We’ve officially made it halfway through the year, folks! While things aren’t looking great for the AAA gaming industry, there is an absolute avalanche of indie games coming this month that hopefully don’t fly under the radar. This month in particular was hard to curate, so we’re hoping no one leaves this article without at least one new addition to their wishlist!
1. Denshattack!
Jet Set Radio – But You’re a Bus
If there’s one game on this list you’ve heard of, it’s probably Spanish developer Undercoders’ flashy arcade game Denshattack! In this high-octane 3D platformer, you will control a train as you blast through a near-future cyber Japan on vividly colored multi-rail courses. Just one more run for the high score! Fight off rival cyberpunk gangs, take down the big corporation, and top the leaderboards. The demo earlier this year was a smash hit, so make sure to grab this Tony Hawk-inspired jam when it drops on July 15.
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2. Foghorns Drown
Retro Silent Hill
Finland’s Studio Laaya, creators of the well-received hidden gem Abrasion, are back with a new retro-style horror game. Inspired by Twin Peaks and Silent Hill, Foghorns Drown sets players in the shoes of a ferryman in a remote village of the Pacific Northwest. This short and sweet psychological thriller features a full physics engine to solve puzzles, retro graphics hearkening back to the PSX, a deep narrative with plenty of weird characters to meet, and horror that unfolds as you attempt to solve the murder that plagues this small rural town.
3. Hell Maiden
Vampire Survivors, but way more kawaii
Whether you want to call the burgeoning genre survivor-likes, bullet heaven, or auto-shooters, the newest entry in the batch certainly stands out. Portuguese indie studio AstralDrift, best known for their well-received Little Goody Two Shoes, is back with a brand new attack! This cute anime re-imagining of The Divine Comedy (aka Dante’s Inferno) combines survivors structure with deck-building setup and action gameplay. Much like Hades before it, Hell Maiden has players fighting their way out of hell with a variety of spells and weapons. It launches into Early Access on July 16th on Steam!
4. Celestial Return
Disco Elysium meets Citizen Sleeper
The next in the wave of Disco Elysium-inspired games, following certified GameObserver 9/10 Esoteric Ebb, Celestial Return is a cyberpunk-noir genre mashup RPG where dice rolls determine your success in dialogue. Your senses will be inundated with jazz, heavy metal, and techno sounds as you navigate the Akira-inspired world of Netherveil City and attempt to unravel the city’s mysteries and maybe take down a few megacorps in the process. The moral decay system means that all of your choices have lasting consequences, so beware! The debut Kickstarted title from Turkish indie studio Metaphor Games rolls onto Steam on July 14.
5. Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?!
For Lovers of Absurdism and Anime
You know I love to save the insane ones for last. From the masters of absurdism at American indie legends Strange Scaffold (Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator, I Am Your Beast, and El Paso, Elsewhere) comes the newest fever dream that will grip the nation. I know there’s already another arcade vehicle driving game on this list, but just HOLD ON! This one is different! Your character, a truck driver, runs over the newly-appointed VP of marketing on her way to her boring corporate job. She awakens in a fantasy anime world, soul-bonded to the truck, and orders you to complete racing objectives, do chores around town, isekai other people into trucks, all to defeat the evil Skeleton King once and for all! This parody is a love letter to the wacky world of isekai anime, so ditch your Sword Art Online figurines and jump in on July 29!
Did we miss any hot indie games on your radar this month? Let us know in the comments!
