Tag: Indie - Page 4
News Super Rare's First Published Game, Grapple Dog, Comes Out Soon
He's a good boy
In January 2022, the physical game publisher Super Rare Games announced that they would be spinning up their own digital publisher, "Super Rare Originals", with five upcoming games to announce. In February 2022, their first game, Grapple Dog, will release on the Nintendo Switch eShop and Steam. Grapple Dog is an appealingly...
News About An Elf Brings Punching Clowns, Talking Cats, And Marble Collections To Switch Soon
Surreal Switch surprise
Were you feeling a little woeful about the somewhat-sparse February 2022 game lineup? Then wrap your face around this: About An Elf is a surreal, "point-and-click-ish, rpg-ish, visual-novel-ish game" that's due out in February, and it's... well, it's a lot of things. We're not sure what any of them are, of course. It's like...
News Little Orpheus Is A Side-Scrolling Adventure Inspired By Flash Gordon, Coming Soon
He'll save every one of us!
Originally released in 2020 as an Apple Arcade exclusive, Little Orpheus is the latest game from award-winning developers The Chinese Room — whose name you might recognise from their previous releases, Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone To The Rapture. Now, it's coming to PC and consoles on March 1st, 2022. Little...
News Ad-Riddled 'Unpacking' Clone Doing Big Business On Mobile Devices
Pack it in
Update: Unpacking Master has also now been removed from the Google Play store, meaning it's no longer available there or on iOS, great news for Witch Beam and good work everyone who got in there and lodged a complaint! Indie developer Witch Beam's Unpacking was one of the surprise gaming hits of 2021, at once a relaxing zen-like...
News "Indie Masterpiece" Platformer 'Horace' Gets Physical Release
Does it come with a real Horace? No. That's not a thing.
You know Horace, right? The platformer with the honour of being one of the very few non-Mario/Zelda games we've ever given a 10/10 to? Well, you should. It's very good. It's about to get even better for collectors, as Super Rare Games have just announced that they'll be publishing the...
News Reality-Hopping Puzzle-Platformer 'What Lies In The Multiverse' Comes To Switch This March
This "multiverse" is so hot right now
Comedy dimension-shifting puzzle-platformer What Lies In The Multiverse has a release date: March 4th, 2022, across all platforms. What Lies in the Multiverse is a game about worlds turned inside out. Harness the power of parallel universes to alter reality in mid-air, turning pitfalls into bridges, walls into...
News Gorgeous Hand-Painted Graphic Novel 'End Of Lines' Comes To Switch This Year
Painterly post-apocalypse
From the developers of 2018's Seers Isle and 2020's Across The Grooves comes a brand-new game about a future after climate change gets past the point of no return. Told as an interactive graphic novel, End of Lines follows a family at the end of the 21st century, as the player tries to help them to manage their supplies in...
News Super Rare Launches Publishing Label, 'Super Rare Originals', With Five New Games
A new indie publisher enters the fray
Super Rare Games has just announced that they will be starting up their very own in-house digital publishing label, Super Rare Originals, to sit alongside their existing physical game publishing business. "Super Rare Games is historically best known for our line-up of physical Switch games, which we release one...
News Songs Of Glimmerwick Is The Next Game From The Makers of Eastshade
It's a kind of magic
For no reason in particular (ahem), a lot of us have been searching for a new world of magic over these past few years. Luckily for us, there's Witchbrook, and Wytchwood, and Ikenfell, and no shortage of other learn-how-to-do-witchcraft games; now, from the creators of gorgeous painting game Eastshade, there's Songs of...
Exclusive Moonstone Island Is An Utterly Charming Deckbuilder With Retro Zelda Vibes
Check out this new trailer!
Disclosure notice: In the time since the publication of this article, Nintendo Life staffer Kate Gray has contributed writing to Moonstone Island. She has had no involvement in our coverage since joining the project, and we won't be reviewing the game. Take the farming and house decorating of Stardew Valley, the dungeon...
News 'Summertime Madness' Is A Painterly Puzzle Game Coming To Switch Later This Month
Save Monet with a pre-order discount
In 1945, an artist made a deal with the devil. But, as devil-deals generally do, it went wrong — and the painter became trapped inside his own painting. He needed to escape before midnight... or his soul would be trapped forever. That's the mysterious pitch for Summertime Madness, a puzzle game with gorgeous...
News This New Bomb Rush Cyberfunk Trailer Might Be TOO Funky, Watch With Caution
How many times can we say "funk" in one article? You might be surprised
A modern sequel to Dreamcast's Jet Set Radio may never truly exist, but the radical funktastic torch is borne on by Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, which channels early-2000s vibes with its skatefunk-graffiti-punk, or a new genre we're going to affectionately call "funkpunk". The new...
News Crumble Is A Fast-Paced Platformer Where You Have To Lick Everything
Grappling... tongue?
