5 Upcoming Indies To Look Out For
Looking for some new additions for your collection? Then keep your eyes peeled for these 5 titles as they approach their release dates. These games stand strong for the Indie genre are looking to be some of the best we have seen in recent years. They represent different genres giving players a nice variety but all share that special spark of brilliance that has become synonymous with all the best Indie games.
1. Pit People
Developer: The Behemoth
Release Date: Before the Apocalypse
Platform: Xbox One, Windows
Genre: Strategy
From the developers of Action/Side-scroller Alien Hominid, RPG/Beat ’Em Up Castle Crashers, and Puzzle/Platformer Battleblock Theater, comes this new hexagonal strategy game that reminds us that Behemoth will not be limited by genre limitations. Behemoth has proven time after time that they can produce an incredible product for the consumer no matter the genre and each game, while widely different in functionality, contain that undeniable bit of humor that Behemoth has become known for. With Pit People enlisting the aid of Stamper yet again (who you may know as the voice of the narrator in Battleblock Theater), this game is shaping up to be the best one to come from the company yet.
2. Cuphead
Developer: Studio MDHR
Release Date: 2016
Platform: Xbox One, Windows
Genre: Run-N-Gun
Wow. Talk about unique. When I first laid eyes on Studio MDHR’s Cuphead, I was instantly hooked by the unique style and over the top gameplay that no other games can rival. The game takes incredbile inspiration from the world of classic 1930’s cartoons and looks to deliver a game with a truly unique and quirky asthetic that can quench any gamer’s thirst for punishment. Expect difficult boss battles galore along the way to repaying your debt to the devil. While we still don’t have a definitive release date for Cuphead look for it to go on sale sometime in the remaining few months of 2016, and keep on hoping that we don’t hear the dreaded news that it has been delayed.
UPDATE: As of now, the dreaded new has been delivered. Cuphead is now aimed to have a mid-2017 release. It is saddening new but it came with the promise that game we play will be the developers intended vision for the game and that they pushed the game back to deliver a quality product. The wait continues.
3. Firewatch (Xbox One)
Developer: Campo Santo
Release Date: September 21, 2016
Platform: Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Genre: Mystery/Adventure
I have already said in my review of Firewatch that it is perhaps one of the best and most entrancing games I have played this year. It manages to encapsulate the player, in a world that emanates pure tranquility even under moments of extreme tension and suspense. This is a feat I have yet to see prior and may not see again for some time. Firewatch is a masterpiece and if you are an Xbox One owner you simply have to own this game. You owe it to yourself as a gamer and as a consumer of stories.
4. Yooka-Laylee
Developer: Playtonic Games
Release Date: March 2017
Platform: Ps4, Xbox One, Wii U, Windows, Mac, Linux
Genre: Adventure/ Platformer
For all those fans of the famous bird-and-bear led game, Banjo-Kazooie, you should absolutely have your eyes peeled for this hopefully instant classic. Yooka-Laylee is being produced by ex-Rare team members who created the original Banjo-Kazooie games, and this product hopes to serve as a spirtual successor for the famous bird and bear. The game’s kickstarter campaign launched on May 1st, 2015 and ran to June 16th, 2015 with a goal of £175,000. The campaign was undeniably successful as it absolutely destroyed its goal and managed to raise an astounding total of £2,090,104 which equates to almost $3 million U.S. dollars. The demand is very clearly present and Yooka-Laylee is looking to carry us all back to that young innocent time in our lives, when the most important thing was collecting all those golden jiggy puzzle pieces.
5. State of Decay 2
Developer: Undead Labs
Release Date: 2017
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Survival
With literally hundreds of zombie games to choose from, it becomes hard to find one that really captures the fear of living in a zombified world. State of Decay 2 is the sequel to the popular Xbox 360 game State of Decay. Jump into a county full of walkers as well as heavily mutated zeds (Freaks) and fight to survive as you build up your home and your community of survivors while forever searching for supplies to stay alive. This time around though, you can struggle to survive with friends as this installment will feature up to 4-player cooperative play. A big reason I was smitten with the first game was the painful use of the perma-death mechanic. If your character met his/her unfortunate end you would be saying goodbye permanently, and swithcing control to another survivor in your community. It can be heartbreaking depending on how long you spent with that character and how high you leveled them up. Sometimes their time is just up, its an unfortunate side effect of zombie games and it’s one that can make or break a game in this genre. Look for State of Decay 2 next year on Xbox One.
