Niklas Notes

Find out what players love and hate about any Steam game—in seconds. AI-powered summaries from thousands of reviews. By @niklasborglund.

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for Dec 8-14 is up!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Steam analysis (Dec 8-14) is up!
- Skate Story (glass demon skateboarding!) impresses. - Ashes of Creation struggles after 9 years.
- Two rhythm games - UNBEATABLE & Bits & Bops.
Terminator 2D brings nostalgia.

Plus 3 Early Access graduates.

Link below!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Why is Steam recommending eFootball for Overcooked 2?

Trying to fix that by building a better "More like this" System than what's on Steam.

Read more about it here: https://t.co/EwwVE3rfvn

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Did Sweden just win the 2025 Steam Awards?

4/11 winners were Swedish studios.

Hollow Knight: Silksong wins GOTY. Baldur's Gate 3 takes Labor of Love. Hades II gets Best on Steam Deck.

Full breakdown 👇

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

I've been holiday coding a bit trying to create a better "More Like This" algorithm than on Steam. Still WIP - but so far it's working pretty well.

Live on all games on Niklas Notes!

[Wielders of the Essence @WieldersGame]

We just release a new devblog. Written by the one and only @niklasnotes. Link in thread!

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for Nov 24-30!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Steam analysis is up on Niklas Notes (Nov 24-30)!

- Mount & Blade II gets naval warfare DLC (53% Mixed).
- Solo Leveling arrives on Steam. BLACK SOULS II's dark - Alice tale impresses.
- Project Motor Racing struggles at 30%.
Plus November recap.

Link below!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

New timeline features on Niklas Notes:

- Align to Release: Compare trajectories from launch
- Cumulative view: Total counts instead of daily noise
- Language filters: Isolate audiences
- Score tracking: Watch sentiment evolve

Available to backers!

https://t.co/FEMMwIlkPv

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Steam analysis Nov 3-9 on Niklas Notes!

- Strategy week with big UI lessons.
- EU5 launches strong but UI frustrates.
- Football Manager 26 crashes to 22% positive with new interface

Plus: Tavern Keeper's 10yr dev pays off and much more!

#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for Oct 20-26!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Niklas Notes for Oct 20-26:
- RV There Yet hits 1.3M sales.
- Vampire Bloodlines 2 at 55% positive after 18 years of waiting

Plus: Ninja Gaiden 4 pre-orders strong, Dispatch's episodic gamble, 5 Early Access graduates

#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

New feature at Niklas Notes!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

New feature available at Niklas Notes! Playtime Distribution showing player rating depending on how much they've played.

Great for seeing how well a game managed expectations and how long they play

Read about it here: https://t.co/9tSwZ0akhv

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for Oct 13-19!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Steam analysis for Oct 13-19 is up on Niklas Notes!
- Escape From Duckov (extraction shooter with ducks) hits Overwhelmingly Positive.
- BALL x PIT at 95% positive.
- Plus 30+ demos analyzed.

#SteamNextFest #gamedev #indiedev

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for Oct 06-12!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly analysis at Niklas Notes (Oct 06-12): Battlefield 6 hit 700k concurrent players at launch.

Little Nightmares III disappointed at 45% Mixed after going co-op.

Also: HoMM Olden Era demo, narrative indie CARIMARA, and 4 Early Access graduates.

#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for Sep 22-28!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Niklas Notes (Sep 22-28)
- Hades II graduates from Early Access.
- Sonic Racing hits 96% positive (finally a Mario Kart alternative for PC?).
-Silent Hill f divides horror fans.
- Plus 4 more Early Access grads

Link below!
#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Weekly notes for September 15-21 is out!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Top Steam Releases (Sep 15-21):

- Dying Light: The Beast brings Kyle Crane back.
- Eight games graduate from Early Access.
- Jump Space launches to very positive reviews.

From zombie parkour to monastery breweries - quite the variety this week.

#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Notes for September 08-14 is out!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Weekly Steam analysis on Niklas Notes (Sep 08-14):

Borderlands 4 launches at 64% positive amid performance complaints. Plus: Chinese FMV games continue rising, and there's another game about digging holes.

#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

The weekly notes for September 01-07 is out!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

This week on Steam: Hollow Knight Silksong finally launched after years of waiting. Crashed multiple storefronts from demand.

Chinese reviews sit at 38% due to localization issues, while other regions rate it highly.

This and more in the latest notes!

#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

The notes for Aug 18-24 is out!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

The "Gamescom Effect" kept Steam releases light this week. Developers likely waited for Cologne's spotlight to fade.
Corporate ladder-climbing combat and Chinese narrative games still found their audiences though. Sometimes timing can tell you a lot of the market.

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Weekly notes for Aug 11 - 17 is out!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

The Bazaar launched with monetization controversy while OFF made its official Steam debut after 17 years as a cult classic.

Dawn of War got the "definitive" treatment, and Swedish studio DoubleMoose launched their shooter Abyssus.

Link in thread below!
#gamedev #indiedev #steam

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

I analyzed over 80,000 Steam games so you can search by vibe instead of genre.

Want 'noir pixel art'? ✓
Need 'nordic dark fantasy'? ✓
Craving 'neon cyberpunk aesthetic'? ✓

Maybe sometimes you just want games that FEEL a certain way.

Link to the search in 🧵

[Niklas Notes @niklasnotes]

Weekly notes for the week of August 04-10 is out!

[Niklas Borglund @niklasborglund]

Mafia: The Old Country returned this week with signature storytelling and familiar performance problems.

Meanwhile, Is This Seat Taken? hit 98% positive by managing expectations perfectly - players knew exactly what they were getting and loved it.

#gamedev #indiedev #steam