With a diverse cast of characters, an eye-grabbing art style, and word-fueled powers, Dustborn is one noteworthy indie to watch out for. Taking place along the eastern coastline of Canada, you take on the role of a rookie angler who decides to try and fulfill their late partner's final wish by taking up the family business. With various different biomes in the town of Moonglow Bay, there's a diverse range of fishing techniques to try, such as ice fishing, casting nets, and setting traps, and you'll also be able to cook your catch and sell recipes.
With secrets and stories to uncover in the town, a colorful voxel art style and a relaxing feeling, Moonglow Bay looks set to take us on one very charming fishing adventure.
Developer Something We Made is bringing us its debut game Toem this year. Described as a wholesome adventure that's all about taking photos and helping communities, the striking art style brings to life a world inspired by Scandinavian landscapes.
As an amateur photographer who seeks to see a "magical phenomena known as Toem", you can travel by bus to explore different regions, soaking up all of the sights and encountering various characters along the way who you can try to help. Accompanied by calming music, Toem looks set to offer a relaxing adventure full of exploration and charm.
Developer Armature Studio's co-founder and director Todd Keller says the team's focus when it came to making Where the Heart Leads was to "create a narrative experience that wraps its arms around you - like a well-worn, comfortable couch, or your favorite sweater. With many branching paths to discover, and choices that have meaningful consequences, and an ever-changing world, Where the Heart Leads explores a lifetime of moments that are yours to shape. If there's one thing I can never get enough of, it's games featuring very good dogs.
A Shiba Story from developer Foxdog Farms sees you take on the role of a rookie dogsitter who's tasked with looking after a Shiba Inu called Sunday. The adorable Shiba is said to be stubborn and quite a difficult character. When it comes to petting this pup, you're going to have to put your skills to the test to try and befriend your new canine companion. From picking up Sunday, playing fetch, and exploring the neighborhood, you'll start to learn your Shiba's moods from his body language and barks.
Can you pet the dog? Well, if you earn Sunday's love and respect, you just might be able to. There's nothing we need more this year than some laidback goodness, and developer Gummy Cat's upcoming management game looks like just the ticket.
Oh, and did I mention you get to do all this as a bear called Hank? Yes, that's right. You play as an adorable bear. With secrets to find, characters to meet, and side quests to discover, there's plenty to do as you try to maintain the reputation of your very own bed and breakfast. Set to release in August, developer Ember Lab looks set to take us on one very magical journey in its debut title, Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Taking on the role of a young spirit guide called Kena, you make your way to an abandoned village in search of a sacred shrine, where you'll encounter corrupted spirits and a strange curse.
Channeling the spirit realm, Kena can use special abilities and gain the help of adorable little spirits known as The Rot. These cute little fuzzy friends help Kena restore and alter the environment in order to progress.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits already looks very promising, with some Pikmin vibes, plenty of intrigues, and a beautiful world to explore. From developer Shedworks and publisher Raw Fury comes Sable, a gorgeously stylized upcoming adventure that draws inspiration for its design from a blend of European comics and Japanese animation.
Following protagonist Sable, who's on a rite of passage known as a "gliding", you explore the world's vast deserts and ruins at your own pace.
From riding on your hoverbike, to climbing up walls, and walking across the sand, are puzzles to solve, fellow nomads to encounter, and secrets to uncover. With no combat and a focus on exploration, Shedwork's eye-catching open-world is one I can't wait to get lost in. Gone Home and Tacoma developer Fullbright's upcoming release Open Roads follows the story of Tess Devine and her mother Opal, who set out on a road trip they won't soon forget.
After uncovering old letters and notes in their attic, the pair journey to old family properties in a bid to learn more about their family's past and long buried secrets. Fullbright has a talent for bringing compelling story-driven experiences to life in interesting ways, and I can't wait to see how this story unfolds.
