r/incremental_games — Weekly Recaps

Jan 24 → Apr 24, 2026 · 1,032 posts scraped

Weeks run ISO (Mon–Sun). The first four are skinny because they sit at the edge of the 90-day cutoff — most of those posts came from /top?t=year, not /new, so we only have the highlights for them.

W04 (Jan 19–25) — 3 posts

Only bled through as highlights. All three are reflective: the top post (366▲) is a long-time player's all-time favorites list — Melvor Idle, Antimatter Dimensions, AdVenture Capitalist headlining. Also Orbrix (a breakout-style incremental) getting Steam wishlist attention, and Horde of Distraction claiming 5,000 wishlists from a single video.

Hot: Melvor Idle, Antimatter Dimensions, AdVenture Capitalist (in favorites lists)

Tone: Nostalgic, reflective. Nothing new launching.

W05 (Jan 26–Feb 1) — 9 posts

Theme: short games vs. long games. "Why are so many new incremental games so short?" (180▲ / 118💬) kicks off a debate that keeps recurring all quarter. "Unpopular opinion: Mobile incremental games can be great" (90▲ / 78💬) pushes back on PC-centrism.

Hot: Clicker Heroes, Orb of Creation, Cookie Clicker (cited in the "short games" thread as the good old days)

Launches: Idle Dyson Swarm (219▲, free no-ads coming to PC), Fish Lab dev post (228▲, solo dev custom engine + music)

Frustration: Games feel too short; devs reply saying scope is a real constraint.

W06 (Feb 2–8) — 13 posts

Theme: a player rants about Steam idles ("I don't want my idle games on steam" — 299▲ / 92💬), wanting them off the main library. Meanwhile Berry Bury Berry gets a 187▲ "best incremental I've ever played" endorsement — rare unqualified praise.

Hot: Berry Bury Berry (breakout love), EverCraft 2 (alpha exit, 177▲)

Launches: Birb Evolve IV, Emerald Rush 1.0

Frustration: Meta thread pushing mods to enforce the feedback thread (119▲) — dev-promo fatigue showing up early.

W07 (Feb 9–15) — 11 posts

Theme: THE BIG META WEEK. The sub collectively addresses dev spam.

• "Hey game devs, let's rethink how you interact with this subreddit" — 737▲ / 109💬
• "Changes to the subreddit's rules" (mods) — 480▲ / 116💬
• "Please stop calling your games 'A Game About <activity>'" — 352▲ / 67💬
• "What do you think about allowing only finished games to be advertised outside of a megathread?" — 265▲ / 71💬

Tone: Frustrated, community-facing. Players feel the sub has become a dev marketplace.

Games name-checked (as examples): A Game About Feeding A Black Hole, IdleOn, Gamblers Table, Trainatic — cited in dev-behavior arguments, not reviewed.

W08 (Feb 16–22) — 92 posts (first full-volume week)

Theme: the classics rediscovery wave. "Okay, I get it now. The classics are FUN" — 541▲ / 174💬 — reignites love for Cookie Clicker and its lineage.

Hot: Cookie Clicker (2× mentions), Horripilant launched this week (102▲, "vermis & candy box inspired"), Murderhorn — browser mountain-incremental (357▲), OSRS-style browser idle (307▲).

Launches: Horripilant, Murderhorn, Dwarf Eats Mountain demo, Paperwork (office building incremental), Moon Garden (gardening on the moon), The Last Cat in the Universe (narrative), Dao of the Endless Sky (Xianxia idle). Notable breadth — 10+ demos/launches in one week.

Frustration: "Idle elements that you have to click are self-defeating" — the autoclicker debate is starting to simmer.

IdleOn note: removed Gacha in a surprise update (0▲ but 8 comments).

W09 (Feb 23–Mar 1) — 78 posts

Theme: nodebuster backlash begins. "I'm so over nodebuster clones" — 398▲ / 137💬.

Hot: Zero Stress King: Idle Defense demo (278▲), Horripilant still getting love ("best story in the genre in my opinion" — 153▲), the Win98-style MMO-server-infra game by the ex-Cisco architect (502▲) — instant wishlist candidate.

Launches: SweepCremental (minesweeper + skill tree, 335▲), Burger Flipper Idle, Horde of Distraction demo, WorldShaper Idle (May 18 release date), Mystery Digger, The Snake Is the Tower.

Hated: Nodebuster clones, squarely.

Debate: "Have longer simple games lost their appeal throughout the years?" — Clicker Heroes, Synergism, AdVenture Capitalist, Revolution Idle, Cookie Clicker, Idle Wizard, Trimps all name-checked.

Insight post: "Developer here, I'm extremely confused on player sentiment vs reality" (79▲ / 98💬).

W10 (Mar 2–8) — 116 posts (biggest week by count until W12)

Theme: devs venting, mixed with big launches.

