indie games

Finding Indie Games

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Since I do a weekly roundup of indie games I get excited about and have seen a couple people express frustration at discovering new stuff, I thought I would list all the ways I hear about new games. In no way is this meant to be the “best way” to find them, it’s just my current process. Hopefully you’ll discover a couple of neat things from it and add it to whatever you do to discover cool games. Please don’t get mad if I left your thing out, this was all off the top of my head and there’s way better uses of everyone’s time that being mad at a blog post. But if you do know of other neat things, please leave them in the comments so I can follow along too!

Every once in a while there’s discourse online about indie games coverage and how there’s not enough people talking about them on sites but there really are a lot of places putting in the work and covering them despite it often meaning that the page gets less views than if they were to talk about the big releases. So if you’re one of those people, actually support the places doing the work! Share their posts when they cover indie games on social media and discord channels and if you can afford to, give them money on ko-fi or patreon. They can’t keep covering these games if their articles and videos just go into a void.

Blogs

Blogs are still alive and well in 2023! Every morning I check my RSS feed reader to see what people have posted in the last day. It beats the hell out of constantly checking social media to make sure nothing has been missed too. I use Inoreader, which is a free online reader that tracks what I’ve read no matter what machine I use.

Bobbins’ Olde Tomb Of Videogames is a weekly indie game roundup with more of a focus on arcade games and remakes of retro stuff but it covers it all really. It’s incredible stuff and is what inspired me to pick up my regular blogging about indie games again after taking a break from it.

Indie Tsushin is a blog focused on indie games from Japan. It regularly posts about games I never heard of and also has a lot of great interviews with game developers. Lots of great videos by them playing these games too!

Podcasts

cover for indie mixtape podcast, showing a rainbow coming out of a mixtape

Indie Mixtape is a podcast where the host Ty and a guest discuss what indie games they’ve played lately. The episodes are about 30-60 minutes long and cover a variety of games. It was originally a part of the site Uppercut, which I dearly miss, but I’m glad that Ty is keeping the podcast going. It’s available wherever you download podcasts.

Party of One is a tabletop rpg podcast where the host Jeff and a guest sit down to play a tabletop rpg in one session. The show dumped Dungeons & Dragons a while ago for much better games and it’s truly the best place to discover indie ttrpgs. I can’t imagine people have time to listen to every episode, but consider looking through previous episodes and checking out the ones where the games sound interesting.

It’s also very likely that there’s a podcast or two for your favorite genre of games. Since I am an adventure game enjoyer, I’ve discovered a lot of great games through the Adventure Games Podcast over the years. The show highlights a lot of great indie point-and-click adventure games and interviews with the people who made them. I don’t really follow strategy games much anymore but Three Moves Ahead is a show that has been covering them regularly for over a decade now.

Social Media

Even after deleting my Twitter account, I still find social media to be a great place to hear about various games. There’s game devs across all the places I use (Mastodon/Bluesky/Instagram/Tumblr/Cohost) so it doesn’t feel like I’m missing anything by not using Twitter anymore. And if a dev is only posting on Twitter/X, which is now a far right hate fest, we’re probably better off not being aware of them anyway. Obviously your mileage may vary on this one since social media is incredibly exhausting and most people probably only have the capacity to be on one or two platforms.

One account I’ve enjoyed following is Indie Games of Cohost, which is an account that regularly posts about recently released indie games and interviews with game devs. I believe you can follow Cohost accounts using a RSS feed reader but I’m not completely sure about that so you’ll have to dig for that answer.

Discord has also been a place where I’ve heard about many games. Obviously it’s not for everyone and it’s barely even for me, but I’m in a few game dev communities for people local to me and this has been the only way I’ve heard about the games being made in my area. There’s plenty of general indie game focused discord channels too.

Indiepocalypse

cover of an issue of indiepocalypse with some animals playing a bord game in a forest

I’ve posted about it so many times now but Indiepocalypse has been a great way for me to discover games and developers I would never hear about at bigger games outlets. It’s a monthly compilation zine with 10 games per issue. Even if you cannot afford to buy any issues, the Itch pages for each issue list all the games and link to the developer pages. There is also a podcast called Indiepocalypse Radio where the host talks to different game devs every week.

Itch.io

Obviously an indie games store is going to be a way I hear about new games, but the best way I’ve discovered games through there has actually been by following lots of game devs and then regularly checking the feed. The feed will show me anytime a dev has published a new game, and it also shows me when they rate a game 5 stars or add a game to a collection. I can then check the collection to see what games are similar to it.

Video

Of course there are people on YouTube and Twitch that play indie games. I don’t follow as many as I should but two that I enjoy following are LotusLovesLotus on Twitch and Dirigitive on YouTube. Both are great folks that have introduced me to a lot of cool games and don’t have the stereotypical Twitch streamer energy where they yell a lot, which I am not into.

