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[daydream]

The voting last year was super fun. Loved how everyone cooperated on the presentation. I must have edited my voting list about 1000 times, haha.

 

[More_Badass]

The voting last year was super fun. Loved how everyone cooperated on the presentation. I must have edited my voting list about 1000 times, haha.

Ha, same here. I played way more games this year too. Like last year, I only really got into indies around June, aka when I was pestering you guys for recommendations for like a month.

Narrowing it down to 20 is going to be tough.

 

[Toma]

The voting last year was super fun. Loved how everyone cooperated on the presentation. I must have edited my voting list about 1000 times, haha.

Yup, definitely fun, but still a monstrous task, just going through 600 games from these threads alone and countless games we forgot to list.

Hopefully, there will also be some time to catch up on a few highlights we might have missed throughout the year. Going by some reactions here, I really need to play This War of Mine for example.

 

[PandaPedinte]

The voting last year was super fun. Loved how everyone cooperated on the presentation. I must have edited my voting list about 1000 times, haha.

It's going to be hard to choose the games. >.>

 

[Toma]

OP impressions:

Lost in Paradise:

Adventure game, that uses environmental puzzles and classic puzzles (sliding puzzles etc). Its a port from a mobile game and the simple real life photography graphics really don't hold up well on the big screen. There are some adorable moments though, when a stop motion wave rolls over the static scenery for example. Unfortunately, I didn't find any of the puzzles interesting enough to keep playing it despite its visual drawbacks.

Luminoso:

This game on the other hand is very good and kept me hooked last night. Its a puzzle game about guiding, combining and dividing light sources to fulfill the corresponding level goal. If you like these type of games, you already probably know by looking at the screenshot what this game will throw you into. Where this becomes really tricky, and felt pretty unique to me, was in the ability to combine multiple sources of light to make a new color and take those apart again, which opened up a mechanic I havent seen in these type of games before in which the beams of light usually only cross each other. Simple graphic design, but very good level design. Recommended and also available on Android.

Nothing good can come out of this:

Very, very simple local multiplayer game along the design concepts of Nidhogg, Towerfall and other similar games. Not really anything special if you have some of the other MP games lying around.

Pall:

Similar to Luminoso, you need to prepare a level layout to guide an element trough to a goal. It has more different level elements, which should make it more complex. However, the game turns out quite a bit easier than Luminoso as the level design usually gives huge hints to the solution. Luminoso also has a very elegant simplicity to its design, which it uses to its fullest potential, while Pall just seems to throw things at each other to see what sticks. Pall isnt a bad game by any means, and the mechanic angle of throwing a ball with different properties, shattering level elements etc is really interesting in itself, but Luminoso is the superior puzzle game overall in my opinion.

>----------< Highly Recommended >----------<
Environmental Station Alpha
Luminoso
hets

>----------< Recommended >----------<
Baezult
Here and there along the echo
Color
Pall

>----------< Decent-ish >----------<
Autocraft
Computer, open that door!
Arktrail
Lost in Paradise
Fluid Perspectives
Nothing good can come out of this
Chipset-0

>----------< Bleh >----------<

 

[TwistedSyn]

It's Official! Distance is coming to steam early access on December 9th.

New Trailer

 

[Phawx]

I really picked the absolute worst time to upgrade my computer.

 

[Toma]

I really picked the absolute worst time to upgrade my computer.

Hm, why?

 

[Phawx]

Hm, why?

I took on more than I can chew and now because I'm upgrading my computer, I'm hamstrung before I can capture again.

 

[Gogo_ZvC]

Prismata - Free-to-play (PC, browser)

http://blog.prismata.net/

Prismata is an easy-to-learn, fast-paced hybrid strategy game that borrows familiar elements from real-time strategy games, collectible card games, and tabletop strategy games, combining them in a radical new way. Think "turn-based StarCraft", but without a map. Or, think of Hearthstone with workers and build orders instead of decks.

Don't know if you guys and gals remember Prismata, posted about it a couple of months ago. The game is in Alpha and a developer is currently streaming gameplay if anyone is interested: http://www.twitch.tv/lunarchstudios

Kripparrian was recently in a Prismata tournament and did a video on how to play: http://youtu.be/nmkMcrDJo64

The studio announced a Kickstarter a couple of days ago to help fund graphic and design changes. There's way more information about the game on the blog and Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lunarchstudios/prismata-a-new-hybrid-game-of-pure-strategy

 

[Moobabe]

The Marvellous Miss Take is 50% off in the Steam sale

 

[Wok]

Student entries in this year's IGF are known:
http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2015_student.php

 

[More_Badass]

Student entries in this year's IGF are known:
http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2015_student.php

Some really cool entries

All Is Dust - Free (PC)

http://allisdust.com/

All is Dust is a horror game about overcoming guilt in the American Dust Bowl; set in rural Oklahoma during the height of the 1930s. The player must use their vision and their wits to protect themselves from the dangers of the fields all while coming to terms with their life and the mistakes they&#8217;ve made along the way.

