Well, another part finished and another In-Indie Extra where we rank the games, talk about the indie news world and find out what’s coming up in indie titles. I’d say that this año was definitely filled with a lot of great games, a couple of decent titles and We Happy Few. So let’s get on with the ranking and see which games were the best and which were We Happy Few
The Least Good
10: We Happy Few
Did I mention I don’t like this game? Now this was not without trying. For about a week, I forced myself to play the game. I would play for two hours, experience an annoying mission or, más than likely, a glitch, stop and take a brink, have a tea, have a smoke, have the restraint from questioning my own mortality, and go back to the game the siguiente día hoping for change… and it never got better. The story was good, the world was good, the characters were good, but this game would have worked better as a graphic novel. I hear it’s getting a movie, which this game probably should have been from the first point. If tu want to experience We Happy Few, just watch a playthrough and watch the cutscenes. There is nothing tu are missing in the gameplay, I assure you. We Happy Few: Pretty bad.
9: Morphies Law: Remorphed
Now this game was this low simply for being an empty game that was filled with technical issues and just not fun. Originally, it was ranked lower than We Happy Few, but after Remorphed came along, it became fun now. The game still has issues and it is still an online shooter, which just isn’t my kind of game, but hey, it was fun for the most part. There are a ton of unlockables and there is some charm to the game. And I do amor the classic día of the Dead designs, my favorito! part of games like Grim Fandango and Guacamelee. It’s a decent indie title, maybe not the greatest online game, but overall, a fun time
8: Mulaka
Now the reason this game is lower is mostly for my problems with the combat and the final hora just felt like the gameplay was taking a huge nosedive. But Mulaka is still a good game to give a try, with its expansive world, fun character and enemy designs, interesting puzzle solving, and the explorative nature. It also helps that it is based on real lore and race, so it definitely had me interested from the start. A simple game with some flaws, but nothing too damning.
7: Pikuniku
Pikuniku is a very simple, very inoffensive game. It’s a weird game too, feels kind of like a strange dream you’d have from time to time before tu wake up, and is just as quick as one, but still a charming little game. It was one indie título that interested me from the style and música alone and am happy to say that is a nice little time killer for anyone interested in the style
6: The Red Strings Club
Well this was an indie título I was deciding against playing on the Switch, only cause I saw the gameplay and thought I’d have to use the touch screen and I refuse to stain it with my fucking finger tips. But thankfully, no touch screens were soiled and only fun and confusion was had. The Red Strings Club is a point and click game that starts out all chill and relaxing before becoming a total mind fuck in the last five minutes, yet feels so naturally throughout. There are a ton of point and click indie games out there, but I feel like Red Strings Club kind of fell under the radar, which is a shame. If tu see it on Steam o Switch, give it a look
5: Superhot
SUPER! HOT! SUPER- Okay, not doing that joke again. Superhot was one of the most unique indie games gameplay wise, time moving only when tu do, and it was really fun. I only played the original version since being an indie game reviewer on a small website doesn’t exactly give me the funds to buy a VR headset, but the game was still fun on it’s own. I can imagine it being más fun in VR, but for what I played, it’s still a great two hours.
4: Lethal League Blaze
Well this was definitely a game worth the wait. I saw this game a few times and thought the gameplay was going to be insane, and boy was I right. Playing the single player story, sofá multiplayer, and online matches still left me craving more. Maybe I’ll give the original version a try some time. The perfect online competitive game if anyone is looking for something stylish and new
3: Slime Rancher
Indie games like Hotline Miami, Super Meat Boy and Cuphead are all known for their insane difficulty, so it’s nice that there is an indie título out there that is far más laid back and relaxing. Slime Rancher feels like the kind of game to get lost in, taking a load off and just having fun por exploring and expanding your ranch. It was a fun time going through the base game and I can’t wait to see what the DLC has in store
2: Katana Zero
I know that indie games aren’t limited to budget and only por their developer’s creativity, but Katana Zero is a game that looks like it couldn’t have been possible for an indie game budget. The polish, the gameplay, music, writing, it all flows so well and meshes perfectly together to create one of the best indie games of this year. It’s unfair for me to say, but I think Katana Zero, as of now, is my pick for game of the year. Yes, más so than Sekiro, Devil May Cry V, Resident Evil 2, and Mario Maker 2. It is that good
1: Hollow Knight
While I am madly in amor with Katana Zero like a fucked up relationship, I cannot deny that Hollow Knight is the superior game. The way the game thrusts tu into the mysterious and threatening world of Deepnest, the challenging and rewarding gameplay that allows tu to increase your power and your skill set just for exploring, how tu feel when tu come to every new area, face every new boss, and run into characters, old and new, seeing as their story progresses along with yours. No other From Software game after Dark Souls gave me that feeling of both hopelessness yet awe inspired joy like Hollow Knight did. It really did feel like a true Dark Souls successor, and not just for the difficulty, cause this is In-Indie. Not Polygon.
