The COVID-19 pandemic affected many industries, and video game development is no exception. Massive AAA games appear to be experiencing more delays than ever as studios acclimate to working from home, with Nintendo’sThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomandBethesda’sStarfieldbeing just two examples of games delayed to 2023. Indie developers are often at an advantage in this regard, as even when problems arise they have smaller teams to coordinate and more experience going completely remote.
A lot of the most acclaimed titles released over the last few years have been produced by independent teams, like Supergiant Games’Hades- its sequel having just been confirmed at The Game Awards 2022. This year had a ton of notableindie gamesto fill the gaps between AAA titles likeHorizon Forbidden WestorPokemon ScarletandViolet. Entries are ordered alphabetically by title.
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Chained Echoes
Despite being one of 2022’s latest releases, Matthias Linda’sChained Echoeshas impressed scores of JRPG fans by steamlining oft-criticized elements of the genre through quality-of-life updates and a lack of grinding. The game’s huge16-bit world is beautifully renderedand houses a sharply written, mature story that doesn’t hold audiences' hands, while also making it clear which NPCs are relevant if players want to skip extraneous content. Combat is consistently challenging thanks to its “Overdrive” system and clever boss fights, making for battles that feel tense without wars of attrition given players are healed between each fight. Many have likely missed this gem in the end-of-year rush, but it’s worth jumping into.
Citizen Sleeper
As with many indie games,Citizen Sleeperstands out first-and-foremost for its unique style centering the character art of French illustrator Guillaume Singelin. However, developer Jump Over The Age backs this style with plenty of substance, giving players the chance to deeply understand its sci-fi world and the colorful characters inhabiting it. Like many gems of the cyberpunk genre,Citizen Sleeperconfronts audiences with hard questions about the ills of capitalism through the desolation of its main space station, Erlin’s Eye. WithCitizen Sleeperavailable now on Xbox Game Pass, there’s little excuse not to check it out.
Cult of the Lamb
Massive Monster struck gold following in the footsteps ofHappy Tree Friendsvia a game that blends sweet animal characters with dark themes and violence.Pushed into the spotlight by publisher Devolver Digital,Cult of the Lambcaptivated a huge audience with its two-toned gameplay loop; shifting between a customizable management sim and action-heavy roguelike at such a rapid click that players rarely grow bored. It’s also a short enough journey that replayability is encouraged, opening possibilities for a variety of cults that have different paths toward the central goal of killing the Bishops of old faiths who dared to lock away the lamb’s eldritch deity.
Escape Academy
Escape rooms are often the most fun alongside friends; an experience that Coin Crew Games hoped to capture through its co-op puzzle gameEscape Academy. After years of isolation due to a global pandemic, co-op titles likeIt Takes Twohave received well-deserved attention, andEscape Academydrew a lot of eyes after showing off its mystery-filled academic setting at Summer Game Fest.Coin Crew co-founder Wyatt Bushnell told Game Rantthat he and Mike Salyh met working at a real-world escape room, and that comeraderie bleeds into the final product.
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Neon White
Neon Whitetakes the best parts of first-person action games, deck-builders, and anime-style visual novels and wraps it all into one extremely glossy package. Developer Angel Matrix has received a lot of praise for its game’s skill-based parkour that lends itself to speedrunning tricks, but just as noteworthy is the story woven around an intermingling band of Neons - demon-hunting assassins who compete for a chance to go to heaven. Trailers describe the game as “by freaks, for freaks,” and withNeon Whitecoming to PlayStation consoles this month, it has certainly found an audience.
Nobody Saves the World
Coming from DrinkBox Studios, the same developer behind the acclaimedGuacameleeseries,Nobody Saves the Worldwas one of the year’s earliest breakout indie successes. It is a top-down,Diablo-esque ARPG that plays around with fantasy and video game tropes by letting protagonist Nobody shapeshift into numerous forms with their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses (and the whole thing can be played co-op). DrinkBox continued the fun withNobody Saves the World’s Frozen Hearth DLC in September, adding new areas and transformations while confirming its intent to keep the experience alive for fans.
Norco
Norcois likely the lesser-known point-and-click adventure game released this year compared withReturn to Monkey Island, but it earned a coveted"Best Debut Indie Game" nomination at The Game Awards 2022for a reason. With an evocative, Gothic pixel art style set in a “distorted” version of its titular town in Louisiana,Norcohas garnered developer Geography of Robots comparisons to games likeDisco Elysium- fine company to be in. Norco’s narrative is driven by the player’s choices, but it is ultimately impossible not to get sucked into its tale of family and decay.
Return to Monkey Island
ClassicLucasArts point-and-click adventure games likeDay of the TentacleandGrim Fandangosometimes see re-releases on modern hardware, but decades-on sequels likeReturn to Monkey Islandare far less common. The series was first created by Rob Gilbert, Tim Schafer, and Dave Grossman in 1990, each of whom went on to make deeper marks on the industry with studios like Humongous Entertainment, Double Fine, and Telltale. Gilbert coming back onReturn to Monkey Islandwas a key part of its pitch, and long-time fans found it comfortable to slip back into the conflict of Guybrush Threepwood and LeChuck thanks to Terrible Toybox’s faithful work.
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Rogue Legacy 2
Rogue Legacywas a smash-hit in 2013, helping popularize the sub-genre of rogue-lites by ensuring players can make themselves stronger between defeats. InRogue Legacy, this took the form of a character’s descendants inheriting their goods and base to balance out the random boons or buffs of genetics. Cellar Door Games' sequel launched in Early Access two years ago with the same core, butRogue Legacy 2has become more robust over the course of its development. Between a large-scale ending, new character archetypes, gameplay systems, and more in Version 1.0, Cellar Door seems to have succeeded in its goal of making a sequel so ambitious that it could be considered “Rogue Legacy 3.”
Sifu
Though fans of theJohn Wickfranchise got an official licensed game in 2019’sJohn Wick Hex, early footage of Sloclap’sSifucaptivated audiences with the idea of a 3D beat ‘em up capturing much of the same magic as that film franchise and the long history of Eastern martial arts cinema preceding it. There were debates aboutSifu’s cultural authenticity coming from a Western studio, but few can argue with how well it captures frenetic close-quarters combat in settings pulled straight out of the movies. The added twist ofSifu’s protagonist growing older with each death only heightens the short experience’s focus on player mastery.
