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Discussion April and May alone have shown just how strong the current indie scene is

doodlewhizz

doodlewhizz

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2024 has had its hits but hasn't been seen as a banner year in the eyes of many, especially after what was released in 2023. Well, that might be the case with bigger budget AAA titles but I'm here to showcase some absolutely fantastic indies that have come out in April and May (so far), and a few to come that look super promising to me as well.

Already released:
Botany Manor - relaxing puzzle game in a 3D mansion estate
Harold Halibut - a bit divisive but an absolutely beautiful game
Another's Crab's Treasure - Dark Souls but you're a crab
Hades II - the sequel to one of the roguelike genre's most popular releases
1000x Resist - An adveture game with the vibe of Nier Automata
Little Kitty Big City - Untitled Goose Game but you're a cat
Animal Well - Metroidvania with Fez/Outer Wilds-like puzzles and discovery
Crow Country - Survival horror in the vein of PS1 classics

And still coming this month:
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes - Non-linear puzzle adventure game from Simogo, the geniuses behind Sayonara Wild Hearts and Device 6
Duck Detective - A point and click who-duck-it.
Hauntii - A slower adventure game combined with a twin stick shooter

My main point here is that I don't quite remember such an impressive haul of indie games in such a short amount of time, with the vast majority of the ones now released receiving high critical praise - today alone we've had Little Kitty Big City, 1000x Resist, Crow Country and Animal Well release, which is kind of nuts. All different genres, all different art styles but all being received super positively. Honestly, it's a great time for indies right now and I hope all of these games can get the love they deserve.

What's interested you in the indiesphere so far in 2024 and what are you looking forward to?
 
Nine Sols coming out at the end of May looks fantastic too.

AAA gaming is basically a trainwreck these days. All I play anymore is Nintendo and indie games, I expect Switch / Switch 2 and Steam Deck to carry me for the next decade.
 
Another Crab is ungodly high quality, beats out most big releases and even multiple actual Souls titles for me already. the scope is utterly astonishing for an indie too, it's such a big game
 
This week I played my first 2024 indie (or at least it's a 2024 title on Switch): The Fall of Elena Temple. A simple but devious puzzle game ported from PlayDate, it was affordable and brief but massively enjoyable.

Animal Well has gone on my wishlist and I'll be hoping to get round to it soon(ish). It sounds really brilliant. Hades was my game of 2020, but I won't be playing the sequel on Early Access; I hope the final release isn't too far off. I also really enjoyed Sayonara Wild Hearts, so will be keeping a close eye on Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. In August World of Goo 2 will be on Switch, so I'm hoping that's good; the original was the first indie I ever played back in 2008 and I adored it. Finally, I'm also waiting on the 1.6 version of Stardew Valley hitting Switch, too.

So far this year most of my indie gaming has been catching up on 2023: Dredge, A Highland Song and Chants of Sennaar were all excellent.
 
Awesome thread! I got the platinum in Another Crab's Treasure the other day (fantastic game, please play it, especially if you're new to soulslikes), and just started Animal Well (which is getting rave reviews!) Initial vibes are of a dark, thickly atmospheric world filled with mystery. It's sure to be compelling to explore, and I'm looking forward to the journey.

Hades is easily among the best games I've played in years, and I'm excited for the sequel's full release... even if having to wait until 2025 for it will be difficult. 🥲 I don't game on PC, so no Early Access for me, and I'd rather wait to experience it in its most cohesive and complete form anyhow.

I'll likely be buying Crow Country. I haven't looked into it beyond a brief glance, but a friend flagged it for me the other day, and it looks like classic survival horror lo-fi goodness.

I'll also have to properly look into Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, as Sayonara Wild Hearts was a top tier experience I'd recommend to anyone who's down to try an earworm synth-pop rhythm game with a striking visual style. Seriously, just go play it if you haven't already. It rules.

