I had a realization about 3 years ago. All of the retro games I loved were basically indie games. When you look at the size of staff and dev schedule for something like Mega Man, Castlevania, or even the 2D Final Fantasy games, they would all qualify as indies. Once I realized that, I basically abandoned Triple-A gaming outside of Nintendo 1st-party, and my gaming life has been better than it's ever been before.
So glad you made this video. Watching/listening to gaming content over the last year it feels like the industry is falling apart... but at the the same time my personal experience playing games has been amazing! And a lot of hat comes down to all the great single a and indie games we have now.
The best gaming experiences I have had recently are Tunic and Outer Wilds. Two "Double-A" games (i.e. that started as Indies but got help from a publisher later on) about learning the hidden rules of their respective universes. Because one thing we often forget about childlike wonder is that it is based on the satisfaction about discovering how the world works, and coming with our own solutions based on that new knowledge.
1000% agreed. Most of the games I have played in the past few years are indie games. Speaking as an indie dev the amount of creative control is unprecedented and I feel that innovation in the AAA sphere is practically dead aside from the likes of Nintendo. Indies are what’s driving innovation right now and hopefully the decline of AAA will give rise to a return to form for the games industry. Unlike how it was during the crash this is the polar opposite where we are in a golden age of indies where they are flourishing in the most tumultuous time of the games industry since the crash
What’s some of the indies you’ve played last year and that you’re looking forward to? It’s one thing to say “indies are good” but it’s important to get the actual names out there too. That and i’m curious. (This next comment is copied and pasted from a reply of mine to another comment, apologies if it feels less personal but I don’t want to manually rewrite a lot of stuff) There’s so much that can appeal to people that they may not know of, both already out and yet upcoming. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia), with Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well. Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too. Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there
For the past few years, my triple A loving friends have been moaning and groaning about how there are no new good games from the past few years. I was literally shocked hearing them say this, i couldnt believe my ears, it wasn’t a feeling i had felt at all because HOW COULD I. Pizza Tower, Grapple Dog, Tower of Dreams, Toree, Frogun, another crabs treasure, animal well, steamworld heist 2, jesus CHRIST like how can you NOT find something to play from the last few years??????
God. Im watching this video and realizing just how many indies from the past few years ive missed out on. There truly is so much, no one person could possibly play it all
This is ridiculous. Last year alone has: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Hi-Fi Rush, Spider-Man 2, Star Wars Jedi Survivor, Dead Space Remake, System Shock Remake, Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon ..... It's like people don't even follow new games and start complaining for no reason.
And there’s much more too, both already out and yet upcoming. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia), with Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well. Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too. Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there.
I am so, so tired. Tired of being humiliated, you know? This week, they fired some people and cut the salaries of "almost" everyone. It demotivated the entire team. But my friend and I, already sensing this might happen, started making moves. Now, we're focused on our next projects for Steam. It's a world without limits, without bosses, without humiliation. There's still effort, still sweat, but it's for us. For our fun, for our pockets.
I do absolutely agree with you on the notion that these Indie titles are worth more looking forward to than you average AAA production. BUT! Pixel A Day recently made a video about it: What do we call Indie games today? Is the term still accurate and appropriate? Many games perceived as "Indie" nowadays are backed by publishers, the idea of the lone developer who creates on their own in their free time is not always fitting of what we call "Indie" nowadays. I do NOT say we are not supposed to like these games or prefer them over AAA but there is a discussion to be had about what "Indie" truly means and what it should mean. Thanks for all the videos you keep making! :)
This makes me think a bit of two of my favourite games in recent years, Soulstice and Cookie Cutter, and their relationship with a publisher or being backed up. Soulstice is a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders with tone and writing like that last title. Cookie Cutter is a hand-drawn 2D metroidvania with an out-there tone and various bizarre things. It may be off-putting but doesn’t treat its world as a joke. Soulstice was made by Reply Game Studios and In believe published by Nacon. As the name of the dev studio indicates, it’s part of a larger whole, the Reply Group if I’m not mistaken. And the efforts *show*. The voice acting, animations, visual presentation, length of the game, mechanics, setting options, cutscenes, dialogues, it’s production values that I’d say are in line with het again the Darksiders games. And there is a clear lot of love and attention for the story, world and characters. It feels like a unique rarity because games exactly like that aren’t often made or even considered by big devs/publishers at the time of writing. It’s a full, proper game. There’s a game in the same genre currently in development called Genokids that, in comparison, looks to be more “Indie” as a smaller team of people doing their best to get stuff done. And doing well at it from the looks of it, too. Now for Cookie Cutter. This one’s a project from the heart and brain alike by lead dev Stefano Guglielmana. He’s talked in some interviews how CC is, essentially, a culmination of his tastes and love in media from throughout the years. Cartoons, comics, manga, anime and especially music. There’s small references everywhere to anything, from Psychonauts to Fullmetal Alchemist to Tool to Monkey Island. Stefano himself had a background in a punk rock band and with raves in Italy. He went on to describing the protagonist Cherry as being inspired by the types of girls he’d find there, “they were tough, they could kick your *@%# and they were always drunk and upset and lovely”. Plus describing her a bit like a female Wario. The game started light, with him working on it with one or two other people that changed a few times,while still working a job at Unity for a stable income. This went on for about four years. Only in the last two years of development was Stefano able to make a proper little company of eventually about fourteen people, which he all had to manage. While keeping his ego in check and making sure the people are content with what they’re doing & still following the larger vision. And that vision is *out there*. When it came to finding a publisher, he stated that he went through over 100 interviews before he found a publisher that would be content with not interfering at all. All others had their reservations, thought it wouldn’t be marketable or wanted to push their own influence for other reasons. Having a publisher helped a lot but the game’s ended in a cliffhanger due to budget constraints. It’s not the full intended game yet. Fortunately sales and support has allowed for work on ports, currently there’s voice actors being revealed, and Stefano regularly shares/trades possible future ideas and drawings for future areas, weapons, story beats, bosses, etc. So there is good hope for a full story. I dearly love them both (and also others like Clash: Artifacts of Chais, No Straight Roads and Zet Zillions) and have my eye on others. I figured that these two would be interesting examples to bring up in regards to what you speak of. Hope too that if you haven’t heard of them yet, this has made you interested in checking them out.
Think about the music industry. There the same thing happened where independent artists and bands started on their own and created an underground wave of interesting and varied music. Then the labels came around and they got funded. For some that was great and for others it wasn't. The word indie is still used to this day and even though it doesn't mean much in terms of style or genre (it might but it's complex) it's still a vibe somehow. I suspect something similar will happen (is happening) for games.
People often use "indie" to refer to a game's budget and team size. Because there are some AAA games which are technically indie in the sense that they are self published despite giant budgets and market share. I think people use it more for the vibe of being independent from overarching market trends. Due to their low budgets they can take bigger risks and make more varied games without worrying about having to sell 100,000,000 copies.
I think "Short Hikealikes" is definitely my new favorite game genre. I want short exploration based games with no fail states. Basically explore a condensed map with lots of collectibles, small bite sized missions, and friendly vibes. And if there's a warm story with heart tucked away in there too then that's an awesome bonus. I think Little Kitty Big City is the most recent game I played in this category and it was basically flawless in my opinion. In fact A Short Hike, Little Gator Game, and Little Kitty Big City all felt basically flawless to me. I didn't have any complaints with any of them and they were just perfectly enjoyable experiences.
9:18 Thanks for mentioning UFO 50! I've been anticipating this game and chronicling its development for 7 years now, and it feels so surreal to finally have it coming out less than a month from now. The whole team is full of all-stars besides Derek Yu, and it's one of the most ambitious indie projects in history, I feel. Love your channel and thanks for highlighting so many great games
I'm a big fan of indie games. Making one of my own! But one of the problems with the indie game market is that it can be very difficult to get them off the ground, or get them noticed in the crowd.
You see, this is the biggest problem. 99% of indie games are made by people with no experience and no skill. I assume you are one as well, because, I'm not gonna give you the benefit of the doubt that you're in the 1%. I really don't understand all these videos pretending indie games always have high quality or whatever. It's really not true.
@@84bombsjetpack23I play a lot of amazing indies but even besides how good they are quality wise, it’s about the art of them. Someone put all their love and effort into it and it’s wonderful to know that and experience it, and often times it leads to something really unique.
In terms of art, you may find a lot of cool stuff in this list of indie games I’ve assembled, both already out and yet upcoming. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia), with Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well. Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. There’s really, really strong and distinct art with all of them and I can vouch for the gameplay of Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, Cookie Cutter, No Straight Roads and Zet Zillions. A bit less so for Blud and Harold Halibut. Thought those have extra strength on the area of presentation. All of them have very good stories too. Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too. Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there.
@@84bombsjetpack23The video isn't pretending that all Indie Games high quality masterpieces, it just points out particularly good Indie games. Similarly not all AAA games are good even with massive budgets in them, nobody reasonable is claiming that all Indie Games are good games Also I think it's cool that there's more accessibility than ever in the art of making games, it's not like hobbyist projects existing harm great well-regarded Indie games.
