecture, all set against the backdrop of a dying desert planet. Gustavo was still working on the storyline when I spoke with him, so I didn’t get to experience that part yet.
Although the game’s concept seems straightforward, it can take a moment for your mind to grasp the core mechanics. It starts with simple onboarding levels to ease you in, but soon ramps up in difficulty. There was quite a bit of trial and error on the more complex puzzles, sometimes with a little hint from the developer himself. Once I figured out a solution, gameplay became smooth and more intuitive.
### Stunning Graphics and Deep Puzzle Design
The build I saw was running on a high-end gaming laptop connected to a 4K monitor, and the visuals were stunning in 4K resolution. The environments and artwork were beautifully crafted, making it a pleasant experience, especially since some of those tougher puzzles might take time to solve.
The complexity of the puzzles, especially in the later levels, was highly impressive. While the early stages do a good job of teaching the mechanics, the game quickly introduces a steep learning curve. The developer aims to create branching paths with even more challenging levels for players wanting to push their skills further. These are not required to progress through the story but might offer extra rewards or incentives to keep players engaged.
Even in its early development stage, Paradoxical shows a lot of promise. I’m excited for the full storyline to be added and eager to see how the game evolves as development continues.
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