indie games

You’d think that after spending four days at Summer Game Fest playing dozens of games (including heavy-hitters like Mortal Kombat 1 and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown) that we’d be a little demoed-out. But nothing rejuvenates my excitement about video games more than playing innovative indies that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. That’s exactly what this year’s Tribeca Fest delivered this year, with seven eye-catching games that were playable at the festival. This year’s selections are a diverse bunch…

When I was a child, I hated Cape Cod. My parents would often spend a bulk of the summer there, which meant I did too — until I was old enough to be left on my own. My frustrations about that routine came to a head one year when my parents said we were going to spend a full month on the Cape. I protested, saying that I didn’t want to waste so much of my summer away from my friends, but my requests were shot down. I remember the arguments clearly, but I’ve fully blocked out the actual month I spent there. It’s a lost…

I’ll be honest: I can never remember half of the games that appear on a live stream like Summer Game Fest. Whenever I look back at a list of everything announced during a big video game reveal showcase, I usually find that I have no memory of at least a few games, despite the fact that I definitely saw them. That was exactly the case with Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior. The indie action game was announced near the end of Summer Game Fest’s two-hour broadcast, and by that point my brain was at capacity.  I simply…

There was no shortage of exciting games at this year’s Summer Game Fest. Geoff Keighley’s annual live stream featured excellent trailers from games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Sonic Superstars. As part of that event, Keighley also hosted a two-day in-person event where press and content creators got to go hands on with some of the games featured during the showcase and this year’s Day of the Devs stream. Digital Trends was on hand for the event, and we demoed a wealth of high-profile games, from Alan Wake 2…

Like many others, I’m currently fascinated — and a little terrified — by rapid advancements in AI. While the tech seems like it could be used for good, several applications of it leave me worried. Websites have replaced human writers with error-prone robots, Hollywood refuses to protect its creative talent from the tech, and AI-generated games like Sumner have raised red flags about bot plagiarism. Though what’s concerned me most in the last few months is the existence of AI therapy. There are currently a handful of…

It was an exciting day for developer Strange Scaffold. In less than 24 hours, it would launch its next game, Sunshine Shuffle, on PC and Nintendo Switch. The narrative poker game about cute animals (who also happen to be former bank robbers) had been slowly building momentum ever since it was announced on a Day of the Devs stream last November. On the eve of its release, the studio was preparing for a fairly routine launch for its indie hidden gem. Things didn’t quite go according to plan. One day before its release,…

When I first saw Sunshine Shuffle, I figured I didn’t really need to play it to get the joke. “Animals playing poker” seemed like a pretty straightforward gag that turns a Cassius Marcellus Coolidge painting into something comically literal. So I was certainly surprised when I found myself clutching my heart as one of the cute animals at my poker table detailed the gut-wrenching story of his father’s slow death. Sunshine Shuffle is the kind of game that’s more than meets the eye in all the right ways. It’s easy to…

“Planet of Lana makes up for some repetitive 2D puzzling with a gorgeous art style and a good-natured tone.” Pros Intuitive gameplay Short and sweet Gorgeous visuals Good-hearted tone Cons Repetitive puzzles Slow pace Sparse story If you love video games,…

Life is Strange developer Don’t Nod will launch its next narrative game this summer. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie launches on June 8 for PC and Nintendo Switch, and on June 22 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a stylish visual novel that takes a more gamified approach to dialogue choices. The sci-fi title follows Polly, a woman who returns to her hometown in search of her missing mother. It’s a simple mystery premise that gets strange fast when Polly finds a mystical necklace…

There’s a sub-genre of games out there that I like to call the “atmospheric indie.” It’s a style of independent game in the style of titles like Limbo, which tends to lean on minimalistic platforming and eerie imagery. They’re pure tone pieces that tell their stories through environmental design and aren’t cluttered with complex gameplay systems. That makeshift genre is about to get another addition in the form of After Us. First revealed at last year’s Game Awards, After Us is an unsettling post-apocalyptic 3D…