Lil Gator Game is genuinely one of the most wholesome, heartwarming, and whimsical experiences I’ve ever had. Those words get thrown around a lot, but it is absolutely the definition of those terms. Beyond special. Will never forget it
Always enjoy your videos, but this one really resonates with me. Father of 2 myself, having a fulltime job and try to spend some of my spare time playing games. Indie games always have been the most appealing to me, mostly because often they offer a shorter experience. AAA-games like Elden Ring, Destiny, God of War, The Witcher ... of course I enjoy playing them... but often I get distracted after a few evenings, and only have been playing for approx 10 hours or something like that. Indie games often offer a shorter experience, a hop-on-hop-off experience that can be played in short(er) bursts. Games like Risk of Rain (2), Slay the Spire, Undermine ... but also more unique games like Return of the Obra Dinn. Of course, some of them offer longer gameplay (like Obra Dinn) to fully explore them ... but they have such an unique feeling ... I just love them. I wouldn't mind if AAA would be gone and there would be only indies ... but on the other hand, I also enjoy the feeling that indies are a more niche area in the gaming spectrum. That indies are something you have to love. For instance, Dave the Diver felt amazing and indie-like ... until I heard it was build by a huge company. That immediately removed part of the indie-charm from it (and honestly, I have not returned yet). The charm of a game being created by a small team, who passionately build it with their own bare hands ... you can just feel it. Dredge for instance, amazing! Ok, enough said. Not sure what game I'm looking forward ... let me check my Steam wishlist 😅 - Tactical Breach Wizards - Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders - I Am Your Beast - Tiny Glade - UnderMine 2 - Demon Spore - Enter the Chronosphere - Dead Static Drive Ok, quiet some games to look forward to 😂
I just love when Indie games do that, "fine, I'll do it myself!", because one of the dev's beloved games they grew up with isn't getting any newer installments, or has just gone down hill. It's always great to see how their passion project, was inspired by an old game we've all grew up with and enjoyed at some point too. It's pretty much why we got great games like Hollow Knight and Axiom Verge, because Nintendo were dragging their feet when it came to another Metroid title. As well as Stardew Valley and it's inspiration by Harvest Moon, thus breathing new life into the genre and inspiring others to craft their own farm sim game too. There's just so many talented and passionate developers out there, who want to see their favorite game franchises back, but unfortunately the big companies don't seem to care anymore about those IPs. I'm also just happy to many of these titles succeed, and to see their creativity, their stories, and charm. To see such old art styles, and graphics of older generations brought back in such a way, not solely for nostalgia but also done better too, thanks upgrades in technology and engines. Now...if we could just get someone to do a Anthem/Superman styled game right, that'd be VERY impressive; or do something for the Superhero game genre, like when we had Prototype and inFamous.
“Another Crab’s Treasure” was pretty fun. Incorporating platform mechanics helped distinguish it from other games in the genre. And the ability to attach objects to your weapon is a great variation on the TotK durability system. The story was funny and surprisingly dark. I will quibble a bit with your word choice when calling the Souls stamina bar “a little obsolete in retrospect”. My understanding is that infinite stamina was the standard in action games when “Demons Souls” was released. It adds a mechanical layer which encourages more deliberate play. Even if it has gradually become a cliche abused by lesser games it is still valid creative choice.
Fair enough point on the stamina bar. If one is going to incorporate a certain element, one will need to understand why and how that element is there in the first place and how it will affect the other elements. The 2023 game Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is likewise a very colourful and imaginative game, just like Another Crab’s Treasure (and I can very warmly recommend it for gameplay, world, story, music and atmosphere), but did something interesting with a “stamina” bar. Here it’s the Guard meter. It depletes by attacking, getting hit, running and jumping and depletes on its own when not doing any of those things (standing still, walking and guarding). As long as there’s even a *little* bit in the guard meter left, you only take 50% the damage of an attack and receive less stun. The guard meter running out doesn’t affect your ability to perform any moves. You can try to jump in and make positively nasty combo chains with all the martial arts moves on offer, perhaps tank through some attacks, but when it’s depleted and you get hit you do feel it more. It can be upgraded to be longer. I find it a cool and different take on a “stamina” meter.
This future has been my present for the past 4 years. (That is, since I reconnected with video games, after way too long not playing any. So basically this future has been my present since forever, but I wanted to use the word "past".)
Most anticipated game for me next year is The Big Catch, indie 3D platformer from Filet Group. The movement from this game is so fun to master with the demo being a fantastic showcase of what the game can be.
One of the thing I love about (random) indies is that they have not yet established a name. When starting you don’t know the characters or the story or the world - like with Mario or Zelda games - so you’re almost always in for a surprise😄
Lately I've been finding myself hooked on narrative roleplaying games like Citizen Sleeper, Teenage Exocolonist, and of course Disco Elysium. Eagerly awaiting Citizen Sleeper 2.
You've got some of my most anticipated in your clips here - Mina the Hollower, for sure, and UFO 50. Also really looking forward to Parcel Corps, The Big Catch, Motorslice, and Caravan SandWitch. If you want another Short-Hike-alike with silly GTA-esque vibes, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip is great.
Damn you, now I have Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip in my Steam basket 😁 (just kidding about the damnation, that game looks amazing ... thanks for the recommendation)
Whenever I look at my Top 10 Games of the Year of which games most jump out at me during announcement periods like Summer Showcase or Gamescom, indie games are always some of the biggest highlights for me. They make up about 75% or more of what I play these days, and I love video games more than ever because of it.
It came out recently, but I can’t wait to play Mika and The Witch's Mountain after enjoying the demo on my Nintendo Switch. (I also can’t wait for Yacht Club’s upcoming game Mina the Hollower)
It's hard not to love indie games when they're the only type of games that are releasing as a fully functional product nowadays. Three games I'm looking forward to is Necroking, a strategy deckbulding roguelite with a nice gloomy pixel aesthetic. Rain World The Watcher DLC, loved Rainworld ever since it came out. There's nothing quite like Rainworld, and I highly recommend experiencing it at least once. You'll probably hate it at first, but a few weeks or a month later, you'll crave that itch again. That's how I, and most other people fell in love with this game. And lastly, Electrokinetic. A 3d platformer roguelite from the dude who made pseduregalia, another great game with a fantastic ps1 aesthetic.
Awesome video as always! I have a lot of upcoming indies on my radar but I would say yes your grace: snowfall and the plucky squire are at the top. Also locomotive has been on my radar for a while now, can wait to play it!
Yessss, someone who knows of Loco Motive too! On the front of point-and-click adventures or adjacent games, have Near-Mage, The Dungeon Experience, The Mermaid Mask and perchance Judero entered your field of view?
I've been having a blast with Indie Puzzle games. Fez, Tunic, Animal Well, Obra Dinn, Senaar, Cocoon, Golden Idol and most recently, Lorelei and the laser eyes. I maybe buy one or two AAA games per year nowadays, because the indie scene is so amazing
Oh man, Chants of Sennaar seems interesting to me too. Trying to transcend the boundaries of language to find back communication with one another, if i’m not mistaken. Totally unprompted from a stranger in the internet, here’s a list of others that may prove of interest. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia). Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well. Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Kings of Hell Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too. Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there.
@@SerenaWisdom Sorry for the late reply. I don't know about particulars if they are available on switch, aside from No Straight Roads and Cookie Cutter. Regarding CC it's not on Switch *yet* though-- the devs are currently working on porting.
Love you thoughts on games and editing style. Based on the sign-off, I'm guessing this will be the last video for a while. Best of luck and stay frosty into 2025.
It says a lot that many of the best licensed games over the last few years, like ‘Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley’ and ‘Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid’, were made by indie studios
Your channel helped me learn about indie games in the first place. One of the first ones I tried was Iconoclasts based partly on your video about it. Still an all time favorite. I love the creative freedom indie devs have. Nothing is focus-grouped into blandness, niche concepts and amazing personality are allowed to shine making for much more memorable experiences. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the AAA stuff anymore, unless Nintendo is making it, since they still understand the value of games having distinct personalities. When you try to please everyone with a creative project, you often please no one. Indies don’t have that problem, that’s why the games can be so satisfying.
My favorite indie game is dicey dungeons, which I actually played because snowman recommended it a few years ago I love that when I beat it, I felt like the concept was fully explored. Sometimes a video game leaves me with a feeling that the concept could have been pushed farther, so Dicey Dungeons was a great change of pace.
I'm really looking forward to fields of Mistria, for elevating the farming sim genre by iterating on it with things like extra dialogue and better characters, better customisation options, swimming and diving, and magic! It's like rune factory 4 without the RPG elements.
I think right this moment, my most anticipated upcoming commercial release that hasn't already happened is probably The Plucky Squire. An indie game with that level of visual polish has my attention, and I'm someone who normally likes the weird looking stuff like from thecatamites and Mason Lindroth. Also, shoutout to Super Lesbian Animal RPG, because only an indie game would be allowed to have a title like that unironically.
I’ll have to look into what thecatamites are. In terms of weird-looking stuff, have the games by ACE Team or Zoink! Been on your radar! Stuff like Zeno Clash 1 and 2, the 2023 prequel Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (man, I love Pseudo’s design) and The Eternal Cylinder, or Stick It To The Man, Flipping Death and Lost in Random. It seems Zoink! Have reformed into Moonhood Studio and are currently working on a game made with stop motion models and sets. Oh, and so is Amanita Design (Machinarium, Samorost, Chuchel, Hppy Game) Mayhaps the likes of Cookie Cutter and Zet Zillions could be interesting too- colourful, irreverent 2D sci-fi tales where the likes of tentacle mutants, robot skeletons with an afro, a crocodilian alien scientist, a proper Hindu demon, literal dwarf stars (they have beards and sometimes axes), planets with faces, artificial life forms described as “meat robots” simply called Trash can be found all around. Oh, and there’s My Familiar and The Dungeon Experience too. TDE is made by the one that made the point-and-click game Paradigm. Speaking of which, Orten Was the Case looks grotty and weird and perhaps intriguing. And a quick mention of Immortal: and the Death that Follows & Ruffy and the Riverside too. Hope these may all prove interesting!
