If you want to make video games, you need to be playing video games. But while the latest and greatest AAA console games are a great place to start, they often aren’t very innovative. Big publishers typically aren’t willing to take risks with their game designs (there’s too much at risk) and instead tend to concentrate on sequels or games based on established intellectual properties known to sell well. If you want to find truly unique and innovative games, you usually need to go indie.
Indie (independent) games are developed by game developers who work “independent” of the big game publishers and hardware manufacturers, usually with much smaller budgets. Their creators are driven by innovation, creativity, and passion rather than the “bottom line,” often resulting in gameplay and game stories that are more quirky, unusual or even bizarre than their big-budget competitors.
Many of the hit games of tomorrow will be created by these maverick creators, so let’s get to know some of their games:
Inside
Developed by Limbo’s Playdead, this puzzle-platformer lets the player swap bodies as they make their way through a surreal, dark environment. Mind control, a mysterious laboratory, and a sinister conspiracy are just part of the mysteries the player has to reveal in Inside. You can play Inside on Xbox One, PS4, Apple TV, iOS, and Nintendo Switch
Slay The Spire
Part deck-builder, part roguelike; Slay the Spire has players use card combinations to fight their way up a spire in a fantasy world, while collecting treasure and magic relics. It has all the fun of a card game like Dominion with all of the action of a video game. Developed by MegaCrit, you can play Slay The Spire on Windows, Linux, MacOS, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
Enter the Gungeon
What do you get when you mix a dungeon crawler with a bullet hell shooter? Boasting more gun-themed puns than you can shake a revolver at, Enter the Gungeon lets players shoot, loot, and dodge roll their way through this clever roguelike game from Devolver Digital. You can play Enter the Gungeon on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
My Friend Pedro
This action platformer by DeadToast Entertainment has you playing as an acrobatic amnesiac who, with the help of a talking banana, has to take out the criminal underworld. Originally based on an Adobe Flash game, My Friend Pedro is available on Windows and the Nintendo Switch. If you are a fan of the action and humor of the Deadpool movies, then this is the game for you.
AfterParty
When two best buds end up in Hell, they learn they can get out if they out-party Satan. This upcoming, humorous adventure game is created by Night School Studios, the same team that created Oxenfree, and has a real “classic LucasArts adventure game” vibe. You can play AfterParty later this year.
Untitled Goose Game
This stealth game, developed by House House, allows players to control a goose who goes around bothering the inhabitants of an English village. Honk, flap, and steal items to both help and annoy the villagers and complete puzzle-like objectives. The game has become a critical and commercial hit; you can play the Untitled Goose Game on MacOS, Windows and Nintendo Switch.