A Promised Sword - ????

http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entry2015.php?id=7649

A Promised Sword is a 2.5D side-scrolling adventure game set in ancient China. Players will journey across Chinese painting-esque landscapes and fight their way through numerous enemies as a legendary but world-weary fighter known as "the Artist", while trying to fulfil a childhood promise bound to an ancient sword.

Boss - ????

http://gamecenter.nyu.edu/projects/boss/

Boss is a game about the interactions between a player and a hostile, blinded enemy.
The player has stumbled into an abandoned, underground ruin populated with crumbling walls and dormant sentry robots. Without any other tools or powers at her disposal, the player must draw the attention of a large, mechanical monster that guards the mine by making sounds and directing its violence towards her obstacles. Boss is about the sometimes fine line between enemy and friend, and about forcing the player to balance their own safety against their need to escape.

Dash - 2015

http://www.dash-game.com/

Your task is simple yet challenging: complete the martial trials set by the gods themselves by dashing through your enemies. Master the art of flight as you explore distant lands on your journey to restore prestige to your fallen master's school.

It Takes Two - Free (PC)

http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/epiphany/

It Takes Two is a co-op puzzle platformer for 2 players. It is a journey about two characters tied together with a rope. Whether they want to compete or cooperate, they have to complete the journey together.

X-Terminator - Free (Browser)

http://barnabyrw.com/games/x-terminator/game/index.html

X-Terminator is a fast twin stick swarmer, a nails hard top down shooter that incorporates elements of modern arcade style games with its own novel weapon system.
As a pest exterminator you traverse the bizarre everchanging hotel on the hill, a building that simply refuses to adhere to the laws of our physical reality and probably violates some construction codes and standards as well.

 

[Moobabe]

A whole mess of stuff is on sale - bunch of indie stuff too

 

[Toma]

This War of mine is really good and eerily well executed, but I am kinda surprised about the hype to be honest. It doesnt seem all that much different in concept to most Zombie Survival Management games, aside from the stealth angle maybe.

Anyone played more than 3-4 hours here and may be able to chime in whether the game adds more to the formula or something?

As I said, it is good, but not all that groundbreaking, and I am a bit surprised people are jumping so much on it.

 

[More_Badass]

This War of mine is really good and eerily well executed, but I am kinda surprised about the hype to be honest. It doesnt seem all that much different in concept to most Zombie Survival Management games, aside from the stealth angle maybe.

Anyone played more than 3-4 hours here and may be able to chime in whether the game adds more to the formula or something?

As I said, it is good, but not all that groundbreaking, and I am a bit surprised people are jumping so much on it.

I've played 9 hours and honestly, it'll probably be my favorite game of 2014.

I really enjoy bleak fiction. The Road, 1984, Blood Meridian, Stake Land, etc. There's something about a struggle to survival and to continue on against near hopeless odds that is really compelling and appealing. I found that TWoM approached moral choices far more effectively than any other game I've played, made its NPCs feel sympathetic and actually made me pause and hesitant before being violent

I have no qualms about massacring towns in Fallout or committing bad choices in Mass Effect, but I felt TWoM imbued your decisions and actions with weight and meaning

I came to care for my group. In games like State of Decay and similar games, characters were merely stats and luggage containers, only really mattered due to their skills IMO. But here, I really wanted to keep my group safe and healthy and motivated. The little touches like seeing them sit and read or console each other added a sense of life.

The game doesn't add anything new to the formula, but I feel it's just so effective and polished and intense.

 

[Toma]

The game doesn't add anything new to the formula, but I feel it's just so effective and polished and intense.

It is! As I said, it is really good and it does some things really well. One thing I am very annoyed by is the missing level randomization for such a game. I restarted the game 3 times to try some mechanics, and you will always live in the same building, and every level that opens up has exactly the same basic structure. The first time I tried to cross between two buildings, saw a sniper defending that area and needed to come up with a way to dispose of him first was interesting and tense. The second time it was just standard procedure. Replayability would have been a huge factor for me, and is the reason why FTL and other roguelike-style games are so revered.