Hot:

• Koltera 2 — OUT NOW, free, no MTX/DLC (226▲). Clean-launch cheers.
• Idle Reincarnator implicit win — the top post of the entire quarter (1319▲) is its dev showing a confused review where someone criticized the game for being "too idle."
• It's Fine — a dev pitch that literally opens with "NOT a Nodebuster clone" (233▲ / 175💬). The title is a genre commentary in itself.
• "I Sent 15 Incremental Devs the Same Request" — meta post (191▲) about how devs respond.

Launches: Koltera 2, Land Drifters, Angler's Journey demo, Flowers to Honey (bee cozy game) steam page, Incrempire demo.

Frustration:

• "Needing a game's Discord to actually understand how to play shouldn't be a thing" — 906▲ / 142💬.
• "What's with the huge uptick in ai/vibe coded 'games'?" — AI debate warming up.

W11 (Mar 9–15) — 97 posts

Theme: meta polls + humor. "Incremental Starter Pack" at 668▲ — identity-humor post. "What is your opinion on idle games which use AI ?" hits 134💬 even at just 9▲ — the comment section is where the war is.

Hot: Outhold (landed on mobile, 123▲, "1000+ very positive Steam reviews"). Loot Loop announces release in 1 month (41▲ dev post). FACEMINER (1-year anniversary, added a no-die mode).

Launches: Gladiator Command (Early Access), Loot Loop (announced), Prism Drift demo, Idle Cats Dungeon, Tiny Biomes, Monslice demo, Immortal Dao Idle playtest.

Frustration: Mods asked to add a "Completed/Released" flair (206▲); the "Heartbreaking" post (137▲) — a dev showing a bad review — catches sympathy.

W12 (Mar 16–22) — 122 posts (peak week)

Theme: THE AI WAR BREAKS OUT.

• "The AI slop problem is getting worse in this sub. We need aggressive moderation... Instant ban, IMO" — 674▲ / 285💬. One of the most-commented posts of the quarter.
• "My incremental tier list of games" — 505▲ / 249💬. Tier list mentions: Cookie Clicker, Antimatter Dimensions, Idle Research, Idle Slayer, Unnamed Space Idle, Leaf Blower Revolution, Upload Labs.
• "Which way, procrastinators?" — 770▲ (humor). "Bro I LOVE this one!" — 298▲ (pure positivity).

Hot: Scritchy Scratchy — launched this week, 231▲, "96% positive on Steam." Three separate posts about it this week. Also Cookie Clicker (5× mentions), Antimatter Dimensions (3× mentions), Nodebuster (4× mentions, mostly defensive).

Launches: Skeleseller (casual town management, 165▲), Hearth and Hamlet demo, Scritchy Scratchy, Sludgineers demo, Recursive, Journey to Ascension, Ringbound, Petal by Petal, Idle Hacking, Bouncing incremental.

Frustration: "I don't like idling, just the incremental part. Am I crazy?" (245▲) — the genre-identity fracture surfaces openly.

W13 (Mar 23–29) — 110 posts

Theme: autoclickers. "Using an autoclicker is not cheating" — 652▲ / 179💬 — one of the loudest debates of the quarter.

Hot: Nodebuster mentions jump to 7 — half are disclaimers in launch titles ("not a Nodebuster clone"), half are curious devs asking what players actually dislike. Rocky Idle — 2.5 years of solo dev (375▲ at launch).

Launches: Rocky Idle (2.5 yrs dev), Tavern-with-dungeon demo (122▲), Hail the Devourer (laid-off tech workers' first game, 84▲), Chrono Bot (Increlution + Terraformental inspired), Pachincro, ClickSmith, Shell Increment, Just Open The Door.

Frustration: Autoclicker purity test. "New Rule Suggestion" at 0▲ / 160💬 — controversial, whatever it was.

Idle Clans: big expansion dropped (45▲).

W14 (Mar 30–Apr 5) — 97 posts

Theme: "Autoclicker Alignment Chart" (215▲) lands, closing out the autoclicker week with a laugh.

Hot:

• Zero Stress King: Idle Defense — OUT NOW (241▲ / 69💬). Hard launch after the W9 demo.
• Idle Pact — occult incremental, out on web + mobile (86▲ / 90💬).
• "My best game now free for all" — a solo dev made their game free, 448▲. Consistent crowd-favorite pattern.
• Pedro Pascal's Triangle of Prestige — dumb-clever meta humor at 262▲.

Launches: Zero Stress King, Skeleseller-adjacent stuff, Orbrix demo, Idle Pact, HEXISLE, Incretyper, Quintillion Quest (solo dev's first Steam), Fishing Inc (announced Apr 14 release), Idle Deepcore (announced Apr 15 release).

