Niche & Indie Game News

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Discover the hidden gems of the gaming world with Niche & Indie Game News. Get the latest updates, reviews, and insights on unique and innovative games from independent developers. Explore the road less traveled in gaming!

From K-Pop Skeptic To Idol Manager: My ‘Road To Debut’ JourneyK-pop chaos, manager life! The post From K-Pop Skeptic To Idol Manager: My ‘Road To Debut’ Journey first appeared on Kakuchopurei .

Indie | KakuchopureiDec 19

Voin Early Access ReviewRecent advancements in commercial game creation engines and asset-sharing markets have led to a revolutionary breakthrough in indie game design. Practically anyone with a vision, the drive to make a game, and plenty of patience can now create their own high-quality indie title. That being said, doing so remains an impressive, daunting, and challenging feat—even […] The post Voin Early Access Review appeared first on Try Hard Guides .

Game Reviews – Try Hard GuidesDec 17

Destructoid’s award for Best Indie Game of 2024 goes to… It was a year of tough competition in the Indie Games market. With toolsets that make solo-developing a much more realistic prospect than it has been for the past couple of decades, more creative folks are jumping into the deep end to deliver their vision. Billy Basso did just that with Animal Well , this year’s winner of Destructoid’s Best Indie Game of 2024 award. https://youtu.be/lwCcSEN3GEc?feature=shared It could have really gone to any of the nominees. Some of them are wholly unique experiences, others are the tightest representations of their genre I’ve seen in some time, and one could say that Balatro was the one that reached indie game escape velocity, reaching into the mainstream. But the award can only go to one, and it’s Billy Basso’s subdued metroidvania. A lot of modern games have become what many refer to as very hand-holdy. Everything is tutorialized or carefully set up to always keep you going in the correct direction, both subtly and overtly. Developers don’t want you getting frustrated enough to drop their game and often have to accommodate the lowest common denominator. So, it’s heartening that games like Animal Well exist and can still find an audience. Animal Well can be described as a game that is all about secrets in a way that reminds me of Tunic . It’s up to you to observe the environment and how it reacts to your presence. You need to get curious and be willing to experiment. If you’re able to massage your grey matter in a way that allows you to figure out its puzzles, it’s among the most rewarding experiences you can find. If you’re willing to go off the beaten path, Indie games are better than ever. If you flip back to Destructoid’s 2023 awards, it went to Lethal Company , which was up against favorites like El Paso, Elsewhere and Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer . Pack. Just packed. And next year looks like it will be more of that. Even with the industry squeeze where small studios and indie devs are finding it harder than ever to secure funding, passion for games wins out, ensuring we always have something to play. Personally, I’m pumped for Hollywood Animal , Car Park Capital , Psycho Patrol R , and Elation for the Wonderbox 6000 . Damn! Damn! Nominees for Best Indie Game of 2024 Animal Well [WINNER] Mullet MadJack Anthology of the Killer Balatro Crow Country Buckshot Roulette 1000xRESIST The post Destructoid’s award for Best Indie Game of 2024 goes to… appeared first on Destructoid .

Indie Archives – DestructoidDec 16

The Thing: Remastered Review — Assimilating and Replicating a ClassicThe Thing: Remastered is, as the name suggests, a remastered version of the critically acclaimed 2002 video game. Set as a sequel to John Carpenter’s movie of the same name, The Thing video game captures the fear, distrust, and bodily horror of one of the greatest horror films of all time. The Thing: Remastered revitalizes […] The post The Thing: Remastered Review — Assimilating and Replicating a Classic appeared first on Try Hard Guides .