So yeah, with the nightmarish state of the current AAA climate, and the sudden influx of quality in the indie scene, it seems like an especially poor time to keep one's scope narrowly fixated on the bigger titles.
 
Revolsin said:
Another Crab is ungodly high quality, beats out most big releases and even multiple actual Souls titles for me already. the scope is utterly astonishing for an indie too, it's such a big game
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Aurc said:
Awesome thread! I got the platinum in Another Crab's Treasure the other day (fantastic game, please play it, especially if you're new to soulslikes),
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This game looks pretty cool and I like the impressions on here but I'm so wary of anything Souls-like... I always manage to do pretty okay for 10-15 hours and then I inevitably get stuck on some boss and get bored of throwing myself at it again and again -- this has happened with Bloodborne (Vicar Amelia), Sekiro (Lady Butterfly), Elden Ring (the one in the library, can't remember the name...) -- I'm just not good enough at action games of 3D combat to be that super committed. Is this one super difficult or is it toned down a bit and at all more forgiving than its inspirations?
 
Mer.Saloon said:
The hit to AAA this year has been great for indie recognition.
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I mean, we have already gotten Infinite Wealth, FF7 Rebirth, and Dragons Dogma 2. I would say the beginning of the year is great, it’s the second half that is looking weaker.
 
My May Switch indie buy list is the biggest yet:

Little Kitty Big City
Animal Well
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Slayers X Terminal Aftermath (boomer shooter from Hypnospace devs)
Umbraclaw (Inticreates trying a new artstyle!)
Eternal Threads (FINALLY! After 2 years)
Surmount
Paper Trail (one of these games where art carries the game)
Pine Hearts (my 4th Switch indie game about pines)
SOWON (a korean cutesy horror game)
C.A.R.D.S. RPG Misty Battlefield (Acquire's 4th indie game on Switch. They never go wrong)
Capes (Superhero themed turn based strategy. Looks very interesting)
Morbid The Lords of Ire (3D sequel to one of my favorite indie roguelikes on Switch)
Gift (Bushiroad's first "indie" outing)
CorpoNation (Papers Please/Hypnospace like game)
Imagine Earth (another terraforming game from two people. SwitchUp seems to like this)
The Land Beneath Us (turn based game that mixes pixel art and 3D graphics)
Lysfanga The Timeshift Warrior (looks like a lovechild of PoP Lost Crown and Batora)
Read Only Memories Neurodiver (been waiting for this one for years)
 
touchfuzzy said:
This game looks pretty cool and I like the impressions on here but I'm so wary of anything Souls-like... I always manage to do pretty okay for 10-15 hours and then I inevitably get stuck on some boss and get bored of throwing myself at it again and again -- this has happened with Bloodborne (Vicar Amelia), Sekiro (Lady Butterfly), Elden Ring (the one in the library, can't remember the name...) -- I'm just not good enough at action games of 3D combat to be that super committed. Is this one super difficult or is it toned down a bit and at all more forgiving than its inspirations?
Click to expand...
Another Crab's Treasure is specifically designed to be more approachable than any FromSoftware game. You have access to a pretty useful skill tree, and the abilities available to you go a decent way towards making the game easier. As if that's not enough, there's an accessibility menu offering gameplay tweaks such as reduced damage taken, no loss of XP on death, a widened parry window, and more:

another-crabs-treasure-accessibility-settings.jpg


Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring all put up way more resistance than Another Crab's Treasure. I think it's in that sweet spot of being a challenging experience by default, yet with the handy option to make things far more comfortable for players of varying skill levels.
 
I love Nintendo and Sony games, but you typically know what you're getting into with them for the most part.

Indies are really where you start to see some new weird shit, and I'm always happy to see them do so well.
 
