Non-RPG General News - Best Indie Games of 2023
- Thread starter HiddenX
- Start date
I thought 2023 was kind of a weak year for indies. Nothing really resonated with me, but that obviously comes down to personal taste.
2024 already looks a lot better with games like Monomyth and Urban Strife.
2024 already looks a lot better with games like Monomyth and Urban Strife.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
There's a couple on this list that I've both read and heard good things about, hoping to acquire some in the next few months.
No Colony Ship? Bah!
Some nice looking games, but most of them appear to be platformers, so I doubt I'd enjoy the gameplay. Sea of Stars (a JRPG) is the only one I heard of and might be interested in.
Some nice looking games, but most of them appear to be platformers, so I doubt I'd enjoy the gameplay. Sea of Stars (a JRPG) is the only one I heard of and might be interested in.
It didn't even occur to me, but yeah, that's a pretty glaring omission.
*Edit* After thinking about it, I don't believe any of the games on that list were in early access prior to 2023, so maybe that's why Colony Ship was excluded.
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DREDGE was the bee's knees and my son recommends Lethal Company. 
From that list, Chants of Sennaar, Dave the Diver, and Sea of Stars appeal.
Amnesia: The Bunker looks pretty good, but is more likely to give me a heart attack than anything.
From that list, Chants of Sennaar, Dave the Diver, and Sea of Stars appeal.
Amnesia: The Bunker looks pretty good, but is more likely to give me a heart attack than anything.
Redglyph
proud GASP member
I keep Viewfinder on my wishlist for the future, but it's a puzzle game.
There were too many good, non-indie games released in 2023 or which were mature in 2023 for me to look for anything else.
There were too many good, non-indie games released in 2023 or which were mature in 2023 for me to look for anything else.
Redglyph
proud GASP member
As for 2023 indies, wouldn't JA3 qualify? And Wartales? System Shock (remake)?
I suppose it's down to the interpretation of what an indie game is. EDIT: I think Wartales was EA, though.
I suppose it's down to the interpretation of what an indie game is. EDIT: I think Wartales was EA, though.
Farflame
SasqWatch
Some ppl think that indie games are only retro games or tiny games with simple gameplay and graphically outdated. So if the game is indie but with more modern graphics or more complex gameplay like RPG they omit it deliberately.
But then they put there Amnesia the Bunker which doesnt really make sense.
But - I dont like this idea and I wonder if its "ideology of big publishers what indie means". Like its catered to their wishes. Because this way you can push away from indie scene all competent "bigger indie games" that become smaller or bigger competition for titles of publishers. So there is AAA market and media news - these indies (like A or AA) are usually not there or rarely. If there is indie market - these bigger indies are again not there. Nice ideology from/for big publishers.
Yes, maybe there are some enthusiasts who only like tiny games but again... if you include game like Amnesia there is no way Wartales couldnt be there.
Redglyph
proud GASP member
According to them, an indie game is 'a video game that is typically made by a small group of developers and usually incorporates a unique or new design concept when compared to larger AAA games'.
They list the following conditions:
For me, what makes an indie is the risk taken by creating something original - a new recipe that hasn't been tested before and that may or may not be profitable. The size of the team and the budget are not really important, and 'creative control' is redundant with the risk element.
To take an extreme example: In a way, Larian took a serious risk by spending a lot of time on the reactivity features of BG3 and waging so much on a turn-based D&D game. Reactivity isn't new, but it's the first game I know that has so much of it. It's also the first time all those features have been put together to such an extent. They actually took a much bigger risk than a small team with a small budget creating a small game as a hobby, so in a way, the indie spirit is still very much there. But it's not a typical case; it could be hard to classify.
Farflame
SasqWatch
Well, some enthusiasts would probably say that the whole concept must feel like innovative or must be driven by this original idea. Its subjective, of course.
They would probably say that BG3 may have some original ideas, but its still common turn-based D&D RPG.
It's kind of hard to consider System Shock an indie game if one of the prerequisites is creating something original.
JA3 was published by THQ Nordic, so I wouldn't consider that an indie either.
Well to me the indie label always meant a game made by a small developer on a low budget. Then you have B grade developer's with a bigger budget or publisher.
Similar to how Lariain and Obsidian were before getting famous with Kickstarter.
Similar to how Lariain and Obsidian were before getting famous with Kickstarter.
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Redglyph
proud GASP member
Heh, that's a good point. Yes, there must be plenty of indie studios with projects that are not really original or innovative, and I didn't take them into account.
Why not?
They're obviously not independent if they're teamed with a publisher. A publisher typically provides some sort of financial backing in exchange for a cut of the revenue. That, and THQ Nordic is a fairly large one.
Redglyph
proud GASP member
A few games in the video above have a publisher, too. I'd say it's the freedom they give to the studio that matters most. Hard to know precisely how much independence THQ Nordic gives or even to set any threshold for what's considered an indie studio/game, though.
True, everyone looks at it differently. For me, if they partnered with a large publisher like that to distribute it, I can't see how they're still considered an indie.
May be it is like with indie music: While you can try to name several properties of something being "indie", the main characteristic is a negative one: Not being mainstream. But since there also is no unambiguous definition, what mainstream would mean, this doesn't make the definition more exact either and everybody with give different weight to different properties (small studio, not much money involved, having different ideas than the average product, and may be more).
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Indie means it's not being distributed by a major record label.