I was happy to you start making more videos again, but i dont know if you are interested in fps games but Mouse looks to be one of the best fps to come out in a while
Games I look forward to.... The Last Night, Replaced,Timespinner 2, The Berlin Apartment... oh, by the way, you mentioned lil croc, but Little Kitty Big City is kinda the same type of thing and I absolutely loved that.
I'm gravitated more towards playing indie games over major releases these past few years and games like Death's Door, Tunic, Lil Gator Game, Guacamelee and others have gripped me and made me love gaming all over again. I'm very excited for Plucky Squire and Crypt Custodian to come out in the next month or so.
Totally unprompted from a stranger in the internet, here’s a list of others that may prove of interest. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia). Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well. Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Kings of Hell Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too. Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there
Indie games have been a thing since the 2010s with Super Meat Boy and Braid. But they’ve definitely grown in popularity each year since. Thank you for showcasing and recommending so many of them! Honestly, most of the games I own now are indie because of the novelty and interesting mechanics they introduce. There are a few stinkers here and there, but I’m honestly blown away a lot of the time; especially when a very small team (or even just ONE person) makes an incredible game.
I've enjoyed Animal Well and Another Crab's Treasure [and nearly completed them], and I'm looking forward to The Plucky Squire because it looks like such a unique game. Also, you've introduced me to Windswept.
Thanks for recommending "Windswept", haven't heard of that one yet, but if it'll be good and gives me DKC gameplay, I'll have to get it. ;) "Kaze and the Wild Masks" was already great, hope it gets a sequel. Also didn't know about "Lil Gator Game", I enjoyed "A Short Hike" quite a bit, so I'll get that one too. I agree with your statements, Indie studios bring so much unique games since many years and them being often shorter is great for me too, don't need games that take me forvever to beat.
I gotta say the game I'm hyped for is Quest Master, a Zelda style dungeon maker type game. The Devs are SUPER dedicated, and updates are happening every week, pretty much! It's a grand ol time, to be sure.
My steam wishlist has bulked up considerably over this year, mainly because of my growing interest in games from smaller developers. This year I beat Cosmic Star Heroine and This Way Madness Lies, two short rpgs from Zeboyd Games that were a lot of fun and had my attention throughout their runtimes!
For me indie games have been the future for a very long time, I remember when stuff like Braid or Super Meat Boy came out I though "that's what modern games are missing", and from there it just got better. There are few AAA titles I still enjoy, but the vast manority of them feels hollow to me
BEENY GANG RISE UP Beeny gotta be one of my favorite siactro games, due to the sheer simplicity. Super kiwi 64 and toree 2 are so goated tho. Masterpieces
I love this vid. I share this sentiment completely. I have been saying for years, that all the best creativity is in the indie space, and I am here for it. Mina the Hollower is top of my anticipated list, but Windblown is right behind it. Elechead is one on my list that I haven't played yet, and really want to.
@@snomangaming Yeah, I have been itching to play it. Maybe now is the time for me to pull the trigger. Appreciate your vids! Been following for quite a while now.
I think one of the biggest most important parts of indie games is something Yoko Taro mastered. The art of having a creative voice. Essentially, AAA games are boring and lifeless because they have to maximize profits. They're "safe" in order to avoid alienating people, they're graphically demanding because that sells by creating better commercials, and they're created using design by committee, to double check every decision for profitability. Basically, they're completely devoid of any personality, message, or uniqueness because AAA games have to appeal to the largest possible audience. I see indies as a philosophical rebellion against that idea. Indies are made by passionate people who are making something because they want to create things. Designed by people who have something to say. Full of silly little personal details and meaningless flourishes thrown in simply because something thought it was funny or cute. Indies are full of personality, because they have to be. There are definitely indies that are boring and generic, but we never see those games. Instead, we find special gems full of creativity. It's not that indies magically have to be more creative. It's that without a multi-million dollar marketing budget, you'll never see the lifeless generic indie games. We're spoiled because word of mouth marketing continually surfaces the best games made by people who have a real creative vision for their game. It's why I think the "indie" label is still valid. Even if you look at independent games with no publisher, you'll rarely find a game made by a single individual. With rare exceptions like Cave Story, Stardew Valley, and now Animal Well, practically every other game is made by a team of people. Yes, web publishing made it possible to deliver games without a publisher to produce CD disks or Floppies, but there are still tons of complicated issues like legal copyright, and developing connections with journalists. Besides, today's publishers are also smaller. They don't have massive continent spanning distribution networks anymore. Devolver Digital only had 20 people in 2020. Devolver was one of the best publishers in the mid 2010s, and they did that with less people than most game studios have. I think the arbitrary distinction between publishers and developers is a bit strange. It made a lot more sense back when you needed a huge manufacturing center to create your physical distributions. But now, the line between publishers and indies is a lot blurrier than it used to be. Note, that Devolver is close to 300 people now. After their 2021 IPO, they've grown a lot, and recently acquired a ~55 person game studio. They're changing a lot, very rapidly. They might not be the best comparison today, but they show that it's entirely possible to have an exclusively digital publisher that's incredibly small.
An Indie I'm looking forward to is Beastieball from the same devs behind Chicory! It's about collecting critters to form a team akin to Pokemon, but with the vanilla turn based combat overhauled with more ways for your team members to work together and an emphasis on positioning. The beasts themselves also emote and react to whatevers happening around them (including to each other with different relationship systems) and have some agency in the overworld to highlight their personalities and make them feel a little more alive.
Arc Seed just came out in early access and is such a fun roguelike strategy! Can't wait for the story mode. It hasn't gotten a lot of coverage so I'm mentioning it. But honestly, there's so many good indie games out there.
Hey there! I'm currently a college student pursuing a computer science degree. I've had a dream of building a game for many many years. My goal is to create a beautiful experience just like those that I've experienced. I've been scouring the internet finding people on UA-cam and reddit critically break down games and what they think makes them good. Thank you for making these kinds of videos! It saves me many thousands of hours of research on top of the multiple years of gaining experience, education, practice and actually building something! Earned a sub from me. :)
Most anticipated Indie for me is AntonBlast by Summitsphere. A game that takes heavy inspiration from WarioLand 4 and Crash Bandicoot and mixes it all together with an amazing artstyle that basically a playable Warner Bros Cartoon.
The big techs and AAA studios are taking a hit due to recession predictions, high interest rates and stuff like that. Their first action is to cut excess departments, this mostly means layoffs and closing studios they bought some years ago. As these people return to the job market, they may leave the game industry, join smaller studios or make their own. These studios may start releasing projects that capture the essence of AAA games but with a cheaper production and cost. Other may keep the trend of remixing game genres to come up with new game concepts. I hope that the quote "In every crisis lies oportunities" take effect and we get some nice years of Indie boom, specially since AAA games and hardware to run them are getting more expensive every year (at least in my country).
Right now Antonblast, Blue Prince, CATO, Dubio, LOK Digital, Mind Over Magnet, MIO: Memories in Orbit, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, The Big Catch, and The Plucky Squire are all high on my radar, largely thanks to demos. Also excited for Switch versions of BattleBlock Theater (platforms to be confirmed but The Behemoth is likely bringing it over), Jumphobia: Homeward Bound, Laika: Aged Through Blood, LunarLux, and Valley Peaks. And that's barely scratching the surface. I have way too many demos saved on Steam right now
I mean, I'm a late thirties guy with a full time job, a house to keep, kids to care for and wife to date. My time for myself is very limited, and I have other hobbies besides gaming. If I get one of those 80h open world games I will be playing the same thing for years! When I play I want to play something I find fun and interesting, not marking checkboxes in a huge map.
Lately ive been enjoying the smaller indie games mostly for the length. I dont really have the time to play a 100+ long game anymore. If i do itll take me a year to beat. For an indie game im looking forward to is Kingdoms of the Dump and Starstruck. Im pretty excited that Starstruck is coming out next month.
the Indie game I'm hyped for is "SomnaBuster" by PD_CGT. the game has inspirations from "Sonic" & "Ristar" with a lovely squiggly art style, and a twangy genesis OST. Honorable mentions go to "Radio the universe", "Ghost Hand" and "Sorry we're closed". also bones Early access games "REAL WEB LEGENDS: Carter's Quest",& "Dungeons of blood and dream".
That’s a lot I’ve never heard of before. Sweet job mentioning those! Indies and lesser-known titles can use all the support they can get, so this is good stuff. Good luck to the devs of all those games, with respect to both production and reception. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia). Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well. Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Kings of Hell Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
The Wolf Among Us 2, if it ever comes and if Telltale is "indie" anymore. Mostly I don't specifically look for indies, they just show up. Like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind or Hades 2.
