Welcome to GTOGG’s December 2022 edition of Promising Indie Game Releases, where we highlight indie and non-mainstream titles that we believe deserve your attention – in other words, “look at all this potentially cool stuff you might’ve missed otherwise”. That would’ve been too long for a title, though.
In any case, let’s get right down to it.
Chained Echoes
Taking inspiration from JRPG classics of the 16-bit era, Chained Echoes promises a world-spanning fantasy adventure starring heroes who take up arms in order to try and stop a war between three kingdoms. It’s set to feature a campaign roughly 30 to 40 hours in length, turn-based combat that will make you reminisce about your favorite SNES RPGs, a skill and equipment system for all your customization needs and, of course, your very own airship… as well as piloted mechs that you can also ride to battle. Because why not.
BLACKTAIL
BLACKTAIL stars Yaga, a young woman who’s been outcast from her village and must journey through a fantastical world of magic and mysteries in search of her lost sister. The game places an emphasis on archery-based combat aided by hexes and potions, allowing players to develop their skills and master a wide variety of spells and arrow types as they fight for survival in a land as beautiful as it is dangerous. Moral dilemmas will also be on the table during your adventure, with choices directly influencing whether Yaga will shift toward good or evil – every decision matters, and nothing is without consequences.
Choo-Choo Charles
Have you ever been scared of trains? No? Well, you soon might be. It’s just you, your train and the open wilderness, but watch out – as you navigate the world and its railroad system, you’ll be preyed upon by a demonic spider-train called Charles. So, what is a responsible train conductor to do? Well… explore the land, upgrade your train and acquire the necessary firepower to face off against Charles so you can put an end to his reign of terror once and for all.
Aka
Want to chill out and find your inner peace? With Aka, you can: create your own paradise by building shelter, tending crops and helping some of the locals, or kick back and relax while napping atop a giant Capybara. Yes, you read that right. The game’s open world is your oyster, so do whatever you’d like, whenever you’d like… until the demons of your past come back to haunt you.
Space Wreck
An RPG that takes its roleplaying very seriously, Space Wreck will let you explore a rich post-apocalyptic world inspired by the first two Fallout games – and when I say very seriously, I mean it, as even combat is 100% optional. Your character can be played in a multitude of ways, with characteristics that will affect your experience, whether you want it or not: for example, if you’re too strong and muscular, you’ll have trouble fitting into vents that may provide a shortcut, while not having a high enough speech skill will make it difficult to properly communicate with people – the list could go on. That said, problems can be solved in a multitude of ways, so feel free to play any character you wish to play.
RE:CALL
RE:CALL comes forward with a rather intriguing premise – you explore your own memories and change the future by altering the past. Indeed, by playing through the memories of your character, you’re essentially allowed to alter the flashbacks you see, which will in turn alter future events as well. As you can imagine, such an ability comes in handy when solving crimes and tackling puzzles, but the question still remains: how come you even possess this power in the first place?
And that’s our list for now! Did you discover a new indie game to look forward to? Well, we hope you did. In any case, don’t forget to check back in about a month for our next episode, where we’ll be taking a look at the indie games of January 2023!
