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Discussion What has been your favourite indie game of the year so far?

Irene

Irene

Soar long!
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She/Her
It has been a hell of a year for indies so far. I personally have no doubt that my GOTY list might consist mostly of indies at the tail end of the year if this keeps up.

I mean:

1000xRESIST
Animal Well
Balatro
Children of the Sun
Crow Country
Hades 2 (early access)
Indika
Little Kitty Big City
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Manor Lords
Pepper Grinder
Tales of Kenzera: Zau

They all have something going for it, whether it be a gripping story, engaging gameplay, a killer vibe and/or lots of innovation and personality.

What has been your fave?
 
I'm thinking Hades II, but Lorelei is slowly but surely overtaking it. Resident Evil with no monsters and puzzles only is a treat.
 
Little Kitty Big City but its the only one I played besides a little of Animal Well. I havent sunk enough time in yet to rank it yet. I was really impressed with Little Kitty. Plays very well and precise. Always expected something to go wrong with jumps and it never did.
 
This thread will be handy for planning my next purchases lol. As always, indie devs are killing it.

I’ve only played Another Crab’s Treasure and Pepper Grinder as far as indies released this year, and my heart is leaning towards the crustacean-centered Soulslike-slash-3D platformer.

TheQuietone said:
Always expected something to fo wrong with jumps and it never did.
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That’s great to hear. Tight gamefeel is always a plus.
 
Definitely Penny's Big Breakaway.

But I've heard good things about Pepper Grinder, Animal Well, and 1000xRESIST and will very likely play those at some point. I'm still catching up on indies from the past few years though so we'll see how much of this year ends up in my backlog 😅
 
I'm gonna throw a curveball and say In Stars and Time. It came out in late November last year and was criminally overlooked, and playing it now it stands out even against the current field.

I've played most of what has been listed in the OP, and unfortunately have not been vibing with a lot of them. Balatro is probably the best of the bunch, but I also really liked Crow Country and Artic Eggs recently. Animal Well was alright, I don't think it quite hit where it was trying to reach (yes we made it through all the layers). 1000xRESIST is a very mixed thing from what I've heard and seen, but I didn't see it through. Crab Souls I thought was actually quite underwhelming, which is a big bummer.

Hades 2 is also p good for what it is rn but it's going to take awhile to come together, and I haven't made it to Lorelei yet.
 
I've only played Animal Well and Balatro, but it's Balatro by miles. I'll try Pepper Grinder and Lorelei next, and wait for a full release on Hades II.

The others I haven't heard of - are all these games on Switch?
 
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Penny's Big Breakaway for sure

I'm halfway through Tales of Kenzera Zau and even on the Switch it'll be up there for me too when I'm done.
 
I've played/tried

Animal Well - After a slow beginning it picks up and once I approached the first flame I started loving it to the end. Definitely my fave so far.
Balatro - Played it for a bit, wasn't really my jam. Doubt I will ever go back to it.
Children of the Sun - Like the vibe a lot and some of the levels have been clever but it hasn't gripped me as much as I thought it would.
Crow Country - Only played the very beginning of this so I can't really judge it. Definitely want to go back to it. I like the dev's previous work.
Pepper Grinder - Made it past the first boss and it's really fun, just haven't been in the mood to play it for some reason.
 
For specifically 2024 games? Animal Well is the only one I’ve played, so it wins by default. It’s a quality game at least, so it’s not an unjustified placement.

Really liking what I’ve played of Lorelei so far though, would not be surprised if it overtakes Animal Well.
 
🃏 Balatro y’all. I must be getting close to 100 hours with it at this point. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Indika has been super memorable for me. I think I’m getting toward the end. Crow Country, also great! Hades II would undoubtedly be up there for me…if I had a PC to play it on
 
Animal well is my favorite so far, but I'm going to play Isles of Sea and Sky next and will probably like it more.
 
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It would probably be Hades II if I played it, but I’m waiting until it leaves Early Access. Hopefully that’s next year.
 
Probably Eastward: Octopia, but Pepper Grinder and Animal Well were awesome too! It's been a good year
 
I've only played Animal Well and waiting for Hades ll but it'll probably be that since I love the first one
 
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Balatro.

Very honourable mention to Stitch (not originally released this year, but did launch 2024 on Switch).

There's a lot of other games I need to try, too.

What about you, @Irene? Did you overcome those puzzles troubling you in Lorelei?
 
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BALATRO for me.

Mostly because I find the idea of playing Hades 2 in early access repulsive, and haven't gotten round to Animal Well yet. There's been some bangers this year for sure.
 
Balatro is the only one I've played but it's also my favorite indie game ever, so I'd be very surprised if any of the others topped it.
 
Animal Well is one of the best games I've played in the past several years and Balatro is still better and cooler.
 
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Tie between Animal Well and Lorelei. Animal Well is kinda game I didn't know I needed. A true followup to the original Prince of Persia

It's been just 5 months though, I expect some of the upcoming games to challenge my picks: Plucky Squire, Gecko Gods, On Your Tail, Blade Chimera, Antonblast...
 
