I love me some indie games. I don’t love it to the detriment of other games, but I love seeing the ingenuity many indie developers show in their games. From Undertale to Party Hard to Salt & Sanctuary, there are many indie games that I have enjoyed.
So why not write about it?
I’ll be posting a weekly bit where I highlight three new or up-and-coming indie games I have seen and am intrigued by. The games I highlight are, obviously, based on what catches my eye. If there are some games I have missed that I should take a look at, let me know.
Clumsy Moose Season
Developer: Enrick Lambert
Platform: PC, Mac
Release Date: March 2, 2016
Available via: Steam Early Access
I mean, how do I describe this game accurately?
This game is like if Happy Wheels had a nasty threesome with Super Meat Boy and Broforce and somehow produced a child. Clumsy Moose Season, available from Steam Early Access, is the kind of game that the Problem Child in me wants right now! You take a blank area, craft whatever you want on it, then have people bike, drive, run, jump, or shoot their way through it. And, of course, there are oodles of obstacles, traps, and structures in their way.
I mean, seriously, the inner Problem Child in me is not just craving this game; it’s practically threatening to stuff M-80s in toilets to make it happen!
Planet Coaster
Developer: Frontier Developments
Platform: PC
Release Date: N/A
Available via: Planet Coaster Website
One of my favorite games on PC is Frontier’s Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. I still jump in and tend to my park on it whenever I feel like doing something other than racing cars, punching people in the face, or cleaving demons. So, of course, I would gravitate to this game.
Made by the same developers as Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Planet Coaster is the kind of game that sings to me. You build a theme park on an empty space, adding rides, roller coasters, and other attractions as you see fit. It has tons of content already, and it’s not even finished!
It’s only in alpha right now, but if you pre-order the game, you get to play around with it as it evolves. I hate pre-orders like vegans hate Carl’s Jr., but if you are into this type of game, the £19.99 ($29.23 for people stateside, €26.23 in the Euro region) you spend will entertain you like you would not believe!
Lil Big Invasion
Developer: Andreas Britten
Platform: PC
Release Date: N/A
Available via: Steam Greenlight
Despite the dreck that inhabits Steam Greenlight, there are good projects there. I found Lil Big Invasion while sifting through the Steam Greenlight page and it’s charming. Basically, all you do is guide fireflies through dungeons and lead them to the exit. Along the way, you dodge or outsmart glowing flowers, spiders, and winds. You have to keep your character’s light charged via recharging stations to keep the fireflies with you.
The game is simplistic in presentation, and is an obvious mobile port. But I think it shows some promise. If the more obvious mobile cues, like instructions to swipe, were replaced with PC-centric instructions, I think it could turn out to be a pretty good game. There is a downloadable demo for the PC on its Greenlight page, so give it a try.
