An old-school Zelda-like, Skate Bums and other new indie games worth checking out
Welcome to our latest roundup of what’s happening in the indie games space. As a reminder, the latest edition of the Steam Next Fest takes place from February 23 to March 2, during which you will be able to discover demos of hundreds of upcoming games. Several are already available, including one for Densha attacks!which I highly recommend consulting. Turns out, doing Tony Hawk Pro Skater style tricks with a Japanese bullet train is absolutely heartbreaking.
On Thursday, there were four showcases highlighting indie games in a single day. Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to recap them in full here, but I can at least tell you about some of the many highlights.
The Black History Month edition of Black Voices in Gaming Showcase includes trailers and interviews for some games already available, such as Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator, Aerial_Knight DropShot And Restarted. Of course, the stream also featured plenty of games in the works.
Clearedfrom solo developer Jerron Jacques, looks pretty interesting. It’s an open-world fighting game set in a cyberpunk setting with dance battles, parkour, pets, strange creatures, and more. Jacques, who documented the game’s development process on social media, even did some of the parkour motion capture work personally.
There was also a lot of good stuff in this week’s Convergence Showcase, including another look at Mouse: PI for rent as we see one of the game’s bosses for the first time. This animated first-person shooter with rubber hoses is scheduled to arrive on March 19.
There were other welcome announcements for me in this showcase. First, there was a release date for the Zelda-inspired adventure Gecko Gods. I’ve had it on my wishlist since 2022, so I’m happy to hear it’s coming to Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC on April 16.
Plus, a record store simulator Wax heads (which probably should have been called Low Fidelity, ie) is coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on May 5. You can check out a Steam Next Fest demo for that one now.
The second edition of the Indie Fan Fest also offered a multitude of gifts. On the one hand, Balatro Playstack publisher could be about to cause another massive reduction in collective productivity with Raccoinwhose release date is now March 31. This is another roguelike deckbuilder, but this time it comes in the form of a coin pusher. I haven’t had a chance to check out the previous playtest to better understand why there’s so much buzz around this one, but I’ll definitely try the Steam Next Fest demo, which is available now.
It’s still deeply strange to call a game under the Acclaim umbrella independent, but that’s where we are now. The publisher offers Ridiculous Games’ GridBeat on Nintendo Switch and Steam on March 26. It’s a rhythm-based dungeon crawler in which you (a hacker) attempt to escape from a corporate network after stealing valuable data. A Next Fest demo is also available for this one.
Meanwhile, a narrower release window for the Japanese convenience store simulator InKonbini: a store. Many stories was revealed. It will arrive on Steam, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox in April.
Alongside a related sale on Steam, the first Quebec showcase of games celebrations took place on Thursday. It’s always interesting to learn more about games made in my neck of the woods.
One of them is Surfpunka cooperative action RPG that’s a bit like Hades with surfing. Radical. You’ll venture across procedurally generated islands in search of loot. There are four weapon classes to choose from and gadgets that you can craft after collecting resources during your run. There is an updated Steam demo that is said to have around five hours of gameplay. Surfpunk (which comes from Convergence: A League of Legends Story developer Double Stallion) will arrive later this year.
I am including this demo announcement trailer for Diea precision platformer from Woodrunner Games that appears to be heavily inspired by Celeste, separately for one main reason. You to have to consult the studio’s “barketing” manager. (Okay, okay, the game’s hand-drawn visuals also look pretty good.)
There are many other interesting things in the Quebec Games Celebration Showcase, including another look at Metal Tears from Paper Cult Games, the studio behind the very enjoyable Blood Roots. A Steam demo is available for the hack-and-slash roguelite, which is due out this spring. Metroidvania, gothic science fiction Silent planet It looks very tasty too.
New releases
Under the island looks and sounds great The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past-code. But since it’s my favorite game of all time, I’m not complaining. I love that the protagonist Nia also seems to use a hockey stick as a weapon.