Hey Snoman! Big fan of your content for a long time, just want to say that I am so glad to see you making content more consistently again, I know how hard it can be to balance hobbies with the rest of life, and I'm so pleased you're taking time to invest into video creation again! Did you ever finish that Kaizo you were making? I recall you had been working on one using Moon if I recall. Also a side note, if you have the time to use the UA-cam "chapters" feature (Or whatever it is called), I'd appreciate it, so I could skip past sections like Animal Well and other games I plan on playing but haven't had the time to, that'd be appreciated! Granted that adds even more time to the video production process, so I'd understand if you choose to forgo it, just thought I'd ask. :) Keep up the great work, I hope you and yours are doing well!
Hi Keller! Thanks so much that means a lot, yes I did finish the kaizo hack it's called Chocolate Sunday: www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=28862 Great idea with the chapters, I will go back and add them right now :) Thanks for watching
I'm looking forward to Seasonspree more than anything, but I'm a little biased. (Coming Sept 20 on Switch & Steam!) A few years ago I tweeted that we should call them shortlikes, but the way you say it is cuter.
I love Attack on Hex Island. It perfectly captures all that I loved about Final Fantasy 9's card game Tetra Master while removing all of the complicated randomized rolls replacing it with clear and simple power levels. It also allows me to re-experience Pokémon when it was more basic and an easier rock-paper-scissors mechanics. It combines it all really well into an approachable deck builder 😊
I've played all of these (save the obvious almost-released Castaway). Fantastic picks! They're all lovely games. To recommend a few indies: Beastieball (Imagine Pokémon, but instead of 1v1 battles, it's 2v2 volleyball matches where positioning on the field matters. Being made by the Wandersong n Chicory: A Colourful Tale dev Wishes Unlimited) Thronefall (arcade-y, isometric view game thats part RTS, part Kingdom and part Tower Defense. Build out base with coins gained from surviving civilian buildings during the day, and run around commanding troops during the nightly sieges) Trash of the Titans (roguelike tactics RPG, with a team of animal folk, branching upgrade paths, and a Tetris-inspired level up minigame) Nine Sols (Metroidvania with parry-focused combat, with a Taoist sci-fi horror style. Has some great character writing)
Oooh nice, appreciate lists that give a description of what the games actually are about! Nine Sols i’m known with, ended up being more interested and invested in that one’s story than I initially thought I would. Seems to have been picking up traction which is good stuff. Totally unprompted from a stranger in the internet, here’s a list of others that may prove of interest. Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia). Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) have proven fun and/or touching as well. Oh, and Lost in Random (quite unique mix of 3D action combat and deck building in a delightful art style somewhat like a stylised stop motion dark fantasy kids movie) Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team, Metronomik and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible. At the moment I’ve got my eyes on: Immortal: and the Death that Follows Bad Boro Judero Decline’s Drops Resistor The Dungeon Experience My Familiar Pillory Ruffy and the Riverside Loco Motive Near-Mage The Mermaid Mask Kraino Rebirth Ondeh Ondeh Genokids Enenra Daemon Core Kings of Hell Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up Yasuke: A Lost Descendant The Immortal Life of Goldman Gori: Cuddly Carnage Antonblast Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo Clown Meat Jamphibian And there’s probably others I forgot about. Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too. Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there
Hard to think of an idea I'm more excited about, indie or not, than something approaching a full-on metroidvania helmed by Maddy Thorson. So Earthblade is probably my most anticipated game at this point, even moreso that Echoes of Wisdom (which is really saying something)
I want to make my own Indie games but its really hard. Right now I'm focusing on spriting for the moment. I already have story ideas I've been building up for years, which were intended to fit in a video game setting originally more than anything. And I can't just turn off my brain and stop thinking up new ideas lol. EDIT: I know its easier than it was in the past, but its still not easy. Just wanted to clarify that. Still a lot of work regardless, especially when I work full-time. But I can't stop working or I can't afford to pay my bills. Still, I'm slowly trying to build myself towards such a goal.
Outside of sequels/spinoffs/etc., I'm anticipating Miegakure and Routine. Both have been a long time coming. I'm always on the lookout for games that do something new and interesting, and do it well.
Allow me to start by recommending Copy Kitty again. It's a mix of Kirby + Mega Man + ton of explosions. You can copy your opponents powers and then combine them, giving you a bunch of attacks. Then you fight bosses and you copy their powers and use it against them. Then you unlock hard mode where the story continues and play remix level with remixed or even new bosses with new powers to copy. There also another character with its own story and that character also copy powers but not in the same way because there wasn't apparently enough moves in the game and the developers are a bunch of mad lads. Since you mentioned in earlier videos Kaizo Mario, the credits do mention the Super Mario World Central IIRC so you might want to look into the game. There's also a demo and if that's not enough, I uploaded some boss videos compilation because no one else is doing that for this game but if you watch the whole thing there'll be massive spoilers for Boki normal mode playthrough. Secondly, the game I am eagerly waiting for coming out of early access (it's version 0.8 something currently) is The Void Rain Upon Her Heart. It's a shmup roguelike where you bring love to monsters and it has a wholesome atmosphere. I would also love to hear you hear about how it tackle meta-progression. Many games with those have you gathering meta-currency where you advance a skill tree where numbers go up. This game, um..., it goes for something different, the closest thing I can think about is The Binding of Isaac. Oh yes, the game also have a bunch of achievement that unlock stuff but because it's early access, there are only 721 for now. The reason the number is so low is that it's made by a single developer (not ZUN!) who worked on the game for about 7 years now. Normally I would suggest to wait for version 1.0 to come out but there are in-character placeholder cutscenes that will be removed eventually. :P I am eagerly awaiting for version 1.0 to come out so that Story Mode(s) is finally completed and I am totally not going insane trying out to figure the lore and especially whatever wonky business is going on with Twin Hearts! Oh, also, if you want to see some gameplay, I made a farming video that might come handy maybe for players. Next, Evoland. The first one was a proof of concept game where as you play, the game evolves. The second one is an adventure game where they mix various type of graphics and gameplay and the lore goes harder than it has any right to do so! I didn't expected all that much from it and was quite surprised. Finally, Creepy Castle (by Dopterra). It's an adventure game with several scenarios where you explore and fight opponents, having to succeed at small mini-games to deal damage. The game is not perfect and the map system leave to be desired but it clicked with me. Also, the game know how to create climatic finales for the various scenarios and the end of the 2B one is the stuff of legends! Give it a try if you need to take a break from scary animatronics. ;P
The future?
Indie games are my present!
they are THE present. has been for quite a long time. i play like 1 or 2 triple a games per year if that much
lol yeah, "indie games are the future" might have been an interesting statement in 2008
I had a realization about 3 years ago. All of the retro games I loved were basically indie games. When you look at the size of staff and dev schedule for something like Mega Man, Castlevania, or even the 2D Final Fantasy games, they would all qualify as indies. Once I realized that, I basically abandoned Triple-A gaming outside of Nintendo 1st-party, and my gaming life has been better than it's ever been before.
Dang, you're right! Wow that makes a lot of sense. I too almost entirely limit myself to indies and Nintendo these days.
Yeah, it feels like the boom of indie games is a return to the golden age of the 90s with small teams pumping out bangers
we need to like this comment to 2k so many more will see it. what panda said makes a lot of sense and revealed something incredible to me.
So glad you made this video. Watching/listening to gaming content over the last year it feels like the industry is falling apart... but at the the same time my personal experience playing games has been amazing! And a lot of hat comes down to all the great single a and indie games we have now.
The best gaming experiences I have had recently are Tunic and Outer Wilds. Two "Double-A" games (i.e. that started as Indies but got help from a publisher later on) about learning the hidden rules of their respective universes. Because one thing we often forget about childlike wonder is that it is based on the satisfaction about discovering how the world works, and coming with our own solutions based on that new knowledge.
Both funded by the same studio as well! Annapurna has a good eye for what games are worth more than they get!
TUNIC is the GOAT OF ALL GOATS
1000% agreed. Most of the games I have played in the past few years are indie games. Speaking as an indie dev the amount of creative control is unprecedented and I feel that innovation in the AAA sphere is practically dead aside from the likes of Nintendo. Indies are what’s driving innovation right now and hopefully the decline of AAA will give rise to a return to form for the games industry. Unlike how it was during the crash this is the polar opposite where we are in a golden age of indies where they are flourishing in the most tumultuous time of the games industry since the crash
What’s some of the indies you’ve played last year and that you’re looking forward to? It’s one thing to say “indies are good” but it’s important to get the actual names out there too. That and i’m curious.
(This next comment is copied and pasted from a reply of mine to another comment, apologies if it feels less personal but I don’t want to manually rewrite a lot of stuff)
There’s so much that can appeal to people that they may not know of, both already out and yet upcoming.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia), with Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well.
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there
There are good AAA games out there (RDR, GoW) but they have to prove themselves against my skepticism
For the past few years, my triple A loving friends have been moaning and groaning about how there are no new good games from the past few years. I was literally shocked hearing them say this, i couldnt believe my ears, it wasn’t a feeling i had felt at all because HOW COULD I. Pizza Tower, Grapple Dog, Tower of Dreams, Toree, Frogun, another crabs treasure, animal well, steamworld heist 2, jesus CHRIST like how can you NOT find something to play from the last few years??????
God. Im watching this video and realizing just how many indies from the past few years ive missed out on. There truly is so much, no one person could possibly play it all
This is ridiculous. Last year alone has: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Hi-Fi Rush, Spider-Man 2, Star Wars Jedi Survivor, Dead Space Remake, System Shock Remake, Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon ..... It's like people don't even follow new games and start complaining for no reason.
