Little Indie Games Worth Knowing About (Probably)

Games
6602

Annnddd…confirmed in the Steam forum that you can’t. Too bad. I probably would have enjoyed it.

6603

Thanks for the info. Too bad.

6604

Wanna explore a big procedurally generated world without any survival requirements or combat? Just, you know, roam around the wilderness? Well then, that’s what Wilderless is! On mobile as well as Steam:

(I must admit, I found the anime protagonist a bit jarring. Seems like it would be a great first-person game, a bit like Eastshade. But whatever!)

6605

I just ran across this game called Ravenbound, that’s a rogue-lite. The combat looks a bit janky but it’s got a big open world and you can fly around as a bird, so it seems pretty neat to me.

They have been seeding YouTubers with preview copies so stuff is popping up now. Here’s a short preview from IGN:

No specific release date as far as I can tell, other than “soon.”

6606

Here’s another of those little games that occasionally interest me:

Played it briefly. It is enjoyable, in a very lightweight kind of way. I wouldn’t even call it “Beer N Pretzels” - Perhaps “Lite Beer N Pretzels.”

I believe this is of interest to some of you folks.

6607

WW2 Rebuilder has finally launched. It was originally supposed to come out last October but was delayed. I talked about it here.

6608

Along the same lines, this releases in Early Access tomorrow, based on the print & play game. I played the demo during the last Steamfest and it drew me in enough to almost be a certain purchase.

6609

That one was actually mentioned a week ago by @Don60420

6610

My impressions end up being similar to Don - pretty fun little lightweight “lunch break/coffee break” kind of game. Once you figure out a good path through the techs I’m not sure how much replay value it has, but hey, it’s two bucks.

6611

I am still playing it and having fun. My wife has played it a few times and she has a select few games like Alpha Centauri that she plays over and over again. When she decides to take up a new strategy game that usually means she sees a lot of potential in it. We shall see.

6612

Yeah, I am looking forward to Pocket Civ too. A surprising amount of good games beginning to come out in January which is often a slow month for new releases.

6613

Tiny Civ is challenging me with figuring out how to make sure I have enough food. It seems very random. Is that just the design or are there are particular strategies that are reliable?

6614

Get up to level two food. Advance tech, especially spices, helps make it easier. Food is rough until that is done.

6615

It’s IGF Nomination time! Lots of indies worth knowing about probably!

BEST STUDENT GAME

Honorable Mentions: A Mallard’s Song (Ducky Elford), Error143 (Jenny Vi Pham), Paper Planet (Doodlegames), The Longest Walk (Alexander Tarvet), zenosyne (Ezra Szanton)

EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO

Honorable Mentions: Betrayal at Club Low (Cosmo D Studios), Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster), IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid), Melatonin (Half Asleep), Neon White (Angel Matrix), Tinykin (Splashteam)

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN

Honorable Mentions: Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age), Cursed to Golf (Chuhai Labs), Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator (niceplay games), Swordship (Digital Kingdom), Terra Nil (Free Lives), Tinykin (Splashteam)

EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE

Honorable Mentions: Eternal Threads (Cosmonaut Studios), Queer Man Peering Into a Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost), Roadwarden (Moral Anxiety Studio), The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games), The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow (Cloak and Dagger Games), The Wreck (The Pixel Hunt)

EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ARTS

Honorable Mentions: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games), Melatonin (Half Asleep), NAIAD (HiWarp), Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator (niceplay games), Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox), Swordship (Digital Kingdom), Terra Nil (Free Lives), Voodoo Detective (Short Sleeve Studio LLC)

NUOVO AWARD

Honorable Mentions: Atuel (Matajuegos), Ib (kouri), Not For Broadcast (NotGames), Of Moons and Mania (Absurd Walls), RPG Time: The Legend of Wright (DeskWorks Inc.)

SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE

Honorable Mentions: Tinykin (Splashteam), Terra Nil (Free Lives), RPG Time: The Legend of Wright (DeskWorks Inc.), Roadwarden (Moral Anxiety Studio), Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive), Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age)

Some thoughts:

  • Citizen Sleeper getting low-key snubbed–an honorable mention in lots of categories, but nominee only in Narrative. I would have predicted it having the most nominations of anything this year. Shows what I know.
  • That Narrative list is absolutely stacked this year.
  • Cosmo D hits the GOTY list! I think people really responded to the deeper gameplay of Betrayal at Club Low.
  • I don’t know if it’ll win, but South of the Circle deserves to take Audio for the quality of its voice acting. It’s maybe the best VO direction I’ve ever heard.
  • Very pleased to see Against the Storm in the Design category, and I hope it wins.
6616

Yeah, well, ok, sure.

6617

So much goodness!

Wow, I’m surprised (and pleased, obviously) to see Betrayal at Club Low nominated and mentioned across so many categories!

I’m very excited about Terra Nil. I loved the demo and found it both calming and cathartic.

Naiad always looks so so pretty. Swordship I recently played the demo of and thought it was a really cool design and one I’d like to dig into some more. There’s so much good stuff to be looking into here!

6618

I feel kinda sad that SIGNALIS hasn’t even picked up an honourable mention in there. Not knowing much about the IGF awards did they just not submit it or something? Plus the even bigger elephant in the room - no Vampire Survivors?!

6619

Yeah, games have to be submitted by the creators. I happen to know neither of those games were submitted.

6620

It does seem like a super stacked year. Every category does. Or maybe I just feel that way because I’ve heard of more of these games than I do in normal years because there’s more AAA games in normal years? It just seems like it was a fantastic year for Indies this year.

6621

Definitely was a good year. I didn’t even realize how good until the last month.