Frustration: "What are the BEST long term incremental games?" — 309💬. Request threads keep blowing up because players feel the genre is getting shallow.

W15 (Apr 6–12) — 102 posts

Theme: AI CRESCENDO.

• "Our general response to all complaints regarding AI" — mods, 261▲ / 541💬. Top-commented post of the quarter.
• "Taking a break from this sub - the amount of AI slop is just too much" — 482▲ / 150💬. Players leaving over it.
• "I just made an MMO incremental inspired by Melvor Idle — the twist? Your skills farm themselves while you're away" — 1021▲ / 125💬. Second-biggest post of the quarter.

Hot:

• Black Hole Fishing — launched this week (100▲ dev post, "would love feedback").
• Parcel Game — free browser release, 172▲ / 157💬.
• Outlast Life — first-game release, free, no MTX (235▲).
• Defragmenter idle game (503▲) — modest sales, huge stickiness ("some players spent 100+ hours").
• Forage Wizard beta key giveaway — 604💬 (most-commented of the quarter).

Launches: Black Hole Fishing, Parcel Game, Outlast Life, Journey to Ascension (full release), Towerix91, Transit Empire, Booster Pack Heroes demo, Monster Flipper demo, Quack & Hatch, Koltera 2 updates post (55▲).

Frustration: AI. AI. AI.

Classics resurfacing: Trimps and Realm Grinder cited in "what happened to long incrementals?" (256▲).

W16 (Apr 13–19) — 97 posts

Theme: the "not AI, not a Nodebuster clone" era is in full swing. "Tired of AI slop? It's Fine... used 0 AI, NOT a Nodebuster clone" — 222▲. That sentence is now a marketing strategy.

Hot:

• Loot Loop — OUT NOW on Steam (145▲). Hit the release it teased in W11.
• Idle Deepcore — dev team intro post + "first game on Steam" (142▲).
• Simultree — Steam launch (122▲).
• Kill the Lich v3.2 (200▲).
• "the upgrade tree" — a literal tree UI for upgrades (200▲). Novelty loved.
• Bloobs Adventure Idle shipped its Superior Enemies patch (66▲).

Launches: Loot Loop, Idle Deepcore, Simultree, Slay All Bosses: Idle, Hole Is Mine demo, Void Pachinko demo, Beencremental, Increvaders demo.

Frustration: Mild this week. "Nerd Sniping" was the only high-engagement Meta (183▲).

W17 (Apr 20–24) — 85 posts (current week, partial)

What the sub is talking about right now:

1. Accessibility push. "Devs, please make your skill trees colorblind-friendly" is the top post at 338▲ / 42💬 — concrete, actionable request.

2. The Win98 MMO-infra game by the ex-Cisco architect — now OUT (309▲ / 72💬). Wishlist paid off.

3. Revolution Idle — "What are your opinions on Revolution Idle?" — 64▲ but 114💬. Split audience.

4. AI transparency norms. "AI disclosure on Loopbound" — 43▲ / 81💬. Devs now negotiating how to disclose AI use up-front.

5. "Rejected Draft Update: Moving Towards 1.0" — 151▲. Active community project.

Current releases (this week):

• Win98 MMO-infra incremental (out now with updated demo)
• Cultists, an Orb and DUCKS incremental (out now, 92▲)
• Space incremental galaxy-defense game
• Bills Must Be Paid demo
• Space Lich Omega fixed + rereleased
• Horripilant — console release + accolades trailer (12▲)

Hot games name-checked this week:

• Nodebuster (3×) — still the genre's shorthand
• AdVenture Capitalist, Melvor Idle, Antimatter Dimensions, Cookie Clicker — all 2× in "help me understand the genre" / "do this community want X" threads
• Rusty's Retirement (2×) — cited as inspiration for new cozy idles
• Realm Grinder, NGU IDLE, Horripilant (console), Idle Research

Discussion tone: constructive this week, not heated. Possibly AI-war fatigue. Colorblind accessibility + AI disclosure are the day's causes.

Recurring across all 14 weeks

• Most-mentioned games, full quarter: Nodebuster (27), Cookie Clicker (21), Antimatter Dimensions (11), Melvor Idle (10), Scritchy Scratchy (7), Clicker Heroes (7), Increlution (5), Horripilant (5), AdVenture Capitalist (5), Revolution Idle (5), Trimps (5), Tower Wizard (4), Realm Grinder (4), Idle Research (4), IdleOn (4), Unnamed Space Idle (4), Black Hole Fishing (4).
• Most divisive name: Nodebuster. Devs invoke it defensively; players invoke it as a complaint.
• Most resilient meme: "A Game About &lt;activity&gt;." A whole W7 post begged people to stop. Weeks later, still happening.
• Recurring debates (kept re-igniting): AI slop, autoclickers, game length, dev spam, "what counts as an incremental."