So that’s everything I do at the moment to discover new games, or at least what I can think of. Let me know of other neat outlets in the comments!

Indie Game Roundup (Dec. 8, 2023)

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Finally, the awards that people have been looking forward, the most interesting indie games releases and news this week, at least to me.

Wigglypaint
This delightful tool made in Decker, a Hypercard-inspired designer, lets you create drawings that remind me of the squigglevision in shows like Home Movies and Dr. Katz. I absolutely cannot draw but it’s so much for anyway that I don’t care.

my attempt at drawing Jim Walls, the designer of the Police Quest series

Indiepocalypse 47
A new Indiepocalypse is out, which means I am required by law to post about it. This issue is another great collection of games and I recommend the one commissioned for the issue, Touhou Lonely Lovely Bonfire by Lily Valeen, the designer of BOSSGAME.

Rosewater
Technically it came out last week but I forgot to post about it. A new trailer for Rosewater is out. It’s a western point-and-click adventure game coming out next year that I’ve been waiting for since last year and I think it looks great

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Digital Eclipse announced that the next game in their retrospective series will be focused on Jeff Minter and his games. I was a massive fan of their Karateka one and I love Jeff Minter games so this will probably end up being my 2024 game of the year. I absolutely cannot wait.

The University of Michigan/Eastern Michigan University Student Game Showcase
This is a bit more local but every semester the students in the game development programs at both schools do a showcase of their games. Yesterday was their latest and there’s another great batch of games to play so go check them out.

Adventure Games for Winter

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I was going to write a post recommending adventure games to play during winter but it looks like the Adventure Games Podcast has done a series of episodes doing just that and doing a much better job than I ever could have. I highly recommend the series, which is still going on, that recommends games based on regions. I’ll link to each episode below. Each page has a link to the podcast audio but also lists all the games mentioned and links to their pages.

Winter Odyssey: Journeys Through the Cold Part One – Arctic and Alaska

Winter Odyssey: Journeys Through the Cold Part Two – Canada

Winter Odyssey: Journeys Through the Cold Part Three – Scandinavia & Nordic Countries

Winter Odyssey: Journeys Through the Cold Part Four – Eastern Europe

Winter Odyssey: Journeys Through the Cold Part Five – USA

There’s only a couple of games I’d like to add to this list. It’s possible they’ll come up on the podcast too since the series isn’t done yet but I think they’re worth a mention.

Heroine’s Quest is an adventure rpg inspired by the Quest for Glory series and my favorite of all the ones that have come out since that series ended. Like Quest for Glory, you choose between one of three classes, with each class giving you different solutions to puzzles. The game also adds some survival mechanics since you are in a snowy climate, but these can be turned off with the difficulty slider. It’s a really nice game and best of all, it’s free. I’m glad that the Steam page basically has tip jar DLC though because it’s a really impressive and long game and I felt like I should give them some money while playing it.

Watch Over Christmas is a nice one to check out if you’re looking for something with a Christmas theme. It’s just a solid adventure game that’s family friendly and never felt too frustrating since it had some nice features like hotspot highlighting and the puzzles weren’t too difficult.

The Puzzle Agent series is a great one to check out if you’re looking for something focused entirely on puzzles, without the exploration elements. The games feature fantastic artwork by Graham Annable and a wide variety of puzzles that always felt fair to me. It’s unfortunate there aren’t more games in the series but at least Graham is still creating a lot of great art on social media and through his shop.

If you have a friend to play adventure games with, the We Were Here series is a nice choice. You and a friend must talk through walkie talkies as you work together to explore a frozen castle and solve puzzles. The first game is free and short so it’s a nice way to try this style of game out before buying more.

Indie Game Roundup (Dec. 1, 2023)

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Screenshot from Markus Ritter of two women talking in a hospital and dialog options below for a report about a murdered couple

It’s the first of December and this year is coming to an end. Hope it’s been going well for you all. There was some really exciting stuff this week.

Not indie game related, unless you count indie game soundtracks, but today is Bandcamp Friday so consider buying some music. Spotify really doesn’t pay anything and buying music (or at least use a streaming service that pays better royalties) is the only way they can really keep doing this for a living.

Going to the Store for Baby Formula at 6AM on Black Friday
Going to the Store for Baby Formula at 6AM on Black Friday is a good and very relatable Bitsy game for any parent.

The Lawnmower Man
In the early 90s it felt like the film adaptation of The Lawnmower Man had a video game on every single platform so it makes me happy that there is now one for PICO-8.

Annie May – Pixcrew
Rose has made a ton of great character creators and the newest one is worth your time too.

