Summer Game Fest 2026: A recap of all of Day 2— WAIT NEVER MIND, TRUTH SCRAPPER MINI-PREVIEW

Truth Scrapper's first demo was announced at the Story Rich Showcase 2026; we wasted not a moment before playing

Between a whopping six digital gaming showcases, we saw upward of 200+ unique games featured during Day 2 of the broader Summer Game Fest sphere, pushing the week's total well into the 400+ range with still more shows to go.

On stream, our hosts Nate, Julie, and FishpasteGG reacted to and provided analysis for several VGG favorite showcases and two exciting newcomers featuring story rich and LGBTQ+ games:

• Southeast Asian Games Showcase

• Wholesome Direct

• Fellow Traveller's Story Rich Showcase (a new show to the week that has already shot up our rankings)

• Gayming Pride Parade (also a new show that we immediately took to)

• Future Games Show

• and Frosty Games Fest (arguably one of the best showcases of the week)

So, as per tradition, we're going to dive in and recap everything that happened on Summer Game Fest Day 2—

Wait. What was that?

Did you say Truth Scrapper has a demo out? Now?! SCRAP THE PLANS. TIME TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF OUR MOST ANTICIPATED GAMES.

​Just the Facts

Developer: insertdisc5

Publisher: insertdisc5

​Platform(s): PC

​Genre: Memory loss toxic lesbians visual novel

Release Date: TBA

Truth Scrapper is insertdisc5's (the development name of Adrienne Bazir) third game since the wildly successful In Stars and Time, the time-loop RPG that VGG called "devastating, heartwarming, and constantly surprising" on its way to a Game of the Year nomination in 2023. insertdisc5 has remained active, with two micro visual novel projects released last year that also gave fans a lot to love, but Truth Scrapper is the biggest project to come in the years since.

insertdisc5 describes their work as "things that make you feel things," and if the one-hour standalone demo for Truth Scrapper is any example, the trend continues with her latest work. Big time.

You play as Sosotte, a member of the Truth Scrappers, an investigator who was sent on a mission to find the truth behind a series of attacks that members of her guild are facing in a remote place known as The Dwell. Along with her two Path Dweller guides, a bold and flirty red-haired she/he goofball known as Amour and a noble and easily flustered he/they knight called Betz, Sosotte is eager to get the facts all straight.

Except Sosotte has one big issue.

She forgets everything every single day. Her name. Her raison d'etre. Everything. It's a real 50 First Dates kind of situation, and the only way she's able to remember anything at all and function through every day is through the use of her magical journal. Items in this magic-filled world are known as Saturated items, those imbued with power and given color in an otherwise grayscale world. Sosotte's journal is one such Saturated item, imbued with a memory core so that whenever she touches it, she's able to remember everything she's written inside.

Thus begins Truth Scrapper's intriguing journey: one filled with half-remembered people, a seemingly impossible mission, and a journal so full of half-baked thoughts you start to wonder why Sosotte seems so eager to leave things forgotten.

Throughout development, insertdisc5 has emphasized the toxicity of the characters in this game. "For this one... I kind of want to show that, of course I can write wholesome, cute things, but I also really like stories where you have really toxic people interacting with one another," Adrienne explained during the first episode of the Truth Scrapper podcast. "I made something really wholesome. I wanna make something a little fucked up this time."

So far, so good!

While she starts a bit bubbly and silly, it doesn't take long to get a taste of Sosotte's true personality, even mere moments after regaining her limited memories. She manipulates those around her, uses her cutesy wiles to get her way, and is quick to judge her companions. Whether it's the "zero fashion sense" of Amour or the "flat all around" body of Betz, Sosotte doesn't hold back in her inner monologue.

But when she speaks? It's like a 15-year-old on Gaia Online. Exhibit A: "Did I make you uncomfortable? I'm sorry. (>//<)... *tears my gaze away from your beauty...*" It's a hilarious and nostalgic wrinkle against the otherwise calculated tone of her inner voice.

She's a fascinating beast, leaving herself hurried and unfinished notes, the kind you'd think to avoid when you know your memory will zap out of your brain when the next day comes. Sosotte's clearly got a history, and what awaits players in the full release is immediately compelling from this brief teaser.

On the gameplay side, Truth Scrapper uses this memory loss to its advantage. Your main gameplay mechanic consists of choosing which things to write down and remember each day, not only giving future days something to build off of, but giving Sosotte something to lean on each time she attempts to investigate these attacks (because, by all accounts, it's not going to be quick or easy).

For example, in the demo, you wake up in a hospital and are asked to make three selections for how you want to remember the experience.

First, you'll either lean on things you can see, things you can smell, or things you can hear. This decision will shape what Sosotte notices about the world throughout the rest of her day.

Second, you pick whether to rely on feelings in your body, analysis in your mind, or the reactions of other people. This decision essentially guides her intuition.

Lastly, and arguably most important, you note which of your companions is most interesting to you. Truth Scrapper is described as a romantic mystery game, so of course you're going to be thirsting after your companions in some way, pressing their buttons to see what kinds of reactions you can elicit and better see through to their core.

It's a fascinating system that begs for experimentation and replayability. Our first run through the demo took us a little under an hour. To witness what the other combinations of decisions manifested for the run, giving us some unique insights and maybe even some teases as to what's really going on here, took us only an extra 15 minutes. Obviously the full release will require more of a time investment, but it's a worthy reason to consider multiple playthroughs beyond simple route changes and an exciting concept for a visual novel.

Truth Scrapper once again showcases insertdisc5's incredible artistic eye as well. From the real-life photography collage styling of most of the environments to the not-so-monochromatic art style to break away from In Stars and Time's established black and white aesthetic, Truth Scrapper is a looker.

Inhabiting a person taking the world at face value means having to make quick reads, and insertdisc5's design work allows for just that.

The use of color to signify items in the world that are Saturated with magic, a fun double entendre, is genius and works to amplify the world and its characters. At a glance, Amour's sparing colors communicate a lack of saturation immediately and the delicate details of Betz showcase a decent amount of power, but restraint too. Once you learn how Saturation works by imbuing an item with a certain intent or desire, it paints every interaction in a unique way and makes trying to understand the world around you a fun challenge. Why's that candle colored in? Or those street lamps? Or that necklace? How's it all work?

And then there's the character art itself, immediately delivering who these people are in tight visual packages. Just look at the image above. We've got the "so anxious their face has gone tight" chihuahua of a person on the bottom-left, the puffed up grumpiness of a person you can practically hear emitting a high pitched "air leaving balloon" whine at the top, and the take it or leave it laissez-faire energy of a person coasting on by in the bottom-right. Inhabiting a person taking the world at face value means having to make quick reads, and insertdisc5's design work allows for just that.

I could write more. I could write a few more articles about the game. But I'm going to save it all for the full release, because I just know this game is going to knock me on my ass, the insertdisc5 specialty.

Thanks to this demo, I'm more excited than ever for Truth Scrapper's release and ready to put Sosotte through the emotional wringer when that time comes.

Wishlist the game on Steam to keep tabs on it ahead of release — a date that I guess insertdisc5 needs to touch a special book to remember, because we don't know it yet — and try the demo yourself.