It's also great to see a game explore the bond and relationship between a mother and daughter. Everyone needs some space to relax, and Scavenger Studios' Season looks set to provide just that by whisking you away on a bicycle road trip in its lush, beautifully stylized world. Set in a "surreal version of the mid-twentieth century", you explore through the eyes of a young woman who leaves a secluded community for the very first time.
By recording the life around you by taking photographs, drawing, and documenting what you see, you'll venture to different societies, collecting artifacts and memories. There's also an element of mystery wrapped up in Season's unique setting, and I can hardly wait to discover everything it has to offer. Saddle up and get ready to venture into WolfEye Studios' fantasy reimagining of the wild west.
In this isometric action RPG from the co-creator of Dishonored and Prey, Weird West presents you with the adventures of five different heroes whose destinies are all intertwined and connected. Also described as an "immersive sim", there are many different playstyles to try out, and every choice you make will be reflected in the game; each hero's journey will be tied to the actions you take.
With its dark take on the wild west, you'll encounter fantastical creatures as well as fellow gunslingers. And for that, Hades is a good game. The boon system makes it a great game. You can pick up boons from various gods and goddesses during your run.
These boons, like the rooms themselves, are randomized each run, combining the excitement of drafting in a game like Magic: the Gathering with the combat of something like Diablo. Take a look at our guide to the best Hades builds to get started. Each run starts with a simple loop around which your character moves. From there, you use the cards in your deck to build the world around you, including new terrain and enemies. There, you can unlock new character classes and cards for your deck, pushing you closer to actually finishing the game.
That tension works. In Night in the Woods , anthropomorphic cat Mae drops out of college and heads back to Possum Springs. Mae gradually begins to see that the town and its people — a collection of eclectic, talking animals — have dark pasts full of mysteries.
The game plays as a sidescroller, but Night in the Woods can aptly be compared to visual novels and adventure games. Heavily indebted to dark humor, Night in the Woods asks players to make choices throughout the story that affect the way Mae views the happenings in Possum Springs.
It even accomplishes the impressive task of making us feel sad and laugh all in the space of one scene. Nonetheless, Oxenfree may very well be the best entry in the popular genre to date.
Set on an island, Alex and her friends begin experiencing events that can only be referred to as supernatural. A distinct, 2. With wonderfully realized cutscenes, introspective dialogue, and a meaningful choice-based system, Oxenfree is a gripping story that will grip you until the credits roll.
Spelunky remains one of the best indies of all time, but the new launch of Spelunky 2 took its randomized roguelike formula and perfected it. While the original had four worlds with four levels each, Spelunky 2 adds branching paths so you can choose different worlds to explore, with seven areas in a single playthrough and up to 16 different areas you can end up in based on your choices.
It also includes new doorways — letting you go into caves behind each level that bypass the main area and add new treasure and traps — as well as new weapons, allies, and mounts to ride. Yet when you reach a new level or discover a new secret, it feels that much more rewarding. Stardew Valley could perhaps be described best as a small-town life simulator game. The game divides into days, months, and years. Players can only accomplish so many activities in a given day, forcing them to choose their priorities wisely.
Valheim entered early access in March , but it has already cemented itself as one of the best survival games around. The game went viral almost immediately after launching, and for good reason. Valheim understands how to reward the player instead of just throwing them to the wilds and hoping for the best. But Valheim finds a way to make that experience rewarding, from huge boss fights to simply sailing across the ocean. Valheim supports co-op for up to 10 players, giving your friend group an endless, procedurally generated playground to survive in.
Both Sam and Farah's stories are defined by the relationships they forge with those around them, both platonic and romantic. Love Shore launches for PC in October In Martha is Dead , you travel to Tuscany in in order to receive the body of your dead twin sister. It's revealed your sister has drowned--murdered for some unforeseen reason--forcing you to confront the internal turmoil of your grief at the same time that you must acknowledge the external turmoil of World War II, which is creeping ever closer to you.
A psychological horror adventure game, Martha is Dead will see you trying to uncover what led to your sister's death while confronting the horror of war. An adventure RPG, Nighthawks takes place in a world where vampires are public knowledge. You are one such vampire, now living in a world where humans tolerate your existence. You decide to build a nightclub in one of the few cities where humans and vampires live in relative harmony. How you choose to build your business is up to you.