Game Reviews – Try Hard GuidesDec 16

New Slay the Spire 2 gameplay drives home just how much better the game looks Slay the Spire succeeded despite its visuals. A triumph of its niche and an infinitely replayable Roguelike, the original will be difficult to top, but as it turns out, Slay the Spire 2 has already done so in the graphics department. While you'd always expect a sequel to look better than its predecessor, Slay the Spire established its presence in part due to its goofy art style, playing into its innate weirdness. That said, Slay the Spire 2's brand-new gameplay trailer sure does look awesome. Check it out below, and you'll see what I mean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttVtllHkb4E Slay the Spire 2 looks miles better than the original Honestly, it's quite striking to see just how good Slay the Spire 2 looks in motion . Not only has all the artwork been redone in a new, more finely tuned style, but the animations also look remarkable. Those who haven't yet played the original Slay the Spire (first of all, why ?) might not be able to appreciate the featured gameplay video, but veterans will know just how stocky and static everything seems in the first title. However, That will no longer be the case in Slay the Spire 2 . The trailer plainly shows plenty of bespoke animations for the player character and the enemies alike. Better yet, the redefined art style somehow manages to retain that emblematic weirdness and vibe of the original while still looking far superior to it. I'm so impressed with what the developer Mega Crit has done with Slay the Spire 2 because it can't have been easy to accomplish this. Relatively simple upsampling or a recreation of core assets targeting a higher quality level wouldn't have done anything for a game such as this. Instead, this shows a clear understanding of what Slay the Spire was and why it looked the way it did. All in all, I'm stoked. And hey, I'm definitely not the only one. The community is already hard at work figuring out all the new cards and status effects, and there's a smorgasbord of them even in such a short trailer. https://www.reddit.com/r/slaythespire/comments/1hd00di/comment/m1siz2m/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button Sadly, there's no release window available for Slay the Spire 2 just yet. Mega Crit has used this trailer to double down on its plans to push the game into Early Access sometime in 2025, but that's just about all we know. Frankly, I'm okay with that. Mega Crit knows what it's about, and if Slay the Spire 2 manages to improve upon its predecessor's gameplay same as it already has in the visuals department, we're getting a very special game indeed. In the interim, if you need something good to play, give Downfall - A Slay the Spire Fan Expansion a shot . This comprehensive standalone mod for Slay the Spire more-or-less doubles the amount of available content with a few fancy twists and turns therein. It doesn't look half as good as what's in the STS2 trailer, of course, but it sure does play incredibly well. The post New Slay the Spire 2 gameplay drives home just how much better the game looks appeared first on Destructoid .

Indie Archives – DestructoidDec 13

Deathless. Tales of Old Rus Review — Ruthenian Deck BuildingI’ve gotten my hands on several roguelike deck builders this year. You may recall my review of Knock on the Coffin Lid back in August or my more recent review of Menace from the Deep—two fantastic and unique spins on the style of gameplay popularized by Slay the Spire. It’s a pretty solid game archetype […] The post Deathless. Tales of Old Rus Review — Ruthenian Deck Building appeared first on Try Hard Guides .

Game Reviews – Try Hard GuidesDec 13

Phasmophobia ‘Winter’s Jest’ Christmas event begins rolling out Look, just because we're approaching Christmas (scarily fast, I say) doesn't mean we have to give up the ghost. Literally. The people behind Phasmophobia know this as much as anyone, as, champing at the bit of the Halloween event, Kinetic Games is already doling out the festive scares. When you next log into your platform of choice, you'll notice that Phasmophob ia has begun updating. This is the Christmas patch – referred to as "Winter's Jest" – which, as with all of these types of updates, comes with some themed content, as well as a promise that "Karmpus waits." https://twitter.com/PlayPhasmo/status/1867161553948041559 In this case, the developer is taking cues from the Blood Moon event we had just a few weeks ago to challenge players. This event will continue until December 31, 2024, and is available on the PC and console ports of Phasmo . What do we get then? For a general overview of what the "Winter's Jest" patch comes with, you can check out the changelog here . In a nutshell, along with the Christmas event, there are a few bug fixes, including a few that were causing crashes. Of course, this isn't about fixing issues. This is about tiding us over until the new year, with scares aplenty. An announcement on the Kinetic Games website goes into more detail about what we can expect. Here, this should explain things: Continuing on from our Blood Moon event last month, we’ll be tasking Ghost Hunters with working together to achieve a set of shared goals in order to receive rewards. We’ve taken on feedback from the Halloween event and implemented that in to the scoring system, lowering the required scores while increasing the amount earned from completing tasks - and rewarding bonuses for those playing on higher difficulties. This’ll mean progress will feel quicker and more satisfying throughout this event. The Tanglewood Drive, Bleasdale, Maple Lodge Campsite, and Point Hope lighthouse are now covered in snow, replete with festive decorations. There are also community goals, which include hunting down jack-in-the-boxes that will grant points when opened, so that's something to look forward to. We're also being told these maps are also "host to something incredibly sinister." Given what this recent post on X says, it seems likely that we're in for a frightful ride. Merry Christmas, y'all! The post Phasmophobia ‘Winter’s Jest’ Christmas event begins rolling out appeared first on Destructoid .

