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[Toma]

Voting thread up!
Link to the Voting Thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734961

In short:
Rank your top 20 PC Indie Games you played last year (check the previous monthly threads if you want to remember what we played here), feel free to give the same rank to multiple games, like:

1. Game XY
2. Game ÖZ
2. Game GA
2. Game XD
5. Game XT
6. Game HT

Feel free to include a second list with the ranks 21-50 in the same manner, but the second list is not needed for the voting.

Also, make sure to post about why you think certain games deserve the votes, to convince others to try a game or to remind them of a certain game. We covered ~500 games last year, so its easy to miss one or two great ones. I would also suggest subscribing to the voting thread to be informed about others writing up their impressions/why this game was awesome-posts.

Repost.

I don't need the world's greatest game. I just need interesting games. And namedropping a Tarkovsky film alongside one of my favorite games as inspiration for your next? This entices me greatly.

You really should give the games a try that pop up in our monthly votings if you havent yet. Meaning Westerado and Fjords this month. Or for the last few months SuperHOT, Full Bore, Nayas Quest and Mirrormoon.

Sorry for the random recommendations, I am not reading you all that often here, so I dont quite know what you already played

 

[PandaPedinte]

Sorry for the random recommendations, I am not reading you all that often here, so I dont quite know what you already played

Toma has a database with every game the regulars of this thread played. xD

 

[daydream]

Toma has a database with every game the regulars of this thread played. xD

We're being profiled, I knew it!

 

[Toma]

Toma has a database with every game the regulars of this thread played. xD

We're being profiled, I knew it!

Shit, these guys are onto me.

 

[Toma]

Someone here was in contact with the Paper Sorcery devs about game improvements right? Who was that? Wok?

Because they could add:

1. A confirmation popup when saving. Its a bit annoying not to know whether it actually saved so I need to recheck it sometimes. Just a small thing, but it just annoyed me enough to post about it again

2. Oh and a "walk faster" button, please. Running super fast is not necessarily needed, but a biiiit faster would be sweet.

3. A notification on buffs on the enemies as well. Your party members have icons that show which buff is currently active. Once I started enchanting my enemies, I have no clue which of theses enchantments is still active a round later. Same goes for enemy buffs they use on themselves, like invisibility.



Other than that, still love the game.

 

[More_Badass]

So given the dev's response on Twitter, Claire should not have been released yet. Must have been a mistake on Desura's part

 

[One Foul Note]

I'd love follow up impressions from you. If it takes more than 2-3 hours to solve these, I'd probably pick it up as well.

Played about 40% of the puzzles in this one and can confirm that it's pretty good. Other then the opening few puzzles that feel purposely easy to get you back up to speed the logical difficulty of the puzzles in Hexcells Plus is higher and steadily increasing from the endgame difficulty in the original game, yay. I'm terrible with times but I imagine that it would take most people much longer to get through these puzzles then the ones in the original game.

Also my 2 other major complaints with Hexcells are totally addressed, guidelines and the ability to mark completed numbers has been added which is pretty fantastic.

 

[Wok]

Someone here was in contact with the Paper Sorcery devs about game improvements right? Who was that? Wok?

Nope, not me.

 

[More_Badass]

Waiting for impressions from a volunteer.

Fun fact: on Toucharcade, we call this TOFTT-ing
"Take One For The Team"

 

[OniBarubary]

So given the dev's response on Twitter, Claire should not have been released yet. Must have been a mistake on Desura's part

Whoopsidilly. Unfortunate, I was quite looking forward to that.

Also, I love Dungeon of the Endless but holy shit I have not been able to get past level 2. This game needs quite more polish considering even with a tutorial some of that shit was real esoteric. Some real odd design choices.

Can't select multiple heroes at once. Any time I want them to move I have to do it individually. Not a huge deal as you can just hit their numbers, but still. Kinda...unnecessary. Just let me select both/all with a button.

The ESC key doesn't back out of opened windows, just open the menu. Having to click to exit the character sheets and inventory is sort've annoying when you're doing it a lot. Same-ish with the build items. Once the mouse is off it, just...close the window.

