Independent by design

#38: Here’s to the little guys

November 04, 2022

Well this is it. We’re now officially in Blockbuster Season.

A quick look at the ‘New Releases’ section of this newsletter over the last couple of weeks and next highlights just how much things have picked up. There’s a lot of big stuff landing at the moment - including a new God of War no less - and as always the end of the year promises to be an exciting time for gamers.

But let’s not forget the little guys in all the excitement, eh? Here at The Week in Games I like to celebrate all corners of the video game industry, so just as the blockbusters are rolling into town, this week we’re focusing on indie games! Specifically, six upcoming titles from around the world that you should definitely be keeping an eye on. You can click each game's title to be taken to their Steam page, where you'll find more information, screenshots and trailers for each!

As luck would have it, this week also marked the 10th anniversary of the wonderful Day of the Devs indie showcase, where a host of brilliant games were shown off. Rather than list everything shown in this already indie-packed issue, I'd recommend checking out this excellent round-up of all the games and trailers from Eurogamer.

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Planet of Lana (Spring 2023 - Xbox, PC)

Dev/Pub: Wishfully/Thunderful

Top of the ‘coming soon’ indie pile is Planet of Lana, a stunning 2D puzzle/platformer from Swedish studio Wishfully. Described as “a cinematic puzzle adventure framed by an epic sci-fi saga that stretches across centuries and galaxies” Planet of Lana is one of the most promising upcoming games of any size or genre.

It may be reminiscent of a few games - Limbo, Inside, Rime, and a few others - but it features a gorgeous style that is all its own, and a knack for combining both subtlety and scale in equal measure.

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NAIAD (2022 - PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, PC, Mac)

Dev/Pub: HiWarp

Arguably the most beautiful game in this list of beautiful games, NAIAD - from Spanish dev HiWarp - is labelled as “a relaxing, minimalist, and colourful exploration adventure”.

It’s utterly gorgeous, and the kind of subtly spectacular show-stopper that indie games are so consistently good at. It’s worth checking out the trailer for this one just to see its gloriously fluid aquatic movement in action.

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Voxel Tactics (TBA - PC)

Dev/Pub: Dot Dot Studio

Voxel Tactics is a modern take on the Strategy RPG genre by developers based in Sweden and the UK which features villages and quests equal parts Final Fantasy Tactics and Link to the Past.

Its condensed Minecraft-esque art style is a joy to behold, offering up environments that are comfortingly familiar yet beautifully unique. It’s another one that’s well worth seeing in motion, if only to fully appreciate the wonderful ways in which these miniature worlds and their inhabitants animate.

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Flynt Buckler Wakes the Sleepy Castle (TBA - PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, PC)

Dev/Pub: Sleepy Castle Studio

The Paper Mario influence may be obvious (and intended), but Flynt Buckler from two-person Montreal-based Sleepy Castle Studio is hardly devoid of its own personality.

This colourful RPG adventure where “a powerful curse brings storybooks to life” features wonderfully detailed environments, platforming elements and battles against enemies that looked plucked right out of Plants vs Zombies. The Kickstarter for this one is live right now!

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AKA (2022 - Switch, PC)

Dev/Pub: Cosmo Gatto/NEOWIZ

This gorgeous “small, open world game” from Vancouver-based developer Cosmo Gatto sees you explore and tend to environments, craft shelter, tools and clothes, and partake in various quests and mini games.

It looks like a Ghibli-infused version of Tunic, which I’m sure most would agree is a very lovely thing indeed.

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Somerville (Nov 15, 2022 - Xbox, PC)

Somerville - Out next week!

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If the fact Somerville is being built in collaboration with the ex-CEO and co-founder of Playdead (LIMBO, Inside) isn't enough to get you instantly excited about it, then the drip-feed of stunning concept art and mysterious trailers released by new studio Jumpship certainly should.

Very little is known about this one, but it looks spectacular, and if it inherits the twists ands turns present in Playdead's previous mini-masterpieces then the less we know about it the better. Fingers crossed for another stylish, unsettling and unforgettable adventure.

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I hope you enjoy the rest of the newsletter!

Take care everyone, Jeff

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THE WEEK IN GAMES

The best news, deals and gaming content of the week!

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  • I'm Too Young to Die

I'm Too Young to Die: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters 1992-2002 is the latest book from the brilliant Bitmap Books. The title is pretty self-explanatory, and Bitmap Books' track record means this should be another cracking addition to your video game book collection.

The book is available to pre-order now, and starts shipping from Nov 14, 2022.

  • Book4Games Retro Storage

An interesting new Kickstarter has launched this week that should be of interest to those with a decent collection of retro games. The Book4Games Precision Game Storage project that promises "stylish display storage solutions for retro-gamers and video game collectors."

The campaign is running until December 11, 2022. You can check it out here.

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All the major releases arriving this week and next!

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RECOMMENDED READS

Hand-picked gaming articles from around the web!

By Steven T. Wright - Gamespot

Retro gaming is bigger than ever, and so is the market for bootlegs. That's where these Redditors come in.

By James Bentley - Eurogamer

James Bentley of Eurogamer discusses Majora's Mask's Song of Healing, and how a few minor chords have a major effect.

By Chris Tapsell - Eurogamer

A hugely interesting deep dive into God of War Ragnarok's animation systems with the game's animation director Bruno Velazquez.

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…and that’s it for this week!

I really hope you enjoyed the issue. I’m always looking at ways to improve this newsletter, so if you have any comments, suggestions or enquiries, please reply to this email or catch me over on Twitter!

Thanks again, and see you next week!

Jeff