Welcome to GTOGG’s July/August 2020 edition of Promising Indie 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.
Shivering Hearts
We open our list with Shivering Hearts, a charming 2D RPG that looks like a watercolor painting come to life. The game notably tries to place emphasis on the „roleplaying” aspect of RPGs – in other words, expect plenty of choices and consequences that can lead up to 120 different ending combinations. That’s a lot of combinations.
Carrion
If watching 1979’s Alien made you go „Mom, is it wrong to be rooting for the slimy space monster?”, Carrion might be the video game for you. Why? Because you do sort of play as the slimy space monster in this one. Have fun terrorizing all those poor humans.
Ageless
Ageless is a platformer with a twist: in it, you possess the power to alter the ages of flora and fauna, and can use this ability to solve all sorts of puzzles and platforming challenges. Imagine seeing a sapling, and being able to make it grow into a tall plant that you can then use to climb up toward your destination. It’s a bit like that.
Othercide
Black, white and red are the only colors you’ll see in this wonderfully stylish tactical RPG that lets you manipulate the timeline of battles to plan out powerful combos in advance. Be careful, though: the monstrous enemies you face will be tough, and the only way to heal a unit is to sacrifice another. No pressure!
Blightbound
Hankering for a bit of co-op fun? Blightbound will let you become one of the last bastions of mankind as you stand up against the forces of evil. Don’t let the deadly fog covering the world ruin your mood, though: there are monsters to slay, dungeons to explore, and loot to find. So get going!
Hellpoint
What would happen if the movie Event Horizon was crossed with Dark Souls? Well, this game. This game is what would happen. Hellpoint takes place on an abandoned space station crawling with eldritch abominations, and… well, you can figure out the rest. Spoilers: you’ll probably die. A lot.
What Happened
What Happened is a horror game that deals with the kind of horror that happens every day to everyday people: acute anxiety and depression. You follow the story of Stiles, a teenager who goes off on a journey to explore the depths of his own mind – and hopefully overcome everything he finds in there.
Eternal Hope
Eternal Hope is about just that – hope. You control Ti’bi, a boy who lost the love of his life, and decides to venture into the Shadow World in order to save her soul. The dimension-hopping journey won’t be easy, though, and you’ll have to use your wits and all your skills to succeed. But hey, who are we to stand in the way of true love?
Inertial Drift
It’s just you, the road, and an unquenchable thirst for drifting – racing game Inertial Drift lets you live out your dream of becoming a daredevil driver, and does so with a unique, twin stick-based control scheme.
Dreamscaper
Go to sleep, fight your inner demons, wake up, rinse and repeat. In Dreamscaper, you’ll get to juggle your daytime activities with nightly trips to various dreamworlds teeming with manifestations of your negative emotions.
Griefhelm
Knights, assemble – it’s now your time to shine. You get to become a relentless warrior in Griefhelm, an indie dueling game all about mastering the ins and outs of medieval combat. The game also supports both local and online cooperative or PvP play, in case you’d like to prove to your friends that you are, indeed, the one duelist to rule them all.
No Straight Roads
Ever wanted to start a musical revolution? No? Well, the protagonists of action-adventure No Straight Roads – Mayday and Zuke – are certainly in the mood for one, and are willing to fight tooth and nail to take back Vinyl City from the clutches of an evil empire.
Windbound
Windbound is determined to make a true survivor out of you – by placing you in the role of Kara, a young warrior shipwrecked on a remote island. However, this turns out to be merely the beginning of a long journey: gather resources, craft tools or weapons, and upgrade your boat to sail to other islands in search of new adventures.