Those suck or are mediocre. Indies dominate that list @@84bombsjetpack23
And there’s much more too, both already out and yet upcoming.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia), with Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well.
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there.
There is an upcoming game called Gravity Whipped. Check out the demo.
I am so, so tired. Tired of being humiliated, you know? This week, they fired some people and cut the salaries of "almost" everyone. It demotivated the entire team. But my friend and I, already sensing this might happen, started making moves. Now, we're focused on our next projects for Steam. It's a world without limits, without bosses, without humiliation. There's still effort, still sweat, but it's for us. For our fun, for our pockets.
I do absolutely agree with you on the notion that these Indie titles are worth more looking forward to than you average AAA production. BUT! Pixel A Day recently made a video about it: What do we call Indie games today? Is the term still accurate and appropriate? Many games perceived as "Indie" nowadays are backed by publishers, the idea of the lone developer who creates on their own in their free time is not always fitting of what we call "Indie" nowadays. I do NOT say we are not supposed to like these games or prefer them over AAA but there is a discussion to be had about what "Indie" truly means and what it should mean.
Thanks for all the videos you keep making! :)
This makes me think a bit of two of my favourite games in recent years, Soulstice and Cookie Cutter, and their relationship with a publisher or being backed up.
Soulstice is a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders with tone and writing like that last title. Cookie Cutter is a hand-drawn 2D metroidvania with an out-there tone and various bizarre things. It may be off-putting but doesn’t treat its world as a joke.
Soulstice was made by Reply Game Studios and In believe published by Nacon. As the name of the dev studio indicates, it’s part of a larger whole, the Reply Group if I’m not mistaken.
And the efforts *show*. The voice acting, animations, visual presentation, length of the game, mechanics, setting options, cutscenes, dialogues, it’s production values that I’d say are in line with het again the Darksiders games.
And there is a clear lot of love and attention for the story, world and characters. It feels like a unique rarity because games exactly like that aren’t often made or even considered by big devs/publishers at the time of writing.
It’s a full, proper game.
There’s a game in the same genre currently in development called Genokids that, in comparison, looks to be more “Indie” as a smaller team of people doing their best to get stuff done. And doing well at it from the looks of it, too.
Now for Cookie Cutter. This one’s a project from the heart and brain alike by lead dev Stefano Guglielmana. He’s talked in some interviews how CC is, essentially, a culmination of his tastes and love in media from throughout the years.
Cartoons, comics, manga, anime and especially music. There’s small references everywhere to anything, from Psychonauts to Fullmetal Alchemist to Tool to Monkey Island.
Stefano himself had a background in a punk rock band and with raves in Italy. He went on to describing the protagonist Cherry as being inspired by the types of girls he’d find there, “they were tough, they could kick your *@%# and they were always drunk and upset and lovely”. Plus describing her a bit like a female Wario.
The game started light, with him working on it with one or two other people that changed a few times,while still working a job at Unity for a stable income.
This went on for about four years. Only in the last two years of development was Stefano able to make a proper little company of eventually about fourteen people, which he all had to manage. While keeping his ego in check and making sure the people are content with what they’re doing & still following the larger vision.
And that vision is *out there*.
When it came to finding a publisher, he stated that he went through over 100 interviews before he found a publisher that would be content with not interfering at all.
All others had their reservations, thought it wouldn’t be marketable or wanted to push their own influence for other reasons.
Having a publisher helped a lot but the game’s ended in a cliffhanger due to budget constraints. It’s not the full intended game yet.
Fortunately sales and support has allowed for work on ports, currently there’s voice actors being revealed, and Stefano regularly shares/trades possible future ideas and drawings for future areas, weapons, story beats, bosses, etc.
So there is good hope for a full story.
I dearly love them both (and also others like Clash: Artifacts of Chais, No Straight Roads and Zet Zillions) and have my eye on others. I figured that these two would be interesting examples to bring up in regards to what you speak of.
Hope too that if you haven’t heard of them yet, this has made you interested in checking them out.
Think about the music industry. There the same thing happened where independent artists and bands started on their own and created an underground wave of interesting and varied music. Then the labels came around and they got funded. For some that was great and for others it wasn't. The word indie is still used to this day and even though it doesn't mean much in terms of style or genre (it might but it's complex) it's still a vibe somehow. I suspect something similar will happen (is happening) for games.
People often use "indie" to refer to a game's budget and team size. Because there are some AAA games which are technically indie in the sense that they are self published despite giant budgets and market share.
I think people use it more for the vibe of being independent from overarching market trends. Due to their low budgets they can take bigger risks and make more varied games without worrying about having to sell 100,000,000 copies.
@@NihongoWakannaiyeah like Ubisoft's Child of Light feels way more indie than the Calisto Protocol, which was made independently.
I think "Short Hikealikes" is definitely my new favorite game genre. I want short exploration based games with no fail states. Basically explore a condensed map with lots of collectibles, small bite sized missions, and friendly vibes. And if there's a warm story with heart tucked away in there too then that's an awesome bonus. I think Little Kitty Big City is the most recent game I played in this category and it was basically flawless in my opinion. In fact A Short Hike, Little Gator Game, and Little Kitty Big City all felt basically flawless to me. I didn't have any complaints with any of them and they were just perfectly enjoyable experiences.
9:18 Thanks for mentioning UFO 50! I've been anticipating this game and chronicling its development for 7 years now, and it feels so surreal to finally have it coming out less than a month from now. The whole team is full of all-stars besides Derek Yu, and it's one of the most ambitious indie projects in history, I feel. Love your channel and thanks for highlighting so many great games
Yeah i really hate the "gaming is dead" crowd when they never played a single Indie game
AAA riders are going crazy with this one, they all play every CoD and Madden games like it is their life
HEY BUDDY thanks for the spike in wishlists!
We definitely notice whenever we get mentioned!
I'm a big fan of indie games. Making one of my own! But one of the problems with the indie game market is that it can be very difficult to get them off the ground, or get them noticed in the crowd.
You see, this is the biggest problem. 99% of indie games are made by people with no experience and no skill. I assume you are one as well, because, I'm not gonna give you the benefit of the doubt that you're in the 1%. I really don't understand all these videos pretending indie games always have high quality or whatever. It's really not true.
@@84bombsjetpack23I play a lot of amazing indies but even besides how good they are quality wise, it’s about the art of them. Someone put all their love and effort into it and it’s wonderful to know that and experience it, and often times it leads to something really unique.
In terms of art, you may find a lot of cool stuff in this list of indie games I’ve assembled, both already out and yet upcoming.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia), with Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well.
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
There’s really, really strong and distinct art with all of them and I can vouch for the gameplay of Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, Cookie Cutter, No Straight Roads and Zet Zillions. A bit less so for Blud and Harold Halibut. Thought those have extra strength on the area of presentation.
All of them have very good stories too.
Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there.
@@jurtheorc8117 thank you for the list!
@@84bombsjetpack23The video isn't pretending that all Indie Games high quality masterpieces, it just points out particularly good Indie games.
Similarly not all AAA games are good even with massive budgets in them, nobody reasonable is claiming that all Indie Games are good games
Also I think it's cool that there's more accessibility than ever in the art of making games, it's not like hobbyist projects existing harm great well-regarded Indie games.
Lil Gator Game is genuinely one of the most wholesome, heartwarming, and whimsical experiences I’ve ever had. Those words get thrown around a lot, but it is absolutely the definition of those terms. Beyond special. Will never forget it
I really like how indie development is becoming more common. My freind is working on a game called Albatroz and it look kinda cool.
All I've been playing on my switch are indie games and I couldn't be happier. Keep em coming!
Wow this sno summer is hittin us HARD! Thanks bro, loving all the vids!!!
Always enjoy your videos, but this one really resonates with me. Father of 2 myself, having a fulltime job and try to spend some of my spare time playing games. Indie games always have been the most appealing to me, mostly because often they offer a shorter experience. AAA-games like Elden Ring, Destiny, God of War, The Witcher ... of course I enjoy playing them... but often I get distracted after a few evenings, and only have been playing for approx 10 hours or something like that.
Indie games often offer a shorter experience, a hop-on-hop-off experience that can be played in short(er) bursts. Games like Risk of Rain (2), Slay the Spire, Undermine ... but also more unique games like Return of the Obra Dinn. Of course, some of them offer longer gameplay (like Obra Dinn) to fully explore them ... but they have such an unique feeling ... I just love them.
I wouldn't mind if AAA would be gone and there would be only indies ... but on the other hand, I also enjoy the feeling that indies are a more niche area in the gaming spectrum. That indies are something you have to love. For instance, Dave the Diver felt amazing and indie-like ... until I heard it was build by a huge company. That immediately removed part of the indie-charm from it (and honestly, I have not returned yet).
The charm of a game being created by a small team, who passionately build it with their own bare hands ... you can just feel it. Dredge for instance, amazing!
