Dev ➤ Test ➤ Repeat | April 2026

If you just wanna see the games showcased at this event, click here.

I live in Denmark in the Copenhagen Area. In Copenhagen we have this volunteer run bi-monthly event going called Dev ➤ Test ➤ Repeat (click the link to join their Discord server!) which more or less is what it sounds like on the tin. You develop some kind of game (usually), you come to this event, you test it with people and then you take that feedback with you home to do some more development, rinse and repeat.

For those of you who don't know what this is it's primarily run by two fine people named Alexander Birke and Kristian Hedeholm and has been going for a while now. The event is completely free of charge. I'm a regular attendee for this event as I think it's an important community event that we should keep alive. This time we were at the Raw Power Labs offices in Copenhagen.

We also get free Pizza with every event!

The Showcase

This time there were surprisingly many games that had been shown at previous events, yet not as many new ones. This sort of thing happens in waves and it's always cool to see how far games have progressed since last time we saw them. It's always nice to come around for the showcase whether you never tried it before or not. Today we were around 80 people, which meant the rooms were buzzing with activity, nerdy talk and playtesting.

Brooddlings

I was put in the seat in front of what looked like a piece of software that was failing. Reading on I was seeing a robot going through it's logs and procedures to try an restore corrupted memory and what objective it might have had before shutdown. You are playing as a little robot that's very inspired by robot designs from Wall-E and you find yourself in a half-broken glass dome in a forest. Your mission is to study birds on an island by yourself by scanning them and learning their melodies to repeat back at them for further study. The game had a nice yet simple 3D aesthetic that felt charming. I had a chat with the developers who were present and told me that the reason for studying birds will become apparent later, keeping a bit of mystery. They decided to try and make a game based on their individual skillsets and one of the focal points became sound. They wanted to make something that was very solarpunk inspired.

For now the scope is for their "Game World Design" course at the IT University in Copenhagen. But they could definitely see themselves using it for other courses as well and make it into a full game beyond their classes. A demo of the game should be available soon on their itch page listed below so keep an eye out for Brooddlings!

• Group: Solarpunks
• Platforms: PC
• Check Them Out: Website

Lovrboi

I saw this game being played on someone's phone. A 2.5D action platformer that's inspired by Castle Crashers and a much more niche game called Anthology of the Killer which I had never heard of but looks very interesting! About five different people has worked on this game as part of a group project, however Oskar is the main developer of the game and the driving force behind the project.

Currently the game's goal is not quite set in stone however you are fighting skeletons that has small hints of representing past versions of the player, meaning you are fighting yourself. A sort of introspective action RPG. I'm not sure what to make of this yet, however it seemed intriguing and it's a game you can try out right now in your browser on your phone by following the link below. Oskar let met know that his ambition is to get the game running on PC, possibly via Steam and then perhaps mobile and with controller support it could go to other platforms as well.

• Platforms: PC, Possibly Steam and Mobile
• Try it out: Website

Knight's Oath

I walked by a screen where a knight was jousting against another knight...on a motorcycle?? That's right, while I didn't get to play this very simple demo I did get to others play it and what a bizzare and fun idea that is! I talked to one of the developers a bit and he told me that it was a fun idea they wanted to play around with to see if they could turn into a fully fledged game. Not much to say about it right now, but definitely something to keep an eye out for and trust me, it's hard to miss!

Repeats

As mentioned earlier there were quite a lot of repeats this time, but some of them have definitely moved a lot since last time and some of them a bit less. But that's okay, some times the improvements are not new and shiny features but improvements and reworks which still need to be tested based on previous feedback!

Sea of Rifts

You can't attend a Dev ➤ Test ➤ Repeat without sailing right by Sea of Rifts and making a stop. They didn't bring the tentacle monster this time (yes, it's a thing...you should come see it!) but you always know they are there. Just look for the laptop + steamdeck setup and the wonderful people from the team who are always ready with logbooks to note your feedback, funny quips and great gameplay. If you are unfamiliar with the game, you should definitely check it out! It's a procedurally generated seafaring adventure that you can make into anything you want! Piracy? Mercenary? Explorer? Lawful? Something entirely different? All up to you in this eldritch inspired seemingly endless sea.

