Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

As a seasoned gamer who’s been around the block a few times, I must say that the Day of the Devs presentation left me absolutely gobsmacked! The sheer variety and ingenuity of these indie games are a breath of fresh air in an industry often dominated by AAA titans.

For an hour, Day of the Devs – a non-profit organization that highlights lesser-known indie games – showcased a digital event. The presentation featured a total of twenty trailers for upcoming indie games, seven of which were initial announcements, while two were already released and available immediately (referred to as shadow-drops).

The most challenging aspect in crafting this piece was condensing it to key points instead of delving into a detailed discussion about the twenty fascinating independent games exhibited today. Therefore, I appreciate your attention on this article. If any of these games catch your eye, I strongly suggest you watch the complete presentation for an in-depth look.

Ultimate Sheep Raccoon

If you’ve ever enjoyed playing Ultimate Chicken Horse, here’s some thrilling news: A game that seems to be a spiritual successor is on its way! Clever Endeavor Games are back at it again, crafting another chaos-filled, friendship-testing party experience—but this time, it’s called Ultimate Sheep Raccoon. In the original game, players essentially constructed their own level using various items, with the aim being to find a means to reach the end while simultaneously hindering other players from doing so. In this new installment, players will race on bikes along a track to get to the finish line. The base track will feature jumps, ramps, and other obstacles, but players can also add additional challenges to thwart their opponents’ progress.

Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

The tailored experience in the game “Ultimate Chicken Horse” has solidified its status as one of the most engaging and replayable party games from recent years. It’s a title I can envision myself and my friends continuing to play into the next year. The upcoming game, “Ultimate Sheep Raccoon“, appears to preserve all the aspects that made its predecessor stand out, while also introducing some new twists to keep things exciting for a long time. Ultimate Sheep Raccoon doesn’t have a specific release date yet, but it’s scheduled to debut sometime next year.

Kingmakers

Kingmakers from developer Redemption Road (hopefully not mixed up with their previous game Road Redemption) is one of the few games I had heard about before watching this showcase, but the new trailer and information shared today helped me understand that while this is a chaotic sandbox, it’s also a lot more than that. On the surface, Kingmakers is a game about traveling back to medieval times and bringing modern weaponry and vehicles. It’s an open sandbox of large-scale battles where the player is the ultimate fighter. Firing a grenade launcher from castle walls into a swarm of oncoming knights sells itself.

Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

Beyond just its depiction as a game filled with chaotic violence and medieval turmoil, Kingmakers offers more depth than one might initially assume. In fact, it’s designed to host up to 10,000 NPC soldiers simultaneously, along with entirely destructible environments, an expansive open world, and the option to cruise around in a convertible. Given these features, I am genuinely intrigued to see how smoothly it can run. Apart from its massive real-time battles, players will have opportunities to raise their own armies, issue commands on the fly, construct fortresses, engage in cooperative gameplay with friends, and even partake in a full co-op campaign together. Kingmakers is set to debut in early access next year on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Hyper Light Breaker

The team behind the critically acclaimed game, Heart Machine, has officially set a launch date for their anticipated cooperative rogue-lite title, Hyper Light Breaker. Acting as a precursor to its predecessor, Hyper Light Drifter, Hyper Light Breaker challenges players to vanquish numerous bosses, known as Crowns, within the randomly generated landscape called the Overgrowth. As players defeat enemies and traverse the world, they will gradually uncover memories that piece together the truth about this world’s past.

Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

At this summer’s Game Fest, I got to play a sneak peek of Hyper Light Breaker and it skyrocketed onto my list of highly anticipated games. Traversing the vibrant Overgrowth, squaring off against a variety of adversaries and bosses, and enhancing skills and weaponry are merely the foundational elements that make Hyper Light Breaker an enjoyable adventure. Although the Summer Game Fest demo didn’t display multiplayer functionality, when Hyper Light Breaker debuts via Steam Early Access on January 14th, 2025, I can’t wait to delve into this world with a few friends by my side.