Indie News
~Cuphead’s Animated Series~
So Cuphead had some damn good hand drawn animación in the style of the caricaturas of old, huh? It made me wonder what it would look like as an actual cartoon so I could look at them without dying over and over. Thankfully, Studio MDHR granted my wishes as they have now started work on the new Netflix series, The Cuphead Show, getting help from other talented people in the animación industry who worked on Rocko’s Modern Life and Carmen Sandiego. Sure, from the poster, the art style is different from the game, but… Cuphead show. Who cares as long as it’s stylish and faithful to the games it’s based on.
~Creator of Katamari Damacy Now on Indie Game~
Creator of the insanely weird and insanely charming Katamari Damacy, Keita Takahashi, is starting work on a new indie título known as Wattam, and it… It’s definitely the same creator, all right. tu go through the four seasons, befriending creatures like rocks, trees, and shit to play through minigames. It seems to have that similar blend of charming gameplay and just all around Japanese bizarreness that I loved about Katamari Damacy and I am excited to see what Wattam will bring to the table. The further we stray from Touch My Katamari, the better
~The Ooblets Developers~
… Hey, I never dicho every news had to be good news, did I? For every good and inspirational indie developer like Toby zorro, fox o Team Cherry, there’s always gotta be one dumb motherfucker that gotta ruin it for everyone and paint us all in a bad light. Enter Glumberland with their game, Ooblets. An interesting combination of farming simulator and creature battle. Think Harvest Moon meets Pokemon. It was an interesting little game that was killed before it could even get off the ground, as it was put on the Epic Games Store as an exclusive. tu may know the Epic Store for being a fucking nightmare. So Ooblets went online and calmly and casually called out everyone for being idiots and that if they don’t like it, don’t buy the game. And don’t buy it, they did. Now they have created a hatedom for their game and nobody has any intention of buying it. Was Ooblets going to be a good game? I don’t know and I doubt I’ll find out.
Coming Attractions!
Necrobarista
Well it seems we have a counter to the cyberpunk bartending genre of indie games and have now opened the doors to the afterlife coffee making genre. Necrobarista is a 3D visual novel por ROUTE 95 that has tu run a little coffee comprar that serves the living and the dead. Think that one anime about the parades of death o whatever except with coffee so this game can appeal to a younger audience cause alcohol is bad. It definitely looks like a visually appealing indie título and that trailer música already got my attention, so I can’t wait to see what this game has in store.
Bloodroots
tu like Hotline Miami? Well what if we made another Hotline Miami except give it a más cartooney art style and crank that shit up to a hundred on the insanity and make it a game that is filled with insane kills, fast paced gameplay, and just total destruction just for the fun of it? That’s Bloodroots, an action game por Paper Cult that looks like it will be an insanely hard but insanely addictive title, and will probably have a lot less PTSD and fake out rape scenes than Hotline Miami, o so I’d hope.
Police Stories
This is a game I’ve been seeing on the Coming Soon page on the nintendo Switch eShop for a couple months now and thought it looked kinda meh. But after looking up some gameplay, seeing how tu have to navigate with just a flashlight and avoid getting yourself o your partner killed, it seems like a much más tense game that tu can easily fuck up in. Needless to say, I am now vastly más excited for Mighty Morgan’s Police Stories. Just wish the trailer was a little less… cheap.
