After a year of exceptional titles like the great Papers Please, Rogue Legacy, The Stanley Parable and DayZ, what indie games will make us starry-eyed in 2014? Our experts have fought over this list of 15 games for a long time– maybe among them, we’ll find the surprise hit of the year.
You may not have heard of them all, but there’s no doubt that these titles will be the names on everybody’s lips in the coming months. Let’s see if you’re favorite games made the list.
Paradise Lost: First Contact
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Close your eyes. You’re on a secret scientific base. A strange creature from another world has escaped, despite the careful watch of the guards and scientists. Cue total panic. There’s not a second to lose. Paradise Lost invites you to live out the typical 80’s science fiction movie experience, like The Thing and Alien, but this time, on the side of the aliens. Mark your calendar for December 2014 and prepare to be pursued on PC, Mac and Linux.
You Are Not The Hero
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Indie games have the ability to turn a player’s habits upside down. A bit like in Paradise Lost, You Are Not The Hero offers an experience we’re used to, but paints it in a new light. What about taking part in a classic Japanese role playing game through the eyes of a non-player character? It’s the opportunity to teach good manners to these so-called heroes who wreak havoc in your village. Hero or not, you’ll need patience to wait until this game’s release in late 2014.
Hyper Light Drifter
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Hyper Light Drifter is my personal favorite on the list. This simple game from Heart Machine has everything the big kid in me wants: retro graphics, an enchanting atmosphere, and ingenious game mechanics. On the gameplay front, Hyper Light Drifter looks towards Zelda: A Link to the Past and Diablo, classics that Hyper Light Drifter drags into the present with tense fighting and varied tactical options.
A.N.N.E
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A.N.N.E. is a hybrid game that combines the best of platform and shoot ’em up games from the 90s in an fun 16-bit style. Are powerful enemies blocking your way? Use your spaceship to get through them. Will you get to the planet Gomi in time to save A.N.N.E? You’ll find out mid-2014, when the game will be released on PC and Mac.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
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The story of interstellar love continues with Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, a game concept that’s simply awesome. This cooperative platform game takes place inside a spaceship: players must work together to operate the aircraft. It’s not going to be easy to explore the galaxy, save planets in distress, and fight waves of warlike aliens under these conditions, but you’ll have to try. Expected a release some time in 2014.
Neverending Nightmares
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Neverending Nightmare abandons horror game clichés to explore a new kind of psychological horror. The creator has attempted to translate his own nightmares in an immersive experience that’s more meaningful than all the Slender clones put together. Here, there’s no life bar or inventory menu: everything is done to immerse your body and soul into a terrifying atmosphere. Fans of horror games can sink their teeth into Neverending Nightmare at the end of 2014.
Super Roman Conquest
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What happened when the people at LucasArts studio decided to create a strategy game in real time? Super Roman Conquest was born, a unique strategy game where you can instruct your centurions to fight on 3 different maps. An ambitious blend of traditional design elements and innovative gameplay, Super Roman Conquest is planned for a summer 2014 release.
Hotline Miami 2
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Here’s your reminder to keep an eye out for Hotline Miami 2. The bloody action game is back in 2014 to complete the ultra-violent – but beautiful – saga. This time, players will have the opportunity to play as various characters with different motivations and assassination techniques. You’ve got an appointment in late 2014 for a new foray into madness. Think you’ll win?
LUFTRAUSERS
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Luftrauser is the latest project from Vlambeer, the creators of the sublime Ridiculous Fishing. This time, we leave the ocean depths behind to take to the skies aboard a fighter jet. This little shoot’ em up arcade game is super-fast, tense, lots of fun and even the soundtrack is amazing. Its scheduled for takeoff later this year on Windows, Mac and Linux, but you can actually start training now!
Cuphead
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Cuphead is a traditional platform game in every way…except one. All graphics in the game are drawn by hand, in the style of cartoon drawings from the 30s! With its unique style, endearing characters and jazzy soundtrack, Cuphead reminds us of Jazz: Trump’s Journey, another platformer that could come from the start of the century. Expected release on PC in 2014.
Apotheon
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Apotheon transports us to ancient Greece, in a beat-them-all of epic proportions. Fight the gods and control the elements in a peplos worthy of the finest Etruscan ceramics. Release on Windows, Mac and Linux slated for early 2014.
Distance
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Distance is on the the boundary between an arcade racing game and a running game. Combining breathtaking speeds, dizzying waterfalls and a great Tron-inspired graphic style, this game promises to offer a unique experience within the genre. Distance will be released soon on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Super Time Force
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Time Force is a great co-op game…for 1 player. Yes, you read that right. Traveling back in time, the game makes it possible to add firepower and the skills of several characters together to form a true virtual small army. Expected release in 2014.
Routine
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Take the heavy atmosphere of science fiction movies from the 80s, add a teaspoon of horror and sprinkle in a pinch of survival horror to get Routine, a game of perfect aesthetics in which you’ll explore a deserted lunar base and shed light on the mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of the residents. Expected release in 2014.
The 90’s Arcade Racer
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The title says it all really. The 90’s Arcade Racer tries to resurrect a genre that’s fallen into disuse, the arcade racing game of the 90s. With crazy colors, dizzying speeds and questionable physics, it’s got everything you could want in an arcade racing game. The 90’s Arcade Racer invites you to step back in time to an era when teenagers only had eyes for arcades and exuberant games! Scheduled for release in mid 2014.
The list is extensive, but these games seem like they’ll be worth the wait!
Which indie games are you looking forward to in 2014?