Aurc said:
Another Crab's Treasure is specifically designed to be more approachable than any FromSoftware game. You have access to a pretty useful skill tree, and the abilities available to you go a decent way towards making the game easier. As if that's not enough, there's an accessibility menu offering gameplay tweaks such as reduced damage taken, no loss of XP on death, a widened parry window, and more:

another-crabs-treasure-accessibility-settings.jpg


Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring all put up way more resistance than Another Crab's Treasure. I think it's in that sweet spot of being a challenging experience by default, yet with the handy option to make things far more comfortable for players of varying skill levels.
Click to expand...
I wish I could accurately describe the sound I made when I opened the accessibility menu for the first time and saw "Give Kril A Gun"
 
Earthbounder said:
Have the devs of Crow Country mentioned anything about a Switch version?
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Nope and it's weird. The game is not demanding at all and the devs made one game published by Nintendo: The Switch launch day title Snipperclips.

But it's self published. Might be that they don't have resources for a port.
 
It's always a strong time for indies! They definitely cater to my tastes more than some AAA pubs. I'm interested in all the titles in the OP, but the problem is finding the time to play...

Also, I heard that Another Crab's Treasure had some technical issues on Switch? I was thinking of getting that, but might cop Animal Well instead .
 
Thought this might be a good thread to post this:

kotaku.com

Nintendo Switch Owners Are More Willing To Buy Indie Games, Says Publisher

Devolver Digital’s co-founder says PlayStation and Xbox owners are more interested in big games
kotaku.com kotaku.com

"Nigel Lowrie, the co-founder of indie publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Cult of the Lamb), says that indie games do much better on Switch than on other consoles because Nintendo has cultivated a playerbase that is more “open to interesting concepts” and smaller games."
 
Dolce said:
I mean, we have already gotten Infinite Wealth, FF7 Rebirth, and Dragons Dogma 2. I would say the beginning of the year is great, it’s the second half that is looking weaker.
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We still got the Nintendo, MS, Sony Ubisoft summer/E3 time conferences to come.
 
chocolate_supra said:
Thought this might be a good thread to post this:

kotaku.com

Nintendo Switch Owners Are More Willing To Buy Indie Games, Says Publisher

Devolver Digital’s co-founder says PlayStation and Xbox owners are more interested in big games
kotaku.com kotaku.com

"Nigel Lowrie, the co-founder of indie publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Cult of the Lamb), says that indie games do much better on Switch than on other consoles because Nintendo has cultivated a playerbase that is more “open to interesting concepts” and smaller games."
Click to expand...

one of the few things that make me proud of this community. indies deserve all the love they can get and more
 
chocolate_supra said:
Thought this might be a good thread to post this:

kotaku.com

Nintendo Switch Owners Are More Willing To Buy Indie Games, Says Publisher

Devolver Digital’s co-founder says PlayStation and Xbox owners are more interested in big games
kotaku.com kotaku.com

"Nigel Lowrie, the co-founder of indie publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Cult of the Lamb), says that indie games do much better on Switch than on other consoles because Nintendo has cultivated a playerbase that is more “open to interesting concepts” and smaller games."
Click to expand...
Started with the Wii U with me.

Shovel Knight, Runbow, Freedom Planet, and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse!
 
Jahranimo said:
Started with the Wii U with me.

Shovel Knight, Runbow, Freedom Planet, and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse!
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Same here! Those same three games actually 😅

The WiiU was the system that got me hooked on indies after years of being a AAA Xbox player. It was like all the stuff I had loved about games as a kid was suddenly back, and I've been following indie studios ever since.
 
So many games, so little time. There's a few like Another Crab, Big City Little Kitty and maybe Animal Well I would like to check out but have other stuff on the go right now. Still, 2024 is looking like it'll have plenty for me.
 
I caved and bought Another Crab's Treasure on Steam. Excited to get home and hunker down and shell out the pain.
 
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9-Volt said:
Nope and it's weird. The game is not demanding at all and the devs made one game published by Nintendo: The Switch launch day title Snipperclips.

But it's self published. Might be that they don't have resources for a port.
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Well, crap. I'd love to buy it.
 
