Welcome to the May version of the Indie Appreciation Thread!
Before to start, I'll briefly explain the criteria followed in these threads. Basically, a game has to meet at least one of these three conditions:
1) Being developed (not necessarily published) by an indie company, or a small or medium-sized one (whether it's properly independent or not).
2) Being relatively unknown, that is, not being a big and easily recognizable brand or belonging to an already established franchise.
3) Not having a big budget.
As you can see, the criteria is pretty simple, but also kind of subjective, so if you feel that a certain game shouldn't be here or notice that there's some other lacking (or there's something wrong), please tell me.
Now, with that out of the way, let's go straight to the point: this series of threads consists on two parts: one that I'm responsible of, which is an ongoing list of all the games released during the month, and another one (suggested by Mnementh) that only you, fellow VGChartianz, will make possible.
As for the first part, I'll post the list when I create the new thread (the first day of each month) and will be updating it from time to time, as new games or Metacritic scores are released. If you have any question about that, just ask me.
Now, regarding your participation, it's quite simple: you just have to post up to five indie games that you would recommend to other gamers, in the order that you'd like to recommend them. Example:
1. Magnificent Indie Game
2. Superb Indie Game
3. Excellent Indie Game
4. Awesome Indie Game
5. Splendid Indie Game
The games you choose to recommend will get up to five points based on the order they're placed: the first one will get 5 points, the second will get 4, and so on. Those games will then be included in a table in the OP that I'll be updating as new users post their recommendations. The game with the most points at the end of each month will be the Indie of the Month and won't be eligible in future threads, but will still be featured in them as a recommendation.
Games that won't make it as indies of the month won't be forgotten, however: the five most voted runner-ups will automatically become recommendations in the next thread, getting a few "free" points based on their order: the second best will get 5 points, the third best will get 4 points, and so on. This way, games that got the most votes in a certain thread will get extra visibility in the next one, but since that advantage will be rather small, any new recommendation will still have a lot of chances to become the Indie of the Month.
All that said, it's important to mention that this is not (necessarily) a list of your favorite indie games, but a list of recommended games. So for example, if your favorite indie game has no options to be the indie of the month, but there's a game that (while not being your favorite) can make it and you think it deserves it, you can place it first on your list for that specific month. Also, it'd be nice if you explained why you recommend those games, or briefly review them, or tell some anecdote related to them, or whatever. This is optional, of course, but it would be pretty cool.
And that's all. Now have fun!
Note: if you want to know what the text format in the Platforms section and the abbreviations in the Genre section mean, just take a look at the introduction thread.
User Recommendations
Previous Choices
GAME | GENRE | METACRITIC | PLATFORMS |
Graveyard Keeper |
SIM ADV | 69-70 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam/GOG/ Humble/iOS/Android |
2021 Indie Releases
Previous Months
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS (See all) |
FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS (See all) |
MARCH HIGHLIGHTS (See all) |
Skul: The Hero Slayer | Haven | Everhood |
Cyber Shadow | Little Nightmares II | Gnosia |
Project Winter | Anodyne 2: Return to Dust | Loop Hero |
Olija | Natsuki Chronicles | Two Point Hospital: JUMBO Edition |
The Pedestrian | Thomas Was Alone | Saviors of Sapphire Wings & Stranger of Sword City Revisited |
Curse of the Dead Gods | Terraria | |
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos | Overcooked! All You Can Eat | |
It Takes Two | ||
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut | ||
Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space |
APRIL HIGHLIGHTS (See all) |
||
Fantasian (Part 1) | ||
Lost Words: Beyond the Page | ||
The House in Fata Morgana | ||
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos | ||
World Splitter | ||
ScourgeBringer | ||
Genshin Impact | ||
Insurmountable |
May Releases
Highlights
GAME | GENRE | METACRITIC | PLATFORMS |
Nongunz: Doppelgänger Edition |
ACT PLAT | 75 | PS4/XBO/NSW |
Call of the Sea |
ADV | 75-81 | PS4/PS5/XBO/XS/Steam |
Remnant: From the Ashes |
SUR SHTR | 76-81 | XS/PS5/PS4/XBO/Steam/EGS |
Subnautica: Below Zero |
SUR ACT ADV | 79-84 | PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/PS5/Steam/EGS [Includes Subnautica on NSW] |
Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition |
RPG | 87 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam/GOG/Humble |
Grindstone |
PUZ ADV | 87-88 | EGS/NSW/Arcade |
Manifold Garden |
PUZ | 75-88 | PS5/PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/Steam/EGS/Arcade |
Knockout City |
ACT | 76-80 | PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/PS5/Steam |
Crying Suns |
ROG | 75-84 | NSW/Steam/GOG/Humble/EGS/iOS/Android |
Sumire |
NAR ADV | 86 | NSW/Steam |
Other games
GAME | GENRE | METACRITIC | PLATFORMS |
Blood of Heroes | MOBA | - | PS4/XBO/XS/PS5/PC [Closed beta] |
The Colonists | BLD STR | 71-73 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Almighty: Kill Your Gods | ACT RPG | - | Steam [Early Access. Later on consoles] |
Skate City | PLAT | 64-67 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam/EGS/Arcade |
Base One | STR SIM | - | Steam/GOG (PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/PS5) |
Jin Conception | TB RPG | - | NSW/Steam |
Retro Machina | ACT PUZ ADV | - | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Death Crown | RT STR | - | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Lost Ruins | SUR ACT | 65 | Steam/GOG (PS4/XBO/NSW) |
Monster Harvest | RPG | - | NSW/Steam (PS4/XBO) |
Arcaea | RTHM | - | NSW/iOS/Android |
Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice | ADV | 73 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam/GOG |
Solaris: Offworld Combat | FPS | - | PSVR/Quest/Rift |
void tRrLM();++ //Void Terrarium++ | ROG ADV | 69-74 | PS5 [North America only. May 21 in Europe, May 25 in Oceania] |
Aerial_Knight's Never Yield | ADV | 66-74 | PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/PS5/Steam |
Crossroads Inn | RT SIM | - | XBO/Steam |
Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl | ACT FGHT | 68-73 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Just Die Already | ACT SIM | - | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Layers of Fear 2 | HOR NAR ADV | 63-71 | NSW/PS4/XBO/Steam |
Puzzle Bobble VR: Vacation Odyssey | PUZ | - | Quest |
Rise of the Slime | ROG DBLD | - | PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/PS5/Steam |
Rising Hell | ROG PLAT | - | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
The Longest Road on Earth | NAR ADV | - | Steam/iOS/Android |
The Wild At Heart | ADV STR | - | XBO/Steam/Humble |
Cosmic Top Secret | ADV | - | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam/Humble/Itch.io/ iOS/Android |
Rust: Console Edition | MP SUR | 67-69 | PS4/XBO/Steam |
Maneater | ACT RPG | 67-71 | NSW/PS4/XBO/XS/PS5/EGS |
Erica | ADV | 69-79 | Steam/PS4 |
King of Seas | ACT RPG | 61-75 | PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Very Very Valet | COOP PRTY | 74 | NSW |
Graven | RPG FPS | - | Steam/GOG/EGS (PS4/XBO/NSW/XS/PS5) [Early Access. Full version in 2022 on consoles] |
Maid of Sker | SUR HOR | 58-69 | XS/PS5/PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Out of Space: Console Edition | COOP STR | - | XS/PS5/PS4/XBO/NSW/Steam |
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers | TPS | - | PS4/NSW/Steam |
Kings of Paradise | VN | - | NSW |
Oddworld Collection | ACT ADV PLAT | - | NSW |
Pathway | TB STR | 66-68 | NSW/Steam |
World's End Club | ACT ADV PLAT | 66-73 | NSW/iOS |
7 Years From Now | ACT ADV | - | NSW/Steam |
Beautiful Desolation | ADV | 64-76 | PS4/NSW (Steam/GOG) |
Song of Horror | HOR ADV | 74 | PS4/XBO/Steam |
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World | ACT ADV | 67-69 | PS4/NSW (Steam) [West release. June 29 on Steam] |
I'm mostly a lurker now.