One of the things that COVID has cruelly taken away from us is our choice — nay, our right — to be able to lick everything in sight. Apparently that's "unhygienic" and "not a great idea in general" now. How we miss the old days of lathering our saliva indiscriminately on lampposts and shop windows. Sigh. Solo developer...
Round Up Every Game Featured In Japan's Indie World Showcase - December 2021
Including some exclusive announcements
Whenever Nintendo hosts a special presentation, it normally does one for Japan and one for fans in the West. The latest Indie World showcase was no different - with Nintendo uploading a very different video in its homeland. If you didn't happen to catch it live, there's no need to worry as we've rounded up all...
Round Up Every Switch Game Announced In Nintendo's Indie World Showcase - December 2021
Every game featured in the latest Nindie showcase
Nintendo's latest Indie World Showcase for December 2021 has come and gone, with the broadcast featuring a clutch of indie games old and new confirmed to be coming to a Nintendo Switch near you. In this handy recap guide we've collected ever single game from the December 2021 'Nindie' presentation...
News Let's Play! Oink Games Brings Four Beloved Tabletop Games To Switch Today
Pig it up right now!
Oink Games is a Japanese tabletop game studio that you might have seen, if you're into the scene — their small, neon-coloured boxes are easy to bring to parties, or trains, or other people's houses. The company has created a myriad of games in their trademark style, but now four of their most popular games are going virtual on...
News Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery Brings Its Ghibli-esque Animated Story To Switch In 2022
For the more refined palette
Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery, other than being a mouthful of a title, is a beautifully-animated, short-but-sweet tale about painting, cats, and memory. Previously, the Taiwan-made game was only available on PC and mobile, but now it's coming to console, with a Switch release scheduled for Spring 2022. Its...
News Indie Darling Chicory: A Colorful Tale Is On The Switch, Right Now
From the makers of Wandersong!
When Chicory: A Colorful Tale came out on June 10th this year, it quickly garnered a lot of attention and accolades for its story, its art, and its music. You play as Pizza (or, well, whatever your favourite food is — that's the main character's name) who gains control of a magical paintbrush in a world that's lost...
News Chrono Trigger-Inspired RPG 'Sea Of Stars' Sets Sail On Switch Holiday 2022
From the makers of The Messenger
It's been a while since we've heard from Sabotage Studio about its upcoming retro-flavoured turn-based RPG Sea of Stars — in fact, we spoke to the developers and saw a remote demo of the game way back in March 2020. The game looked absolutely lovely even back then, and it seems it has only got lovelier in many...
News 'A Little To The Left' Brings Wholesome Organisation To Nintendo Switch In 2022
A little to the right
Some people are content to let chaos rule their lives, and that's fine. But for people like us — people who want their pens to be in rainbow order, and their pencils organised by length — the world can be frustrating. So many things at imperfect angles! Too many illogically-designed items of furniture! But A Little To The...
News Indie Hit 'Unpacking' Sold Over 100k Units In Just 10 Days
"Thank you for joining us on this journey"
One of the biggest indie releases this year is Unpacking - if you haven't heard about it, then go and read our review. We praised the game awarding it nine out of ten stars. Right, done? Witch Beam Games - the Australian-based developer behind this title - has revealed its latest release sold over 100k...
News Sci-Fi Turn-Based Strategy Nova-111 Comes To Switch In January
Stellar nova
A combination of turn-based strategy, real-time strategy, and a sort of 2D puzzle platformer-ish spaceship game, Nova-111 originally came out on the Wii U, which means a lot of you might have missed out on it. But we gave it a 9/10, don'tcha know! Luckily for you, you'll be able to weave your way through space-obstacles on the Nintendo...
News Yurukill Is A Squid Game-Like Visual Novel-Shmup Coming To Switch Next Year
Yurukill or Yuru be killed
From the makers of cult-classic shmup Kokuga and the author of the Kakegurui manga comes Yurukill: The Calumniation Games, the latest game to tap into the "people murdering each other to stay alive" genre that also includes Squid Game, Danganronpa, and Hunger Games. Yurukill, to use its shorter and easier-to-spell name,...
News Astroneer Gets January Release Date, And Finally Adds Cute Animals To The Game
Switch: The Final Frontier
Astroneer is a brilliant little base-building space exploration game with literal hidden depths, as you explore the network of procedurally-generated caves beneath your base, and harvest minerals with your handy terraforming gun. Once you've managed to settle your home planet, it's time to build a rocket and blast off to...
News Spiritfarer's Final Free Update Is Also Its Largest Update Yet
Two new characters on a new island!
Spiritfarer, the charming cosy game about ferrying spirits to the afterlife, is getting its final update this month — and it's going to be the biggest one. According to the creative director, Nicolas Guérin, the team have "saved the best for last", describing the update as "a lovely curtain call for Spiritfarer...