Through your supernatural powers, as well as your more natural skills of intimidation, persuasion, and seduction, you'll forge and break relationships, shaping the city for better and worse.
Nighthawks is scheduled to release for PC in "early In adventure game Open Roads , you play as Tess Devine, who sets out on a road trip with her mother, Opal, after the two happen upon an old journal kept by Tess' grandmother. The journal mentions old burglaries, a mysterious man who isn't Opal's father, and other supposedly long-kept secrets that neither Tess nor Opal knew about.
With Tess' grandmother having passed away, mother and daughter decide to go out and find the answers to their questions. The game features a gorgeous hand-animated art style, interactive dialogue system, and a strong voice cast--including Keri Russell Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker and Kaitlyn Dever Booksmart.
Instead of making an add-on for Outlast II like Whistleblower for the original Outlast , developer Red Barrels is creating a smaller spin-off game that exists within its survival horror video game universe. The Outlast Trials sees several test subjects being forced into a horrific Cold War experiment--the game features the franchise's first-person perspective, reliance on night vision tech to see in the dark, and disgusting imagery.
However, unlike the first two games, The Outlast Trials is primarily designed as a co-op experience though you can play it solo. The Outlast Trials is set to release for PC in A resource management sim, Power to the People has you oversee a growing city in which you must construct and maintain a power grid to meet the escalating needs of your fellow citizens.
Whether you decide to invest in green energy or cut corners to rely on cheaper means in order to meet immediate demand is up to you. Your morals dictate what you think is acceptable when it comes to keeping people's lights on as your city experiences influxes of population, natural disasters, and other unforeseen obstacles.
Power to the People is set to come to PC in Similar to how Battle Chef Brigade used puzzles to simulate the act of cooking and Murder By Numbers did the same but for a detective's deductive reasoning, Princess Farmer looks to offer a twist on match-three puzzles to create the sensation of gardening.
A narrative-driven action-platformer, Princess Farmer sees you play as the titular character, who's been tasked with figuring out the source of the mysterious going-ons in the forest. Between your sleuthing and puzzle-solving, you'll also talk and build relationships with other characters. Princess Farmer is scheduled to launch for PC in Taking inspiration from Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, and Bong Joon-ho, Road 96 is a procedurally generated action-adventure game about your mad dash to the border in order to escape the authoritative regime that oversees your home country, Petria.
Your story will evolve based on who you choose to hitchhike with, what type of relationships you want to forge, and which roads you try to take, all culminating in your own unique story of trying to escape oppression and find a better life.
Road 96 is set to come to PC in Scorn is a narrative-driven first-person shooter, putting action-focused gameplay into a nightmarish world of grotesque body-horror--developer Ebb Software takes inspiration from Swiss artist H.
Giger and the work he did for the Alien franchise. Trapped in a strange, almost alien-looking world, your goal in Scorn is to survive long enough to escape, but you'll need to embrace aspects of the biomechanical hellscape in order to do so. That means utilizing the living weapons you come across and interacting with the gross environment.
In Season , you leave your secluded community in order to set out on a solitary journey of self-discovery. You're tasked with collecting the memories of the world before they're destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm, but you're given the agency in how you want to ensure their survival, whether that's writing down what you find, taking pictures, drawing, or capturing an audio recording.
Though you travel on your own, your journey will see you meet other characters as well. The game looks to be a deeply atmospheric experience, one where you can just get lost in its beautiful-looking world. Season is set to launch for PS5 and PC "soon. As Thalia, a woman with severe anxiety who's stuck in a coma, you adventure through a dream-like world in She Dreams Elsewhere , an adventure RPG where your goal is to find a way to wake up.
