“Inspired” by the Square-Enix putting their foot in their mouth thread, I thought it’d be interesting to make a little thread about indie games. People always talk about wanting to try different, cheaper titles, but with how hard it is to get good gaming news and the state of advertisement/marketing, word of mouth tends to be only alternative.

I’ll list some of my recent finds, and try to avoid absurdly well known games (Hades, Hollow Knight, Sea of Stars) but not only that is a personal restriction, I also think people should request suggestions from others, if they got something they’d like to try in mind but don’t know any options;

With that said, here’s my first few entries:

Pseudoregalia

A 3D platformer, Pseudoregalia is a short adventure that doesn’t overcome its stay, and provides exactly what it aims to do: Smooth, responsive jumping and platforming as you travel across a sinister castle

Cassette Beasts

I’ve seen news sites calling this “The best non-Pokémon monster catching game”. I disagree, with the current state of both Nintendo and Gamefreak, there’s no “but” when it comes to Cassete Beasts: It is currently the best monster catching game. Amazing graphics, soundtrack, and mechanics, its what every former Pokémon fan deserves.

Rabbit and Steel

What if MMOs were good? I’m joking, but Rabbit and Steel has taken people by surprise by focusing on one aspect of the multiplayer games: You’re here to do bossfights, and only the bossfights. Team up with others in co-op or play by yourself, in a game where you’re gunning for the dungeon boss in frantic, chaotic combats. Don’t step on the wrong places, don’t get in the way of your allies spellcasting, don’t die, die, try again.

Lil’ Guardsman

What if Papers Please looked much more cute but was still distressing? Play as a 12 year old in charge of a guard outpost and decide who gets to enter the town and who gets zapped to death.

Final Profit

My personal pick and one of my favorite games of the past year. Queen Mab’s realm has been slowly been overtaken by The Bureau and their insidious machinations. In one desperate bid, she decides to go out into the world and fight capitalism by becoming a Lord of Business herself. Final Profit is a game that delivers massive serotonin doses with its shopkeeping and development mechanics at the same time that it doesn’t shy away how there’s no morally good way of shaking hands with capitalism. A satisfying and stressful experience, packed into a solid shopkeeping game.

ULTRAKILL

ULTRAKILL is one of the dopest, most high octane games published in the past few year. Parry bullets, slide across levels, eviscerate enemies with an arsenal of incredible weapons, rack up combos, feed on their blood. Not only ULTRAKILL is an amazing game by itself, however, but its also widely supported by people who know games can be hard and displays a wide range of accessibility options for tuning up your difficulty; the best games are the ones you get to enjoy and they’re well aware of it

  • NelDel@lemmy.one
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    1 month ago

    I love this thread! I’ve been definitely shying away from AAA games towards Indies with lots of love. Here’s my contribution:

    Venineth: One of the best entries in the niche “marble rolling” genre. You explore beautiful alien worlds, solving puzzles, and going very fast. Each world is incredibly unique, and has its own set of challenges to conquer. There is no dialogue and all text is in an alien language, which does an amazing job of immersing you into it’s landscapes https://store.steampowered.com/app/976500/Venineth/

    Hypnospace Outlaw (Just above 3,000 reviews): Late 90s Internet simulator with a lot more to it than meets the eye. The game weaves a complex tale of people’s lives brought together by their community found on the Internet, and the havoc wreaked by a company in pursuit of profit above their users. The soundtrack is amazing, and I was genuinely surprised at how attached I got to the quirky Internet pages by the end. https://store.steampowered.com/app/844590/Hypnospace_Outlaw/

    Going Under: A rogue-lite adventure about unpaid intern Jackie treading through her startup’s basement to fight the monsters of former companies. The game’s tone and humor is amazing, and the “corporate marketing” art style works so well. The gameplay incorporates a lot of Breath of the Wild elements such as weapon durability, locking onto a single enemy, and throwing weapons. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154810/Going_Under/