While Indie games are often more innovative than their AAA counterparts, they’re also more commonly prone to delays. In my article from last year ‘Eye-catching indie games of 2023’ I looked at nine exciting, up-and-coming indies. Just over half of those released last year, with four games being pushed into 2024 (or beyond)
- A Frog’s Tale – Mythcarver Games
- Animal Well – Shared Memory
- Nine Sols – Red Candle Games
- The Plucky Squire – All Possible Futures
Fingers crossed we see more from them soon!
READ MORE: Nine Eye-catching Indie Games of 2024 (PART 1)
Here are nine more eye-catching Indie games, with a tentative 2024 release year.
Ghost Bike – Messhof
Messhof, developers of the cult multiplayer fighter Nidhogg, are back with a brand new IP, Ghost Bike. A ghostly introduction to all things bike culture. From peloton races and BMX stunts, to bike repair and customisation.
In this laid-back, semi-open world you can take things at your own pace. Cruise around leisurely, uncovering hidden parts for your bike, or compete against ghosts in contests of speed and skill, claiming their power and reviving your ghost bike.
The trailer sets a very chilled vibe with its ethereal synth sounds and paired-back art style, very reminiscent of Sable or Rollerdrome. The cutting between vastly different camera angles gave me the feeling of watching an actual bike race on TV. Hopefully, that’s a feature of the game and not just the trailer.
It’s set to release sometime in 2024 across PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
Holstin – Sonka
Holstin is an isometric survival horror with a twist! Aiming down the sight of your gun will cause the camera angle to drastically shift from a top down view to an over-the-shoulder position. We don’t often see such drastic camera changes in games; it’s immediately eye-catching and impressive on a technical level.
Animated in superb hard-drawn pixel art, the game has you exploring a deteriorating Polish town in the 90s, and blasting apart hordes of possessed citizens as you search for your missing friend.
There’s no release date just yet but you can play a demo on steam. It’s coming to Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC.
READ MORE: Review | Helldivers 2 ‘Explosive and Incredible Game Design’ (PS5)
Necrofugitive – Black Garden Studios
Usually a fire breathing, shapeshifting demon that can summon hell-beasts is reserved for the role of the antagonist… But in Necrofugitive, you take on the role of the villain. The player takes control of ‘The Prisoner’, the last surviving member of a slaughtered cult. With mercs and bounty hunters on your trail, you’ll need to make snap flight-or-flight decisions to survive.
The 2D action platformer focuses on making you feel like you’re being hunted. Enemies will relentlessly search for you across multiple levels, even setting ambushes and platforming just as well as you can. The Prisoner isn’t defenceless, however, possessing demonic powers and the ability to absorb the identities of your defeated foes, you’re able to blend in with your pursuers.
It feels a lot like a 2D medieval Prototype and I’m here for it! Currently, it’s set to release on PC only and while it’s still undated, you can try your hand at the demo.
Resistor – Long Way Home
Don’t let the bright and cheery visuals fool you, Resistor promises break-neck death races and gravity-defying stunts to rival the likes of Speed Racer!
As Aster, you have one goal: win the big race, and secure the medical care your mother needs. Set in a turbocharged dystopian future, you’ll need to recruit a team of expert drivers, managing relationships with them to unlock in-race bonuses.
This action-packed CARPG allows you to customise both racer and ride, as you compete in high-stakes combat-races to boost your rep and unlock new car abilities. With a variety of characters, story arcs and endings, the choice you make and the relationships you develop really matter.
It’s set to release sometime this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PC.
READ MORE: Review | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PlayStation 5)
Replaced – Sad Cat Studios
With stunning pixel art, exquisite lighting and masterful use of focus, Replaced is easily my favourite on this list in terms of visual style. Set in an alternate version of America in the 80s, you play as an AI trapped inside a human body, trying to make its way in the world.
Developed by Belarusian Sad Cat Studios, the 2.5D action platformer has had a somewhat rocky development, due in no small amount to the war in Ukraine. Revealed in 2021, the release has already been pushed from 2022 to 2023, and then into 2024.
Hopefully this is the year we see this gritty cyberpunk story unfold on Xbox and PC!
Symphonia – Sunny Peak
A mechanical world powered by musical energy has fallen into silence after the disappearance of the world’s musicians.
In the non-violent platformer Symphonia, you play as Philemon, a mysterious musician tasked with locating and reforming the missing orchestra once more.
Your violin is an essential tool for your journey, used to awaken dormant machinery, and propel yourself through perilous platforming challenges.
With a period soundtrack hand crafted by composer Olivier Esman and performed by the Scoring Orchestra Paris, player’s ears are in for a real treat.
Curtains are set to open on this symph-punk platformer sometime in 2024 across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC.
READ MORE: Review | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth ‘Goofy, heartfelt and exciting’ (PlayStation 5)
Tales of Seikyu – Ace Entertainment
Set in a wondrous world filled with mysterious Yōkai, Tales of Seikyu is no run-of-the-mill farming sim. With the aim of restoring a run-down guest house in the idyllic countryside town of Seikyu, your supernatural Yōkai powers will give you a leg-up on the task. Break ground as a boar and plant seeds, then transform into a slime to water them, before soaring through the skies as a crow.
Venturing into the divine realm and uncovering its mysteries will grant you new masks imbued with additional Yōkai abilities. Use your unique powers to help and befriend the locals, developing deep connections and even romances, with the other Yōkai.
With traditional farming sim elements like growing seasonal crops, animal husbandry, fishing, cooking and renovating your own rustic inn; Tales of Seikyu is shaping up to be a winner.
There’ll also be co-op gameplay, with you and your friends teaming up to tackle bosses, search for treasure, tend to crops or build new structures for your farmstead.
Fingers crossed we see a 2024 release. PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! – Coal Supper
While plenty of games have rib-tickling moments, it’s rare we get a full-blown comedy game. In this delightfully British adventure, you play a traveling salesman exploring the peculiar town of Barnsworth, completing odd jobs for the bizarre locals, in a story ripe with Monty Python-esque silliness.
All I have to say to the Coal Supper developed Thank Goodness You’re Here! is… Thank goodness you’re (almost) here! Look out for it sometime this year on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
READ MORE: Review | Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (PS5)
Hyper Light Breaker – Heart Machine
Hyper Light Breaker is the next entry into the world of Hyper Light, from acclaimed developers Heart Machine. Set within the same universe as Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, it shares the same flashy visual flair as its predecessors. The vibrant alien colour-palette with pops of bright neon really draws in the eyes.
The combat looks intense and punishing like Drifter, with the fast and fluid traversal of Solar Ash. Explore expansive, ever-changing biomes in style with wall-dashing, hover-boarding, and even a glider at your disposal.
The co-op Action RPG promises infinite open worlds, endless loadouts, and unlimited deaths! It’s due to launch into early access on PC later this year.
If any of the games on this list have caught your eye, remember to go and wish-list them on Steam, even if you plan to buy them on another device. Wish-listing helps developers gauge the interest levels of their games, which can help secure much needed funding or publishing partners!