News Spelunky-like 'Caveblazers' Is Getting A Physical Edition
Blazers? In a cave? That's a little overdressed
Caveblazers, the Yogscast-published Spelunky-like roguelike with Celeste-like pixel art, will be getting a limited physical release of 4,000 copies, in partnership with Super Rare Games. If you've ever read an article about physical versions of Switch games, you'll know what comes next: The cartridge...
News Lacuna Is A Noir Detective Game Hoping To Reinvent The Point-And-Click Genre
WASD-and-click
What is it about "noir detective" and "pixel art" that makes them go together so well? Between Backbone, The Darkside Detective, and Unavowed, it's getting to be quite a beefy genre-within-a-genre. Now, to add to that pile, is Lacuna: A "sci-fi noir", which promises a number of features hoping to improve on a few of the...
News Combat-Free Fantasy Adventure 'Omno' Is Finally Coming To Switch
Omno? Omyes!
Omno is a game about a little onion-shaped adventurer travelling around an "ancient world of wonders" on an epic quest to discover... something. That something includes frogs, giants, crabs, and plenty of puzzle-platforming. And, rather impressively, it's a one-man project, with German developer Jonas Manke at the helm (and, er, all the...
News '90s Puzzle Platformer 'Time Loader' Will Bring The Past To The Switch In The Future
(next year, that is)
VHS tapes! SNES controllers! Affordable homes! Yes, the '90s were a great time, but they are dead. Long dead. We can relive them through video games, though. Time Loader has been out for a couple of weeks on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store, but now it's also heading to PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch next year...
News Riot Forge Nintendo Switch Showcase Airing Later Today
"get a look at some upcoming indie games"
Riot Forge and Nintendo's Indie World team appear to be uniting to promote a special showcase that'll be taking place today. As you might recall, Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story is out tomorrow on Nintendo Switch - so it's expected to be on display. Apart from this, we might see Ruined King: A...
Random Unpacking's 14,000 Audio Files Make For One Hell Of A Polished Game
*clunk* *schwif* *bang*
Earlier this week, a zen game about unpacking, which is unsurprisingly called Unpacking, launched on Nintendo Switch. Since then, it's been getting a lot of attention, both for its players who don't know what GameCubes are, and for the stunning amount of detail within the isometric pixel art game. The latest detail to go...
News Skeletal Avenger Is A Roguelite 'Head-Chucking' Dungeon Crawler Coming To Switch
Cranial combat
Get this: You're a skeleton, and you're on a quest for revenge. Oh, and also: Your main weapon is your own skull. Sounds fun? Well, it's the pitch for Skeletal Avenger, a hack-and-slash roguelike coming to the Nintendo Switch this Thursday, the 4th of November. If you're a roguelike dungeon crawler fan — because that genre...
News This Wholesome, Zen Pixel Art Game Is All About Unpacking
Little boxes, all the same
Moving houses sucks. That sounds like the start of a thoughtful haiku that's all about change, but it's not, it's just a fact of life: having to pack up your belongings, your clothes, and your plants, and fit them all into a series of cardboard boxes — which you never seem to have enough of — and then truck everything...
And if it doesn't get there, he'll just "never release it"
Stardew Valley creator, Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, last week revealed his new game, the Haunted Chocolatier. Although a PC release is the only system he's "100% certain about", he still has "every intention" of bringing it to other major platforms as well. So, when can we expect this new...
News Lo-Fi Horror 'Mundaun' Is Getting Physical Edition
Goats! Bees! Murder!
Some of us spend Halloween hiding in the living room with the lights off, scarfing down candy in the dark. Others spend Halloween watching the kind of movies that make them unable to sleep for days. Well, to the latter group, we say: come get your Mundaun, you spooky weirdos! In partnership with Super Rare Games, Mundaun is now...
News Mutazione Is Getting Free 'Penpal' Story DLC
XOXO, Mutant Girl
To celebrate two years of Mutazione, the tranquil narrative game that's all about tending to relationships, unearthing personal drama, and nurturing a garden full of music on an island full of mutants, developer Die Gute Fabrik has announced the release of a free story DLC for all players. The DLC, called "Penpal", is out now as...
News Toby Fox Speaks About Deltarune, Shows Off Concept Art In Interview With Nintendo Japan
"Imagine a professional dog in a beret"
Deltarune Chapter 2 is out right now on Switch, totally free. It's from the same creator that made Undertale — in fact, the title itself is an anagram of Undertale — and to celebrate the release, Nintendo Japan secured an interview with Toby Fox himself. A massive disclaimer here: there are large parts of...
News Digimon, Eat Your Heart Out: Monster-Fusing RPG Cassette Beasts Is Coming To Switch
Erase and rewind
Pixel art game fans, still thy heart: Cassette Beasts is coming to you from a team who've worked on Starbound, Wargroove, and Stardew Valley. Pokémon and Digimon fans, still thy heart as well, because Cassette Beasts is all about catching, training, collecting and fusing monsters together to create unique, powerful creatures to...