Ok, enough said. Not sure what game I'm looking forward ... let me check my Steam wishlist 😅
- Tactical Breach Wizards
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
- I Am Your Beast
- Tiny Glade
- UnderMine 2
- Demon Spore
- Enter the Chronosphere
- Dead Static Drive
Ok, quiet some games to look forward to 😂
I just love when Indie games do that, "fine, I'll do it myself!", because one of the dev's beloved games they grew up with isn't getting any newer installments, or has just gone down hill. It's always great to see how their passion project, was inspired by an old game we've all grew up with and enjoyed at some point too. It's pretty much why we got great games like Hollow Knight and Axiom Verge, because Nintendo were dragging their feet when it came to another Metroid title. As well as Stardew Valley and it's inspiration by Harvest Moon, thus breathing new life into the genre and inspiring others to craft their own farm sim game too. There's just so many talented and passionate developers out there, who want to see their favorite game franchises back, but unfortunately the big companies don't seem to care anymore about those IPs.
I'm also just happy to many of these titles succeed, and to see their creativity, their stories, and charm. To see such old art styles, and graphics of older generations brought back in such a way, not solely for nostalgia but also done better too, thanks upgrades in technology and engines. Now...if we could just get someone to do a Anthem/Superman styled game right, that'd be VERY impressive; or do something for the Superhero game genre, like when we had Prototype and inFamous.
“Another Crab’s Treasure” was pretty fun. Incorporating platform mechanics helped distinguish it from other games in the genre. And the ability to attach objects to your weapon is a great variation on the TotK durability system. The story was funny and surprisingly dark.
I will quibble a bit with your word choice when calling the Souls stamina bar “a little obsolete in retrospect”. My understanding is that infinite stamina was the standard in action games when “Demons Souls” was released. It adds a mechanical layer which encourages more deliberate play. Even if it has gradually become a cliche abused by lesser games it is still valid creative choice.
Fair enough point on the stamina bar. If one is going to incorporate a certain element, one will need to understand why and how that element is there in the first place and how it will affect the other elements.
The 2023 game Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is likewise a very colourful and imaginative game, just like Another Crab’s Treasure (and I can very warmly recommend it for gameplay, world, story, music and atmosphere), but did something interesting with a “stamina” bar.
Here it’s the Guard meter. It depletes by attacking, getting hit, running and jumping and depletes on its own when not doing any of those things (standing still, walking and guarding).
As long as there’s even a *little* bit in the guard meter left, you only take 50% the damage of an attack and receive less stun.
The guard meter running out doesn’t affect your ability to perform any moves. You can try to jump in and make positively nasty combo chains with all the martial arts moves on offer, perhaps tank through some attacks, but when it’s depleted and you get hit you do feel it more.
It can be upgraded to be longer.
I find it a cool and different take on a “stamina” meter.
This future has been my present for the past 4 years.
(That is, since I reconnected with video games, after way too long not playing any. So basically this future has been my present since forever, but I wanted to use the word "past".)
Most anticipated game for me next year is The Big Catch, indie 3D platformer from Filet Group. The movement from this game is so fun to master with the demo being a fantastic showcase of what the game can be.
One of the thing I love about (random) indies is that they have not yet established a name. When starting you don’t know the characters or the story or the world - like with Mario or Zelda games - so you’re almost always in for a surprise😄
and they can take more risk, because there is no dumb shareholder and the IP is fresh.
This is true of non indie games as well....
Lately I've been finding myself hooked on narrative roleplaying games like Citizen Sleeper, Teenage Exocolonist, and of course Disco Elysium. Eagerly awaiting Citizen Sleeper 2.
You've got some of my most anticipated in your clips here - Mina the Hollower, for sure, and UFO 50. Also really looking forward to Parcel Corps, The Big Catch, Motorslice, and Caravan SandWitch. If you want another Short-Hike-alike with silly GTA-esque vibes, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip is great.
Damn you, now I have Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip in my Steam basket 😁
(just kidding about the damnation, that game looks amazing ... thanks for the recommendation)
Holy frick TTTT looks amazing, definitely picking it up!
What a lovely way to cap off the Summer of Snoman! Animal Well has been my favorite this year.
Whenever I look at my Top 10 Games of the Year of which games most jump out at me during announcement periods like Summer Showcase or Gamescom, indie games are always some of the biggest highlights for me. They make up about 75% or more of what I play these days, and I love video games more than ever because of it.
I cannot wait for Anton blast any longer
Will you shout IT’S HAPPY HOUR when it releases?
Dude, I didn’t notice you were posting again! Time to go back and watch your last few videos
He sucks
Woah this is my first time hearing about Windswept, looks awesome! Def going to pick that up. Great video
Animal Well is my GOTY so far. The save room music still plays in my head.
It came out recently, but I can’t wait to play Mika and The Witch's Mountain after enjoying the demo on my Nintendo Switch.
(I also can’t wait for Yacht Club’s upcoming game Mina the Hollower)
It's hard not to love indie games when they're the only type of games that are releasing as a fully functional product nowadays. Three games I'm looking forward to is Necroking, a strategy deckbulding roguelite with a nice gloomy pixel aesthetic.
Rain World The Watcher DLC, loved Rainworld ever since it came out. There's nothing quite like Rainworld, and I highly recommend experiencing it at least once. You'll probably hate it at first, but a few weeks or a month later, you'll crave that itch again. That's how I, and most other people fell in love with this game.
And lastly, Electrokinetic. A 3d platformer roguelite from the dude who made pseduregalia, another great game with a fantastic ps1 aesthetic.
Ah yes, Rain World, the Dark Souls of Metroidvania. XD
Thank you for this great video! I love indies for creativity and passion, I always try to support them!)
Awesome video as always! I have a lot of upcoming indies on my radar but I would say yes your grace: snowfall and the plucky squire are at the top. Also locomotive has been on my radar for a while now, can wait to play it!
Yessss, someone who knows of Loco Motive too!
On the front of point-and-click adventures or adjacent games, have Near-Mage, The Dungeon Experience, The Mermaid Mask and perchance Judero entered your field of view?
I've been having a blast with Indie Puzzle games. Fez, Tunic, Animal Well, Obra Dinn, Senaar, Cocoon, Golden Idol and most recently, Lorelei and the laser eyes. I maybe buy one or two AAA games per year nowadays, because the indie scene is so amazing
Oh man, Chants of Sennaar seems interesting to me too. Trying to transcend the boundaries of language to find back communication with one another, if i’m not mistaken.
Totally unprompted from a stranger in the internet, here’s a list of others that may prove of interest.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia).
Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well.
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Kings of Hell
Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there.
@@jurtheorc8117 Thanks! I have played none of them!
Are any of them on Switch?
@@SerenaWisdom Sorry for the late reply. I don't know about particulars if they are available on switch, aside from No Straight Roads and Cookie Cutter. Regarding CC it's not on Switch *yet* though-- the devs are currently working on porting.
Love you thoughts on games and editing style. Based on the sign-off, I'm guessing this will be the last video for a while. Best of luck and stay frosty into 2025.
Thanks for this video. I wouldn't have known about Castaway and Windswept otherwise.
It says a lot that many of the best licensed games over the last few years, like ‘Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley’ and ‘Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid’, were made by indie studios
The new TMNT game too!
Great choices man! I have a few of those and I really want the rest. And I can't wait for Windswept.
Your channel helped me learn about indie games in the first place. One of the first ones I tried was Iconoclasts based partly on your video about it. Still an all time favorite. I love the creative freedom indie devs have. Nothing is focus-grouped into blandness, niche concepts and amazing personality are allowed to shine making for much more memorable experiences. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the AAA stuff anymore, unless Nintendo is making it, since they still understand the value of games having distinct personalities. When you try to please everyone with a creative project, you often please no one. Indies don’t have that problem, that’s why the games can be so satisfying.
Pepper grinder mentioned 🔥😩🙏
My favorite indie game is dicey dungeons, which I actually played because snowman recommended it a few years ago
I love that when I beat it, I felt like the concept was fully explored. Sometimes a video game leaves me with a feeling that the concept could have been pushed farther, so Dicey Dungeons was a great change of pace.
I'm really looking forward to fields of Mistria, for elevating the farming sim genre by iterating on it with things like extra dialogue and better characters, better customisation options, swimming and diving, and magic! It's like rune factory 4 without the RPG elements.
I think right this moment, my most anticipated upcoming commercial release that hasn't already happened is probably The Plucky Squire. An indie game with that level of visual polish has my attention, and I'm someone who normally likes the weird looking stuff like from thecatamites and Mason Lindroth.
Also, shoutout to Super Lesbian Animal RPG, because only an indie game would be allowed to have a title like that unironically.
I’ll have to look into what thecatamites are.
In terms of weird-looking stuff, have the games by ACE Team or Zoink! Been on your radar! Stuff like Zeno Clash 1 and 2, the 2023 prequel Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (man, I love Pseudo’s design) and The Eternal Cylinder, or Stick It To The Man, Flipping Death and Lost in Random.
It seems Zoink! Have reformed into Moonhood Studio and are currently working on a game made with stop motion models and sets.
Oh, and so is Amanita Design (Machinarium, Samorost, Chuchel, Hppy Game)
Mayhaps the likes of Cookie Cutter and Zet Zillions could be interesting too- colourful, irreverent 2D sci-fi tales where the likes of tentacle mutants, robot skeletons with an afro, a crocodilian alien scientist, a proper Hindu demon, literal dwarf stars (they have beards and sometimes axes), planets with faces, artificial life forms described as “meat robots” simply called Trash can be found all around.
Oh, and there’s My Familiar and The Dungeon Experience too. TDE is made by the one that made the point-and-click game Paradigm.
Speaking of which, Orten Was the Case looks grotty and weird and perhaps intriguing.
And a quick mention of Immortal: and the Death that Follows & Ruffy and the Riverside too.