I know it's probably on purpose, but those enemies that just ignore everything and go for the crystal? Holy shit fuck those enemies. If there are other enemies, you can't choose to target them specifically as they meander through, there's no way to stop them in a room, just do miniscule damage thanks to traps and hitting the crystal making you lose Dust is really goddam harsh especially if those things are gonna make it almost everytime. They're just so fucking annoying.

...that being said, talking about all this has just made me wanna go back and play it, so kudos to them I suppose.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

From Toucharcade (ignore the issues with the touch controls)

Thanks for the sum-up by the way. KenOD over in SteamGAF showed interest and no one has bitten yet that I saw, so I think i'm going to grab it and deliver my brand of opinion on it.

 

[More_Badass]

Thanks for the sum-up by the way. KenOD over in SteamGAF showed interest and no one has bitten yet that I saw, so I think i'm going to grab it and deliver my brand of opinion on it.

The story of the dev's inspiration is even more intriguing

You could look at it and play it and not even realize, but for developer Jason Oda, it’s a reminder of the time he tried the Peruvian hallucinogenic jungle drug ayahuasca and, a couple days later, wound up stranded in the New Mexico desert.

http://continue9876543210.com/story.html

 

[Wok]

Played about 40% of the puzzles in this one and can confirm that it's pretty good. Other then the opening few puzzles that feel purposely easy to get you back up to speed the logical difficulty of the puzzles in Hexcells Plus is higher and steadily increasing from the endgame difficulty in the original game, yay. I'm terrible with times but I imagine that it would take most people much longer to get through these puzzles then the ones in the original game.

Also my 2 other major complaints with Hexcells are totally addressed, guidelines and the ability to mark completed numbers has been added which is pretty fantastic.

It is a minesweeper without the randomness and with a logical path to the solution. The game has been nice so far, with some novelties related to connectedness.

 

[Burt]

Steam sale killed me.

What am I starting first, Guacamelee or The Swapper?

 

[Conezays]

Any major recommendations out of the Recently Released List?

Anyone checkout Conspirocracy? I am a big point and click fan...still haven't checked out Broken Sword 5 speaking of which...

 

[Wok]

Steam sale killed me.

What am I starting first, Guacamelee or The Swapper?

Do you need to laugh or do you want to be lost in space?

 

[Wok]

Any major recommendations out of the Recently Released List?

Driftmoon costs $0.50 in the last groupees. I have not tried it yet.

Edit: Sorry for the double post.

 

[Toma]

Any major recommendations out of the Recently Released List?

Anyone checkout Conspirocracy? I am a big point and click fan...still haven't checked out Broken Sword 5 speaking of which...

For recommendations on the recently released list, you'll probably need to wait a 2-3 weeks since most of us havent played those yet. There is plenty of recommendable stuff from the last few threads though.

 

[More_Badass]

Steam sale killed me.

What am I starting first, Guacamelee or The Swapper?

The Swapper. Haven't played Guacamelee yet, but The Swaper is fantastic

Any major recommendations out of the Recently Released List?

Anyone checkout Conspirocracy? I am a big point and click fan...still haven't checked out Broken Sword 5 speaking of which...

Deadlock demo was very good and IndieStatik had positive impressions.

I'm enjoying Hero Siege, hectic fun and a lot of items and upgrades, but don't get it yet because it's very likely to appear as an IndieGameStand deal

Not The Robots is excellent and a very cool mix of stealth and roguelike; the dev summed up the concept best: it's a stealth game where you must remove your cover to win

I love Samurai Gunn, but it's kind of bare bones and that might not appeal to some people. But the combat is so so satisfying

I really like Vector, have it on IOS, and played the PC demo. While it's not the most mechanically complex game, it is challenging, timing is important, you soon encounter multi-path levels, being chased is intense, and the animations are great. Plus, the PC version will be getting exclusive content like a level editor and a Hunter mode

 

[Burt]

I guess I'll take a run at The Swapper first. I put an hour or so into Valdis Story the other day anyway, so I guess I should wrap that up before I dive into another Metroidvania.

