Forums

Topic: The Indie World presentation changed my view on Indie Games!

Posts 1 to 20 of 27

Clyde_Radcliffe

I must admit, as someone previously cynical about Indie games (I don't like rogue-like/metroidvanias and the NES clones were becoming tired) this presentation totally turned my view around! The creativity on display was fantastic. It takes me back to the Commodore 64 days when some of the biggest games were just made by ordinary Joe's.

I downloaded A Short Hike and the Hypnospace Outlaw demo. Bear and Breakfast and Garden Story look massively charming. Raji also looks intriguing (never played a game from an Indian developer) but I'll wait for reviews.

I'm now going to delve into the back catalogue of indie games more. What are your favourite Indie Switch games?

Edited on by Clyde_Radcliffe

Clyde_Radcliffe

OptometristLime

Tasuki wrote:

@Clyde_Radcliffe Ummmm River City Girls is not an Indy game.

It's not a triple A release either. There we've got some boundaries for this distraction.

For the OP: indie games are a rather strange phenomena in that they can have every bit of scope as some of the more grandiose titles. Some areas will not be big budget obviously and that can be part of the appeal when the developers opt for more creativity in graphics especially.

You are what you eat from your head to your feet.

ReaperMelia

There are a lot of great indie games on the Switch! I'll try to avoid ones that fit with the genres you said you don't like, but here are a few recommendations:

Stardew Valley - A fun farming simulator inspired by Harvest Moon. There's a lot to do, the cast of characters is fun and interesting, and it has co-op for up to four players! It's a fantastic game for short sessions.

Fast RMX - An F-Zero-style futuristic racing game. The controls are pretty easy to get down, but the tracks themselves are pretty challenging. The online is unfortunately dead as far as I know, but it's still a great game to pick up.

Marble it Up - A fun physics game where you control a marble and roll through various courses, avoiding obstacles to reach the end of each stage.

Wargroove - An Advance Wars-inspired tactical game with a fantasy setting. The pixel art is great and there's a ton of content between the campaign, custom levels, plenty of multiplayer maps, and a new co-op campaign as free DLC.

Torchlight II - I haven't played much of this one yet, but it's a fun RPG in the style of games like the Diablo series. Fight enemies, explore dungeons, and gather all the loot to make your character as strong as possible. The sequel was revealed during the Indie World presentation, but it's unfinished (still in Early Access on Steam) and reviews for it are mixed. From what I've played, Torchlight II is a solid game.

Cuphead - A challenging boss-rush game with a fantastic old-school cartoon artstyle and sound design. It's a true test of skills, but a ton of fun!

"Little by little. Each day as it comes. That's how we should live."

shazbot

@Clyde_Radcliffe I also loved the direct, and though I wasn't against indies per se, I tend to be indifferent.

That said, really enjoyed the direct, and picked up A Short Hike, Lonely Mountains Downhill after and really enjoying them both.

shazbot

Magonigal

@Clyde_Radcliffe

There are some amazing indie games on the Switch. I would definitely recommend Cadence of Hyrule, Untitled Goose Game (two-player coming soon), Lonely Mountains Downhill (very addictive and satisfying to play), Golf Story, Hollow Knight, Ori & The Blind Forest and Cuphead

Magonigal

BenAV

Tasuki wrote:

It was made by Wayforward I wouldn't call them an Indie company.

They are though.

BenAV

Switch Friend Code: SW-4616-9069-4695 | 3DS Friend Code: 3652-0548-9579 | Nintendo Network ID: Ben_AV | Twitter:

jump

@Magonigal Cadence of Hyrule is amazing, one of my favourite games on the Switch. I really need to grab the DLC but I'm waiting on finish some other games first.

Nicolai wrote:

Alright, I gotta stop getting into arguments with jump. Someone remind me next time.

Switch Friend Code: SW-8051-9575-2812 | 3DS Friend Code: 1762-3772-0251

BenAV

The presentation was great but honestly that's just what I've come to expect. The indie presentations are always great to me. They can't rely on fancy graphics to sell games like some of the big third party studios so they have to focus more on things like art style, gameplay mechanics, etc. I think it results in a lot more interesting and creative titles that you tend to see from the bigger companies.

BenAV

Switch Friend Code: SW-4616-9069-4695 | 3DS Friend Code: 3652-0548-9579 | Nintendo Network ID: Ben_AV | Twitter:

FeDoR1988

BenAV wrote:

The presentation was great but honestly that's just what I've come to expect. The indie presentations are always great to me. They can't rely on fancy graphics to sell games like some of the big third party studios so they have to focus more on things like art style, gameplay mechanics, etc. I think it results in a lot more interesting and creative titles that you tend to see from the bigger companies.

+1 there are games from not so reputable companies that are real jewels, the story or playability is what is important in a game and many companies forget about it boasting of graphics worked with a poor script.

Edited on by FeDoR1988

FeDoR1988

Magonigal

Yeah I think that indie games are often more innovative than big budget games. I also think that Sony and Microsoft could learn from Nintendo in that they generally promote games with actual gameplay. There's probably more gameplay in this presentation than either of the PS5/Xbox Series X shows

Magonigal

Magician

I reiterate it all the time. AAA gaming is full of sequels, $60 roster updates, and reused/recycled gaming concepts and tropes. If you want a more unique experience, then you need to pay closer attention to indie games. The flip side to that statement unfortunately is that it feels as though every other indie game is a roguelike or roguelite.