Other than that I can't see any major faults with the game, but its still a game that tries to push heavy moral choices without them meaning much. There was this house with 2 old people living together, I robbed them clean, they told me that they would die without their medicine. My characters felt bad for a single day and then decided to not care anymore. The game designers did incorporate small touches as consequences though. The next time I raided their house, the elder couple was probably already dead as there were nowhere to be found, but no problems with my members conscience once they figured out that the coupe they stole the meds from now died because of that.

Also, you are right in that the characters don't feel like storage containers, because they do express their issues that you need to consider and take care of. However, the individualization didn't really work out. For most of the game, I use characters interchangeably, because they are only differentiated by inventory space and the specialization which might or might not matter all that much. One girl I had was good with bargaining, so I always sent her to the door to bargain, but other than that I more or less treated her as a clone of the others. Hunger? Get one piece of food. Tired? Go to bed. Not Tired, sick or wounded? Your turn to go scavenge tonight. It probably would have helped if those characters had deeper specialization so you actually lose something when one character dies. They start out with specializations but they never improve and if you lose one, you might just wait until the next survivor joins you. I never felt like this about my characters: "You have one character who made twice as nutricious food as the others? Well shit, that is really fucking important, so lets make sure he does not die. He died? Shiiiiiit." Missed opportunity there.

That being said, for its polish, theme, execution and well mixed gameplay mechanics from different genres, this game deserves to be on any GOTY list this year. I am not doubting in any way that this game is great, and I probably agree with anything positive said about the game. Maybe this game just stands out so much, because 2014 was generally a rather shitty game of video game release (Indies always do well though) in regard to what the mass market is aware of.

 

[Moobabe]

Project Tigra isn't very good.. full update on that when I do another voting post

Doing a quick update for Toma Bot for stuff to be included for next month (I hope)

The Deer God - PC

Steam page

The Deer God is a breathtaking 3D pixel art adventure that will challenge your religion and your platforming skills.
It's a game about survival, reincarnation, and karma; all set in a breathtaking and unique 3D pixelized world.

I know we've had this posted already - but it's out in like two days.

Neocolonialism - PC

Steam Link

You are a banker. You want to extract as much wealth from the world as possible--or, at least, more than everyone else. You will manipulate the global economy in order to siphon money into your secret Swiss bank account. Whoever has the most Swiss money in 12 turns wins the game.

Lumino City - PC

Steam Page

Sequel to the award-winning game Lume, Lumino City begins where that game left off. Begin by exploring the city, and using your ingenuity piece together all sorts of puzzling mechanisms to help the people who live in its unique world. Discover gardens in the sky, towers marooned high on an immense waterwheel, and houses dug precariously into cliffs. To create the environment, a ten foot high model city was built by hand and by laser cutter, with each motor and light wired up individually, bringing the scenes to luminous life.

REVERSE SIDE - PC

Steam Page

As Gregory Klimov, you will be in danger form the cold of outer space. Every breath of oxygen is precious. Every task is fraught with danger. The distraught crew of Orbit are in hiding under its surface. You must find any resources to build equipment. You must adapt, improvise and keep your wits as you try to survive this horror.

The Old City: Leviathan - PC

Steam Page

The Old City: Leviathan is an experiment in first person exploration that focuses entirely on story. Everything else is secondary

1Quest - PC

Steam Page

1Quest is a roguelike, a challenging turn based RPG with high replay value

Satellite Reign - PC

Steam Page

Satellite Reign is a real-time, class-based strategy game. You control a team of four agents, each with distinct and unique abilities, collectively battling for control of a simulated, living cyberpunk city.

I think all (most) of these are out over the next week or so, so I hope they comply with Tomabot's code.

 

[More_Badass]

All the Steam links are broken

Very hyped for Satellite Reign. Gritty cyberpunk thriller/action is one of my favorite genres

 

[Moobabe]

All the Steam links are broken

Very hyped for Satellite Reign. Gritty cyberpunk thriller/action is one of my favorite genres

Thanks man - I'll fix them now

 

[Funky Functionality]

Neocolonialism is the kind of game that could turn our world upside down.

Replayability would have been a huge factor for me, and is the reason why FTL and other roguelike-style games are so revered.

Speak of the devil. I lost my original FTL save nearly a year ago, which destroyed my motivation to start from scratch again. Today, I've just surpassed where I was before in terms of ships/achievements, and in many fewer attempts. Got its hooks in me again.