This action PRG from Slime King Games (and co-publishers Top Hat Studios and Doyoyo Games) debuted to strong reviews. It’s available now on Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Demon Tides — an open-world 3D platform game Bubby 4D And Demon Grass developer Fabraz — has many movement mechanics, including paragliders and grappling hooks. You can also take different shapes.
You can create and share graffiti, and it will appear in other players’ games (which is a nice touch). Demon Tides is now available on Steam. It will usually cost $25, but through March 5 you can snag it for $20.
Skate bums is a 2D skateboarding game in the tradition of the OlliOlli series. As novice skateboarder Lux, you will attempt to defeat the Skate Bums, a gang of bullies. There are “weird characters,” sick combos to pull off, coins to collect, and wrecking balls to dodge.
There is said to be a “simple directional trick system” while each run is apparently short. This seems ideal for quick pick-up and play sessions on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. I also really like the title. Skate bums, which comes from Lucky Last Studio, will normally cost $15, but there’s a 15% discount until February 27.
Eternal love is a “psychological horror platformer about escaping the domain of a selfish god,” which is a strong point from developer Brlka and Demon School publisher Ysbryd Games. You’ll need to switch between different gravitational pulls as you navigate this precision platformer, which follows teenager Maya in her attempt to return to her own reality.
During a dinner at home, Maya’s family disappears and she suddenly appears in a “strange and desolate kingdom” that resembles an Iron Age castle. It’s a spooky enough setup to match the game’s haunting atmosphere. Eternal love is available now on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch for $10. There’s a 15% introductory discount (again, you’ll need to be a PS Plus member to take advantage of this on PlayStation).
Next
Woe Industries, the developer of You have invested billions in generative AI (and a bunch of other interesting projects), has something intriguing in the works for next week: a standardized playtest. You can start the Adventure Gaming Aptitude Test (AGAT) anytime between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. ET on February 28.
You will have four hours to complete an 80s adventure game from Woe Industries. The developer will apparently monitor your browser and smartphone activity to make sure you’re not viewing a walkthrough. If successful, you will receive an AGAT certification and diploma. Good luck!
“Musical narrative adventure” Notable people is coming to Steam, Epic Games Store, the Xbox app on PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on April 7 for $25 (although there’s a 10% launch discount). The game follows pop singer Cadence on her quest for fame. Along the way, Cadence and her friends will have to defeat their enemies in battles featuring turn-based and rhythm elements.
I especially enjoyed playing a preview several months ago, although I had to grit my teeth during the turn-based combat, which is not something I generally enjoy. However, Iridium Studios will allow players to disable items like this and environmental puzzles so that more people who would have otherwise been disabled can enjoy them. Notable people. You can test the game now on Steam via a 90-minute Next Fest demo.
I don’t really understand what’s going on in the trailer for Titanium Courtwhich comes from AP Thomson (a solo developer who previously worked on Consume me) and publisher Fellow Traveler. Even the press release notes that it’s “incredibly difficult to describe.” But it has a captivating soundtrack with a weird, Bill Callahan-esque song, and it’s already garnered several IGF award nominations, so I’m intrigued.
What I can assume is that it is a surreal, roguelike strategy game with elements of match-three, auto-combat, and tower defense. It’s also for “clowns and criminals”, apparently. I’ll have to try the Steam Next Fest demo to try and figure it out. Titanium Court coming to Steam “imminently.”
Sometimes a game comes along that makes me think “How has no one done this before?” » This is the case of Become. It’s a third-person linear adventure from solo developer Valentin Wirth in which you play as a single sperm cell. You can probably guess what the goal is.
The game does not feature “any explicit sexual acts, nudity, or violence,” according to its Steam page, although you will encounter some dangers along your journey. You can upgrade your bespectacled sperm via skill trees and apparently adorn various headgear. Become is expected to arrive on Steam later this year.