In other news, I'm yet to get KRZ, and regret it after every sale that I pass on it. Also, Underrail. Still waiting for the day that gets daily deals, but I might just end up getting it next time around because I'm sick of waiting.

 

[Toma]

I guess I'll take a run at The Swapper first. I put an hour or so into Valdis Story the other day anyway, so I guess I should wrap that up before I dive into another Metroidvania.

In other news, I'm yet to get KRZ, and regret it after every sale that I pass on it. Also, Underrail. Still waiting for the day that gets daily deals, but I might just end up getting it next time around because I'm sick of waiting.

Underrail is naturally less polished than Fallout, but the game is definitely worth its price.

 

[OniBarubary]

Grabbed Underrail when it was 6 bucks. I'd say it's worth it. I'd certainly like a bit more graphical niceties, but the system itself and how complicated the things you can actually do are is pretty refreshing. The options you have to do things as well as different ways of playing are really cool.

 

[alllen]

For any of you who had problems with Paper Sorcerer redownload the zip files and that should fix it. Apparently they were corrupted or something.

He also said on his Twitter that Steam integration was coming along well and should be out this month maybe. Cool stuff, I really like the game I'm glad it's getting on Steam.

 

[Toma]

For any of you who had problems with Paper Sorcerer redownload the zip files and that should fix it. Apparently they were corrupted or something.

He also said on his Twitter that Steam integration was coming along well and should be out this month maybe. Cool stuff, I really like the game I'm glad it's getting on Steam.

Cool beans, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Burt]

Some Screenshot Saturday highlights:

Heart Forth, Alicia

Dog Sled Saga

I have no idea, but it looks like Zelda and that's gud.

Automaticity - Someone please tell me more about this game

And finally

Robot Quest by Jaymusaurus, who I thought was only doing art and I can't wait to see this as an actual game

Underrail is naturally less polished than Fallout, but the game is definitely worth its price.

Thanks, I'll grab it next time I there's a miraculous coincidence between a sale and a spot in my backlog.

 

[One Foul Note]

That Robot Quest art looks rather charming, reminds me of the Battle Network art in autumnal colours.

 

[daydream]

As the new, self-proclaimed WiiU indie correspondent, I have to say Chasing Aurora seems a bit lackluster to me. It looks gorgeous, the music, from what I've heard online (it's missing in the demo), is fitting, but man, they either didn't know what to do with what they had or ran out of time/resources.

I mean, I like local multiplayer games but this is in many ways antithetical to the spirit of those kinds of experiences. Chasing Aurora is elegant, majestic even, contemplative, and, well, couch VS. modes are the opposite. The selection of modes is not that inspiring, either. (Playing it with my sister, she referred to this video as being more excited than CA. Personally, I wouldn't go that far.) All of that could have been a welcome addition to a solid singleplayer, though. As it stands, there's nothing there but a bunch of time trials.

It usually is unfair to knock a game for what it is not, but here, it seems completely justified. Take the same assets, art, music, whatever, make a metroidvania style game instead - bam, Chasing Aurora 2, GOTY candidate 2015, you're welcome.

Spoiler

srsly think about it

 

[More_Badass]

Heart Forth, Alicia looks even better in motion

 

[timetokill]

I'm down to test Malebolgia if you need additional testing.

 

[More_Badass]

Okay, Destructoid's review makes Stick It To Man sound fantastic and very unique
http://www.destructoid.com/review-stick-it-to-the-man--266040.phtml

This sound really cool

You must do this all while avoiding secret agents, hell-bent on getting whatever it is Ray has in his head that gave him these abilities. See, they know what fell on him, and the shadowy mastermind behind it all known only as The Man -- who is actually cleverly NEVER seen out of the shadows -- wants it back. Desperately. Luckily, some of these agents are tired, so you can grab their thoughts of sleep to make them snooze briefly, or even Rays face from their thoughts and slap it on another agent to make them chase him while you slip away unnoticed.