Stop-Motion Games: Feltopia & PBJ – The Musical

It’s amazing to think that this exhibition showcased two games made using stop-motion animation, isn’t it? Well, here we have Feltopia, a game developed by Wooly Games, who seem fittingly named for their creation. This game is an old-school arcade side-scroller, but with a twist – it’s all crafted from felt! Just considering the amount of work, time, and dedication required to create each individual character, or even entire landscapes, left me in awe after watching the trailer. The developers have already been working on Feltopia for a year, and they plan to release it sometime in 2026. That timeline seems quite ambitious indeed!

Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

It turns out there’s a fresh stop-motion animated game in the scene: “PBJ – The Musical” is an imaginative, musical game developed by Kamibox. Comedy musician Lorraine Bowen penned all the tunes for this peculiar game, which chronicles the heartbreaking love story between a peanut and a strawberry. It’s amazing how indie teams continually dream up extraordinary and captivating concepts in video game production.

Blue Prince

Initially, upon hearing “Blue Prince” at this showcase, I mistakenly jotted down “Blue Prints” in my notepad. However, it seems the resemblance might have been intentional. The term “Blue Prince” refers to a captivating, genre-bending, enigmatic architectural journey set in an atmospheric manor. You start by investigating various rooms within this peculiar mansion, which spans five rooms wide and nine rooms deep. However, the aim is to discover Room 46. Developer Dogubomb has been meticulously crafting this “puzzle-laden manor” for eight years, and it appears that next year will see one of the most distinctive games gracing our screens.

Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

The rooms in this game are always transforming and moving, but there’s also a strategy to unravel the enigma surrounding the Blue Prince. To fully understand it, you might need to play the game yourself. Interestingly, as you explore, you’re also constructing the very house you’re in. For a sneak peek of what’s to come, there’s currently a free demo accessible on Steam that could offer some insight. Fortunately, Blue Prince is slated for release on Steam in Spring 2025, so we won’t have to wait too much longer to dive into the mystery!

Shadow Drops: LOK Digital & Tankhead

From the Day of the Devs digital event showcase, two games were instantly playable, bypassing future release dates – these are LOK Digital and another unnamed title. LOK Digital is an intriguing word-search puzzle game, based on a physical book. The word “lok” is one of many enigmatic words in this fictional language, and deciphering its mysteries will aid the player’s advancement. What makes LOK Digital truly unique is the presence of small creatures that inhabit the puzzles. As you progress, these creatures’ civilization develops, starting with creating fire, farming, constructing skyscrapers, and ultimately venturing into space. LOK Digital seems to be brimming with secrets waiting to be uncovered, and if it piques your curiosity, you can start playing it today on Steam (with mobile device releases scheduled for next year).

Day of the Devs highlights: Celebrating indie games

The event concluded with the unveiling of Tankhead, a novel game by Alpha Channel developers. This sci-fi adventure places players in the role of a ‘sleepwalker,’ someone who transfers their consciousness into a small drone hovercraft. As this drone, players can explore a radioactive wasteland, complete missions, and engage in combat with rival machine factions vying for power in this harsh environment. Players can customize their drone and search for spare parts to repair damage. Tankhead appears quite promising due to its innovative world-building and engaging gameplay mechanics. If you find it intriguing, you’ll be glad to know that you can download Tankhead right now from the Epic Games Store.

Conclusion

In today’s Day of the Devs event, there were twelve intriguing indie games presented that I didn’t discuss in this piece due to its length. However, if you’re a fan of indie gaming, consider watching the entire presentation for a glimpse at what was left out.

Lastly, don’t forget to add these games to your ‘Want-to-Play’ list on Steam or Epic Games Store. This simple action demonstrates the enthusiasm and backing from the community for a smaller game, which is particularly significant in an unpredictable gaming industry.

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2024-12-12 12:02