While all the big AAA games may get most of the media hype and advertising, by sheer quantity, Indie games are in the vast majority. Therein lies the problem. Some Indie games are pretty awful, many with poor production quality and some are quickly abandoned by the developers before the game is even finished.
Game ZXC have analyzed all the new Indie game releases on Steam in January, and are delighted to bring readers a list of the very best titles. In addition, games that have great developer support are more likely to make the list. Be sure to support deserving Indie devs and purchase at least one of these games!
9 Rising Front
This intriguing game tries to capture the absolute absurdity of WW1 in a way that other games have been unable to. Although there have been some superb WW1 games out there, through sheer graphical limitations most are incapable of portraying the sheer level of slaughter that actually happened.
Rising Front focuses on the infamous trench warfare that took the lives of so many, and this time allows gamers to feel the real scale of carnage. It also combines FPS and RTS to allow more input into the action. The game is currently still in Early Access, so it comes as a cautious recommendation based on the great potential on show, provided the solo developer makes good on his plans and promises.
8 Cannibal Abduction
Starting this game for the first time, players may wonder if they have just loaded up an old 90s game by mistake. The graphics are deliberately simple, washed-out and shown in a grimy VHS style with mostly fixed point views, like some of the older horror games out there. But interestingly, the old-style visuals give the game a creepiness that would be hard to otherwise replicate.
It is a short, horror tale of a defenseless victim struggling to elude a relentless attacker by whatever means possible. It is tense, atmospheric, and will probably have many cursing at the camera angles as they accidentally run into the wall during a high-stakes moment of panic, but that all just adds to the glee of actually beating the game. A very satisfying bite-sized nugget of gaming!
7 Luck Be A Landlord
Let's start with a disclaimer: Game ZXC does not condone gambling in any form. Additionally, this game is not really about gambling, even though it pretends to be. The game concept is that the character needs to pay their rent, so their only means to achieve it is by playing slot machines.
In reality, Luck Be A Landlord is a simple but polished roguelite deckbuilder. The special abilities acquired must be used carefully and strategically to give the best possible chance of progressing. There is a degree of luck involved, but not more than every other procedurally generated roguelite in existence. Great for short pick-up-and-play sessions.
6 Larcin Lazer
From the outset, this appears to be a fairly simple memory game. Players get a glimpse of the room ahead, but then must run mostly blind to make their way through the obstacles, relying on their memory to know which routes to take.
However, the game quickly starts to ramp up the challenge, constantly adding in new features and mechanics that require gamers to adapt their techniques in order to survive. Although the game is not overly long or excessively difficult, it is a very enjoyable blast while it lasts.
5 Punch A Bunch
Made by just 1 solo developer, this is a cool little boxing title that really reinvents the genre. The wacky opponents and character models are more reminiscent of Human Fall Flat than actual boxers, but the mechanics are surprisingly solid.
While many other games require upgrades, XP and leveling up in order to progress, Punch A Bunch literally has no upgrades whatsoever aside from vanity items. Every match is won by skill alone. Players cannot button-mash to progress here. Rather, they will need to take time to learn the mechanics well, and then use skill and patience in order to implement them during a match. Hard to master, but unequivocally fair.
4 WW2 Rebuilder
What an amazing concept! In almost every other game in existence gamers take part in the epic scale of destruction during WW2. But this title is the aftermath. The war is over, so how will all the town and cities be rebuilt, and what will be done with all the military detritus left over?
WW2 Rebuilder simply tasks players with cleaning up the mess resulting from the war. Like other clean-up titles, it is very compelling to play. Old tanks, fighter planes, shredded buildings and landscapes, all must be cleared up and normality restored. A really great touch is the addition of visualizations showing what actually happened in that environment to cause such damage. Very thought-provoking, as well as refreshing to play.
3 Children of Silentown
This game is a beautiful, but dark and disturbing hand-drawn point & click adventure. It tells the tale of Lucy, a young girl who suffers from night terrors and lives in a strange little village where people going missing. As everybody likes to remind her, 'Do not enter the forest!'
There are various gameplay elements to enjoy, such as puzzle-solving, interaction with eccentric locals, item collecting and various minigames. But the real progress in the story lies in confronting fears and taking action. With superb artwork and a deliciously creepy soundtrack, this is an interesting proposition to all adventure/horror fans. There are a few small bugs here and there, but the developers seem to be actively working on them.
2 Into The Flames
There are not too many options on the market for avid Firefighter fans, so this superb title is rightly receiving a lot of attention and praise. It manages to appeal to both hardcore sim fans as well as casual gamers thanks to the adjustable difficulty and some task automation options.
There are a huge amount of scenarios. Players get to drive the engines, batter down doors, rescue survivors and wield any number of different tools to tackle the blaze. Even better, there is multiplayer support, so fires can be tackled cooperatively with friends, each one taking on a slightly different role. The developers are also very supportive and determined to continue adding content and fixes for the foreseeable future. Well worth a look!
1 Atrio: The Dark Wild
This is a surprisingly deep title. The concept is a 2D open-world, base-building, survival game. But the gameplay manages to carve its own unique style that feels different to other similar games. As a nameless android, the idea is to survive long enough to establish a basic base that will help them fend off the imminent threats all around.
As that base grows, it allows the player to venture even further into the looming darkness outside, making new discoveries, and finding creatures that can be tamed and added into their base automation. There is always danger outside the base, but that danger must be confronted in order to progress. It's a carefully judged balance, but it works well, and the developers are extremely responsive to feedback and generally just awesome!