It’s been a pretty slow start to the year for Indie gaming with A Space for The Unbound, Season: A Letter to the Future and Blanc among the most notable so far – but things are starting to warm up.
Indie games are often more prone to delays than AAA titles (seriously, where is Silksong!?), so while the games in this list are currently announced for 2023, don’t be surprised if they end up slipping into 2024 and beyond.
Hunt The Night – Moonlight Games
Hunt the Night is a retro-style action-adventure that gives off serious Bloodborne vibes! Explore an expansive, dark fantasy world with ancient cathedrals, libraries of knowledge, lost kingdoms and devastated floating cities. Delve into puzzle-filled dungeons, hunt powerful creatures and of course battle terrifying bosses.
Much like a souls game, boss battles look to be brutally hard with multiple phases and intense melee and ranged combat! It all looks pretty challenging… Luckily I hate myself just enough to enjoy such punishment.
Hunt the Night is coming March 2023 on PC, and consoles down the track.
Wildfrost – Deadpan Games
Wildfrost is a tactical rogue-like deck builder with an enchanting, cartoony art style, reminiscent of Adventure Time or Gravity Falls. The game will have you building a deck of powerful companions, items and pets to fight your way across the land to thaw the world from an everlasting frost.
After each run, you’ll return to the hub town of Snowdell, which you’ll need to expand upon to unlock more cards, challenges and events.
Deal me in! Wildfrost is coming soon to PC and Nintendo Switch.
WrestleQuest – Mega Cat Studios
Finally, a game that has the cojones to pair Pro wrestling with RPG fantasy! WrestleQuest blends classic turn-based combat with heart-pounding action that will have you powerbombing your way to the top of the wrestling ladder.
Customise your characters move list, style, taunts and even ring entrance, as you grapple your way through a charming pixel art universe. I can’t wait to pull my boots on for this one.
WrestleQuest is slated for May 2023 on PC and consoles.
Sea of Stars – Sabotage Studio
The stunning Sea of Stars is a prequel of sorts, set long before the events of action platformer, The Messenger. However Sea of Stars will be a fully fledged RPG. The game follows the Children of the Solstice, who wield the powers of the sun and moon, in their quest to defeat the dreaded Fleshmancer.
Boasting six playable characters, dynamic day/night cycles, sailing, cooking, fishing and the ability to swim, climb, vault, jump off or hoist up as you traverse the world seamlessly.
Perhaps most notably for the genre, the game will have no random encounters and no separate battlefields. Instead, the engaging turn-based combat takes place after making physical contact with an enemy, no loading or transitions in sight. I’ll be SEEING stars when this hits later in the year.
Sea of Stars is coming August 30th, 2023 on PC and consoles.
Eternights – Studio Sai
Eternights is… (checks notes) a hack ‘n’ slash dating game!?
The game blends dating sim with adrenaline-driven combat, as you try to make the most out of post-apocalyptic life.
You’ll have to choose how to spend your limited time each day, whether that be scavenging, dungeon crawling, training or dating!
With dungeons filled with fast-paced combat, traps, puzzles and even dancing minigames; you’ll need to dodge, parry and utilise all your skills to make it out in one piece.
When you’re not fighting for your life, you can spend quality time with your companions, unlocking unique skills and spells as you grow closer to them.
I’ll be swiping right on this game come release. Eternights is expected mid-2023 on PC and PlayStation.
Nine Sols – Red Candle Games
Nine Sols is a super stylish metroidvania, inspired by Hollow Knight, Katana Zero and Sekiro! The game blends Taoism with cyberpunk elements to create a unique ‘Taopunk’ world. Join Yi on his quest for revenge against the 9 Sols, tyrannical rulers of a forsaken realm, and unravel the mystery of an ancient alien race along the way.
Utilise classic platforming mechanics such as dash, double jumps and wall jumps to explore hand-drawn landscapes punctuated with manga-inspired cutscenes.
Featuring ‘Sekiro-lite’ combat, focused on deflection and counterattacks, the game promises fast, brutal action against vicious ancient guardians and gruesome creatures. Find your centre.
Nine Sols is penciled in for release in the first half of 2023 on PC, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation.
The Plucky Squire – All Possible Futures
In The Plucky Squire, become the hero of a living storybook and solve puzzles, battle beasts, fly jetpacks, even box a giant honey badger! Join Jot and friends for a whimsical action adventure, as they jump between 2D and 3D worlds on their quest to defeat the malevolent Humgrump and restore their book’s happy ending.
The attention to detail in the 2D storybook sections is stunning. From the crease down the middle of the paper to the texture and sheen on the pages, as if reflecting real sunlight. In screenshots, I actually thought I was looking at an accompanying art book, not the actual game itself!
Set to be a real page-turner.
The Plucky Squire is scheduled to release sometime in 2023 on PC and consoles.
Animal Well – Shared Memory
Discover the ethereal and enchanting world of Animal Well, an extensive puzzle box with multiple layers of secrets. The non-linear world is made up of over 250 interconnected rooms that you’re free to explore in whatever order you wish.
You’ll encounter creatures both beautiful and unsettling, you’ll need to rely on your wits to avoid danger in this combat-free metroidvania.
Animal Well taps into PS5 hardware to elevate 2D pixel-art platforming. At first look, it may seem no different from other games in the genre, but there’s a lot going on under the hood requiring a chunk of GPU power to achieve. Lighting, fluid effects, background effects and more, are rendered in multiple layers that all get composited together in complicated ways. Created using an entirely custom engine, the game is designed with super low latency in mind, resulting in nearly instantaneous control inputs.
Lower me down the well, captain. Animal Well is coming to PC and PlayStation 5 later this year.
A Frog’s Tale – Norman Company / Mythcarver Games
A Frog’s Tale is a delightful, retro inspired RPG with a musical twist on classic turn-based gameplay. Follow Norman the frog as he explores the whimsical world around him, befriending a cast of adorable characters that wouldn’t be out of place in a Studio Ghibli movie.
The world of A Frog’s Tale is infused with wholesome fantasy, with plenty of exciting places to discover and explore. Each major location revolves around a different animal species and the unique culture, history, and values that come with it.
The unique battle system combines classic, turn based combat with a fresh take on rhythm action. Inspired by arcade dance games, you will have to carefully time your button presses to the beat of the music, to inflict extra damage or block enemy attacks.
Looks to be a ribbeting adventure! A Frog’s Tale is coming in 2023.
New games aside, we also have more content coming for existing games we know and love.
We have Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, Cult of the Lamb: Relics of the Old Faith and Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly.