If any of you have yet to give FTL a shot, it's 50% off for the next few days. $5. Worth far, far more. Especially if you're in the "losing is fun" camp.

 

[More_Badass]

I have awakened from my turkey-induced coma (and the annoying clean-up that followed, the bane of hosting Thanksgiving at your place) to bring some (shorter-than-usual) impressions

hets
A really addictive and stylish roguelite action shooter. Progress through rooms filled with increasing amount of deadly enemies, as you jump, dodge, and kill everything to open the gate to the next level. The shooting feels really forceful and satisfying, and I liked the varied power-ups that granted you a bullet shield, personal turret, multi-shot, and more. It has a Broforce + Risk of Rain vibe, with a cool abstract art style and atmosphere

Styx: Master of Shadows
Game took me by surprise. I really enjoy the stealth genre, but the game wasn't on my radar at all until I read impressions here on GAF. Styx could teach Assassin's Creed a few things, with its open level design, vertical acrobatic stealth, RPG elements, and great art design. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy stealth games

Autocraft
Simply put, Autocraft is everything I had wanted Crashtastic to be. There's already a nice amount of content, between the numerous challenge levels, Sandbox, and numerous parts. The building interface is simple and easy to use. You quickly amass a wide variety of parts, from wheels, thrusters, and boosters to guns, stabilizer wings, and balloons. The physics are great and the crashes are always entertaining thanks to the debris and your tumbling ragdoll astronaut. The planetary level design and low poly art style gives the game a cool visual aesthetic and allows for interesting challenges, such as controlling your descent through an asteroid field. The game even has more advanced parts such as Kerbal Space Program-style separators, allowing you to build multi-stage vehicles

Environmental Station Alpha
Really solid metroidvania. After the demo, I'm eager to play more. Diverse areas, precision-heavy platforming and shooting, the usual upgrades to find through exploration. The pixel art is colorful and it's just a fun well-made game.

Heart & Slash
Been playing this game since the early alphas so it's nice to see it developing nicely. More enemies, new weapons and parts, new locations, betters visuals. It's a rogue-ish beat-em-up with a focus on combos, evasion, and using your gear to overcome waves of enemies. The weapons and equipment is really varied: everything from boxing gloves and daggers to swords and hammers, shotguns and powerful revolvers to railguns, double-jump boots, time-stopping chest pieces, kinetic shields, and more.

Metrocide
Really need to play more of this, but I enjoyed what I've played so far. Cool cyberpunk setting, unforgiving stealth, nice emergent moments from the varied AI and their routines. I did find it could be hard to keep track of things onscreen due to the color palette and zoomed out camera, but overall, it's a game I want to sink more time into

Cubot
Played this on IOS. Nothing groundbreaking, but I thought it was a fun puzzle game. Basically you need to move different-colored cubes so they reach same colored tiles. However each color has a different attribute (moving two spaces, moving in the opposite direction of other cubes) and there are various obstacles such as teleporters, moving platforms, and more.

Tribal & Error
Impressions soon

---

1) hets
2) Styx: Master of Shadows
3) Autocraft
4) Environmental Station Alpha -
5) Heart & Slash -
6) Metrocide
7) Cubot
8) Tribal & Error

 

[Toma]

Cubot
Played this on IOS. Nothing groundbreaking, but I thought it was a fun puzzle game. Basically you need to move different-colored cubes so they reach same colored tiles. However each color has a different attribute (moving two spaces, moving in the opposite direction of other cubes) and there are various obstacles such as teleporters, moving platforms, and more.

Definitely try Luminoso as this months puzzle game.

 

[Moobabe]

There's still time to play more! HURRY EVERYONE!!!

 

[PandaPedinte]

There's still time to play more! HURRY EVERYONE!!!

I need to play tons of games. >.>

 

[Toma]

I need to play tons of games. >.>

Now dont exaggerate. Its only like 60 games per month.

Btw, I just advised a girl pregnant from a rapist on what to do. (Impressions soonish)

 

[Toma]

OP impressions:

Pixel Heroes:

RPG Lite with random encounters. The overall game structure works surprisingly well for how simple it actually is. Get quest, search dungeon and fight enemies and encounter random events on the way. The events do a good job at making the game feel less repetetive, but the actual combat IS rather simple. Its a game I wouldnt mind spending 30 minutes on, but after that having basically only 3 characters with 2-4 moves each becomes a bit too limited. However, I do need to praise the loot randomization. The loot collecting worked quite well so far, but I assume that might become a bit repetetive eventually as well, since most effects on items are only related to status effects. Good game, might play more on mobile, missing a bit depth as a pc game, but still lighthearted fun.