Hope these may all prove interesting!
I was happy to you start making more videos again, but i dont know if you are interested in fps games but Mouse looks to be one of the best fps to come out in a while
Games I look forward to....
The Last Night, Replaced,Timespinner 2, The Berlin Apartment...
oh, by the way, you mentioned lil croc, but Little Kitty Big City is kinda the same type of thing and I absolutely loved that.
I'm gravitated more towards playing indie games over major releases these past few years and games like Death's Door, Tunic, Lil Gator Game, Guacamelee and others have gripped me and made me love gaming all over again.
I'm very excited for Plucky Squire and Crypt Custodian to come out in the next month or so.
Totally unprompted from a stranger in the internet, here’s a list of others that may prove of interest.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia).
Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well.
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Kings of Hell
Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there
Indie games have been a thing since the 2010s with Super Meat Boy and Braid. But they’ve definitely grown in popularity each year since. Thank you for showcasing and recommending so many of them!
Honestly, most of the games I own now are indie because of the novelty and interesting mechanics they introduce.
There are a few stinkers here and there, but I’m honestly blown away a lot of the time; especially when a very small team (or even just ONE person) makes an incredible game.
I've enjoyed Animal Well and Another Crab's Treasure [and nearly completed them], and I'm looking forward to The Plucky Squire because it looks like such a unique game. Also, you've introduced me to Windswept.
A Short Hike and Lil Gator Game are 2 of my favourite games of the past decade. By far.
Thanks for recommending "Windswept", haven't heard of that one yet, but if it'll be good and gives me DKC gameplay, I'll have to get it. ;) "Kaze and the Wild Masks" was already great, hope it gets a sequel. Also didn't know about "Lil Gator Game", I enjoyed "A Short Hike" quite a bit, so I'll get that one too. I agree with your statements, Indie studios bring so much unique games since many years and them being often shorter is great for me too, don't need games that take me forvever to beat.
With a kid, wife and work I totally understand about playing shorter or bite size type games
My most anticipated indie is Rise of the Golden Idol. Demo is already out and it plays amazing and is very intriguing
What I love most about indie games is that I can actually complete them (usually).
I gotta say the game I'm hyped for is Quest Master, a Zelda style dungeon maker type game. The Devs are SUPER dedicated, and updates are happening every week, pretty much! It's a grand ol time, to be sure.
My steam wishlist has bulked up considerably over this year, mainly because of my growing interest in games from smaller developers. This year I beat Cosmic Star Heroine and This Way Madness Lies, two short rpgs from Zeboyd Games that were a lot of fun and had my attention throughout their runtimes!
For me indie games have been the future for a very long time, I remember when stuff like Braid or Super Meat Boy came out I though "that's what modern games are missing", and from there it just got better. There are few AAA titles I still enjoy, but the vast manority of them feels hollow to me
really looking forward to silksong, plucky squire, and constance
I'll riot if Animal Well isn't nominated to GOTY.
I've done my riot with Tunic not on GOTYs
Such brilliant video Snoman👊
Another great vid by the Snoman!
My favourite games this year so far are Nine Sols and Balatro.
Indies I’m looking forward to: I Am Your Beast and The Plucky Squire.
Snoman, you should play Beeny. It's sort of a cross between Kirby and Donkey Kong, it's super easy but also super fun. And it's only a dollar.
BEENY GANG RISE UP
Beeny gotta be one of my favorite siactro games, due to the sheer simplicity. Super kiwi 64 and toree 2 are so goated tho. Masterpieces
@@SpaceFrog999 based opinion
BEENY MENTIONED 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🗣 🗣 🗣 🗣
I love this vid. I share this sentiment completely. I have been saying for years, that all the best creativity is in the indie space, and I am here for it.
Mina the Hollower is top of my anticipated list, but Windblown is right behind it. Elechead is one on my list that I haven't played yet, and really want to.
Elechead is amazing! It's almost perfect in terms of game design and how it teaches you mechanics and builds on itself
@@snomangaming Yeah, I have been itching to play it. Maybe now is the time for me to pull the trigger. Appreciate your vids! Been following for quite a while now.
Most anticipated indie for me is a tie between Mina the Hollower and Bye Sweet Carole.
I think one of the biggest most important parts of indie games is something Yoko Taro mastered. The art of having a creative voice.
Essentially, AAA games are boring and lifeless because they have to maximize profits. They're "safe" in order to avoid alienating people, they're graphically demanding because that sells by creating better commercials, and they're created using design by committee, to double check every decision for profitability. Basically, they're completely devoid of any personality, message, or uniqueness because AAA games have to appeal to the largest possible audience.
I see indies as a philosophical rebellion against that idea. Indies are made by passionate people who are making something because they want to create things. Designed by people who have something to say. Full of silly little personal details and meaningless flourishes thrown in simply because something thought it was funny or cute. Indies are full of personality, because they have to be. There are definitely indies that are boring and generic, but we never see those games. Instead, we find special gems full of creativity. It's not that indies magically have to be more creative. It's that without a multi-million dollar marketing budget, you'll never see the lifeless generic indie games. We're spoiled because word of mouth marketing continually surfaces the best games made by people who have a real creative vision for their game.
It's why I think the "indie" label is still valid. Even if you look at independent games with no publisher, you'll rarely find a game made by a single individual. With rare exceptions like Cave Story, Stardew Valley, and now Animal Well, practically every other game is made by a team of people. Yes, web publishing made it possible to deliver games without a publisher to produce CD disks or Floppies, but there are still tons of complicated issues like legal copyright, and developing connections with journalists. Besides, today's publishers are also smaller. They don't have massive continent spanning distribution networks anymore. Devolver Digital only had 20 people in 2020. Devolver was one of the best publishers in the mid 2010s, and they did that with less people than most game studios have. I think the arbitrary distinction between publishers and developers is a bit strange. It made a lot more sense back when you needed a huge manufacturing center to create your physical distributions. But now, the line between publishers and indies is a lot blurrier than it used to be.
Note, that Devolver is close to 300 people now. After their 2021 IPO, they've grown a lot, and recently acquired a ~55 person game studio. They're changing a lot, very rapidly. They might not be the best comparison today, but they show that it's entirely possible to have an exclusively digital publisher that's incredibly small.
An Indie I'm looking forward to is Beastieball from the same devs behind Chicory!
It's about collecting critters to form a team akin to Pokemon, but with the vanilla turn based combat overhauled with more ways for your team members to work together and an emphasis on positioning.
The beasts themselves also emote and react to whatevers happening around them (including to each other with different relationship systems) and have some agency in the overworld to highlight their personalities and make them feel a little more alive.
Arc Seed just came out in early access and is such a fun roguelike strategy! Can't wait for the story mode. It hasn't gotten a lot of coverage so I'm mentioning it. But honestly, there's so many good indie games out there.
Hey there! I'm currently a college student pursuing a computer science degree. I've had a dream of building a game for many many years. My goal is to create a beautiful experience just like those that I've experienced. I've been scouring the internet finding people on UA-cam and reddit critically break down games and what they think makes them good.
Thank you for making these kinds of videos! It saves me many thousands of hours of research on top of the multiple years of gaining experience, education, practice and actually building something!
Earned a sub from me. :)
Most anticipated Indie for me is AntonBlast by Summitsphere.
A game that takes heavy inspiration from WarioLand 4 and Crash Bandicoot and mixes it all together with an amazing artstyle that basically a playable Warner Bros Cartoon.
The big techs and AAA studios are taking a hit due to recession predictions, high interest rates and stuff like that. Their first action is to cut excess departments, this mostly means layoffs and closing studios they bought some years ago.
As these people return to the job market, they may leave the game industry, join smaller studios or make their own.
These studios may start releasing projects that capture the essence of AAA games but with a cheaper production and cost. Other may keep the trend of remixing game genres to come up with new game concepts.
I hope that the quote "In every crisis lies oportunities" take effect and we get some nice years of Indie boom, specially since AAA games and hardware to run them are getting more expensive every year (at least in my country).
Snoman keeps cooking with these new videos 🔥
My most anticipated indies will be Mina the Hollower, Alabaster Dawn, MIO, Tower Factory and Ratatan (if you could call it that).
Definitely looking forward to Ruffy and The Riverside!
Right now Antonblast, Blue Prince, CATO, Dubio, LOK Digital, Mind Over Magnet, MIO: Memories in Orbit, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, The Big Catch, and The Plucky Squire are all high on my radar, largely thanks to demos. Also excited for Switch versions of BattleBlock Theater (platforms to be confirmed but The Behemoth is likely bringing it over), Jumphobia: Homeward Bound, Laika: Aged Through Blood, LunarLux, and Valley Peaks. And that's barely scratching the surface. I have way too many demos saved on Steam right now
I mean, I'm a late thirties guy with a full time job, a house to keep, kids to care for and wife to date. My time for myself is very limited, and I have other hobbies besides gaming. If I get one of those 80h open world games I will be playing the same thing for years! When I play I want to play something I find fun and interesting, not marking checkboxes in a huge map.
Lately ive been enjoying the smaller indie games mostly for the length. I dont really have the time to play a 100+ long game anymore. If i do itll take me a year to beat.
For an indie game im looking forward to is Kingdoms of the Dump and Starstruck. Im pretty excited that Starstruck is coming out next month.