lost Words: Beyond the Page
tu ready for the feels yo? Cause it’s about to get super feelsy in here. An interesting concept about a world being told from the perspective of a little girl’s fantasía world all for her sick grandmother, Fourth State’s lost Words is the kind of game that looks like it will be simple in gameplay, but when tu get to the ending, it’s gonna hit tu like a truck, o in this case, it’s gonna hit tu like a crazed viking running down the planes with an axe. I hear some people calling it a cheaply made game, but hey, Undertale wasn’t exactly made on an EA budget
Jenny LeClue
When I was a child, I was always interested in mystery stories that were solved por younger children up until I learned that those stories were pretty bad and watched 1920s stuff instead. Regardless, Mografi’s Jenny LeClue reminds me of days long passed with a gorgeous artstyle that replicates both a children’s story book and one of those old mystery stories I used to read. I’m a huge sucker for mystery games as well, so I can already see myself getting excited for this game in particular
Mineko’s Night Market
The name of the company is called fucking Meowza Games and the game has a giant cat…. Art looks nice too, I guess
Afterparty
So Oxenfree, what a fucking depressing game that was, huh? Well, the developers of that game, Night School Studios, comes with a new title, After Party, where your goal is to binge drink your way out of hell and beat Satan in a drinking match. Compared to Oxenfree, this sounds like a much más lighthearted experience… I can’t wait for this game to pull the wool over my eyes and then rip out my corazón and throw it in the trash. I’m excited.
Spelunky 2
So Spelunky was a pretty fun and challenging indie título that I never got to play, but I can still get excited for it’s sequel, can’t I? Not much news aside that it was delayed to 2020, but hey, a delayed game is better than a rushed piece of shit. Isn’t that right, Pro Skater 5?
The Stanley Parable: Deluxe Edition
So The Stanley Parable was a fun little game? Let’s do it again but add new shit. The original game was already a trip of insane twists and great humor, so I can only imagine what the developers will add onto it
Sable
Is is an achievement for indie games o a failure on Microsoft’s part that this single indie título had the most attention during their E3? Shedworks’ Sable is a game that I have been invested in since it was first announced. The striking visuals, the bizarre world and character tu play as, all in this desert like apocalyptic setting, it feels unwelcoming, yet glorious all at the same time, like an ancient world that has long since passed, all made that más amazing with the addition of the music. I don’t own an Xbox One cause… fuck release día Xbox One, but Sable is a game that is so gorgeous and so fascinating that it may make me want to get one just for it…. o wait until it is ported to the Switch. I could do that.
Well, that’s the big In-Indie Extra for this segundo part of In-Indie. All that’s left is to discuss what título will be talked about next. And tu know what… I think I got ourselves another winner this week
Up next: It’s gonna be a wallop
The Least Good
10: We Happy Few
Did I mention I don’t like this game? Now this was not without trying. For about a week, I forced myself to play the game. I would play for two hours, experience an annoying mission or, más than likely, a glitch, stop and take a brink, have a tea, have a smoke, have the restraint from questioning my own mortality, and go back to the game the siguiente día hoping for change… and it never got better. The story was good, the world was good, the characters were good, but this game would have worked better as a graphic novel. I hear it’s getting a movie, which this game probably should have been from the first point. If tu want to experience We Happy Few, just watch a playthrough and watch the cutscenes. There is nothing tu are missing in the gameplay, I assure you. We Happy Few: Pretty bad.
9: Morphies Law: Remorphed
Now this game was this low simply for being an empty game that was filled with technical issues and just not fun. Originally, it was ranked lower than We Happy Few, but after Remorphed came along, it became fun now. The game still has issues and it is still an online shooter, which just isn’t my kind of game, but hey, it was fun for the most part. There are a ton of unlockables and there is some charm to the game. And I do amor the classic día of the Dead designs, my favorito! part of games like Grim Fandango and Guacamelee. It’s a decent indie title, maybe not the greatest online game, but overall, a fun time
8: Mulaka
Now the reason this game is lower is mostly for my problems with the combat and the final hora just felt like the gameplay was taking a huge nosedive. But Mulaka is still a good game to give a try, with its expansive world, fun character and enemy designs, interesting puzzle solving, and the explorative nature. It also helps that it is based on real lore and race, so it definitely had me interested from the start. A simple game with some flaws, but nothing too damning.