Markus Ritter – Ghosts of the Past
Markus Ritter – Ghosts of the Past is a FMV point-and-click adventure game described by the developers on the Steam page as “queer cheesy trash” and that is a 100% accurate description. Fortunately I am a goblin for FMV trash, especially ones inspired by Gabriel Knight 2, so this is absolutely for me. That said, it is EXTREMELY cheesy and might be too much for some people, so I would maybe recommend playing the free prequel game first to see if it’s your thing.

Madvent Calendar 4 – End of the Line
Since it’s December, we also have a new Madvent calendar from the HauntedPS1 community. Every year they release a free anthology of small horror games with a Playstation 1 aesthetic, with a new one unlocked each day. They’re really nice collections and it’s impressive that they manage to put together one of these every year and for free.

Retro Gaming Roundup (Nov. 27, 2023)

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A screenshot from The Realm, showing various cartoon fantasy folks standing in a room

Here’s a quick collection of retro gaming things that I found interesting this last week.

The 1997 MMO The Realm is back. It was originally published and run by Sierra and the rights have been sold to various companies since then. A new publisher has gained the rights and has launched the game again. The article goes into more detail about how the previous owner mismanaged the license and what the relaunch means for the game. I’ve never played it before but it makes me happy whenever I see a MMO that has kept going even after decades.

DOSember starts next month! DOScember is an event where streamers play tons of DOS games. It’s a fun way to watch people play classic games and the people involved are very lovely.

And to end with some self promotion, the next DOS Games Jam starts next month. Come join if you want to try making a game in a casual, unranked jam. Even if you have no interest in making a game, the page for the jam links to entries from previous jams if you want to discover some new DOS games.

Indie Game Roundup ( Nov. 24, 2023)

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screenshot from In Stars and Time showing the game's first person combat mode

It’s Itch.io’s Creators Day, where they aren’t taking a cut from sales today. I’ve put all my paid games in a little bundle you can pick up if you want some solo TTRPGs.

Shannon McMaster has a cool and free system-neutral guide to hex crawling in time dimensions for your tabletop rpg.

Misty has a great post on Cohost about all the games she enjoyed playing while judging for the Independent Games Festival.

Hand Eye Society’s Super FESTival is still going on. Check out all the great talks and indie games going on.

Goose has made a very good demake for the Game Boy of a game they previously made a decade before for a game jam.

James Chip has a new solo journaling game set in space. It’s based off their previous game The Adventurer and seems very cool.

The results of this year’s IFComp were just announced and as usual, it’s another great batch of interactive fiction games that are worth your time.

In Stars and Time looks like a very nice time loop rpg that’s now available on Steam.

There’s a new Indie Tsushin, highlighting indie games from Japan.

Tristam Island is now open source and released under a Creative Commons license. It seems like a great reference if you’re looking to build a text adventure game in PunyInform for retro platforms.

Hand Eye Society Super FESTival

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The Hand Eye Society Super FESTival, a free virtual festival celebrating the indie games community, is happening this week! There’s a lot of cool talks and games being highlighted along with a neat little virtual world to explore. Today I am on a panel at 6:30 PM ET about small press and anthology games but there’s a ton of other cool talks later this week like Julia Minamata doing an intro to Adventure Game Studio and Taylor McCue talking about creating bundles. Lots of great stuff so go check it out!

Indie Game Roundup (Nov. 17, 2023)

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This week was bananas so this is a rushed collection of stuff in indie games that I really liked. This week it’s mostly focused on adventure games, since that’s a genre I’m really into in general, but also just a lot of stuff happened this week.

screenshot from The Will of Arthur Flabbington where a man is telling a psychic "and that's why I need to contact my uncle."
Screenshot from The Will of Arthur Flabbington

The Will of Arthur Flabbington is now out! This is a point-and-click adventure that originally started as a jam game for the AdventureX jam. It got a Kickstarter funded to help turn it into a full game with voice acting and from the little I played of it, seems really neat!

Lake got some Christmas DLC. I really enjoyed playing Lake two years ago and found it was exactly what I needed during a very stressful time in my life. I know a Christmas themed DLC is not going to be for everyone but I’m looking forward to revisiting the game and I think I even have some nostalgia for holiday themed games and DLC just because of the time I spent playing stuff like Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare and Xmas Lemmings.

DOS Game Club just released an episode where they interview the nice folks over at Hadrosaurus Software. I really enjoyed their game The Aching and it’s nice seeing people making new DOS games getting some coverage.

This one is much more local, but the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University are doing a showcase of their student games on December 6 at 7pm in Ann Arbor. There’s always an incredible batch of games that come from both schools every semester so if you’re local, consider checking it out!

Excuse Me Sir is a demo for an upcoming horror game made by a bunch of cool folks. I really liked the 90s adventure game vibes it has and it’s really short and not frustrating at all, which was surprising since it’s very heavy on ways to die.

screenshot from Excuse Me Sir showing a surprised woman and her saying "Hey, who are you?" with the response options being "Can I use your phone?" and "Have you seen my brother? (Show flyer)"
Screenshot from Excuse Me Sir

Aura has a very good post on Cohost about all the games she enjoyed during the IGF judging process.