Pregnancy:

A game about discussing pregnancy and abortion with a girl pregnant from her rapist. Its something I wanted to try since last month, and considering the Desura comments I really was interested how the game approached the topic. Quite a few people absolutely HATE this game due to a) considering it a rape fantasy or b) that there is absolutely no choice about all of this and she needs to abort. Its a short game and it has some obvious flaws, like weird exposition and some language issues, but it is rather smart and made me feel uncomfortable when I started to think about my own position. Why am I suggesting her something? Because this is what mainly I think based on my moral beliefs or because I try to consider what might be best for her situation? How uncomfortable does it make me feel that I am a byproduct of her rape? The game opens up a debate about the different arguments and actually gets people up in arms about it. It hits a nerve, and for that I applaud it. The game also does a very good job at staying unbiased and the way the game treats the end is very, very intelligent considering the topic.
It is short, artsy, only consists of some sounds and dialogue choices, but we need more games tackling difficult topics, so this gets a thumbs up from me for the concept. It needs better writing, a more fleshed out and believable progression and I am not sure if I can say its worth $2 for others considering it as you can get most of the experience by reading some pro-life / pro-choice arguments and discussing it with others, but I am glad such games exist.

Project Tigra

Very simplistic platformer with awkward animations and boring level design. Not much content either and I cant see much promise here. Not recommended.

Return of the Obra Dinn

Wow. I don't want to spoil too much, but make it a priority to try this early version of a murder mystery until the end of the month. I cant remember seeing this gameplay mechanic ever before and I cant wait for the full version. Its also made by the Papers, Please dev apparently. The current version of the game still has no proper gameplay and it merely edges you along its indicated story, but with some actual puzzle elements and interesting level progression, this could end up being an absolutely fantastic experience. Oh and the unique art style is just amazingly well pulled off too, especially in motion.

Legend of Light

Very entertaining puzzle platformer, not only about tilting he level gravity, but also rearranging level elements in relation to each other. These games can be hit or miss, but this one seems to be more of a hit, because of the coherent graphical design and actually interesting puzzles. Definitely worth a look.

>----------< Highly Recommended >----------<
Return of the Obra Dinn
Environmental Station Alpha
Luminoso
hets

>----------< Recommended >----------<
Baezult
Here and there along the echo
Legend of Light
Color
Pixel Heroes
Pall
Pregnancy

>----------< Decent-ish >----------<
Autocraft
Computer, open that door!
Arktrail
Lost in Paradise
Fluid Perspectives
Nothing good can come out of this
Chipset-0

>----------< Not recommended >----------<
Project Tigra

 

[Toma]

Did anyone else play "Rituals"? It looks incredibly interesting and reminds me a lot of an Alice's Wonderland approach to world design, but I can't make heads or tails from this game. Controls work, but how do you progress? Is it just about finding ways to slip into other peoples minds? I couldnt figure out how to do that right in the actual first scene. I didnt try it for long, but if someone played more than I did, I'd love some more elaborate thoughts on it as it really looks interesting.

Other games I still want to try on sunday before I put up my voting this month:
Totem's Sound
UnReal World
Tribal & Error

Anybody played these?

 

[PandaPedinte]

Now dont exaggerate. Its only like 60 games per month.

Phew, next thread you should put 150 games on the OP.

 

[Toma]

Phew, next thread you should put 150 games on the OP.

Well the next thread is going to be the december thread, but right after that one, I'll put up the 2014 voting thread, which will likely contain 200-300 games you havent played just from our Best Of _month_ lists =p

 

[daydream]

Return of the Obra Dinn

Yeah, I went through the recent version, as well, and I completely agree. Pope is a remarkable talent, one of the biggest we got at the moment, I'm convinced. This joins titles like Night in the Woods as games I look forward to the most for next year.

 

[PandaPedinte]

Elliot Quest - $9.99 (Win, Mac, Lin)

Site

Elliot Quest is an adventure/RPG where players explore the mysterious Urele island in search of an ancient demon. With 5 dungeons to conquer, 16 bosses to defeat, and countless treasures to discover and hidden areas. Well-balanced gameplay easy to pick up but challenging to master.

It's going to be on my GOTY list.

 

[Toma]

Speaking of time wasters, I gifted myself my christmas present prematurely:
Rocksmith and and an e-guitar. Curious how far I get with that as I was planning to learn guitar for ages now. Probably gonna do some youtube tutorials and whatnot on top too.

