There was a great AAA presence at E3, but some of the most interesting and promising news leaking from LA last week was indie related. The steady growth of the independent developers’ scene at the largest video game expo in North America is exciting and always yields some incredible concepts. Below is a list of a few worth looking out for.
1. Cuphead
With that 1930’s Steamboat Willy, worn celluloid motif, Cuphead is immediately recognizable in a crowd. A snarling devil commands Cuphead and Mughead (the Luigi of this game) to do his side-scrolling shooter bidding. Check out the Cuphead Wiki!
2. Relativity
A first person puzzle game with hints of echochrome, the M.C. Escher-style platforms promise to twist your perceptions and expectations of the genre.
3. Salt and Sanctuary
A side scrolling beat em up that channels a slower paced, less button mash-heavy Dragon’s Crown, Salt and Sanctuary is a great 2D adaptation of the much lauded Dark Souls formula of games that aren’t afraid to hurt you. Check out the Salt and Sanctuary Wiki!
4. Death’s Gambit
A stunning, dark Metroidvainia with nuanced and complex combat as a focus, Death’s Gambit is proof that there is always room to innovate on industry old genres. And can we just point out that Adult Swim is becoming a brilliant indie publisher after all these years? Check out the Death’s Gambit Wiki!
5. Enter the Gungeon
Dodgeroll’s roguelike shooter has been one of those games that developers whisper about to each other. It looks incredibly fun, and with the recent announcement of it coming to consoles next year, the laymen will finally get their hands on it, Check out the Enter the Gungeon Wiki!
6. Mother Russia Bleeds
This absolutely brutal beat em up is like Streets of Rage if Eli Roth got his twisted clutches on it. It flirts with drug addiction and other extremely mature elements, but maybe that’s exactly what the Final Fight-like market needs.
7. Eitr
When Loki decides to muck up the nine worlds, you dawn the Shield Maiden’s gear and take special issue with it all. A theme reoccurring with this year’s indie selection is risk/reward based combat a la From Software’s Souls games, but Eitr might translate the formula better than its contemporaries. Check out the Eitr Wiki!
8. The Banner Saga 2
The original Banner Saga took people by surprise a couple years ago, thanks to it’s vivid throwback art design and its brutal game of choice and consequence. The sequel picks up right where the last left off and promises more of the same. Check out the Banner Saga Wiki!
9. Beyond Eyes
For something completely different, Tiger and Squid hopes to break the monotony of hack-and-slashes, shooters, and beat-em ups by dropping players into the role of a 10 year old blind girl. You navigate the world via sound cues that illuminate the path in beautiful watercolors, all to find her lost cat.
10. Firewatch
What continues to make this game so compelling and hard to wait for is how little we really know about the story, which puts a forest ranger is some sort of danger, with a voice on the other side of a radio handset as his only lifeline. Check out the Firewatch Wiki!
What’s your most anticipated indie game? Tweet us @CurseGamepedia or leave a comment below!