To wake up, you'll need to do two things: figure out how you ended up in a coma and both confront and defeat the nightmares plaguing you. The surreal world is what first drew our attention to She Dreams Elsewhere, but the game seems to feature an engaging gameplay loop to match its striking art style--the game features turn-based combat, character customization that allows for different playstyles, and a wealth of characters to talk to and connect with via dialogue choices.
She Dreams Elsewhere is set to release for PC in In Solace State , a visual novel, you play as Chloe Lee, a year-old programmer living in a cyberpunk-inspired society where everyone's information is one hack away.
After your best friend and mentor, Rebecka, goes missing, you take it upon yourself to find her, hacking into the city's systems in order to gather the necessary information for influencing your friends, fellow citizens, and enemies. The game features a dynamic trip-hop and K-pop-inspired soundtrack, which sounds pretty good in the trailers.
Solace State is scheduled to launch on PC in Like Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash places you in control of a mysterious individual and then puts you through a gauntlet of fast combat. Movement seems to be the main draw of the game though, as you're seemingly able to just slide throughout the beautifully stylized environment.
The score adds to the experience, creating a game that looks to be as striking to listen to as it is to look at. Song of Iron looks hard--but in the intense, invigorating way that inspires you to want to take on its challenge. In this 2D action-adventure game, you're a warrior trying to find salvation for your people. To do so, you'll have to make your way through legions of enemies, adapting on the fly, as your weapon can dull, your quiver can run dry, and your shield can break.
And you really have to dodge attacks to avoid death because after a hit or two, you're done. In Stray , you play as a cat--and not like an anthropomorphic cat, but just an average, everyday kitty. You live in a futuristic Kowloon Walled City and are given the agency to explore its dark alleyways, scamper beneath parked vehicles, and incessantly meow at anyone nearby until you're given the attention you deserve.
In trailers and screenshots, we've seen that you wear a little backpack in Stray as well, so maybe you'll be collecting small items hidden around the city. With a world, character, and story inspired by New Caledonia--the home of developer Awaceb's co-founders-- Tchia has you play as a young girl who can possess animals and inanimate objects.
For example, you can possess a tire to quickly roll along the ground. Featuring fully animated cutscenes, an original orchestral score, and voice acting in the traditional languages of New Caledonia, Tchia looks to be as much a celebration of the island's culture as it is a fun-looking action adventure game. A narrative-driven adventure game with nonlinear progression, Teacup is all about brewing tea.
You play as the titular Teacup, an introverted frog who has mustered the courage to host a tea party, only to realize the day before that she lacks the necessary ingredients. With no other choice, you must venture out into the woods and find the herbs to restock your pantry, reaching out to your neighbors for help. This game looks very cute and wholesome. Tunche is a beat-'em-up with roguelike inspirations in its gameplay loop that supports up to four-player co-op and includes five playable characters, one of which is A Hat in Time 's Hat Kid.
Each character has their own unique moveset and skills, encouraging you to work together with friends in order to pull off powerful combos and defeat the game's vast pool of enemies and challenging multi-phase bosses.
The game features charming hand-drawn visuals, which presents the Amazon rainforest setting with a colorful style. The Vale: Shadow of the Crown forces you to use audio cues to discern enemy tells in combat, find vendors in a crowded marketplace, and figure out whether an NPC can be trusted. You can't see because you're playing as a blind woman, a princess lost in a foreign kingdom who's trying to find her way home. The Vale: Shadow of the Crown truly feels like the first of its kind--developer Falling Squirrel worked with the blind community to design a fully functioning RPG that is played entirely through 3D audio and haptic controller feedback.
In Venba , you play as an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the s. As you face the daily struggles of immigration, you maintain a connection to India via cooking. A narrative-driven cooking simulator, Venba tasks you with cooking Indian cuisine by following authentic recipes. Between meals, you'll speak to your family and new neighbors--your dialogue choices guide the narrative, which is brought to life with colorful animations and an original soundtrack that's inspired by Indian musicals.
Venba is coming to PC in November Do not let him know that you're playing Hollow Knight--he will take that as a sign that you wish to talk about the lore for the next five hours. You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.
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