Elliot Quest - $9.99 (Win, Mac, Lin)


It's going to be on my GOTY list.

Kinda sad to see that even a game with such a quality cant get over 50 posts in its dedicated thread. Not sure why, but it seems like the general interest in Indies decreased a lot during the past year on GAF (aside from heavy hitters like This War of Mine).

 

[Phawx]

Speaking of time wasters, I gifted myself my christmas present prematurely:
Rocksmith and and an e-guitar. Curious how far I get with that as I was planning to learn guitar for ages now. Probably gonna do some youtube tutorials and whatnot on top too.



Kinda sad to see that even a game with such a quality cant get over 50 posts in its dedicated thread. Not sure why, but it seems like the general interest in Indies decreased a lot during the past year on GAF (aside from heavy hitters like This War of Mine).

That is rather upsetting. I'll be back to posting impressions of stuff soon. Finally all squared away on the new computer front.

 

[More_Badass]

Speaking of time wasters, I gifted myself my christmas present prematurely:
Rocksmith and and an e-guitar. Curious how far I get with that as I was planning to learn guitar for ages now. Probably gonna do some youtube tutorials and whatnot on top too.



Kinda sad to see that even a game with such a quality cant get over 50 posts in its dedicated thread. Not sure why, but it seems like the general interest in Indies decreased a lot during the past year on GAF (aside from heavy hitters like This War of Mine).

Compared to last year, the Indie threads were overall less pages. Mainly just the regulars posting here.

But I'm not sure about a declining interest in indies. In other threads, I've seen a lot of people listing their favorite games of the year, and a lot of times those lists include indies. Especially people talking about how released Kickstarted games have been some of the best games they've played in 2014.

Just less people posting in these threads unfortunately

 

[PandaPedinte]

Voting and some short impressions on stuff I didn't write about before

• Environmental Station Alpha
• Return of the Obra Dinn
• hets - Besides it unique visual, the game is quite challenging. It works very well as a game to play on short burst, like playing it until you die
• Baezult - Another surprise, unlike hets, the visuals on Baezult are kind of generic but the game is hard and not shy on making you fail several times until you discover how to

Not on my list

The Legend of Light - It's a puzzle platformer but it didn't clicked with me.
Totem's Sound - Such a nice concept, has a good intro but in the end I did found the gameplay boring.

Speaking of time wasters, I gifted myself my christmas present prematurely:
Rocksmith and and an e-guitar. Curious how far I get with that as I was planning to learn guitar for ages now. Probably gonna do some youtube tutorials and whatnot on top too.



Kinda sad to see that even a game with such a quality cant get over 50 posts in its dedicated thread. Not sure why, but it seems like the general interest in Indies decreased a lot during the past year on GAF (aside from heavy hitters like This War of Mine).

It's really sad, the game has flaws and I won't deny (I dislike the way that the xp system is implemented) it but so far I'm enjoying it a lot. The developer also seems to be very active on fixing the bugs and listening to what the customers say. About the lack of interesting I think it's because of the new consoles and people wanting games that push these consoles.

 

[Toma]

Compared to last year, the Indie threads were overall less pages. Mainly just the regulars posting here.

But I'm not sure about a declining interest in indies. In other threads, I've seen a lot of people listing their favorite games of the year, and a lot of times those lists include indies. Especially people talking about how released Kickstarted games have been some of the best games they've played in 2014.

Just less people posting in these threads unfortunately

I mean we have obviously less activity in these threads (the voting post last year november was at post 740 or something), but what kind of Indies are you talking about for the goty lists?

The ones I've seen so far, usually only included big name Indies that are rather well known and sold quite a few copies on Steam. But compared to last year, it seems like people are more aware of the big Indie games, but even less aware of the smaller ones, as the above mentioned Elliot Quest for example.

 

[More_Badass]

I mean we have obviously less activity in these threads (the voting post last year november was at post 740 or something), but what kind of Indies are you talking about for the goty lists?

The ones I've seen so far, usually only included big name Indies that are rather well known and sold quite a few copies on Steam. But compared to last year, it seems like people are more aware of the big Indie games, but even less aware of the smaller ones, as the above mentioned Elliot Quest for example.