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Blooper987

@Clyde_Radcliffe it really depends on the genre you want

Platformer: A Hat In Time, Celeste, Levelhead, Mutant Mudds, Shovel Knight, Shantae

Puzzle: Minit, Murder By Numbers

RPG: Golf Story, Undertale, Wargroove, SteamWorld Quest, Underhero

Simulation: Untitled Goose Game, Stardew Valley, Forager

Sports: Pool Panic, SpiritSphere, Lonely Mountains

Other: TowerFall, Pikuniku, Just Shapes & Beats, Enter The Gungeon, Cuphead

My personal favorite recommendations would be: A Hat In Time, Enter The Gungeon, Just Shapes & Beats, Lonely Mountains, & Murder By Numbers

...

Switch Friend Code: SW-0772-1845-0995

RR529

BenAV wrote:

Tasuki wrote:

It was made by Wayforward I wouldn't call them an Indie company.

They are though.

Wayforward exists in a sort of in between space, IMO (clearly not even "AA", but not really truly "Indie" either). Not that it's really an official term, but I like to call them an "A" class developer.

Like an Indie they clearly work with small budgets & can't secure large scale physical publishing on their own, but unlike an Indie they're very well established (they've been around about 20 years), are very prolific (recently it seems they've been averaging about 3 games a year?), and have a good enough reputation to score a large amount of licensed deals (just off the top of my head they've worked with the Alien, Bakugan, Contra, Double Dragon, Ducktales, Hotel Transylvania, Mummy, & River City franchises over the years, though I know the quality on these can be mixed).

I'd put Inti Creates in a similar space as well.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

jump

Depends on your definition of indie. Wayforward have a small team, self release etc which is very much indie but every now and then a bigger publisher like Konami, Capcom, Activision etc will hire them which isn't indie.

I'd still them call indie mainly as the games I like from them are from their indie side.

Edited on by jump

Nicolai wrote:

Alright, I gotta stop getting into arguments with jump. Someone remind me next time.

Switch Friend Code: SW-8051-9575-2812 | 3DS Friend Code: 1762-3772-0251

Ralizah

What is or isn't an indie can be pretty fuzzy and complicated. You get bigger budget games from 'indie' developers and big publishers who push out little games developed by small teams. Ultimately, it's just a label: games are games.

@Clyde_Radcliffe There's a ton of innovation coming from the indie side of the industry.

Absolutely look into:

  • Cuphead
  • Hotline Miami
  • Stardew Valley
  • Undertale
  • The Witness

edit: How did I miss Hollow Knight? The game is amazing.

Also, the Shantae games are mostly fantastic. The original GBC one is being ported to Switch soon, so it's a good place to start.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

Glitchling78

I like indies as they’re usually low priced and often fill niches that aren’t covered in big budget games.

Stardew Valley is the most played game on my Switch, over 300 hours and I feel like I’m not done with it yet. It takes between 50-60hrs for the main “story” but there’s so much side stuff. Loosely it’s a farming sim with other elements. I can see how it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea as it’s fairly slow paced. The music is fantastic, the world is colourful and well designed and the characters are distinct and enjoyable to be around. Except Clint.

Other indies I’ve enjoyed:
Hollow Knight - Quite hard metroidvania, beautiful world and atmosphere. Satisfying combat.
Steamworld Dig - An easier metroidvania focused on digging for resources.
Hyper Light Drifter - Atmospheric top-down action/exploration game. Fast paced combat, gorgeous world. Quite melancholic.
Freedom Planet - 2D platformer heavily inspired by the classic Sonic games. Really fun to play, challenging bosses. Awful story but you can skip it in classic mode.
Gris - Short, surreal, arty 2D game. Pretty much a walking simulator, no risk but there are some puzzles. Gorgeous audio/visuals. Get on sale as expensive for its length.

As for indies considered must-haves that I didn’t actually enjoy but you might:
Celeste - Hard platformer about depression. I found both it’s story and gameplay tedious.
Shovel Knight - 8-bit inspired platformer. Charming writing but I found the gameplay clunky and music grating.
Golf Story - Colourful, charming golf game. Couldn’t get to grips with gameplay. I may change my mind on this, I’ve only spent a few hours with it.

Glitchling78

Krull

For those into chewier games, requiring a bit of thought:

Into the Breach - brilliant bite-size strategy game, which requires you to tackle it like a puzzle game. Absolutely one of my favourite indies on Switch
Toki Tori 2+ - hard as nails puzzle-platformer. You are a super cute bird that can stamp and whistle and... that’s about it. Yet just those two mechanics - which you get from the outset - combine for a fiendish adventure
Return of the Obra Dinn - puzzle game from the brilliant Lucas Pope. It’s basically been dubbed murder sudoku
CrossCode - Legend of Zelda meets Secret of Mana. Puzzles, action and RPG, all rolled into one
Human Resource Machine - fabulous coding-based puzzle game. It’ll make you smarter
Cosmic Star Heroine - OK, this is the least demanding game - it’s basically a love letter to 16-bit RPGs - but it’s got a really crunchy combat system that makes every battle interesting (especially on Heroine difficult and above)

Edited on by Krull

Switch ID: 5948-6652-1589
3DS ID: 2492-5142-7789

Please login or sign up to reply to this topic