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The roster of eagerly best upcoming indie games continues to expand, with several of them standing out as some of the most highly awaited titles for the year 2023. Some of these games were initially slated for inclusion in the 2022 lineup but were rescheduled for an extra year to ensure a polished experience. In 2022, game developers reevaluated their approaches, mirroring the evolution that took place in 2021.
Workers at independent game studios and quality assurance (QA) workers at larger studios led the way in the industry’s drive to unionize, which is a way to make sure there’s less crunch and that workers are safer, healthier, and happier. Are you a sicko for action games that look cool and have a retro style? Do you like to ask yourself big, life-changing questions at the end of story-driven adventure games? This is by no means a complete list. It’s just a small sample of different types of indie games, so hopefully there’s something for everyone.
We recently got long-awaited release dates for some exciting new indie games we’ve been keeping an eye on, like Dordogne, Fall of Porcupine, and many others. Season: A Letter to the Future, Tchia, and Dredge are just a few of the great movies that have already come out this year. And, as we’ve shown in our Indie Spotlight series, 2023 has already produced a lot of unique and memorable indie gems.
Best Upcoming Indie Games Comparison Table
| Product | Genre | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Planet of Lana | Adventure | PC, Xbox |
| Fall of Porcupine | Action | PS4, PS5, PC |
| VENBA | Puzzle | PC |
| THIRSTY SUITORS | Strategy | PC, Switch |
| A Long Journey to an Uncertain End | Narrative | PC, PS5, Xbox |
| AntonBlast | Shooter | PC, PS4, Xbox |
Planet of Lana
| System Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 7 or later |
| Processor | Intel Core i3 or equivalent |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or equivalent |
| Storage | 6 GB available space |
Planet of Lana looks like it will Best Upcoming Indie Games take us on an interesting trip. In the upcoming cinematic puzzle adventure from creator Wishfully, a young girl and her loyal friend go on a rescue mission on a planet that is said to be out of balance.
Planet of Lana talks about a “faceless army,” machines, and unknown creatures. We’ll have to solve puzzles, get through action scenes, and deal with situations that require stealth. Its story has a lot of unanswered questions that will be fun to find out.
The Good
- High-quality mechanical switches to make gaming responsive and accurate
- RGB lighting that can be changed to fit your style
The Bad
- Compared to other gaming keyboards, the price is pretty high.
Fall of Porcupine
| System Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 7 or later |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or equivalent |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or equivalent |
| Storage | 10 GB available space |
The story of Finley Best Upcoming Indie Games, a pigeon doctor, is told in Fall of Porcupine, which is a narrative journey. The game takes place in the small town of Porcupine, which is home to a variety of people. When you start a chat with someone, what you say will affect how you get along with them.
As a game about an unhealthy health care system with lots of mysteries to solve, you’ll spend your time caring for patients and visiting the old hospital and town. You can already check out a demo of the upcoming journey. It has a similar feel to Night in the Woods, and it acts as a prologue to what’s to come.
The Good
- Art that is beautiful to look at and draws you in
- Storyline and characters that are interesting
The Bad
- There’s a chance that the game will be pretty short.
VENBA
| System Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or equivalent |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or equivalent |
| Storage | 20 GB available space |
Venba is a “narrative cooking game” made by Visai Games. It takes place in 1980s Canada. It’s about an Indian mother, and players have to cook and remember recipes they’ve lost. It’s a story about “family, love, loss, and more,” the creator wrote on Steam.
In addition to cooking, Venba has a beautiful art style and a complicated story with many different talks and storylines.
The Good
- Unique and intriguing concept
- Engaging gameplay mechanics
The Bad
- Only a little is known about the game’s features and content.
THIRSTY SUITORS
| System Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7 or equivalent |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 or equivalent |
| Storage | 30 GB available space |
Outerloop Games Best Upcoming Indie Games, which made Falcon Age, showed off its new game Thirsty Suitors at the 2021 Game Awards. The trailer showed cooking, skateboarding, dating, and “RPG turn-based combat” that seemed to be part of the dating part of the game.
The main character of the story is a woman called Jala who has moved back to her small, gossipy hometown. Family, friends, and, of course, ex-lovers will be involved in a big way.
The Good
- Storytelling that is both powerful and moving
- Different cultural setting and point of view
The Bad
- Might not be appealing to people who like fast-paced action games.
A Long Journey to an Uncertain End
| System Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 7 or later |
| Processor | Intel Core i3 or equivalent |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or equivalent |
| Storage | 2 GB available space |
A Long Journey Best Upcoming Indie Games to an Uncertain End by Crispy Creative is like making a game out of corralling your great, gay group of friends at a party, but with a survival and science fiction twist.
As the leader of a group of oddballs, it’s up to you to get your crew together, give them jobs to keep your spaceship running, and get to the “uncertain end” as you run from an abusive ex. It has social features that help you learn more about your friends than just their stats and perks. It also has some humor and drama to help sell the “found family” idea. The PC version of A Journey to an Uncertain End is coming.
The Good
- New ways to play the game
- Interesting and funny story
The Bad
- May not be appealing to players who want more traditional games.
AntonBlast
| System Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or equivalent |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or equivalent |
| Storage | 15 GB available space |
AntonBlast from Summitsphere is an action shooter that looks back to the days of side-scrolling action games on the Game Boy Advance and is based on those games.
It has beautiful pixel art, looks like a lot of action, and sounds like a great story about a worker who is on a payback tour to fight Satan himself. Antonblast is coming to PC and Switch if any of the above sounds interesting to you.
The Good
- Gameplay that is fast-paced and full of action.
- A variety of weapons and skills for dynamic combat.
The Bad
- There is a chance that the game will be hard to learn for new players.
FAQs
A: Indie games are video games made by small companies or independent developers who don’t get money from big publishers. The ideas in these games are often new and different, and they tend to have a more personal and artistic touch.
A: There are a lot of reasons why independent games have become more famous. They often have different ways to play, new features, and different art styles than games that are more popular. Indie games can also explore niche genres and take artistic risks, which is appealing to many players who want to try something new.
A: You can follow indie game developers and companies on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to find out about new games they are working on. You can also sign up for gaming news sites, blogs about independent games, and YouTube feeds that cover news and reviews about independent games. Participating in gaming communities and forums can also help you find new indie games through conversations and suggestions from other gamers.