Pretty much, stuff like Wasteland 2 and Shovel Knight

Although I have seen people talking about Glitchhikers and a few other more obscure games. Even Monument Valley and Sailor's Dream, while being well known on mobile, are still mobile games so it's nice seeing them on GOTY lists

Btw, Time's rated 80 Days as the best game of 2014 and Kojima said Framed was his GOTY. Pretty good accolades for two mobile games, especially 80 Days. That list had games like Dark Souls 2, Shadow of Mordor, and Mario Kart

 

[Toma]

OP impressions.

Tribal and Error

Another very unique game, in which you are tasked to translate caveman language, and use the words you learned to instruct those cavemens to do something. Its similar to adventure games, in how you combine certain elements to make another, for example to combine a stick and a string to make a rod. In this game, you would be able to (this example is not in the game) tell caveman to combine these two elements if you tell them. The problem is that you dont know the words for "Stick", "string" and "combine". So its your task to observe the caveman, see which action might correspond to which word, and then use that knowledge to instruct them. This is trickier than it sounds. How would you interpret a caveman saying "Urughu", pointing at a picture of his family and then crying? Is it crying? sad? family? pointing? "Look at this"? Another really interesting aspect is that its conceptually a game about words and communication and has no language barrier at all, since everyone playing translates into his own language. Quite elegant. Its only a short alpha, but it works surprisingly well and its definitely something to be on the lookout for in the future. Highly recommended to check out the alpha.

Totem's Sound:

A short top down adventure game, in which you play an 19th century adventurer trying to gather as many native american relics as he can for a museum collection back home. The gameplay is rather simple and mostly consists of running around and defending against wolves, bears and mosquitos, but the mood and theme are very well executed, especially because the game doesnt glorify the act of vandalizing another people's culture and makes a clear case for how europeans affected their livestyle and customs and how different value can be perceived.

UnrealWorld

Survival roguelike that is in development for 22 years now. The game has a TON of features, and I just spent 2 hours with some easy wood working tasks (Cut tree to log, get branches of trees, cut log to ... all the while building me some basic wood tools, figuring out how to make a fire, roast some fish, find a water source, drink, and then continue working. I did not notice losing 2 hours to this just now and I'll spend some more on it now. It also manages to be not quite as alienating as other deep roguelikes because of its exhaustive in-game help. One of the best games I played this year, and according to our rules, I would be allowed to include it in our Indie Games GOTY voting, but 22 years seems a tad old, even though it has been redesigned a few times in the meantime. Anyway, dibs on the OT. There are 2 older dead Gaf threads, so I'll just take the liberty to make a new one.

>----------< Highly Recommended >----------<
Unreal World
Return of the Obra Dinn
Tribal and Error
Environmental Station Alpha
Luminoso
hets

>----------< Recommended >----------<
Baezult
Here and there along the echo
Totem's Sound
Legend of Light
Color
Pixel Heroes
Pall
Pregnancy

>----------< Decent-ish >----------<
Autocraft
Computer, open that door!
Arktrail
Lost in Paradise
Fluid Perspectives
Nothing good can come out of this
Chipset-0

>----------< Not recommended >----------<
Project Tigra

 

[Toma]

The best 3 games this month for me were hidden at the end of the thread. Sneaky alphabetization.

If you guys have some time today, I definitely recommend you checking out some of the top games I listed above. Fantastic haul this month. And UnrealWorld seems really, really, really good. Boggles my mind I haven't heard about it before.

 

[Moobabe]

Did anyone else play "Rituals"? It looks incredibly interesting and reminds me a lot of an Alice's Wonderland approach to world design, but I can't make heads or tails from this game. Controls work, but how do you progress? Is it just about finding ways to slip into other peoples minds? I couldnt figure out how to do that right in the actual first scene. I didnt try it for long, but if someone played more than I did, I'd love some more elaborate thoughts on it as it really looks interesting.

Other games I still want to try on sunday before I put up my voting this month:
Totem's Sound
UnReal World
Tribal & Error

Anybody played these?

I checked out Totem's Sound and thought it was ok - I think it's a little light on the lore though. A little more detail about the natives would make the game way better in my eyes, instead of going for the more cynical view on colonialism and consumerism. Different strokes I guess.

I'm downloading Tribal and Error now, and I've got Here and There Along the Echo, Rituals and Obra Dinn to try before I vote.

 

[Toma]

I checked out Totem's Sound and thought it was ok - I think it's a little light on the lore though. A little more detail about the natives would make the game way better in my eyes, instead of going for the more cynical view on colonialism and consumerism. Different strokes I guess.

I'm downloading Tribal and Error now, and I've got Here and There Along the Echo, Rituals and Obra Dinn to try before I vote.

