Each year E3 brings plenty of new games, from the biggest and smallest developers, all at once. As the biggest gaming showcase event of the year, it's a great opportunity for developers to put eyes on games. E3 2021 was a unique opportunity, because all developers big and small were given the same opportunity to show off on mostly equal footing. For instance, whereas the Day of the Devs indie developer event is usually held in an event hall, Double Fine and Iam8bit were able to show off the some of the best indie games at E3, in a complete digital showcase that was accessible to a much wider audience across the world.
This year, the number of indie games shown undoubtedly surpassed the AAA titles revealed and showcased. As is usually true, the indie developers brought a wide selection of games that range from standard genres, to the most outlandish and creative ideas ever introduced. The gaming market and new talent entering it has never been bigger, and players will be the ones to reap the rewards. While there were many indie games shown at E3 this year, some held attention more than others.
A Musical Story
A Musical Story is a rhythm game about a musician named Gabriel's journey, and the sacrifices he makes along the way. The protagonist has had a terrible accident and must come to terms with what has happened through his memories of his music, and the friends he made during his journey. A Musical Story will deal with heavy issues such as addiction while progressing through the 26 song track list.
Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart is an action-adventure RPG set in a first-person world of Soviet Russia. The player will traverse Facility #3826 in the hopes of eliminating the consequences of a large disaster, before it gets released to the whole world. As a specially trained KGB agent, players will use a variety of weapons, including their own body, to fight against the variety of machines trying to take over the USSR.
Behind the Frame
Studio Ghibli inspired many games shown at this year's E3, with noticeable example being the new puzzle game Behind the Frame. This game combines the best of a beautiful animation style, with the puzzle mechanics of a classic escape room. In these hand-painted sets, the player will live the life of an artist seeking to make it big, while also dealing with all the necessities of every day life.
Death's Door
Working the standard 9-to-5 can feel like a monotonous task with no end in sight. However, when collecting the souls of the dead, the work is never done. Death's Door sees players take on the role of a Crow who's tasked with retrieving a soul that was stolen and taken to a dangerous place. In this adventure, the Crow will have to go to the land of the undying, where many souls have long outgrown their natural constraints. In this Soulslike, the player will have to survive tough combat while learning about this new place.
Fallen Aces
The upcoming Fallen Aces is a love letter to the crime noir genre, complete with the style and sound of the era. Players will be tasked with following a non-linear story where they decide how they want each mission to play out. Using a whole array of weapons, from fists to pistols, players will search the seedy criminal underbelly in the action adventure title Fallen Aces.
Lake
Abandoning her busy city job in 1986, Meredith Weiss moves back to her scenic hometown to fill in at her father's job. Lake is a mail-delivering narrative adventure that takes place over two weeks in Providence Oaks, Oregon, where Meredith will interact with the new and old inhabitants. During her time as a mail carrier, Meredith will get closer with the people of her hometown and may even find a romantic interest along the way.
Moonglow Bay
In Moonglow Bay, players will take on the role of a rookie fisherman in charge of their partner's shop after they passed away. As the heartbroken protagonist, the player will have to catch, cook, and sell their recipes in order to save the business and fulfill their significant other's dying wish. Moonglow Bay also offers a fishing twist in drop-in and drop-out local co-op, so players don't have to embark on the open waters alone.
Phantom Abyss
For fans of the archaeologist experience, Phantom Abyss will let players channel their inner Indiana Jones as they journey through procedurally generated temples in a search for an artifact. However, Phantom Abyss isn't like any of the rogue-like games that have come before it. In this asynchronous multiplayer game, players will only have one opportunity to make it through the temple and collect the artifact, and only one person will be able to successfully claim that specific treasure. All while they explore, they see the ghosts of previous players who have tried and failed before them.
Replaced
Replaced will see fans play an artificial intelligence trapped in the body of a human against both of their wills. The game takes advantage of beautiful cinematics and the best of platforming mechanics to deliver a unique experience to players that deals with a society that has fallen apart. This complex and gritty puzzle platformer is a unique cyberpunk adventure that fans of the genre will appreciate.
Road 96
In the Summer of 1996, a young traveler makes their to the border, and thus freedom, by hitchhiking across the wide open road. Road 96 boasts a procedurally generated journey that ensures that no two trips to the border are ever the same. There are thousands of choices in where to go in the authoritarian country of Petria, and players will learn all about the exciting places and people who call it their home.
Serial Cleaners
For those who've always wondered what it would be like to be the person in charge cleaning up after murders, Serial Cleaner was announced last year and will offer the perfect experience. It's a top-down stealth action game in a somewhat similar vein as Hotline Miami, but if the player was tasked with doing the cleaning instead of the bouts of murder. What starts as four cleaners working together and bonding over their years of service will turn into some kind of standoff in the Serial Cleaners narrative.
Tribes of Midgard
Tribes of Midgard is an upcoming survival game that takes the pressure off individual survival and makes the task of lasting in Midgard a community effort. There are no typical survival meters, such as hunger and thirst, but instead players will have to upgrade their gear and village to prepare for the Giants of Ragnarok that are slowly making their way towards the seed of the Life Tree. If Odin's best warriors in Midgard can't stop the giants before they reach the Seed of Yggdrasill, Ragnarok will begin and end everything in existence.
Unbeatable
If the law prohibiting music in the tiny town in Footloose was enacted country-wide, it's likely humans would still find ways to get music out into the world. Unbeatable is a charming 1990's anime adventure that puts players in the shoes of an outlaw who balances her survival with writing and performing songs in the underground. This game will put a lot of emphasis on exploration and choice, as what players do in the course of the game changes what songs the protagonist will be able to write.
Vokabulantis
Vokabulantis is the first completely stop-motion animated video game where the characters are immediately responsive and look like they belong in the world. The story follows two young lovers who can't find the words to say to each other, and so they go on a search. In order to get the stop motion to work with lighting, the developers had to create animations with the dolls separated from the set and with varying lighting angles. Then, using the most innovative tech, the developers had to input the animations into the stop motion sets. While the game is a little while out, it will be an impressive accomplishment, to be sure.
Wandering Village
As the saying goes, society is standing on the backs of giants. Wandering Village will see a whole civilization not only standing, but building and improving a society. While on the back of a giant creature, the players will be tasked with building their city, maintaining it, and protecting its inhabitants. In an unique twist, Wandering Village players won't have to worry about seasons that affect crops and mood, instead the giant animal will walk across the world. This will impact the player's settlement as it travels through the different biomes on the world, bringing snow, sand, and fungus to the creature's back.
E3 2021 announced a whole slew of new and interesting indie games and fans of the independent genre likely walked away with something new to look forward to. There is certainly a benefit to giving AAA titles and indie developers the same spotlight, as before Covid-19 it felt like those with the most money got the most digital screen time. However, with the announcement that E3 will stay somewhat digital in the future, it could mean a new future of opportunities for indie developers.