I Was Excited Before It Was Cool: An Indie Game Hype Thread

Games Video Games
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What’s up nerds

This is a thread to post those upcoming indie games that you think more people should be looking out for.

Be sure to write a short description, link an article, or at least embed a video* so people can join in your excitement. I don’t really have authority over what goes on in this thread once I make it, but I think this is a good general rule of thumb for this thread: If you think you can get away with just saying the name of the game for everyone to know about it, then the game isn’t for this thread.

That might sound hipster af, but I really, really want this thread to be about elevating new, exciting indie games that aren’t getting enough coverage and not just about “Hey, do you like Undertale or Stardew Valley?” Those games are big enough to support their own threads. Recent release examples like Flinthook, Everything, Tumbleseed, Snake Pass, or Disc Jam? Not so much.

That said, the thread isn’t exclusively for the most obscure of the obscure. The 5 games I just listed aren’t exactly unknown, but they are small enough that more people should know about them.

So yeah, with that established, post those indie games on the horizon you want to hype up!

My first contribution: Katana Zero

Made by the incredibly talented Askiisoft (Tower of Heaven, Pause Ahead, Overpowered), Katana Zero is a hyperviolent, quick-reload action games ala Hotline Miami added with a dash of stealth mechanics done right, breathtaking 2D visuals, and a neo-noir story. I actually don’t know much about the story in the game, but considering Askiisoft’s repertoire, I think going into it as blind as possible is probably for the best.

If you want to check out more of the game, Polygon has 20 minutes or so of gameplay.

*To embed a video, simply paste the url for the video in an empty line.

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Heart Forth, Alicia and Iconoclasts are two games I’ve been looking forward to for a long, long time, and it’s exciting to see the release of both on the horizon.

HFA has been in development since '07, and it’s really developed into a gorgeous-looking Metroidvania in that time.

Iconoclasts looks like it’ll scratch a similar sort of itch, and with Konjak at the helm, I’m sure the action is gonna be extremely tight and punchy, and the bosses clever and memorable.

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Hell yeah. I’m glad I didn’t start writing my next few contributions because those two were definitely high on the list of what I wanted to talk about.

Next up: Miegakure

Those who have been following indie games for a long time know this one fairly well. Developed by Marc Ten Boch, Miegakure is a 4D adventure game with light platforming inspired by spherinders & tetrahedrals and, well, meigakure, the East Asian (primarily Chinese and Japanese) art of “hide and reveal” garden design. Confused by what I mean by 4D, especially after the video above? The developer has a great video explaining it:

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I am really looking forward to In To The Breach from the makers of FTL

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Children of Zodiarcs

It’s a classic grid based Strategy RPG that is both card based and lets you customize your dice for the RNG of the game. What’s not to love? The developer, Cardboard Utopia, ran a fairly successful Kickstarter for the game a little over a year ago, raising $250k CAD as well as being selected for the Square Enix Collective indie game outreach platform.

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Although its technically available in early access secrets of Grindea has been on my radar for what 4-5 years now? I have been keeping up with it ever since the kickstarter. It has gotten some recognition but since its been in development for so long it fell of most peoples radar. I really dig the look, and variety of gameplay they have added/plan to add. Its a top down action rpg, more Stardew valley and Recettear than diablo I don’t know how much longer it will be in early access but I have waited this long so I can wait a little longer.

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Uh. Yeah. This looks incredible.

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Strongly convinced that Meigakure has the potential to be the Flatland of this generation

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I’m a big fan of Daniel Benmergui’s work, but he has been working on Storyteller for a really long time now. So, he actually shelved that project and is currently making something a bit more traditional: Ernesto RPG, a puzzle/rpg/adventure game:

As a proof-of-concept (and fundraising, I believe) he also very recently made “Fidel” a cool little puzzle/rogue-like:

It was a Humble Original in one of the Humble Monthlies a while back and I have been enjoying it quite a bit. The puzzle idea is cool, the graphics are super cute and the game is suitably hard. I hope Ernesto comes out great as well.

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Burrito Galaxy 65 babyyyyyyyy
It’s a platformer/adventure game with a ton of charm and a cohesive aesthetic that I’m really into. Been in development for a long while now and there’s no release date afaik but I always get excited when a new dev newsletter comes out.

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Sundered is gonna be sick

Of all the games that are now trying for a procedurally generated metroidvania, Sundered looks like the best attempt at it.

Also, this is on the cusp of what is “indie” but I think it counts, given that it’s a self-published game. More people should be looking forward to Hellblade.

I’m a fan of Ninja Theory’s previous work and what they’re going for here sounds really, really intriguing.

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Mineko’s Night Market

You play as Mineko, a girl who just moved to the island of Tashirojima, Japan AKA Cat Island. Gather materials, complete various jobs, and craft some crafts to sell at the weekly market while getting to know your new, superstitious, cat-obsessed home.

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Battle Chef Brigade is a game where you hunt monsters for use in a fantasy Iron Chef competition. It looks like it’s gonna rule when it eventually comes out - no release date announced but there’s been demos floated at a few PAXes and it had a Giant Bomb Unfinished video last year so hopefully it’ll be sometime in the next year.

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I’ve never jumped into a Ninja Theory game, but I’m so looking forward to this. I seriously hope it turns out good. It’s just different, you know? Well, hopefully it will be.

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This is a cool thread! There are too many fantastic indies that just fall to the wayside because they miss the spotlight.

As far as upcoming games, my shoutout goes to Yonder Cloud Catcher Chronicles. Bloody terrible name, but the idea that you’re out to save the world by not killing or fighting anything is super dope.

As far as games already released, definitely two is like to point to - Hue and Stories: Path of Destinies (these video game names huh.) Hue is a 2D puzzle platformer that uses colour in such a fascinating way, and Stories looks simple at first but is actually kinda deep and satisfying combat wise with a clever premise on the story front.

Also, all these games are great for kids, weirdly enough. Not something the latest console generation is great at.

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Yono and the Celestial Elephants

Yono and the Celestial Elephants is basically a zelda like adventure game if you instead were a talking, adorable elephant.

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Probably not the “right” post for this thread but how do all of y’all find these games?

Anyway, Nova Drift looks neat. Somewhere between Asteroids and Luftrausers. The game is currently on Kickstarter.

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Gorogoa
I played the a demo a few years back before it was cool. Really looking forward to seeing how the final game ends up.

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I know this is really soon, but tomorrow is the launch of Strafe, the 90s throwback shooter that is randomly generated.

Video here (I don’t know how to embed it)

You might remember the “banned commercial” for it so many years ago, but now it’s finally coming out. After playing the pre-pre-alpha, I’m very excited to see what the whole game has to offer.

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Yooka-Laylee launched recently to mixed reactions, but the 3D platformer that I’m really looking forward to is A Hat in Time. It launched on Kickstarter over 3 years ago, before Yooka-Laylee even, and I’ve heard very little about it since then. The team claims it will be releasing this year, and it definitely seems to have a strong style.

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