7: Pikuniku
Pikuniku is a very simple, very inoffensive game. It’s a weird game too, feels kind of like a strange dream you’d have from time to time before tu wake up, and is just as quick as one, but still a charming little game. It was one indie título that interested me from the style and música alone and am happy to say that is a nice little time killer for anyone interested in the style
6: The Red Strings Club
Well this was an indie título I was deciding against playing on the Switch, only cause I saw the gameplay and thought I’d have to use the touch screen and I refuse to stain it with my fucking finger tips. But thankfully, no touch screens were soiled and only fun and confusion was had. The Red Strings Club is a point and click game that starts out all chill and relaxing before becoming a total mind fuck in the last five minutes, yet feels so naturally throughout. There are a ton of point and click indie games out there, but I feel like Red Strings Club kind of fell under the radar, which is a shame. If tu see it on Steam o Switch, give it a look
5: Superhot
SUPER! HOT! SUPER- Okay, not doing that joke again. Superhot was one of the most unique indie games gameplay wise, time moving only when tu do, and it was really fun. I only played the original version since being an indie game reviewer on a small website doesn’t exactly give me the funds to buy a VR headset, but the game was still fun on it’s own. I can imagine it being más fun in VR, but for what I played, it’s still a great two hours.
4: Lethal League Blaze
Well this was definitely a game worth the wait. I saw this game a few times and thought the gameplay was going to be insane, and boy was I right. Playing the single player story, sofá multiplayer, and online matches still left me craving more. Maybe I’ll give the original version a try some time. The perfect online competitive game if anyone is looking for something stylish and new
3: Slime Rancher
Indie games like Hotline Miami, Super Meat Boy and Cuphead are all known for their insane difficulty, so it’s nice that there is an indie título out there that is far más laid back and relaxing. Slime Rancher feels like the kind of game to get lost in, taking a load off and just having fun por exploring and expanding your ranch. It was a fun time going through the base game and I can’t wait to see what the DLC has in store
2: Katana Zero
I know that indie games aren’t limited to budget and only por their developer’s creativity, but Katana Zero is a game that looks like it couldn’t have been possible for an indie game budget. The polish, the gameplay, music, writing, it all flows so well and meshes perfectly together to create one of the best indie games of this year. It’s unfair for me to say, but I think Katana Zero, as of now, is my pick for game of the year. Yes, más so than Sekiro, Devil May Cry V, Resident Evil 2, and Mario Maker 2. It is that good
1: Hollow Knight
While I am madly in amor with Katana Zero like a fucked up relationship, I cannot deny that Hollow Knight is the superior game. The way the game thrusts tu into the mysterious and threatening world of Deepnest, the challenging and rewarding gameplay that allows tu to increase your power and your skill set just for exploring, how tu feel when tu come to every new area, face every new boss, and run into characters, old and new, seeing as their story progresses along with yours. No other From Software game after Dark Souls gave me that feeling of both hopelessness yet awe inspired joy like Hollow Knight did. It really did feel like a true Dark Souls successor, and not just for the difficulty, cause this is In-Indie. Not Polygon.
Indie News
~Cuphead’s Animated Series~
So Cuphead had some damn good hand drawn animación in the style of the caricaturas of old, huh? It made me wonder what it would look like as an actual cartoon so I could look at them without dying over and over. Thankfully, Studio MDHR granted my wishes as they have now started work on the new Netflix series, The Cuphead Show, getting help from other talented people in the animación industry who worked on Rocko’s Modern Life and Carmen Sandiego. Sure, from the poster, the art style is different from the game, but… Cuphead show. Who cares as long as it’s stylish and faithful to the games it’s based on.
~Creator of Katamari Damacy Now on Indie Game~
Creator of the insanely weird and insanely charming Katamari Damacy, Keita Takahashi, is starting work on a new indie título known as Wattam, and it… It’s definitely the same creator, all right. tu go through the four seasons, befriending creatures like rocks, trees, and shit to play through minigames. It seems to have that similar blend of charming gameplay and just all around Japanese bizarreness that I loved about Katamari Damacy and I am excited to see what Wattam will bring to the table. The further we stray from Touch My Katamari, the better
~The Ooblets Developers~
… Hey, I never dicho every news had to be good news, did I? For every good and inspirational indie developer like Toby zorro, fox o Team Cherry, there’s always gotta be one dumb motherfucker that gotta ruin it for everyone and paint us all in a bad light. Enter Glumberland with their game, Ooblets. An interesting combination of farming simulator and creature battle. Think Harvest Moon meets Pokemon. It was an interesting little game that was killed before it could even get off the ground, as it was put on the Epic Games Store as an exclusive. tu may know the Epic Store for being a fucking nightmare. So Ooblets went online and calmly and casually called out everyone for being idiots and that if they don’t like it, don’t buy the game. And don’t buy it, they did. Now they have created a hatedom for their game and nobody has any intention of buying it. Was Ooblets going to be a good game? I don’t know and I doubt I’ll find out.