Inspector Waffles Early Days is a game on Kickstarter looking for funding to develop a physical version of a Game Boy game. I never played the original game, a point-and-click adventure for the PC, but I heard it’s very good and liked the Playdate game the developer made, which also got a physical release. I just think it’s fun seeing the Game Boy have a revival because of GB Studio and Analogue.

Midnight Margo is a new adventure game by some of the folks that worked on Whispers of a Machine, a point-and-click adventure that I really enjoyed. From the reactions I saw, the art style seems to be very divisive but I think it’s really neat. The game also seems to have some RPG elements and I think that will be a nice way to make the game stand out from others in the genre.

screenshot of Midnight Margo of a woman standing in a bar with other people
Screenshot from Midnight Margo

A demo was just released for Heir of the Dog. I believe it was originally a jam game or freeware? Anyway, I really liked the dev’s previous game Lucy Dreaming and it’s nice to see that we’ll be getting more games from them.

The Blathering Keep looks like a really fun free game by Danielle Riendeau. I haven’t played it yet but the art is really cute. I like the concept of a dungeon crawler where you’re attacked by corporate jargon, and I really like her writing elsewhere so I bet it’s a very funny game.

swanchime has a new Interactive Fiction game that looks beautiful. I haven’t played it yet but they’ve made a lot of fantastic games and zines so I’ll have to set aside some time for this one too.

Finally, earlier this week it was announced that Uppercut Crit will be going on hiatus. I was really sad to hear this because I thought it was a great place for games crit and lots of great indie game coverage. It sounds like the podcast Indie Mixtape will still be going on so be sure to follow that and consider supporting other outlets of independent games crit like No Escape, Kritiqal, Into the Spine, and all the other cool places I have listed in my Cool Site Zone.

Indie Game Roundup (Nov. 10, 2023)

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Screenshot from Roman Sands RE:Build showing people hanging out in a bar and the design having a Y2K aesthetic

Here’s some various bits of indie game news and releases that I found exciting this week.

A new version of Risk of Rain is out! I loved the original game and put so many hours into it. The sequel was well designed but wasn’t for me so it’s exciting to see this version revisited.

A new Indiepocalypse was also released. I will continue posting about this every time they’re released since every issue has cool games.

The Playdate is a very cool little thing and it’s nice we’re still getting regular updates showing off new games and other neat things.

Celestial Bodies is a new TTRPG looking for additional funding to make improvements and it looks like a nice space game.

Spritewrench has released a demo for Sunken Stones, a pirate-themed puzzle survivor-like with roguelike elements. I was a big fan of their previous game On the Peril of Parrots and think this is worth a look too.

As an occasional TTRPG designer, I’ll get a lot of ideas for games that I want to make but just don’t have the time for or ever figure out a way to make it, so it’s always really nice when someone make a game about something you’re thinking about, and probably much better than whatever I would have designed. Record Shop is a solo ttrpg about one of my favorite things, digging through the stacks of records at a record shop.

Gobliins 6 has been announced and I’m very excited.

A demo for Roman Sands RE:Build has been released and it looks incredible. I haven’t played it yet but I was a big Paratopic fan so I’ll have to make time for it soon.

Thirsty Suitors is out! This is one of the games I was most excited for this year and I will be buying it as soon as I can afford to. The reviews have been positive and I hope it does very well.

Indie Game Roundup (Nov. 3, 2023)

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Here’s a bunch of recent games I’ve enjoyed lately and other neat stuff

We got a new batch of Domino Club games! Domino Club is an anonymous collective of game developers creating games for jams for the last couple of years. Every jam provides a bunch of interesting experimental games and I recommend checking out the other jams too.

The Games for Gaza bundle is still going! Get a ton of great games and help some people out.

A new Click Or Treat bundle is out. I was lucky enough to be in the one last year with a bunch of great games and this one has a new batch of great games for the season.

Schloss der Wölfe is a short, free horror-themed World War II FPS by David Lindsey Pittman, who has made some great games like Neon Struct and Eldritch.

A new Choicebeat is out! Choicebeat is a free zine covering interactive fiction, adventure games, and other narrative focused games.

There is a new Super Rare Mixtape focused on indie horror games.

The new Indie Tsushin for October covers a bunch of indie games from Japan and features a lot of interviews as well.

karyogenesys is a short atmospheric walking sim with light puzzle elements with a style inspired by the first System Shock. It is now available for pre-order with a launch planned for early next year.

A Kickstarter has launched for the adventure game Brain Hotel: Remodeled. The game is designed by Mark Darin, who worked at Telltale and made indie adventure games like the Nick Bounty series