Indie games are starting to get good... real good. Like really, really, really good. As in, I might just have more hopeful and hyped up indie games than I do AAA ones. I know that's not real news coming from some people, but I'm a guy whose stood up for AAA in these comparison battles before, expressed concern in indie gaming's lack of open environments and inputs, and I hate fads of indie games like rogue-likes about as much as I do AAA fads (which aren't as heavily at this very moment, while indies arguably still are). Its not that I hate indies, not by a longshot. However I just take them in moderately and rarely find a strong attachment to any. So having me say Indies are looking absolutely stunning right now is a true compliment from me. There might just be more than I could possibly keep up with now. Its kind of because... well I'm seeing the indie tropes come around more in my direction. I've always heard they were all about either "nostalgia trips" taking you back to games that publishers don't want to touch, or they were about creativity and stumbling into new areas where previous publishers weren't now. Now I'm seeing that as well as my prediction coming true where you get more diverse and interesting games based on the more people getting in and doing their own thing.
For a first example, lets take a look at something I just discovered today. Check out the trailer for Stories: The Hidden Path. Done? Okay lets review for a quick second. It has:
- Airships... to the point where they decide this was worth narration and space inside of its less than one minute trailer. Its just one of those worlds as well where everything is set around the skies, and has this thrilling sense of high fantasy adventure with that sky-land style I've always loved but rarely see used.
- A swashbuckling Fox protagonist, obviously named after the folk hero (or villain, dude was quite twisted) Reynard.
- The chance to have a side-kick who may be equally as clever (or just a quirky trouble maker)
- Charming writing that isn't afraid to use "goofball" in its vocabulary... seriously its just refreshing to hear someone other than myself use that word.
- Multi-path branching story direction under a game that is made like an action RPG
- Fairytale type fantasy world, with the story telling already showing a promising set-up.
- Colorful use of such a great world, with this beautiful cell shaded artstyle. Actually looking at the concept art, its combination of colors, and its setting mix and remind me a lot of something like what I'd see in a Flight graphic novel.
- A Swashbuckling fo- oh, I already went over this.
Speaking of which, that's yet another glorious game still to be released. Moon Hunters is still coming out sometime, hopefully it'll still make a good PS4/Vita debute sometime early next year. Its finally a game that develops its mythological side seriously, and casts you as a myth hero out to write your story by your actions and the way various tribes perceive you. Then as you live and have had a full journey, you retire and start again as a new hero while being able to notice the legacy of the last guy. This along with various other elements, like the randomness of select events and level pieces, make for an amazing and replayable mythological themed RPG experience unlike any I've heard of before... yet its such a simple concept considering we've had high fantasy RPGs for nearly as long as gaming itself. Same could be said about the basic concept of rogue swashbuckling heroes, its a great classic story niche yet so very few games have ever bothered to capture with it. Well inides have it down now, and its just a matter of time before other areas are covered like that. Steampunk RTS, Cardgame FPS hybrids, sci-fi tank themed shooters, etc. They'll happen at some point, and somebody out there will fist pump in the air and think "Yes!"
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| Beautiful! |
Until then I'm looking fondly at Retro blazer's awesome capture of Saturday morning cartoons with 90's style shooter gameplay (if its still happening, the game isn't confirmed cancelled, but seems to have gone dark). I'll be happily awaiting to see if No Man's Sky is really an epic space exploration game. I'll be expecting a day when I can play and adore Strafe on a solid PC. I'm excited to go blissfully exploring in Rime. Oh and of course, how can I not mention Yooka-laylee, the spiritual successor to one of the best 3D platformers out there! Heck I believe there's a couple 3D platformers coming up. Oh and sometime or another, we know Serious Sam 4 is coming. I'm also quite curious about how TGC's next game after Journey will be.
Yup, there's a lot of good waiting to happy from indies that could easily appeal in my direction. That's not to discredit AAA as being stuck or anything. I'm absolutely ecstatic about Doom, Dishonored 2, MGS5 (SO CLOSE!), Horizon, and Ratchet & Clank. Then there's a new Tomb Raider, Uncharted 4, Devil's 3rd, StarFox Zero, and Yoshi's Yarn that I may easily look into under the right price or conditions. I've also got a friend whose really into Mirror's Edge, and I've got to say Catalyst does seem like an interesting game that I may also look into. Its just an amazing time to be a gamer, and I'm glad to see indies offering a ton of content in a direction I'd take up more easily, and a wave of AAA games that don't seem as dull as they were getting from last gen. There's just a lot going on, and I'm very excited to see what comes out across the rest of the year and next.
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| All those stars shining so bright! |
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