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Really excited for the Prince of Persia Roguelike next week and gifted my gf the little Kitty big city game. But yeah Indies have been on a roll lately. Been on the indie train since the shovel knight/undertale days. My favorite is dead cells that castelvania collab was a dream come true back then.
 
Aurc said:
Another Crab's Treasure is specifically designed to be more approachable than any FromSoftware game. You have access to a pretty useful skill tree, and the abilities available to you go a decent way towards making the game easier. As if that's not enough, there's an accessibility menu offering gameplay tweaks such as reduced damage taken, no loss of XP on death, a widened parry window, and more:

another-crabs-treasure-accessibility-settings.jpg


Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring all put up way more resistance than Another Crab's Treasure. I think it's in that sweet spot of being a challenging experience by default, yet with the handy option to make things far more comfortable for players of varying skill levels.
Click to expand...
I still respect the FromSoftware devs decision from an artistic standpoint, but I'm glad people have the option who want it.
 
Kind of a debatable case, still a ways out, and hard to say how it'll turn out from the small bits of gameplay footage shown, but I really liked the look of that Yars Rising teaser at the last Indie Showcase.

Aside from that, really curious about Animal Well, just wish my budget wasn't so tight right now.
 
doodlewhizz said:
My main point here is that I don't quite remember such an impressive haul of indie games in such a short amount of time
Click to expand...
I mean, some of these games did not even launch it yet, how can you say that without playing them? (Also, Hades is a roguelite, not a roguelike).

Overall, I disagree. The indie scene got stalled. They are all trying to "tell a story", but gameplay wise, this haul leave much to be desired.
 
ImpromptuR said:
I mean, some of these games did not even launch it yet, how can you say that without playing them? (Also, Hades is a roguelite, not a roguelike).

Overall, I disagree. The indie scene got stalled. They are all trying to "tell a story", but gameplay wise, this haul leave much to be desired.
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I'm saying this based on some that I've played, some that have received strong critical praise and others that look good (which I set aside in my post) - don't think there's anything questionable in calling this set of games an impressive haul based on that. Plus I don't claim to have played them all anyway but to each their own.

Agree to disagree on gameplay point - variety is the most important thing for me and right now indies are showing that in spades.
 
touchfuzzy said:
Nine Sols coming out at the end of May looks fantastic too.

AAA gaming is basically a trainwreck these days. All I play anymore is Nintendo and indie games, I expect Switch / Switch 2 and Steam Deck to carry me for the next decade.
Click to expand...

Agreed. “AAA” and “modern games” are essentially copy/paste games with infinite ways to fleece you of money through microtransactions. Ubisoft is the perfect example of this, among others.
 
I'm hoping Lorelei as well as Duck Detective turn out great.

I'm 100% confident Nine Sols will be a banger, so I'll be there as soon as it launches.
 
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My indie backlog on Switch is horrendous rn and I already added Animal Well and the VS Contra DLC to the mix. But add in the games from Steam (like You are Peter’s Shorts) and the rest of the upcoming releases for the next two months. . .

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I love being an indie gamer though! 💖
 
I'm glad the Great Drought of 2024 ("") has more people recognizing what has been the undeniable truth as far back as the PS4/XBONE generation: Indies are king.
 
Lugia667 said:
FYI Little Kitty Big City and Animal Well are #1 and #2 on the eshop now! :giggle:
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Congrats to the devs! We've come a very long way from the 3DS era, where top three eShop best seller spots were always occupied by Mario and Pokémon. Not even Animal Crossing managed to hit there.
 
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Bar some occasionally janky controls and a slight lack of polish, Little Kitty is really good so far and I'm looking forward to exploring more of it.
 
bixente said:


This game looks really interesting. Getting excellent reviews - described as a mix of Undertale and Warioware.
Click to expand...


ohhhhhh that's 1000% undertale, and that's my favourite game of all time

if anyone's tried this i'd really love to know how well this compares to undertale
 
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