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10 amazing Xbox One indie games you have to play
All the independent Xbox One games we simply cannot wait to get our hands on.
When Microsoft announced the ID@Xbox program back in 2013, it was an open invitation to indie devs everywhere to come and make games for Xbox One, with no additional costs involved. Microsoft’s game was a long one, designed to cultivate a new generation of unmissable indie gaming, and make the Xbox One the platform of choice for developers.
Two years later, the strategy seems to be coming up roses. The ID@Xbox program has brought us some quality new titles, like Frima Games’ co-op platformer Chariot and Upper One’s gorgeous platform-puzzler Never Alone. Not only that, Xbox One is now home to a healthy helping of old classics, with the Mike Bithell’s BAFTA-winning Thomas Was Alone coming to the console, alongside Limbo, Guacamelee, Castlestorm and many more.
Our eyes are very much on the future though. Sure, Xbox One has already had some great indie titles, but what is there to look forward to? Well, loads, actually. And seeing as we just mentioned the black-and-white-noir-classic Limbo, let’s start with Danish developers Playdead and their latest title.
Inside
No matter whether you liked it or not, there’s no denying the influence Limbo had on the rebirth of console indie gaming. Playdead’s puzzle-platformer was magnetic and compelling, with a gorgeous art-style that has in itself vastly affected the course of indie gaming. As for Inside, well, info is still pretty thin on the ground despite five years of development, but a quick look at the trailer reveals a few thing. For starters, it looks impossibly beautiful, and it retains the same aesthetic and side-scrolling platform gameplay of Limbo. We still have far more questions than answers, though. Is this a spiritual sequel? Is this the same boy – now a little older – from Limbo? Inside is a timed exclusive for Xbox One, but as for a release date, we’re still in the dark. Fingers crossed it lands soon.
Pit People
Coming at you from the bonkers minds at The Behemoth, the makers of hand drawn side-scrolling classics like Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers and Battleblock Theater, is the indie studio’s latest game, and it’s nothing like the games before it. While The Behemoth’s past games have been 2D side-scrollers, where you either battle your way through armies, solve block-related puzzles or simply cause mayhem as an alien, Pit People is a whole different beast of a game.
For starters, the game formerly known as Game 4 is actually a turn-based, quest-like adventure title, but it’s also got a heavy co-op component like Behemoth titles before it, and it retains the studio’s trademark fast-paced sense of humour with the visuals to match. Grab a mate and look forward to strategically planning your adventures with sinister robots, deadly vampires and, yes, cupcake people when the game finally hits the Xbox One (and PC) at some point in the future.
Below
One look at Inside and the developers’ hallmarks are clear as day, but after watching the trailer for Below, you probably wouldn’t know that the studio behind it were also responsible for pixel-tastic, chrono-bending side-scroller Super Time Force and the simply gorgeous Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery. Below is a big melting pot of mechanics – the gruelling combat and movement of Jotun, the generated environments of Spelunky and the permadeath of X-COM – all wrapped up in a loot-grabbing dungeon-crawler. And with Swords & Sworcery composer Jim Guthrie back on board for Below’s soundtrack, this is shaping up to be something very special. Again, no release date as of yet, but we’d venture to say it’ll arrive not too late next year.
Cuphead
In the face of another truckload of big money triple-A titles slated for 2016, no one can deny that Studio MDHR’s run and gunner is one of next year’s most anticipated games. Cuphead stole the show when the trailer (above) dropped at E3 this year, and with its mix of 30s, Fleischer Studios-inspired cartoon graphics, authentic jazz soundtrack, and side-scrolling co-op gameplay that evokes distant memories of genre classics like Gunstar Heroes and Contra, it looks like a sure-fire hit for next year. When exactly? Well, ‘when it’s ready’, is the official line. Definitely next year, though.