Coming Attractions!
Necrobarista
Well it seems we have a counter to the cyberpunk bartending genre of indie games and have now opened the doors to the afterlife coffee making genre. Necrobarista is a 3D visual novel por ROUTE 95 that has tu run a little coffee comprar that serves the living and the dead. Think that one anime about the parades of death o whatever except with coffee so this game can appeal to a younger audience cause alcohol is bad. It definitely looks like a visually appealing indie título and that trailer música already got my attention, so I can’t wait to see what this game has in store.
Bloodroots
tu like Hotline Miami? Well what if we made another Hotline Miami except give it a más cartooney art style and crank that shit up to a hundred on the insanity and make it a game that is filled with insane kills, fast paced gameplay, and just total destruction just for the fun of it? That’s Bloodroots, an action game por Paper Cult that looks like it will be an insanely hard but insanely addictive title, and will probably have a lot less PTSD and fake out rape scenes than Hotline Miami, o so I’d hope.
Police Stories
This is a game I’ve been seeing on the Coming Soon page on the nintendo Switch eShop for a couple months now and thought it looked kinda meh. But after looking up some gameplay, seeing how tu have to navigate with just a flashlight and avoid getting yourself o your partner killed, it seems like a much más tense game that tu can easily fuck up in. Needless to say, I am now vastly más excited for Mighty Morgan’s Police Stories. Just wish the trailer was a little less… cheap.
lost Words: Beyond the Page
tu ready for the feels yo? Cause it’s about to get super feelsy in here. An interesting concept about a world being told from the perspective of a little girl’s fantasía world all for her sick grandmother, Fourth State’s lost Words is the kind of game that looks like it will be simple in gameplay, but when tu get to the ending, it’s gonna hit tu like a truck, o in this case, it’s gonna hit tu like a crazed viking running down the planes with an axe. I hear some people calling it a cheaply made game, but hey, Undertale wasn’t exactly made on an EA budget
Jenny LeClue
When I was a child, I was always interested in mystery stories that were solved por younger children up until I learned that those stories were pretty bad and watched 1920s stuff instead. Regardless, Mografi’s Jenny LeClue reminds me of days long passed with a gorgeous artstyle that replicates both a children’s story book and one of those old mystery stories I used to read. I’m a huge sucker for mystery games as well, so I can already see myself getting excited for this game in particular
Mineko’s Night Market
The name of the company is called fucking Meowza Games and the game has a giant cat…. Art looks nice too, I guess
Afterparty
So Oxenfree, what a fucking depressing game that was, huh? Well, the developers of that game, Night School Studios, comes with a new title, After Party, where your goal is to binge drink your way out of hell and beat Satan in a drinking match. Compared to Oxenfree, this sounds like a much más lighthearted experience… I can’t wait for this game to pull the wool over my eyes and then rip out my corazón and throw it in the trash. I’m excited.
Spelunky 2
So Spelunky was a pretty fun and challenging indie título that I never got to play, but I can still get excited for it’s sequel, can’t I? Not much news aside that it was delayed to 2020, but hey, a delayed game is better than a rushed piece of shit. Isn’t that right, Pro Skater 5?
The Stanley Parable: Deluxe Edition
So The Stanley Parable was a fun little game? Let’s do it again but add new shit. The original game was already a trip of insane twists and great humor, so I can only imagine what the developers will add onto it
Sable
Is is an achievement for indie games o a failure on Microsoft’s part that this single indie título had the most attention during their E3? Shedworks’ Sable is a game that I have been invested in since it was first announced. The striking visuals, the bizarre world and character tu play as, all in this desert like apocalyptic setting, it feels unwelcoming, yet glorious all at the same time, like an ancient world that has long since passed, all made that más amazing with the addition of the music. I don’t own an Xbox One cause… fuck release día Xbox One, but Sable is a game that is so gorgeous and so fascinating that it may make me want to get one just for it…. o wait until it is ported to the Switch. I could do that.
Well, that’s the big In-Indie Extra for this segundo part of In-Indie. All that’s left is to discuss what título will be talked about next. And tu know what… I think I got ourselves another winner this week
Up next: It’s gonna be a wallop