 

[rybrad]

And another failed Kickstarter approaches, Unwritten: That Which Happened.

OK, now the big question: is the game canceled or what? I have been thinking hard about what is the right thing to do. The stupendous work already put forth in Julian’s music and Lee’s art still sets my imagination on fire. And I see people come to life all the time when I describe the concept to them. However, my experience also says that we have lost momentum, we’re out of money, and it’s now a one-man project centered around a fulltime game developer with family baggage that needs better health insurance. And I’ve worked in the past on wonderful projects with real promise that have been canceled, so I know what that looks like. Sometimes it still takes a lot of luck to make a game.

 

[Burt]

And another failed Kickstarter approaches, Unwritten: That Which Happened.

So he ended up spending Kickstarter funds on medical bills? I'm not judging it one way or the other because it's a really grey issue and something that I really don't have a desire to dive into, but that looks like what he's implying, right?

 

[rybrad]

So he ended up spending Kickstarter funds on medical bills? I'm not judging it one way or the other because it's a really grey issue and something that I really don't have a desire to dive into, but that looks like what he's implying, right?

It would seem that way. Of course, there are a lot of questions this raises but I will let someone smarter ask those.

 

[PandaPedinte]

Toma is it ok to edit my GOTY list? I played more indie games and I may have to change.

 

[Toma]

Toma is it ok to edit my GOTY list? I played more indie games and I may have to change.

Editing is fine until the 19th.

 

[daydream]

Since Toma requested it, I will try my hand at this "formatting" thing:

Painters Guild - Free Alpha (Browser)

http://guildofpainters.com/

Even in the early state it is in, you can already tell that 'Painters Guild' is built upon a clever idea. You manage the workshop of the famous Italian painter Verrocchio who has decided to take a young talented artist with the name of da Vinci under his wing. Finish the contract work in time, pay the rent, watch historical events go by - and don't fall asleep on the job!

Hard to tell if this will be presentable in the OP for February, there's so much stuff that they could do here. Since it is based on historical figures, they could reproduce their style and the changes it underwent, maybe implement dynamic paintings based on your surroundings, political dynamics, resource management, exhibitions, etc. I hope they'll make good on the premise.

It's on Greenlight right now, in case you're already inclined to vote for it.

 

[Toma]

Anyone got to try the Malebolgia demo? I got the key, but cant find the exit. The manual says something about the exit of the first area being to the left of the entrance? But there is nothing left of the entrance other than a long ass hall with one single door leading to the room with the key.

Help?

 

[More_Badass]

Well damn, haven't checked the Path of Shadows site or Twitter in a while, got a nice overhaul

Game's coming to Window, Mac, Linux, and next-gen consoles
Kickstarter planned for February/March

And the protagonist got a really cool Journey-inspired new look. Here's the final concept art:

- Emissive details: We need a way for the player to always see the model in the dark.
- Power Bar: A visual metric for the current Shadow Power available. The 2 "scarfs" at the back do the job.
- Anonymous: We wanted the character to be "faceless" and don't be clear about the character being alive or dead.
- No loose clothes: Loose clothes are really difficult to animate. The same goes for "skirts", like the one from the previous model. They tend to clip through floor etc.
- "Back from the dead" feeling: The previous model was too "clean". The new one wears ragged clothes and torn armor.
- Warrior attitude: A point between assassin and warrior, the new character should wear protective armor.

 

[OniBarubary]

Heart Forth, Alicia looks even better in motion

Man, fuck this thread. Every time I find a good thread on NeoGAF like the "Underplayed games" thread or an indie thread, I always buy like a thousand games.

This is one of those games I will need to buy.

 

[PandaPedinte]

ops

Edit: I played Fountain and I must say the amount of games that Terry Cavanagh create (even if they are prototypes or concepts) is astonishing. Fountain is very simple, just walk and collect items but as you keep moving the character start to get older until they die unless you reach the fountain of youth. The twist is (as far as I was able to understand) if you walk through a path that you're discovered you age a lot more fast.

