Welcome to GTOGG’s December 2023 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.
Hollow Cocoon
Set in Japan during the 1980s, Hollow Cocoon will follow protagonist Minato Jinba as he returns to his mother’s hometown after being informed that his grandmother is in critical condition. What he experiences there in the secluded countryside, however, is something far more terrifying than a seemingly innocent visit – not only is he being hunted by a monster, he also needs to uncover the sinister truths about what’s really going on in the town.

Blood West
Blood West is a unique beast of a game – it’s an FPS paying homage to the classic immersive sims of the late 90s and early 2000s, and does so with stealth, mild RPG elements and a fairly challenging difficulty level. After being resurrected and turned into one of the undead, you’ll have to traverse an unforgiving wilderness teeming with a wide variety of unholy creatures, all with their own unique strengths and weaknesses that must be exploited. Study your enemies, conserve your ammo, build your arsenal and most importantly – never enter a fight you’re not confident you’ll win, as even a single mistake can be fatal.

Faeland
Everyone likes a classic fantasy adventure, right? Indie action-RPG Faeland invites you on one such adventure – starring the young hunter Sam, whose home gets unceremoniously pillaged by orcs and trolls, the game will see players embark on a grandiose journey to find a new home as a larger plot begins to unfold in the background. In the meantime, you’ll also explore forests, caves, castles and dungeons, collecting loot, finding new weapons and completing quests for the locals as you gradually go from zero to hero.

A Highland Song
A Highland Song focuses on Moira McKinnon, a young girl who’s lived with her mother and never left the familiar spots of her neighborhood. As the game begins, she runs away from home after receiving an invitation from her uncle to come to the coast – enticed by the promise of unseen lands and the sea itself, Moira sets out on an adventure where every nook and cranny of the Highlands has a story to tell, but the question still remains: will she be able to traverse the precarious wilderness and get to her uncle’s lighthouse in time?

Koumajou Remilia 2: Stranger's Requiem
A gorgeous gothic-style action game based on the popular Touhou Project, Koumajou Remilia 2 serves as an enhanced and expanded version of its prequel, now placing the character of Sakuya Izayoi into the role of the protagonist. She heads into a reappeared Scarlet Devil Castle in order to find Remilia and her missing companions while talking to – and fighting – numerous beloved Touhou characters who now serve as bosses. It’s worth noting that the game will also include a boss rush mode, an extra epilogue that unlocks after the main story is completed, as well as the protagonist of the first game, Reimu Hakurei, as a playable character.

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 2024!