News Play A Cat Detective In Inspector Waffles, Out Now
Meowder most meowl
We've had bird detectives in Aviary Attorney, aliigator detectives in Later Alligator, mouse detectives in Basil The Great Mouse Detective, and now, cat detectives in Inspector Waffles. Is there something sinister going on in the animal kingdom that would require all these creatures to need investigators? We'll try not to worry...
News Cozy Grove Free Autumn Update Adds Pet Cats, Interior Design, And A Photo Mode
Also lots of quality-of-life updates!
Cozy Grove brought Animal Crossing-like wholesomeness to the Nintendo Switch earlier this year, but we were slightly underwhelmed — the game was missing a lot of vitality and the kind of content that keeps you coming back, day after day. It looks like that's set to change with developer Spry Fox's new Autumn...
News Tomb-Raiding Pixel Art Game 'Pathway' Is Getting A Physical Edition
Punch Nazis!
Nazis, tomb raiding, treasure-finding and guns. Is there a more beloved combination? Pathway draws on the Indiana Jones vibes, but retooled as a tactics game with a pixel art aesthetic. It's gorgeous. Now, the physical edition has been excavated from that big warehouse that was in the Indiana Jones movie with the Ark of the Covenant,...
News Coffee Talk Episode 2 Is Headed For Switch Next Year
Starbucks, but the bucks are deer
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterflies was announced during the Indie Houses Direct in August, but we've now got official confirmation that it's coming to the Nintendo Switch (as well as other consoles) in 2022! Following on from the first episode, which combined barista-core gameplay with a lightly...
News Noir Cyberpunk Point-And-Click 'The Sundew' Comes To Nintendo Switch Next Week
Cyberpunky Island
If the tagline of this article didn't give it away, The Sundew — a game made by a one-woman developer team — combines the old-school point-and-click stylings of The Curse of Monkey Island with the cyberpunk noir of Blade Runner. Instead of playing as Rickbrush Threepdeckard, or whatever unholy monster protagonist those two...
News Konami Competition Tasks Indie Devs With Reviving Its Classic IP
Konami will fund and publish the winner's creation
Konami is currently hosting a Japanese indie game contest (in cooperation with Shueisha Game Creators Camp), asking small team developers to create action and shooting games based on its classic IP. The winner scores 2 million yen (about $18,000 USD) and will be given the opportunity to...
News PS1-Style Horror Tartarus Key Coming To Switch In 2022
From the team who brought Aviary Attorney to the Switch
Alex Young is trapped in a mysterious mansion, with no idea how she got there, or how to get out — and also, everything looks like a PS1 game. If you miss the old-school style of horror games, you'll likely be intrigued by this one, which is filled with puzzles, traps, and secrets to discover...
News 'Dandy Ace' Looks Like Hades X Persona, And It's Out On Switch Today
Plus new DLC!
Listen, we know there are quite a few roguelites on the market these days, but for fans of the genre, it's never enough. Give us a gimmick and a fresh art style, and we'll eagerly try them all. Dandy Ace is the latest isometric action-adventure deckbuilding roguelite, in which you'll play as Ace, a magician trapped in a mirror...
News Escape A Twisted Tower With Platforming In Aspire: Ina's Tale, Out This December
"Ina was trapped for a reason..."
Games very rarely let you play as the princess: the one who's trapped, kidnapped, and powerless, waiting for some guy to come and save her. But in Aspire: Ina's Tale, that's exactly who you are: the girl who was placed under a spell of perpetual sleep in a tower, and who needs to make her own escape. The tower is...
News Blossom Tales Sequel To Be Published By Playtonic Next Year
Zelda X Chrono Trigger X Princess Bride
Playtonic — the folks behind Yooka-Laylee — just announced their publishing arm, Playtonic Friends, and now they're announcing their next title: Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince, a sequel to the original Zelda-inspired adventure game by Castle Pixel. "Think A Link to the Past meets Princes
News Side-Scrolling Platformer Lumione Looks Like Underwater Ori
Coming this October
Made by a team of university graduates with an average age of 23, Lumione is a impressive platformer that serves as the debut game for Glimmer Studio. With obvious inspiration from other hard-as-nails platformers like Ori and the Blind Forest and Celeste, Lumione takes the genre in a different direction: underwater. "The...
News Wizard School RPG Ikenfell Is Getting A Physical Edition
Wait 'til my father hears about this, Potter
If you enjoyed Harry Potter, but wish that you could play something more LGBTQ+-friendly, then Ikenfell might scratch that particular itch: set in a world where magic-users must attend a school to harness and control their abilities, but where something powerful is on the loose, Ikenfell is all about how...