Yeah, Totem's Sound was emphasizing its message very clearly, but I was fine with that in this case. Anyway! Done for the month, going to play some more UnrealWorld today, make some food and play Europa Universalis MP tonight. Glorious sunday.

 

[Moobabe]

I love sundays too! Watching football, playing some games. I've played CS:GO, FIFA, Rogue Legacy in short bursts today. Super.

As for the reduced activity in these threads - there's a lot of activity in big "issue" threads and in the big game OTs too. Destiny, MCC, Driveclub, Ass Creed etc - I think that probably eats into people's time, and pushes us off the front page as well. A shame, but what can you do?

Time for some voting updates!!!

Return of the Obra Dinn

I've just loaded this up and Toma is right. It's sensational. It's clearly very early on, but it looks fantastic and has a really unique hook to it. I like that it's not an "action" game but has very serious moments of drama in it. Definitely one to keep an eye on, and definitely worth checking out.

Tribal and Error

Another one Toma got right. It's a game about learning language and then using it to solve puzzles. I think, as a result, it's way more rewarding when you do get something right - because all your given is actions and noises to put sentences and ideas together. Super interesting and another I'll be checking out when it comes out proper.

Project Tigra

Not much to say on this one. I don't like it very much at all; a pretty standard 2D platformer that's very early in development.

Totem's Sound

Looks great and has a neat idea, but it didn't take the direction I would have liked. I wish the game was heavily lore focused, instead it veers the other way and takes a jab at colonialism and consumerism. It's not super fun to player either, but interesting enough.

hets

One of, if not the, game of the month. Visceral, intense and difficult. It's got an extremely minimal style but it's so very effective. You run and gun your way through levels targeting statues, though each level is filled with enemies. It's a clever decision I think; because it gives you an alternate, if more dangerous, route through the arenas if you want to just target the statues and get to the next upgrade. It's super fun and highly recommended.

Voting

Highly Recommended

hets
Return of the Obra Dinn
Marvelous Miss Take

Recommended

Environmental Station Alpha
Tribal and Error
Here and There Along the Echo

Decent

Color
Totem's Sound

Turd

Project Tigra

 

[One Foul Note]

Sorry for not being able to vote or play much this month Toma, had some building work done on my house which effected the level of free time I had so I couldn't muck about with the OP indies as much as I would have liked.

 

[Toma]

Sorry for not being able to vote or play much this month Toma, had some building work done on my house which effected the level of free time I had so I couldn't muck about with the OP indies as much as I would have liked.

No reason to apologize But I do recommend checking out the top 5 games from my list if you got the time.

And I hope the work on your house went well

 

[Moobabe]

Sorry for not being able to vote or play much this month Toma, had some building work done on my house which effected the level of free time I had so I couldn't muck about with the OP indies as much as I would have liked.

For sure check out the highly recommended ones - some really good stuff this month man

 

[More_Badass]

Haven't seen any news or articles about this, new game from the devs of Zafehouse Diaries

Deadnaut - $9.99, Free demo (PC, Mac)

http://deadnaut.com

Will your crew survive a galactic graveyard of hostile terrors?
From the makers of Zafehouse: Diaries comes Deadnaut, a challenging, character-driven game of complex strategy, cunning tactics, dynamic missions and customisation.

 

[allansm]

The ones I've seen so far, usually only included big name Indies that are rather well known and sold quite a few copies on Steam. But compared to last year, it seems like people are more aware of the big Indie games, but even less aware of the smaller ones, as the above mentioned Elliot Quest for example.

In my case, at least, it is due to the huge amount of new releases on Steam. I used to check the new releases list every day and if there was a game there that I hadn't heard before, I would search for info about it. Now, there are many new releases and zero quality control, so I rely on reviews and impressions to know which games are worth checking out, and as usually only the most well know indies are reviewed, I end up ignoring the rest.

 

[Moobabe]

In my case, at least, it is due to the huge amount of new releases on Steam. I used to check the new releases list every day and if there was a game there that I hadn't heard before, I would search for info about it. Now, there are many new releases and zero quality control, so I rely on reviews and impressions to know which games are worth checking out, and as usually only the most well know indies are reviewed, I end up ignoring the rest.

Yeah it's a real shame. Stuff is getting completely buried in new releases now and only the really big stuff is standing out.

Also Deadnaut looks like one of those games I would love to listen to stories about, but I would be horrible at.

 

[Phawx]

Just wanted to thank you fellas for posting updates. I have separate lists that I have activity monitors on but either I'm looking at things way too early or missing them entirely.