Forums > Game Talk > "Best", not "most anticipated": looking for recommendations

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MichaelPalin (1414) on 5/22/2015 9:37 AM · Permalink · Report

Hi there!

I'm looking to try out some recent indie games, say from 2014 onwards. Innocent of me, my first approach is alway to go to the Internet and ask "top/best indie games of 2014" to which the more often answer is, for some reason, "most anticipated games of 2014/[expo] 14". How seriously broken can games journalism be some times.

Whatever.

So, any recommendations you can give me on indie titles of recent months? I don't even know what I want, go wild!

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Victor Vance (18070) on 5/22/2015 12:29 PM · Permalink · Report

"This War of Mine".

Although I haven´t played it yet I have heard (read) really good things about it. At first glance it may look like a typically wargame, but this time it has a twist. You´re not playing the role of an excellent trained combat soldier, this time you witness war through the eyes of common civilians trying to survive the events.

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vedder (70667) on 5/22/2015 12:38 PM · Permalink · Report

Currently immensely enjoying The Talos Principle. It's Portal meets Myst meets Ghost in the Shell. With the level design of Serious Sam.

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The Fabulous King (1332) on 5/22/2015 2:53 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Do you like Quest for Glory? Heroine's Quest was a very good tribute to Quest for Glory. Edit: Okay, so it's not recent months... sorry did not read properly.

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MichaelPalin (1414) on 5/22/2015 3:06 PM · Permalink · Report

I'm very apprehensive about graphic adventures. Are the newer ones more reasonable? Is there any of them in which puzzles have different solutions? That would really attract my attention.

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The Fabulous King (1332) on 5/22/2015 3:23 PM · Permalink · Report

Well, alternative solutions is sort of Quest for Glory series trademark, which Heroine Quest follows quite adequately. :) There's also Quest for Infamy - QfG theme is sort in right now in the indie adventure scene.

New mainstream adventure games are imo quite wonderful. Though, is Dreamfall Chapters indie or mainstream? Hard to tell. Telltale is definitely mainstream.

Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a good new adventure game. All about exploration and discovery and intuitive gameplay.

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CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 5/22/2015 3:51 PM · Permalink · Report

The most recent good indie game I know of is Invisible, Inc. I haven't played it though, so I'm not vouching for it.

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Pseudo_Intellectual (66248) on 5/23/2015 7:18 PM · Permalink · Report

I had a lot of fun with "80 Days".

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vedder (70667) on 5/23/2015 7:50 PM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]I had a lot of fun with "80 Days". [/Q --end Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]

It was on my list of games I should add. But to no surprise it was also on yours. I enjoyed it as well! I don't play games on my phone often, but this one got me glued to the screen for a short while.

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Alex Z (1856) on 5/24/2015 11:11 PM · Permalink · Report

From late 2014 - Shadowrun: Dragonfall Director's Cut. It's a moody RPG. Great plot, great personalities, great story. So great that I'm still harping on it even a year after its initial release (the original Shadowrun: Dragonfall came in early 2014).

Mind you, other recent Shadowrun games are more of a mixed bag and aren't nearly as good as the above.

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Adzuken (836) on 5/25/2015 4:19 PM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Alex Z wrote--]From late 2014 - Shadowrun: Dragonfall Director's Cut. It's a moody RPG. Great plot, great personalities, great story. So great that I'm still harping on it even a year after its initial release (the original Shadowrun: Dragonfall came in early 2014).

Mind you, other recent Shadowrun games are more of a mixed bag and aren't nearly as good as the above. [/Q --end Alex Z wrote--] I second Dragonfall for all those reasons. Also, Luftrausers was a pretty clever shooter with an interesting gravity based flight mechanic.

That's about it. I honestly don't recall any standout indie games from last year, certainly nothing that set my world on fire. Except maybe a few early access/beta. I'd have an easier time recommending games from this year.

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MichaelPalin (1414) on 5/26/2015 6:48 AM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Adzuken wrote--] I'd have an easier time recommending games from this year. [/Q --end Adzuken wrote--]

Well, do. I know a bit about the games from 2014 (I know about practically every recommendation in this thread so far), but nothing about games released this year.

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MichaelPalin (1414) on 5/25/2015 3:59 PM · Permalink · Report

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

I have ended up playing SteamWorld Dig (already finished) and PixelJunk Shooter. The first one is a "dig'em up" (it's a genre now, ok?) with an uninspired western+robots+steampunk setting and a very tightly addictive dig more treasure to buy better tools to dig better treasure until you feel like a tool progression system. The second one is a twin-stick rescue ship game with very cool and interesting physics. I'll leave The Talos Principle and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter on the "to play list" for now. They look quite odd and mysterious, I like that.

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Khelben Blackstaff on 8/11/2015 11:21 AM · Permalink · Report

For me it is all about Divinity Original Sin. It is indie-ish, funded by Kickstarter but a well established and good company made the game. For me the story and characters and dialogue was not to my taste, but the RPG-ing, the looting, exploring and especially the combat was what hooked me. It is real time until you get to combat and then it goes turn based, and works in a great way, making use of the environment which you can shape with spells. I loved it.

Pillars of Eternity is like the opposite. I really dislike the combat but the story, characters and dialogue is better and more mature. Wish I could combine the two! But if you are a fan of old school RPG's, it is worth trying both. Although hang on for the big updates coming to both of them soon.

The only other indie game I've played recently is called Bombing Bastards which is a Bomberman clone but with modern presentation and more advanced gameplay with more going on. It is really good if you like that kind of game, but very difficult.

An obvious suggestion is Cities Skylines but I tried it and didn't really like it. It is great for what it is, but for me I get bored fast with sandbox type games. I like having goals or something to beat.

p.s. There is also a party based RPG called Kyn which I really want to try soon. And one called Ironclad Tactics (strategy game). Both get great reviews.

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Harmony♡ (21852) on 8/11/2015 4:15 PM · Permalink · Report

Freedom Planet is a platformer with gameplay reminiscent of Genesis-era Sonic games, and a surprisingly dark story. Some gorgeous environments, too. I've gotta remember to add it one of these days.