Indie Archives – DestructoidDec 12

Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island Review — Gods and GossipIn the genre of “cozy” adventure games, players looking to relax with a heartwarming, chill title are spoiled for choice. Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, however, may be one of the more interesting and creative titles to come out of the genre lately. While the game has some apparent performance issues, and some aspects are clearly going […] The post Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island Review — Gods and Gossip appeared first on Try Hard Guides .

Game Reviews – Try Hard GuidesDec 12

The Spirit of the Samurai Review — Samurai ExcellenceThe Spirit of the Samurai has been the most welcome surprise to come across my desk all year, second only to Mouthwashing back in September. While I’m not an incredibly big fan of Metroidvania-type games, The Spirit of the Samurai stands out with its incredible themes, fun action gameplay, and, above all else, brilliant stop-motion […] The post The Spirit of the Samurai Review — Samurai Excellence appeared first on Try Hard Guides .

Game Reviews – Try Hard GuidesDec 11

Nominees for Destructoid’s Best Indie Game of 2024 It’s that time of year when we collectively look back at the flaming wreckage that we somehow managed to live through. It’s been a tough one, but at least the indie market has continued to flourish with the release of all kinds of experimental and artistic titles. As with every year, the window for eligibility in our awards are December to December, so games released in December 2023 are valid, but not games in December 2024 (Sorry, The Thing: Remastered ). We also have a rule that each game can only be nominated for one category, so if you don’t see something here, we may have stuck it in with a console-specific one if it feels like a better fit. If you felt like you had nothing to play this year, you need to think smaller budget, my friend. Indie games kept me busy this year. Very busy. Too busy. Portions of my year are just blurs of unique art styles, narrative depths, and casual experiments. But there are some amazing standouts, and myself and the Destructoid team have been able to narrow them down to just a handful. Here are the runners for Destructoid’s Best Indie Game of 2024. Screenshot by Destructoid Mullet Mad Jack With only 10 seconds to live, you have to kill robot billionaires (robillionaires) on livestream to get the sweet, sweet endorphins that come with amassing likes on social media in order to add precious seconds onto the clock. After all, internet adulation is the only reason to keep living. Mullet Mad Jack is a never-stop-moving murder-sprint of a roguelite laced with a ridiculous but strangely believable depiction of the future as interpreted by the 1990s. Fast and furious in the back, thought-provoking in front. Screenshot by Destructoid Anthology of the Killer Technically a compilation of short-form indie titles going back to 2020, Anthology of the Killer rolls up several tales, presents them in one complete package , and puts on a bow. Following the exploits of BB, a young woman trapped in a surreal city so packed with serial killers that they’ve just become a fact of life. Its dreamlike horror is so effective because it’s impossible to really get hold of anything resembling reality, with only its effective sense of humor keeping panic at bay. Screenshot by Destructoid Crow Country It’s not uncommon for horror games in the indie sphere to invoke a PS1 aesthetic to take us back to the youthful days of survival horror. But despite the well-trodden territory, Crow Country presents something fresh . Featuring an effective art style that allows its environments to look pre-rendered while actually being real-time and a surprisingly unconventional and haunting narrative, Crow Country is among the best games the genre has seen in years. Image via sunset visitor 1000xRESIST Clearly, we here at Destructoid have an inappropriate level of affection for unconventional narratives, because that’s exactly what Steven “Cinderblock” Mills feverishly rants about in his review for 1000xRESIST , going as far as calling it a “narrative masterpiece.” Beyond that, it finds gameplay hooks beyond its adventure roots to keep you engaged, as if you needed more reason to lock in. Image via Big Mode Animal Well While Animal Well can be pinned as a metroidvania title, at every turn, it seems to try and subvert and surprise in a way that is rarely seen in the genre. Both minimalistic and detailed, Animal Well uses its focus on secrets and exploration to drive hooks into your innate curiosity to keep you fixated. Screenshot by Destructoid Balatro Perhaps the only game on this list to reach indie-game escape velocity and find a mainstream audience. It’s easy to see why. Balatro boils down the deckbuilding roguelite genre into its base elements to provide an absorbing perversion of Poker . It could easily be a perfect snack game, but good luck just playing a few short rounds. Screenshot by Destructoid Buckshot Roulette All the fun of the classic party game with less chance of removing your frontal lobe with a slug. Buckshot Roulette is a deceptively simple game of shooting yourself in the face with a shotgun. You face off with a creepy stranger, using whatever tricks you can to keep yourself from eating lead breakfast. Short, but disturbingly engrossing. The post Nominees for Destructoid’s Best Indie Game of 2024 appeared first on Destructoid .

Indie Archives – DestructoidDec 10