We’ve reached a bit of a cooling off period in the game release calendar this year, as studios are working desperately to ship out their projects in September and October before the kaiju that is Grand Theft Auto VI comes to swallow the video game industry whole in November. While you’re chugging away at the fantastic Pokopia: Bubbly Basin DLC or getting your butt kicked in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, consider grabbing or wishlisting these promising indie games that you definitely haven’t heard of!
1. Servant of the Lake
The newest in the series of the highly acclaimed but lesser known Rusty Lake series, this adventure puzzle game puts players in control of the waitstaff at the infamous Vanderboom house in the 1800s. This point-and-click game features surreal puzzles, a dark story to unravel about the family, and enjoy solving daily simple tasks while trying to get the scoop on the estate’s sordid history. If you’re looking for something mechanically simple but narratively intriguing to relax a bit, Servant of the Lake is a great pick and out now!
Steam Page | Itch.io Store | iOS App Store | Google Play Store
2. Duskfade
Despite drawing more than a few comparisons to Kingdom Hearts through its visual style and animations, Duskfade is a love letter to a variety of classic 3D action platformers like Rachet and Clank, Banjo-Kazooie, and Jak and Daxter. Zirian and Cuckoo (which admittedly would not have been a catchy title) set out to rescue Zirian’s lost sister from the evil Clock Tower that has cast eternal night upon the kingdom. This fast-paced game makes good use of colorful enemies and environments – perfect for anyone looking for some high-intensity spurts of action for short sessions. Duskfade is available now!
Steam Page | Nintendo eShop | PlayStation Store | Xbox Store
3. Royalty Free-For-All
Looking for a way to experience all of your favorite public domain franchises at once? Welcome to Royalty Free-For-All ! This Super Smash Bros.-like brawler features a roster including Mother Goose, Sir Lancelot, Oliver Twist, and even the original version of Piglet from the Winnie The Pooh children’s books! This is a perfect low-cost party game to knock around your friends and release your frustrations! Agghhhh! Royalty Free-For-All is out now on Steam.
4. Twisted Tower
Welcome to Twisted Tower, a hybrid first-person shooter/immersive sim that takes you to a terrifying world the developers describe as “Bioshock meets Disney World.” Use a wide variety of guns to unload on the possessed animatronic animals that have taken control of the theme park, including boss battles with corrupted fairy tale mascots that you know… and used to love. Plus, it’s from the developers of the excellent underrated indie gem Neversong. If you’re looking for a short but content-rich shooter and think Five Nights at Freddy’s just ain’t scary enough, check out Twisted Tower when it hits Steam August 18.
5. Spiritstead
To round out our list, our mandatory (as mandated by me) cozy game! Spiritstead is one I’ve been personally looking forward to, where players will build out a magical village and care for its citizens. You’ll be assisted by cute spirits that certainly are not Pokémon to incrementally build out a village in this semi-idle game. Meet your citizens’ needs, pair them with friendly spirits, and chill out for a short but sweet five-hour campaign at a reasonable price. Spiritstead is an easy recommend for fans of Stardew Valley, and is out now on Steam.
Honorable Mention: Big Walk
It’s pretty unlikely you haven’t heard of Big Walk, the new co-op puzzle game from the creators of Untitled Goose Game. Since it’s gotten a lot of marketing and word-of-mouth, I won’t spend space on it in this list, but we heartily recommend you check out our 9/10 review, grab a friend or two, and then give it a go! It’s one of the best games of the year.
Did we miss a favorite of yours? Let us know in the comments below!
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