Zarvot
Love a bit of competitive multiplayer? This should be right up your street then. Zarvot is bringing geometric warfare to Xbox One next year, complete with power-ups galore, over 30 different weapons, tons of maps and destructible environments. It may look simple and minimalist, but there’s certainly room for some expert play here – SnowHydra has a focus on getting the multiplayer balance absolutely perfect, making this easy to pick up and hard to master. And there’s a map editor too! Could this be next year’s Rocket League in the making? It certainly has a good shot. Watch out for more in 2016.
Superhot
Superhot
© SUPERHOT Team
The premise sounds simple in this chic shooter: Time moves only when you move. But that brings up a whole load of complications in Superhot as well. You might have a bunch of guys firing bullets at you, and if you move the wrong way, you’ll be filled with ‘em. Step into the shoes of your red-headed avatar, pause to literally pause time, and contemplate your next move – almost like a hot-blooded game of chess.
Rinse that and repeat, and you’ve pretty much got the idea – but we’re expecting special things from the game, as Superhot has been causing a stir ever since it emerged in 2013, as the result of the 7 Day FPS Challenge. With its slick premise and even slicker graphics, it’s currently still being tinkered with and fine-tuned, but needless to say, this is one hot title we can’t wait to get our hands on early next year.
Ashen
Ashen is taking a baton carried ably by 2012’s Journey and running with it, headlong, into an open-world RPG. In Ashen’s world, there is no sun. The land is covered by a veil of darkness, save for the brief eruptions that cover the world in ash, and the safety of your lantern and your campfire. To attempt to survive alone is suicide – you’ll need the help of your fellow players to survive the giant creatures and myriad pitfalls of the world around you. As you explore, you’ll meet players with unique abilities and items who can help you venture further in search of somewhere to call home. The screenshots we’ve seen so far already have a mystique of windswept adventure about them, and we’ll admit to being seriously excited about this one. Again, keep your ear to the ground for more in 2016.
We Happy Few
We Happy Few
© Compulsion Games
Arguably the most mind-bending game on the list, We Happy Few comes from Compulsion Games – the minds behind 2013’s Contrast. Set in the befuddled English town of Wellington Wells – procedurally generated each time, by the way – you must figure out a way to escape, without arousing the suspicion of the happy pill-popping populace (or ‘Wellies’, as they’re known). You’ll need supplies, and weapons probably, but one wrong move and you could find yourself with a homicidal mob on your hands. We Happy Few is about blending in, and always having a plan, whether that involves fighting, hiding, or just running for your life. Keep an eye out for this one in June 2016.
Swordy
Swordy
© Frogshark
Coming straight at you from Auckland, New Zealand, is the imaginatively-named Swordy, an arena-based combat game by the three guys at Frogshark that simply lacks an attack button for you to mash. Instead, with up to eight of you duking it out at the same time, you have to use the art of momentum to whack your seven other combatants, with a delightful array of old-school weapons including sticks, hammers, and presumably swords, as you pick them up and twirl them around with centrifugal force to actually deal some damage. Hurling weapons around in this local multiplayer romp sounds like a heck of fun, and could be the source of many friendship breakups – we just hope it doesn’t cause any broken gamepads. Look forward to battling it out next year.
Glitchrunners
Microsoft billed SmartGlass as not only a way for you to control your Xbox with your mobile phone or tablet, but also as a way for controlling your games too. Not many titles have made extensive use of that ability just yet, but indie title Glitchrunners is aiming to change that with its fast and frantic gameplay, and robust use of second screen compatibility.
Torque Studios are behind what looks like an indie gem, putting you in the shoes of a crack team of would-be cyber-thieves who like to run, and intend to steal the game world’s most precious resource, the Power Cube. And of course, there are plenty of traps, hazards and explosions in the way of the goal.
If theft isn’t quite up your street, you can flip the game around and become the game’s architect, using a second screen to try and thwart the runners by bending the level to your whim, throwing objects around the level, collapsing buildings or by using special powers to try and keep your resources safe. Glitchrunners looks to change the way we go about local multiplayer, and could be a must-have title when it launches next year.
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