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Games
The amazing next-gen indie games on the way
It's not just blockbuster titles headed to the Sony PS4 and Xbox One.
Transistor from Supergiant Games
© Supergiant Games
We’re just weeks away from the moment when next-generation becomes current generation, and the Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 go on sale after years of anticipation.
The launch window for both new consoles - those vital first few months - is already stacked with triple A grade games in the line up including the next Call of Duty, Battlefield 4 and the fourth Assassin’s Creed instalment but it's not just blockbuster titles we can expect. After the success of both Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network, both Sony and Microsoft have been courting the brightest minds in indie development too - here are the best alternative games to look forward to in the months and years to come.
The Witness
Time-bending 2D puzzler Braid is one of the most celebrated indie games of the last decade, and despite the lack of a big name publisher or huge development team, it made its creator Jonathan Blow a star on launch in 2008. He’s been hard at work on a beautiful 3D follow, The Witness, that looks to recapture some of the magic of classic adventure game Myst. If there’s a story, it’s one that’s up to you to piece together from clues and inferences on an otherwise empty island: you just start exploring, and it’s up to you to figure out what goes where and when. Years in the making, The Witness will be a PS4 exclusive at launch, and as much a reason to upgrade as the next big first-person shooter.
Abe’s Oddysee: New 'n' Tasty
It’s thanks to Sony’s sensible attitude towards indie studios - developers do not need to partner with a big name publisher to publish games for the PS4 - that we’re seeing a new lease of life for unlucky mudokon Abe. Oddworld Inhabitants, which created the original Abe’s Oddysee puzzle platformer back in the 90s, had fallen on hard times after development struggles with two successive generations of Xbox, but after teaming up with British studio Just Add Water, they’re making a return with a “New ‘n’Tasty” remake of the darkly comic classic. Now the game is back in HD, with new puzzles, and scheduled for release in 2014 on PS4.
Hyper Light Drifter
What do you get when you cross A Fistful Of Dollars with the retro graphics of Fez and mix in some top down 2D hack and slash action? Heart Machine’s Hyper Light Drifter, the latest Kickstarter sensation, headed to PlayStation 4 next summer. From the early footage, it promises to be mesmerising mix of Golden Axe fantasy and Metroid sci-fi, and at the very least, it’s a glorious work of pixel art. Not getting a PS4? It’s also heading to PC, Wii U, PS Vita and even the Ouya.
Transistor
At a glance, Supergiant Games’Transistor shares more than a bit in common with Hyper Light Drifter. It’s an indie action game headed to PS4 with an atmospheric electronic soundtrack and a Blade Runner style-setting, not to mention a tricked out sword, the Transistor. If you’ve played the team’s previous game, strategy RPG Bastion however, you’ll know they’re more than capable of coming up with gold in well worn genres: this could easily be the one to beat.
Rime
This PlayStation 4 exclusive announced just last month stunned the audience at Gamescom in Cologne, and it’s not hard to see why. To put it bluntly: it’s hard to believe that a game with these sort of graphics doesn’t require a team of hundreds. It’s clear developer Tequila Works has drawn inspiration from PS3 indie hit Journey - both games see a mysterious figure in a red cloak working their way towards a distant summit - but then that’s far from a bad thing.
Volume
Thomas Was Alone is about as indie as it gets: a stark 2D game that has you playing as a set of artificial intelligence algorithms to stirring percussion soundtrack. Creator Mike Bithell is back with a follow up on PS4 and PS Vita, and this time he’s moving into a new dimension with stealth puzzle game Volume. It looks like a cross between Metal Gear Solid and Pac-Man (Talk about pedigree), and with composer David Housden on board to score once more, don’t be surprised if this outing scoops a BAFTA as well.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
It’s just as well Hotline Miami was an indie, as no big publisher would surely go near a game so blood-soaked. The sequel picks up after the events of the first game, a frantic top down action game in which you walk in to a room, and er, eliminate everyone: you play as Jacket, dealing with the consequence of liquidating the entire Russian mob in the first game, all set to an 80s synth soundtrack. It’s 8-Bit Death Wish, in other words, and it’s coming to PS4 next year.
Helldivers
There was a Starship Troopers game for the original Xbox. Unfortunately, it was about as fun to play as being eviscerated by a giant alien arachnid. Arrowhead Studios’ spiritual sequel of sorts looks to make good on past sins, with a grindingly hard co-op action shooter that sees you taking on a endless stream of enormous insectoids as you try to achieve your mission. Levels are randomly generated so you won’t be able to rely on the same strategy every time: Helldivers promises to be one of the most difficult indie games of next year, so make sure you grab a few teammates to help you.