Another crab's treasure, Animal Well and Nine Sols are my favourite games this year so far❤
Tacticle breach wizards just came out and I love it ! Super accessible strategy game but with ALOT of fun twists because of the magic aspect.
Very excited for Tactical Breach Wizards from the People who made Heat Signature!
the Indie game I'm hyped for is "SomnaBuster" by PD_CGT. the game has inspirations from "Sonic" & "Ristar" with a lovely squiggly art style, and a twangy genesis OST. Honorable mentions go to "Radio the universe", "Ghost Hand" and "Sorry we're closed". also bones Early access games "REAL WEB LEGENDS: Carter's Quest",& "Dungeons of blood and dream".
That’s a lot I’ve never heard of before. Sweet job mentioning those! Indies and lesser-known titles can use all the support they can get, so this is good stuff.
Good luck to the devs of all those games, with respect to both production and reception.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia).
Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) having proven fun and/or touching as well.
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Kings of Hell
Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
The Wolf Among Us 2, if it ever comes and if Telltale is "indie" anymore. Mostly I don't specifically look for indies, they just show up. Like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind or Hades 2.
Hey Snoman! Big fan of your content for a long time, just want to say that I am so glad to see you making content more consistently again, I know how hard it can be to balance hobbies with the rest of life, and I'm so pleased you're taking time to invest into video creation again!
Did you ever finish that Kaizo you were making? I recall you had been working on one using Moon if I recall.
Also a side note, if you have the time to use the UA-cam "chapters" feature (Or whatever it is called), I'd appreciate it, so I could skip past sections like Animal Well and other games I plan on playing but haven't had the time to, that'd be appreciated! Granted that adds even more time to the video production process, so I'd understand if you choose to forgo it, just thought I'd ask. :)
Keep up the great work, I hope you and yours are doing well!
Hi Keller! Thanks so much that means a lot, yes I did finish the kaizo hack it's called Chocolate Sunday: www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=28862
Great idea with the chapters, I will go back and add them right now :) Thanks for watching
I'm looking forward to Seasonspree more than anything, but I'm a little biased. (Coming Sept 20 on Switch & Steam!) A few years ago I tweeted that we should call them shortlikes, but the way you say it is cuter.
I'm looking forward to Anton Blast! The Demo was pretty fun and I love my Wario Land inspired games.
I love Attack on Hex Island. It perfectly captures all that I loved about Final Fantasy 9's card game Tetra Master while removing all of the complicated randomized rolls replacing it with clear and simple power levels. It also allows me to re-experience Pokémon when it was more basic and an easier rock-paper-scissors mechanics. It combines it all really well into an approachable deck builder 😊
I've played all of these (save the obvious almost-released Castaway). Fantastic picks! They're all lovely games.
To recommend a few indies:
Beastieball (Imagine Pokémon, but instead of 1v1 battles, it's 2v2 volleyball matches where positioning on the field matters. Being made by the Wandersong n Chicory: A Colourful Tale dev Wishes Unlimited)
Thronefall (arcade-y, isometric view game thats part RTS, part Kingdom and part Tower Defense. Build out base with coins gained from surviving civilian buildings during the day, and run around commanding troops during the nightly sieges)
Trash of the Titans (roguelike tactics RPG, with a team of animal folk, branching upgrade paths, and a Tetris-inspired level up minigame)
Nine Sols (Metroidvania with parry-focused combat, with a Taoist sci-fi horror style. Has some great character writing)
Oooh nice, appreciate lists that give a description of what the games actually are about! Nine Sols i’m known with, ended up being more interested and invested in that one’s story than I initially thought I would.
Seems to have been picking up traction which is good stuff.
Totally unprompted from a stranger in the internet, here’s a list of others that may prove of interest.
Some of my own favourites have been Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (action-adventure beat-em-up/fighter in a colourful gnarly monster world), Soulstice (a game in the same genre as DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders, with an atmosphere and writing quality like that last one), No Straight Roads (short colourful boss-centric action game where bosses have different attacks tied to different parts of their theme) and Cookie Cutter (hand-drawn 2D Metroid van is in an irreverent, mad an unusual sci-fi:cyberpunk dystopia).
Zet Zillions (rogue like deck builder, similarly colourful and out-there Sci-fi), Blud (hand-drawn action adventure with a “freshman kid balancing school life with vampire slaying” angle) and Harold Halibut (a game made with physical stop motion models and sets about a janitor handyman in a spaceship trying to gain liftoff) have proven fun and/or touching as well.
Oh, and Lost in Random (quite unique mix of 3D action combat and deck building in a delightful art style somewhat like a stylised stop motion dark fantasy kids movie)
Cookie Cutter has much more planned, and ACE Team, Metronomik and Reply Game Studios have proven their skills and a lot more to offer. I’m trying my best to spread word on them wherever possible.
At the moment I’ve got my eyes on:
Immortal: and the Death that Follows
Bad Boro
Judero
Decline’s Drops
Resistor
The Dungeon Experience
My Familiar
Pillory
Ruffy and the Riverside
Loco Motive
Near-Mage
The Mermaid Mask
Kraino Rebirth
Ondeh Ondeh
Genokids
Enenra Daemon Core
Kings of Hell
Whatever it is that Amanita Design and Moonhood Studio are cooking up
Yasuke: A Lost Descendant
The Immortal Life of Goldman
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Antonblast
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo
Clown Meat
Jamphibian
And there’s probably others I forgot about.
Be sure to look into all these and I hope you’ll find interesting things! And that likewise, you and others may spread word on them too.
Indies can use all the support they get, be it constructive criticism, wish listing or simply getting the word out there
Hard to think of an idea I'm more excited about, indie or not, than something approaching a full-on metroidvania helmed by Maddy Thorson. So Earthblade is probably my most anticipated game at this point, even moreso that Echoes of Wisdom (which is really saying something)
I want to make my own Indie games but its really hard. Right now I'm focusing on spriting for the moment. I already have story ideas I've been building up for years, which were intended to fit in a video game setting originally more than anything. And I can't just turn off my brain and stop thinking up new ideas lol.
EDIT: I know its easier than it was in the past, but its still not easy. Just wanted to clarify that. Still a lot of work regardless, especially when I work full-time. But I can't stop working or I can't afford to pay my bills. Still, I'm slowly trying to build myself towards such a goal.
i swear the only difference between indie game makers and triple A studios are shareholders.
I started Carto a few days ago. Awesome game!
Outside of sequels/spinoffs/etc., I'm anticipating Miegakure and Routine. Both have been a long time coming. I'm always on the lookout for games that do something new and interesting, and do it well.
Nintendo is the only aaa studio ill support anymore. Not like im missing anything from all the other aaa studios.
Celeste creator's have announced a new game called Earthblade, that's probably what I'm looking forward to the most atm
I too have plans to making my own indie games.
they are the past the present and the future. for the last 8 years thats 90% of what i play. its also why im subbed to this channel.
indies are my main games since years. every now and then i play something like rdr2 or elden ring, but 95 percent of sales go to small stuff
And rdr2 sucked
Allow me to start by recommending Copy Kitty again.
It's a mix of Kirby + Mega Man + ton of explosions.
You can copy your opponents powers and then combine them, giving you a bunch of attacks.
Then you fight bosses and you copy their powers and use it against them.
Then you unlock hard mode where the story continues and play remix level with remixed or even new bosses with new powers to copy.
There also another character with its own story and that character also copy powers but not in the same way
because there wasn't apparently enough moves in the game and the developers are a bunch of mad lads.
Since you mentioned in earlier videos Kaizo Mario, the credits do mention the Super Mario World Central IIRC so you might want to look into the game.
There's also a demo and if that's not enough, I uploaded some boss videos compilation
because no one else is doing that for this game but if you watch the whole thing there'll be massive spoilers for Boki normal mode playthrough.
Secondly, the game I am eagerly waiting for coming out of early access (it's version 0.8 something currently) is The Void Rain Upon Her Heart.
It's a shmup roguelike where you bring love to monsters and it has a wholesome atmosphere.
I would also love to hear you hear about how it tackle meta-progression.
Many games with those have you gathering meta-currency where you advance a skill tree where numbers go up.
This game, um..., it goes for something different, the closest thing I can think about is The Binding of Isaac.
Oh yes, the game also have a bunch of achievement that unlock stuff but because it's early access, there are only 721 for now.
The reason the number is so low is that it's made by a single developer (not ZUN!) who worked on the game for about 7 years now.
Normally I would suggest to wait for version 1.0 to come out but there are in-character placeholder cutscenes that will be removed eventually. :P
I am eagerly awaiting for version 1.0 to come out so that Story Mode(s) is finally completed
and I am totally not going insane trying out to figure the lore and especially whatever wonky business is going on with Twin Hearts!
Oh, also, if you want to see some gameplay, I made a farming video that might come handy maybe for players.
Next, Evoland. The first one was a proof of concept game where as you play, the game evolves.
The second one is an adventure game where they mix various type of graphics and gameplay and the lore goes harder than it has any right to do so!
I didn't expected all that much from it and was quite surprised.
Finally, Creepy Castle (by Dopterra). It's an adventure game with several scenarios where you explore and fight opponents, having to succeed at small mini-games to deal damage.
The game is not perfect and the map system leave to be desired but it clicked with me.
Also, the game know how to create climatic finales for the various scenarios and the end of the 2B one is the stuff of legends!
Give it a try if you need to take a break from scary animatronics. ;P