While they didn't bring their tentacle monster to promote the game...Sea of Rifts finally introduced some tentacles in the actual game! It's an eldritch inspired game and there were no tentacles in sight until now and they are super cool! They stick out of your ship like long purple stingers and will aggressively attack anything that's within range that looks at you twice. They've also introduced new front weapons (essentially melee weapons for ships so you can wreck into other boats and....well wreck them!) like the pincer claw from a giant crab! They showed me puffer fish bombs too that I could attach to my ship which Alex described as "explosive airbags". So the team is definitely embracing the eldritch and sea themes now for their ships weaponry. I can't wait to see what's next.

And lastly, they showed off a new surprise which I promised I wouldn't reveal as they are still working on it. But let's just say it's a cool cliffhanger. (psst, this is also a great example of some of the exclusive experiences you can have by attending!) You can help them playtest right now by following the link below! Join their discord and help them set sail onto the market!

• Company: Out of Bounds Games
• Platforms: PC, Steamdeck
• Check Them Out: Website

Second Dealing

In December 2025 I saw this game for the first time. A group of students had worked on a blackjack game inspired by Inscryption, Buckshot Roulette and Russian Roulette. You sit down in front of an ominous dealer who tells you to get a hand that's as close to 21 without going over. If you go over you lose the money you bet. If you win against the dealer, you get the money back twice. Pretty simple right? But then you start introducing items which can change your card values, let you cheat or mess with the dealer in your favour which adds a lot more flavour to an otherwise simple game.

Since last time they've improved further on the games visual identity, changed and added items, given the a player a much cooler avatar and improved the soundscape. All around the game has improved a ton since December (only 5 months!) and I can't wait to see how far they are gonna take it.

• Creators: Andreea Vraciu, Péter Gáspár, Andrei Mataoanu and Nicholas Maurer
• Platforms: PC
• Try it out: Website

Slayer of Armies

A game very inspired by Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator in that you have a bunch of units that you needed to place to beat another set of units in front of you. What I saw improved since last time I played it in December 2025 were primarily to the path system and some slightly improved UI.

• Creators: Albert Dyekjær, Anes Skrijelj, Caspar Douglas, Hiep Cao, Martin Guvå and Thøger Pertersen
• Platforms: PC

Heli.os

This one is a bit special seeing as while they haven't really been at Dev ➤ Test ➤ Repeat I have seen them at other events like at an ITU test showcase. The game is currently looking for a publisher and they are quite far in development. It's a Roguelike Action RPG. You have to go do some research and to achieve your task you must make use of a sophisticated modular system on your backpack. Putting modules together in different orders and orientations can help you in combat, traversal and puzzles. Each module you find is unnamed and unknown so as you discover the game and the modules you find, you also get to name them and feel like a real explorer!

Check out their website below for more information and to find their Discord!

• Creators: Brainglyph
• Platforms: PC
• Check it out: Website

Join in

Simply too many games and too little time! There were definitely games I didn't get to try. See some pictures below. For example a game called "Cake or Death" by co-host Kristian Hedeholm, where you had to talk to a table of AI players to understand what cakes might kill and which were safe to eat! If you are in Denmark and around the Copenhagen Area you should definitely come by! Just join the Discord Server and look out for the next event announcement: Dev ➤ Test ➤ Repeat. Even if you don't have a game to show, come be a tester. Someone's gotta do it right? It's not just a testing event, it's also an amazing opportunity to network with other fellow developers. Most of the people who showed up today are indie developers part of a caring and close knit community. Even if what you have isn't much, still bring it and have some people test it! That's how you can figure out if you are going in the right direction with your idea, or if you need to tweak and redesign some things.

Test a lot, and test often. Especially with strangers who will give you the honest truth!

Hope to see you there. If you see me, please don't hesitate to come and say hello! You are also welcome to hit me up on BlueSky any time!

(psst! The event is free, there's free drinks and pizza and industry people show up too!)