This year looks very promising when it comes to indie games. There's a lot to look forward to.
The indie game scene has been growing pretty rapidly for a while now and console support is increasing every day. It's now easier than ever to play these games. There are several long-anticipated games coming out in 2021 (and quite a few feature animals as main protagonists). From thrillers to management simulators, there is a bit of everything. Perfect to suit everyone's preferences.
Although it's hard to only pick a few, here are some indie games that look awesome and are bound to be great fun.
10 Tunche
Tunche isn't your typical beat'em up, hack and slash game. This indie features beautifully hand-drawn characters and it's set in the Amazonian jungle! On top of that, it features a familiar character. Fans of A Hat In Time will be happy to know that Hat Kid is Tunche's fifth playable character. Local co-op will also be available, this means that gamers will be able to pick different heroes and play the game together.
LEAP Game Studios have announced that the game will be releasing on Nintendo Switch in March as a timed exclusive.
9 Garden Story
A charming indie with an inviting look. Help Concord, a sweet young grape, put an island community back together with the help of some friends.
Garden Story is filled with puns and wholesomeness. Its gameplay has been compared to Stardew Valley. Meet different characters, with various personalities, farm to your heart's content, and rebuild a community.
The game will release this year but while waiting, those interested in Garden Story can download and play a free demo of the game on Steam, titled Garden Story: Autumn Town Demo. This demo will let gamers know what to expect from this lovely game.
8 Stray
Stray is described as a "third-person cat adventure game" and surely that's enough information to get people hyped. Those that get the game will be tasked with exploring the droid-filled world, in order to find a way out of the mysterious city.
Players will be able to be stealthy, to annoy NPCs, to play, and to be silly. Basically, the game allows players to act like any regular cat. Developed by BlueTwelve Studio, Stray has a lot of potential with such an original idea, featuring the internet's favorite animal.
7 Season
Announced at the Game Awards 2020, Scavengers Studio has a new project on their hands, Season, and it's coming out soon according to. In Season, players get to wander through a beautiful world with charming graphics.
The game is all about exploration, discovery, and melancholy. An apocalypse is nigh and the player has a mission, traverse the land on a bicycle and capture what they feel like should be remembered and documented as the inevitable cataclysm approaches. The game will be available on Steam and on Playstation 5 as a console exclusive.
6 SkateBIRD
This one's for fans of the Tony Hawk games! Glass Bottom Games have made it possible to control skateboarding birds which might just be one of the coolest things ever. Described in its trailer as "a game about trying your best", SkateBIRD allows players to explore and skate in tons of "bird-sized parks", collect a bunch of different clothes and mixtapes.
Although it might seem like a weird idea, it's actually quite adorable. The game is bound to bring in skateboarding aficionados as well as animal-game fans.
5 Road 96
Set in the Summer of 1996, Road 96 is a game for those that love to adventure out into the unknown and discover its inhabitants. Here, players have to decide where to go and where to turn, and each step of the way opens up new possibilities.
The players make their own stories depending on the path they decided to take and this will impact the world around them as well as the people they meet along the way. This way every player plays through a different chain of events.
4 Fisti-Fluffs
Coming out this January is Fisti-Fluffs, the cutest physic-based cat fighting game. A demo is currently available on Steam for those interested in trying out this party game and test who has the sharpest nails.
There are also other game modes. In Kibble Defense, players will have to fight off smaller animals trying to steal their food! Gamers will also be able to create their own cat-character and customize it freely. Fisti-Fluffs sounds like the perfect game to enjoy with a couple of friends over.
3 Kena: Bridge Of Spirits
Ember Lab, known for its powerful narratives has been working on a game called Kena: Bridge Of Spirits. For those unfamiliar with Ember Lab's name at first, they might recognize their Majora's Mask fan film "Terrible Fate". This short film left Zelda fans speechless with how well it was made. Not only is its story told extremely well but the animations and its overall design are breathtaking as well.
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The game is scheduled to release in March and those who acquire the game on the PS4 will get a free upgrade for the PS5.
2 12 Minutes
12 Minutes, created by Luís António, a Portuguese indie game developer, is an interactive thriller in which the main character is stuck in a twelve-minute time loop as the title suggests. The player has to find a way to break the loop by using the knowledge acquired throughout the various loops.
The game has gotten fans on the edge of their seats since it was announced and the cast reveal only made fans more excited. 12 Minutes will feature James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe.
1 Bear And Breakfast
Behind the hilariously punny name, Bear and Breakfast is a charming and heartwarming game. Bear and Breakfast is a management adventure game. The game has very laid-back gameplay. Players will have to control a bear, named Hank, that wants to run his own BnB in the woods.
Every room of the BnB will able completely customizable and up to the player to decide its style and furniture. Those interested will be happy to know that the game will be available soon on Steam and Nintendo eShop.