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Balatro is the big one for me, but I gotta give it to Tales of Kenzara and Berserk Boy (which I unfortunately do not see mentioned yet!), too.

Especially if you want another interesting Mega Man style game to play through, I highly recommend it.
 
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Lords of Exile for me. Plays like a slightly easier version of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, but very enjoyable
 
I keep coming back to play more Balatro, but there's been so many worthwhile releases this year.


























 
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supermarket simulator and balatro.

Looking forward World of Goo 2, which was supposed to release yesterday before they delayed it
 
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Balatro for me as well, it's the only one I've played outside of demos, but I don't see that changing tbh. I'll play Animal Well when I have time tho, it looks like I could love it but Balatro is on another level. Generational game in some ways and probably only second to Isaac for me in the Roguelite world
 
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im a huge indie guy and it's genuinely not close between Another Crab and practically anything else.

the level of quality, scope, detail, love and raw peak Souls gameplay put into this and all by just an 11 person team is outright unimaginable. these people must've been sacrificing their entire souls for this game because i have no other explanation for how it's even possible that they made it. it feels the equivalent of a AAA Souls game actually made by Nintendo.

it's game of the year, period.
 
I AM DEEPLY SATISFIED TO BRING YOU THE FIRST POST ABOUT DREAD DELUSION
THAT IS, THE VERY FIRST POST ON THE ENTIRE SITE REGARDING DREAD DELUSION BABY
capsule_616x353.jpg


In this thrilling adventure, you explore a world with a lot of spooky critters in it all trying to take your life in what i can best describe as bloodborne meets morrowind, which sounds clickbaity, but in terms of vibes, i'd say accurate. Def nowhere near as difficult as any fromsoft, but a notch harder than the average Elder Scrolls. I played it a LOT in early access, relishing in the spells and vibes, getting to areas still under construction, so I'm excited to see it get out and onto the outside world.
if loveland happens to get out this year, or possibly radio the universe, i may be back to edit my claims, but for now, Dread Delusion babyyyy
 
I’ve picked up a handful, but have only played two so far. While I got the Platinum Trophy in Penny’s Big Breakaway, Pepper Grinder was my fav. I wish it was one world longer at least, but it was all killer and no filler and just an immediate blast to play.
 
Megafan96 said:
I AM DEEPLY SATISFIED TO BRING YOU THE FIRST POST ABOUT DREAD DELUSION
THAT IS, THE VERY FIRST POST ON THE ENTIRE SITE REGARDING DREAD DELUSION BABY
capsule_616x353.jpg


In this thrilling adventure, you explore a world with a lot of spooky critters in it all trying to take your life in what i can best describe as bloodborne meets morrowind, which sounds clickbaity, but in terms of vibes, i'd say accurate. Def nowhere near as difficult as any fromsoft, but a notch harder than the average Elder Scrolls. I played it a LOT in early access, relishing in the spells and vibes, getting to areas still under construction, so I'm excited to see it get out and onto the outside world.
if loveland happens to get out this year, or possibly radio the universe, i may be back to edit my claims, but for now, Dread Delusion babyyyy
Click to expand...

I am absolutely desperate to play this game lol as soon as it hits console. I might even give it a bash on my very mid laptop haha good shout out!
 
This is a curveball and I will definitely be the only mention of this game, but the Nancy Drew series released it's 34th title Mystery of the Seven Keys and against all odds... it was good?!

After game 32 the company basically shuttered, attempted to outsource a 33rd game but majorly misfired. After multiple many year waits between these titles and silence (after the games previously released 2x per year) they released a game that is a major step forward towards merging the "new" aspirations of being a 3D title and honoring the simplicity + vibe of the classics.

Anyhow - afaik they're technically an independent company regardless of the length of their history! And the game came at a great time for me where a cozy mystery was a great way to channel energy among life challenges.
 
I've only played Balatro and Hades II but both are fantastic. Looking forward to Animal Well and Lorelei as well
 
totofogo said:
This is a curveball and I will definitely be the only mention of this game, but the Nancy Drew series released it's 34th title Mystery of the Seven Keys and against all odds... it was good?!

After game 32 the company basically shuttered, attempted to outsource a 33rd game but majorly misfired. After multiple many year waits between these titles and silence (after the games previously released 2x per year) they released a game that is a major step forward towards merging the "new" aspirations of being a 3D title and honoring the simplicity + vibe of the classics.

Anyhow - afaik they're technically an independent company regardless of the length of their history! And the game came at a great time for me where a cozy mystery was a great way to channel energy among life challenges.
Click to expand...
I had no idea there was a new one!! Thank you!
 
Donnie said:
I am absolutely desperate to play this game lol as soon as it hits console. I might even give it a bash on my very mid laptop haha good shout out!
Click to expand...
The device I'm using is a crappy thing, literally a half step up from integrated graphics, and the rest of the parts are juuust good enough.
 
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