 

[Toma]

Man, fuck this thread. Every time I find a good thread on NeoGAF like the "Underplayed games" thread or an indie thread, I always buy like a thousand games.

This is one of those games I will need to buy.

Factorio, Full Bore and Fjords!

I just noticed that these all start with F.

 

[Momentary]

Heart Forth, Alicia looks even better in motion

How is this guy planning on distributing this awesome game?

 

[More_Badass]

Factorio, Full Bore and Fjords!

I just noticed that these all start with F.

Talking about Fjords, it's coming to IOS. Very happy to see the dev branching out to other platforms.

 

[Toma]

Talking about Fjords, it's coming to IOS. Very happy to see the dev branching out to other platforms.

Fancy, wouldnt have expected that.

 

[PandaPedinte]

How is this guy planning on distributing this awesome game?

I didn't find any mention about when or where it's going to be released, the game has been in development since 2007 and the dev recently started a closed bet, if you want to know more about this game read this article in Indie Statik

 

[OniBarubary]

Factorio, Full Bore and Fjords!

I just noticed that these all start with F.

Thank heavens I already own one of those. Ha HA!

 

[Toma]

Hm, just thinking out loud here.

As you know, I plan on creating a thread with our voting results and some write ups on each game. I just calculated some random voting lists and noticed that the upper part of the list is still quite heavy with the games that... got quite a bit of media attention. I mean, that was sort of an expected outcome and we did a great job (seriously, thanks for voting everyone) to not make the list stick to close with ONLY those, but still.

Just from the samples I took so far, these would be the first 5:
Gone Home
Gunpoint
The Stanley Parable
Rogue Legacy
Kentucky Route Zero

And while I do agree, that this is the natural order of things, because these are the games that have been played by most people, I was still contemplating whether thats the actual point of the thread I am going to put up because the point would be more or less to have a bigger focus on the games that people DONT know. Omitting games from the list completely is out of the question, as that would seem like trying to omit certain games in favor of others, buuuut... I was thinking of omitting the "mention" of the voting list completely.

How about ordering the games by genre (alphabetically within a genre) and just presenting it as a "50 PC Indies of Last Year you NEED to check out"-list (Basically the Indies that got rated the highest), instead of a straight up voting list? I will still make the full results publicly available of course, just talking about the purpose of the follow up thread here in which I am currently contemplating to not namedrop the rankings.

That way it seems more likely to me that people actually scroll through the thread instead of only taking a look at the first 10 games because "all the other games are worse rated and not as good anyway".

Just random thoughts though, if you guys say a voting list thread is better, then that it is. Any other ideas welcome as well.

 

[OniBarubary]

To be completely honest, I'd prefer a top 50 and have no numbers. All numerical listings due is normally get people either arguing or as you said, shove lesser played but no less good games to the side. Maybe within each entry they get a mention that it was a popularly voted on entry so people have some indication what were the top ones but not an actual number?

I just would like to see a thread where people go "Aw yeah, this made the list! That game was fun as hell!" and such instead of "Gone Home is not as good as Hamtaro's Eggscellent Adventure because X Y and Z"

I have to hop in and vote there, though it's gonna be hard reminding myself what came out last year that I've played. My memory is made out of birds.

 

[More_Badass]

Dawn of the Ronin is finally on Greenlight, with a new trailer as well

 

[daydream]

I'm feeling your idea, Toma (unsurprisingly, since I was against weighted votes to begin with ).

The "genre" separation is a bit tenuous, sure, but it could be a sensible solution IF you order the games of each genre by votes received. That way, you get a good mix of games if you scroll down (maybe one or two "big" games, let's say Gone Home and KRZ for "Adventure", followed by some smaller stuff, then, say, Volgarr for "Platforming", smaller stuff, and so on).

Otherwise, there's really no point to it, you could just as well list them alphabetically (like Oni suggested, and I would be alright with it), the votes are not reflected in both cases and people can read the description if they don't know what a particular game is about. I mean, if you're talking about people going out of their comfort zones to consider playing the unknown gems, genre preferences shouldn't be the subsequent barrier.