Isn’t this time of year great? You’ve got a bit of free time to kill, the family is all together and the weather is perfect. Sounds like you need to do something about that, stat. So grab the chocolate-coated peanuts and bunker down in the air conditioning as we take you through some of our favourite Aussie indie games that hit the scene in 2014.
There were a lot of quality indie games at PAX this year. But these are the games that I went home and could not stop thinking about. I downloaded them, I played the still-unfinished demos, I talked about them with others online. The thing about Australian indie games is that everyone is focused on quality. Every game has a strength; be it artwork, story or gameplay. We just make good games.
So here’s five of the best.
Submerged (Uppercut) iOS, Android, PC (due out early 2015)
Submerged is an adventure game set in an ancient, sunken world. You play as Miku, a young girl battling to survive and care for your brother in a gorgeous yet dangerous place.
"The longing to visit places that don’t exist and to discover their secrets is definitely a form of escapism for me. As a game developer, each world I’ve ever tried to build is at least partly a reflection of how I’m feeling at the time – and no matter how great things are, there’s usually something that I wouldn’t mind escaping from, if only for a little while".
The developers have nailed it - the Submerged world is stunning. Imagine exploring the dappled streets of familiar American or European cities by boat, climbing into windows of ruined buildings that are covered in overgrown vines and nothing but the wind to talk to. This is not an apocalyptic wasteland. It is a beautiful imagining of life after humans.
The gameplay has been compared to Tomb Raider with its climbing navigation but also has a very open-world feel. The music is another world entirely – composed by BAFTA winner Jeff Van Dyck, the strings and piano accompaniment is magical on its own, yet combined with the on-screen world, Uppercut Games have truly created another world. Keep an eye on this game, it might be picking up a few awards in the year to come.
Nippy Cats (Hojo Studios) iOS, Android
Nippy Cats is annoying. I can’t stop playing it. I can’t stop singing the song. I can’t get it away from anyone I show it to. It’s that good.
I admit it, I am a cat person. Hojo Studios have obviously made this game knowing that there are a hell of a lot of device-owning cat-lovers who will click on anything with a cat face.
The game itself is not difficult – a one level, one life chance to keep the catnip away from the kitties in the room. You would think it would be pretty easy. It is at first. But it gets difficult, fast. I’m not going to let that stupid game beat me, you think. And you click replay. Soon you’re getting angry. That was an accident. This time. Um, how long have you been playing it now?
That song...the chorus of meowing cats...it taunts you while you’re not playing it. And draws you back in.
Hojo wanted a ‘derpy’ feel to the music to match the unhinged gameplay, so they created a cat choir by recording one of the members meowing a tune 13 times, overlaying the tracks and speeding it up. Voila, cat choir!
Currently free to play (with no in-app purchases, but a few advertisements), Nippy Cats is soon to receive a sequel with challenges, currency, customizations and other cool upgrades to be earned.
If you like cats, you’ll like Nippy Cats.
Majestic Nights (Epiphany Studios) Steam or Humble Bundle
In short, Majestic Nights has taken popular conspiracy theories, turned them into real events and sent the player off to investigate the truth. It’s pretty exciting. It’s the Eighties, Reagan’s voice is a familiar one and the music is sweet (not to mention the fashion).
Aesthetically it reminds me of Blade Runner or Total Recall except you know, actually set in the 80’s not just filmed then. With the trip to an alternative past don’t go expecting a Deus Ex or BioShock; this is a different kind of game.
A point and click (or ‘walk and click’) adventure, you will be investigating: searching for information, talking to people and doing a bit of shooting and other combat. It is a little buggy at times, but the team are constantly working on this and as it is released in episodes, each release is better than the last.
It’s fun. It’s nostalgic. It’s different.
The first chapter (Chapter Zero) is free or if you sign up to a Season Pass Bundle you get some extra content including the soundtrack, extra artwork and some surprise freebies. In fact Chapter 1 and the Season Pass are on discounted through the Steam Sale until 2 January 2015.
StarSlinger Kings (2 Hit Studios) PC, Mac, Linux and Android (Ouya)
StarSlinger Kings is the kind of game you picture when you hear the words ‘retro indie game’. Neon old-school anime mechs that could be straight out of Macross. Blasting laser fights and huge boss battles.
The brothers say, “the retro feel came naturally for us. We grew up with a lot of awesome arcade games on the Sega Megadrive and SNES, and also watched a lot of anime.”
2 Hit is aiming to get Starslinger Kings out around mid-2015 but for now the demo from PAXAus is available here.
Ninja Pizza Girl (Disparity Games) Coming soon to Steam, WiiU, XBox One, PS4, PSVita, iOS, Android
Ninja Pizza Girl has had a bit of attention lately, with its recent Kickstarter campaign and its unusual plot. The main character Gemma is a teenage delivery girl for her family’s pizza shop. Her enemies come in the form of ninjas – other teenagers working for the evil megacorporation.
You have some pretty cool parkour moves as you play as Gemma to navigate the platformer but despite the physical damage you encounters in your fights, the game actually tracks your emotional health which is actually a lot more fitting given it is not a game about pizza delivery but about a teenager facing bullies (and your own self esteem).
Disparity Games had a very clear vision in mind for this game, and have approached it at a different angle than your usual art-and-mechanics product.
Ninja Pizza Girl is a game that’s welcoming. We want people who have never tried a platform video game before, maybe never tried any sort of video game before to be able to play it and have fun. This is a game of joy and exhilaration, not a brutal exercise in masochism. This is a game that’s easy to enjoy but tough to master.
The game is not out yet, but you can play the PAX demo here.
Some indie game makers manage to do it for a living. Most do not. A lot of them have part-time or full-time jobs and do this on the side, with their own money. These guys are in it for the love, not the money, and it really shows.
"Why do us Indies get into something so challenging as making games? Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.
It just turns out that both fortune and glory are sold separately. So you’ve got to make what you love".
-Epiphany Games